P90X: Should I Buy Weights or Bands?

P90X is a high intensity home workout program. I can say that after committing to P90X and participating in its workouts, I feel healthier, look better, and have improved my strength, flexibility, and athletic performance. Those new to P90X, however, should know that many of the P90X workouts require resistance bands or dumbbells.

There are several advantages to using resistance bands. Resistance bands are much cheaper than a full set of dumbbells. Resistance bands can be purchased at local sporting goods stores from five to ten dollars a band. The makers of P90X offer some very high quality resistance bands in various sets from forty dollars on up. It is also possible to travel with resistance bands so that you can do your P90X workouts on the go. This should be a significant consideration for you if you do travel a lot since maximizing your P90X results requires that you participate in the workouts each day. If you purchase a set of at least 3 resistance bands, from very easy to pull to very difficult to pull, you can probably feel the "burn" on most of the workouts that use the resistance bands.

Despite all these advantages, I prefer dumbbells to resistance bands when doing the P90X workouts. I have found that the bands were often difficult to position on many of the workouts so that I felt I was working one side of my body more than the other or that I was not working the muscle groups that the exercise is trying to target. Dumbbells are more familiar to most people and allow finer distinctions on increasing resistance (using slightly heavier weights versus using a much more difficult resistance band). This makes it easier to track how much improvement you are making from week to week by noticing that you can lift, for example, a fifteen pound weight rather than a ten pound weight. Adjustable dumbbells can also be purchased. These types of dumbbells take up much less space; however, they are more expensive than the traditional dumbbells you see in most gyms. Adjustable dumbbells cost closer to six hundred dollars while a sufficient set of traditional dumbbells can be purchased for less than four hundred dollars.

Whether to purchase dumbbells or resistance bands for P90X depends largely on your specific circumstances. I recommend dumbbells for most people who want to maximize their P90X workouts and see the most results.