Assuming you are like me, you have neglected to start a new-year workout routine. Perhaps, you have started and already quit. Most likely, all of us need a little extra encouragement to keep slapping those P90x discs into the DVD player. Having completed Tony Horton’s hell-inspired routine once, it would have been nice to use the Beachbody app to keep me motivated and organized with my workouts and nutrition.
Design
The P90x app is built to accompany, if not completely mirror, the workout guide that drives the DVD based program. Opening straight to a menu selection page, the app allows users to start a complete program (from day 0-90) or to “work out now.” If you would prefer to pick and choose work outs or use the app intermittently, this is the best option; however, if you prefer to use the app to completely track and schedule your entire 90 day program, choose “Start a Program.”
The app is visually pleasing, but the design is frustrating. For example, if you want to track how much weight you used for a particular repetition, the app utilizes a scrolling number dial instead of a numeric pad. This design oversight will cause you to fall behind the DVD timed routine, while trying to scroll to the correct number. Moreover, the app navigation is not standard to other familiar apps. Tabs are used on the bottom, but the top title bar previous and next tabs are absent.
Usability
There are several ways to use the app as a guide to enhance the workout experience. To start a workout, as mentioned prior, either “work out now,” “start a program,” or use the built-in calendar to individually schedule your own user-defined program. The nutrition journal is an added benefit, providing a bar graph to chart daily intake. By selecting your level and phase number, the nutrition chart adjusts to the correct suggested nutrition amounts for your workout routine. You will recognize the categories and amounts from the p90x Nutrition Guide, which is provided with your workout DVD program.
The Profile tab encourages progress by charting body measurements including weight, size (waist, hips, chest, arms, thighs) and BMI; to ensure you are bulking up and dropping pounds, the workout tracker keeps information about individual exercises as well. Everything Tony begs you to write down in the videos is included in the workout tracker, which guides you through the exercise routine. Post workout, you can see your daily statistics for each exercise and compare with previous workouts. For example, you can see a graph of your increased ability to complete dive bomber push-ups (“under the fence, back under the fence” … and repeat) over the course of your first two weeks.
If you know how to complete the exercises for a particular workout, it is possible to do the entire set from the app. With the workout tracker, each exercise is included in proper succession to complete the routine. However, there are NO built in videos to demonstrate the exercises. If you want a complete P90x on-the-go guide, including videos, you must buy the $60 in-app video guide upgrade.
Conclusion[rating: 3/5]
Beachbody created a perfect side-kick (Kenpo anyone?) companion for the P90x program. A survivor of P90x, I can honestly say this app would have been a great help while trying to cram down 2,400 healthy calories per day or keeping track of reps. Although the app is just what Tony ordered, the execution was fairly poor. Some of the touch menus are finicky and the built-in help guide is limited. In fact, I created a workout for this afternoon but cannot figure out how to delete/change/ or modify it. Unfortunately, the dev team seemingly did their best and forgot the rest, which might work if you are doing push ups, but is not the best way to piece together an app.
Ultimately, the P90x ($4.99, App Store) app is well worth the money if you want to track everything about the program electronically. I appreciated how well the app fits with the actual program. The integration of the Nutrition and Workout Guide is seamless and very helpful; however, with the struggling navigation and frustrating controls, it will take a while longer to completely utilize the app.
To boil the whole experience down into a Tony quote – “I hate it, but I love it.”
Pros
- Choose your program and the app populates the calendar
- Set personal body measurements
- Graphical progress
- Built in nutrition guide that mimics the book version
- Track food intake each day (“Don’t go grab a pastrami sandwich”)
- Helpful hints from Tony
- Notifications to remind you to workout
- Guided workouts
- Share results through social media
- Connect to the Beachbody.com community
- No flirting with Drea Webber
Cons
- Dodgy touch sensitivity
- Confusing navigation
- Some users complain of app crashes
- Helpful hints from Tony
- NO VIDEO GUIDES
- Number dials instead of number pad for data entry
- App does not add workouts to native iOS calendar
