There’s no denying that P90X took the home fitness world by storm in the mid-2000s. Like a blockbuster movie, the sequel program was always considered inevitable.

As we sadly see so many times with a movie sequel, there are so many factors related to substance and perception that affect critical and commercial success.

P90X2 was rumored/confirmed to have been in research and development for basically two years before the actual product launch in late 2011. During that time, anticipation grew in a torrent, especially among P90X graduates. The reason was simple: P90X was popular and many graduates had done it multiple times. They wanted more and better. To that end, early previews of the P90X2 promised an evolution and innovative vehicle to increase your overall fitness.

The online forum chatter during the introduction was fairly even. What the P90X veterans wanted was something new and fresh to spice up their home training, the expected hard work and now even better results.

What has happened since launch is a case study in how rare it is to achieve impressive P90X level success in the fickle home training market. After using the product and taking a closer look at almost 100 reviews online, I believe that P90X2 represents a game changer, it takes hard work and gets results. These are the very things the audience said they wanted over the years and months they spent waiting for their P90X2 to arrive.

Instead, overall reviews have been decent to good, with the best rares sprinkled into the mix. P90X, by contrast, achieved a good to excellent rating on almost every reputable review site I could find.

Even with the good ratings, there have been many complaints about P90X2 not making people work enough, but at the same time requiring the user to engage in movements (mostly poses) that are a radical departure from what people were used to. in P90X. At its core, P90X2 tries to be a total body workout and sticks to that creed through every phase of the program.

The science behind P90X2 is still effectively based on the idea of ​​creating muscle confusion, but the approach is radically different from that of P90X. In my judgment, this really undermines customer support. I have seen it written that P90X was popular, not only because it brought great results, but because it sets user expectations on a workout-to-workout basis.

This appears to be a hole in P90X2. The people who buy it don’t quite know what to expect due to a marketing message that is definitely not focused. Sure, people are getting results. The problem is that if it doesn’t feel right every time, it creates a situation where the user feels divorced from the process. Review after review reveals that many people do not believe in what they are doing. This is 180 degrees out of the general experience for P90X users.

Does this mean that P90X2 is doomed? No. For the person who may be thinking of purchasing the program, please note that this is a different approach with many different exercises. You have to place your trust in the people behind the creation and really judge the training free of expectations and memories of the previous program.