Review: Xbox Fitness “P90X for Xbox Fitness” DLC

Now, don’t get me wrong: I’ve always loved Xbox Fitness. Hell, I mostly stuck beside the title even when it had issues with streaming. Others? Not so much. Some said Kinect didn’t track them very well, or didn’t provide tips when exercises were being performed incorrectly. Others still said the exercises were too hard.

For the record, those complaints are unfounded; any program in Xbox Fitness provides text-based indicators when you’re isolating the wrong muscle group alongside visual cues that let you see which muscles you’re actually working during an exercise. As for the difficulty level, Xbox Fitness isn’t a video game; as such, you’re not going to excel at it straight away. It’ll be hard, but it’ll be worthwhile. The point is to stick at it until mountain climbers don’t absolutely wreck you.t

Defences aside, if I had to pick one of the biggest letdowns of Xbox Fitness, it’d be that it has recycled old fitness DVDs and simply slapped a layer of Xbox gamification over them. Jillian Michaels didn’t design any of her programs with Kinect in mind, and neither did Tony Horton over at P90X. That is, until now.

The new “P90X for Xbox Fitness” DLC for… well, Xbox Fitness, is a program specifically designed with the Xbox One and Kinect in mind. Horton talks of Fitness Points and star ratings. He mentions to look up in the top right corner of the screen while you’re doing flys to ensure you’re working your shoulder muscles and not your lats. He reminds you that you’re not playing a game, and that you need to show up daily to make your three-star effort yesterday a four-star one today.

He’s motivational on a simple DVD, and he’s absolutely phenomenal encouraging you while aware he’s delivering his workout via a game console.

The 30-day program comes with a myriad of activities, from chest, shoulder and arm workouts to varying levels of intense cardio. Each daily program reminds you of the tools you need througougt the workout, but even then, Horton has you covered. Don’t have fitness bands or dumbbells? Well, he’ll show you isometric versions of the exercises to keep you engaged.

Each P90X program is fresh and the package itself comes with additional tools like a meal plan if you want to really trim down and tone up. If you’re serious about fitness, or at least serious about wanting to become serious about fitness, you wouldn’t go wrong with this DLC.

Of course, the program has its downsides: at $60 USD, it’s not exactly cheap. If you’re the kind of person who’ll buy the content and then ignore it like your gym membership, it’s better to just boot up Xbox Fitness and select a free program. Xbox Fitness’ future also provides cause for concern; free for now, it’ll eventually move into a subscription-based model where we’ll have to pay to continue using it. I wonder if Microsoft will have the nerve to charge for packs like “P90X for Xbox Fitness” even when we’re paying a monthly free. For those achievement fanatics out there, I really meant it when I said Xbox Fitness isn’t a video game; this pricey content doesn’t add any additional achievements to the title.

As per usual, space is still a priority; you’ll need room to do push-ups, lunges and the like. The bottom line is this: if you’re a fan of Xbox Fitness and want to add some intense, challenging workouts to your repertoire, this is a must-have. If you’re wishy-washy, stick to those layered DVD options.

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