If you're not quite sure you're ready for a fitness program as rigorous as P90X Extreme Home Fitness, or you just want to get in shape without the expense, The Special Ops Workout by Mike Mejia, CSCS, and Stewart Smith, USN (Seal), provides great structured workouts.
The 200 page book features a 12-Week Special Ops Workout as well as 6-Week Workouts used by Army Rangers, Green Berets, the Air Force and Navy SEALs. The workouts are "inspired by" military workouts but not the actual routines. That doesn't really matter, though. The workouts are tough, and if you follow them to the letter -- with only slight modifications for your level of fitness -- you will attain a higher level of fitness.
The book is loaded with text and photos that will teach you the proper way to warm-up before working out and then how to execute each exercise. There are also nutritional tips.
My favorite workout routine -- The Special Ops 12-Week Workout Schedule -- features similar exercises to those found in P90X. You just don't have to do as many sets. A sample day would have you doing dumbbell squats, 3-point push-ups, unilateral deadlifts, wide grip pull-ups, woodchoppers, low box shuffles, rotational shoulder presses, penta lunges, bent over rows, overhead balancing calf raises and V-up pushups.
As with P90X, there are a couple of exercises I can't do because of an injured shoulder. For example, towel pull-ups, where you throw a towel over your pull-up bar and grip onto it, are absolute murder, so I just do regular pull-ups.
The six-week workout regimens were of less interest to me. They require a lot of swimming or running in army boots with a rucksack on your back. I'm not crazy about either prospect.
Ultimately, The Special Ops Workout is a tool I use to get geared up for another 90-Day session with P90X. I recommend it to anyone who is reasonably fit who wants to improve their overall fitness or add variety to their gym routine.
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This book is intended for people who are fit to achieve a new level of fitness. Do not purchase this product if you are not fit or have health problems. Consult your doctor before beginning any exercise program.
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