What P90X Equipment do you need for Home Workout

A good friend of mine completed the P90X workout. If you aren't familiar with the workout or have never seen the infomercials, P90X is a diet and workout that you can do from home. While you can do it at a gym, you can save the money on gym fees and invest in some equipment to be able to complete all the workouts at home. I've been doing the workouts in my garage with this basic equipment since 2010. It is truly a great workout.

If you want all the equipment that the workout suggests you have, here is a list.

Dumbbells are used in many of the shoulder, bicep and tricep exercises. Alternatively you can go with stretch (resistance) bands that provide the resistance. I've done the workouts with both and find the free weights a much better option. However, when I'm on the road, I can take the bands and do the workouts out of a hotel room, so they are nice to have as backups. I purchased my set of dumbbells from Craigslist. You'll need a range of weights. My wife typically uses wieghts between 5 and 15 lbs to complete the workouts, while I use weights in the the 10 to 25 lbs. I think as I get stronger, I'll probably need 45 lbs for some of the tricep workouts. Necessary Equipment

Pull-up bar. The back workouts have you do quite a few pullups. I think it's about 120 pullups. You can use the bands to replace the pullup bar, but the bar is much better. I tried to buy a used pullup bar, but instead purchased one for about $35 from a local sporting good store. Pullups are the most important part of the P90X workout. They work the entire body and it's really important to have the bar. Necessary Equipment

Yoga mat. I consider this an essential piece of equipment since I do most of my workouts in the garage on the cement. I've done the workouts without a mat on carpet, but the mat is really nice for keeping the sweat off the carpet. It also provides padding for situps, yoga, stretching and I put it under me for pushups. You do a ton of pushups in P90X. If you're working out on a hard surface, get a thick mat. The extra padding really helps your spine when doing situps on a hard surface. Necessary Equipment

Chair. You use a chair for dips, some of the back and shoulder workouts and as a helper for pullups. When I started, I could only do two pullups, so I used the chair quite a bit to help me do sets in the eight to ten range. A flimsy chair isn't going to cut it. Get something sturdy and that doesn't rock easily. You'll be putting weight on the chair with your hands while your legs are stretched out and with your feet doing decline pushups. Necessary Equipment

Water. Every workout requires water. Necessary Equipment

Towel. I use a towel to wipe my sweat off as well as for some extra padding while doing situps. You'll sweat a lot during P90X, so you will likely use a towel with each workout depending on how much you sweat. Some days, I just use my t-shirt to wipe the sweat from my eyes. Optional Equipment

Cardboard or plastic. There is a pushup exercise where you slide your hand from a wide position to a narrow position. They recommend a piece of cardboard or plastic. I just pick my hand up a bit and forgo the sliding equipment. A cheap alternative is to use frisbees and slide them with your hands or some pieces of cardboard. Optional Equipment

Recovery drink. At the end of every workout they suggest you have a P90X recovery drink. I haven't purchased this. Instead, my wife and I drink carnation chocolate milk mixed with nonfat milk. Optional Equipment