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I previewed the last of my “Base” P90X2 DVDs last night, and gave it a go today. Technically, I guess the One on One DVDs are considered to be a bonus. The One on One: Upper Body Balance workout is like a preview of a the P90X2 Phase 1 exercises, just like the “4 Legs” workout does for the lower body. “Upper body” here means alternating push ups on balls with ab/core exercises seen in X2 Ab Ripper (but no Collette). There are also a couple of ab moves I had not seen before.

For the record, this is Volume 2, Disk 12, the last in this set of One on One workouts. The opening credits call it “Upper Body Balanace” but I guess that was left in for those of us who like to find typos because we can’t do all those push ups.  The workout is about 53 minutes long. Mason Bendenwald is back as Tony’s cameraman and sidekick (along with another cameraman, I think). The music is provided by Aaron Aviles. Based on a comment later in the workout, it was recorded in 2010.

This time the exercise list is nicely printed, on a sheet of paper with Tony’s picture in the top right corner (from a P90 photo shoot, he says). Unfortunately, later in the workout he realizes that the exercises are out of order, so he has to deviate from the list a little. It’s all part of the casual feel of the One on One series, right?

During the warm up, Tony tells us how “super hard” this is going to be. Ohhhhkay… Of course, this was before P90X2, where these concepts are introduced to the general public, so it was quite a departure from all the push up variations performed on the floor. Tony talks a lot more about modifications in this workout than he did in “4 Legs.” That’s because some of us (ahem) can’t do a single repetition the hard way, or might not have the equipment available, or might not want to injure ourselves falling off a ball. One step at a time, right?

For the push ups, Tony uses a chair, a stability ball, Valeo brand medicine balls, and at one point pulls out a basketball and a football to demonstrate alternatives. He is barefoot, and uses what he claims is thickened Results and Recovery Formula as a sticky spray for his hands, to reduce slipping. His goal is 20-30 repetitions per exercise.

Some exercises you won’t see in P90X2:

• Superman V Up (as you would expect, a combination of two familiar P90X moves)
• Balancing Bicycle (Bicycle Crunch in a seated position)
• Scissor Roll Up (another combination from P90X)
• Mason Twist with Straight Legs (in the presence of Mason himself)
• V-Gate (in seated position, extend the legs in a V and back together, arms extended forward)

Tony mentions during the second half of the video that he’s getting over a cold. I would not have noticed, except for a little clearing of the throat here and there. He takes several breaks, but we don’t mind, right?

Here’s a random comment from the DVD: Tony was a guest on Kirstie Alley’s Big Life reality show, demonstrating one of the exercises (in his capacity as a celebrity trainer, I guess). And then, I found it on YouTube!

OK, back to the DVD… After the One on One workout, there is what I call a “bonus feature” in which Tony teaches Mason how to do the Impossible/Possible push up (as seen in P90X2). I’m glad to report that Mason has just as much trouble as the rest of us, but he’s probably got the hang of it by now.

By the way, not to be too graphic or anything, but those two Bosu Balls hanging side-by-side on Tony’s wall remind me of…. something.With Tony, you can never tell if that’s what he intended.

P90X2 Tip of the Day:  Here are some push up tips from Tony, as seen at the end of the workout:

• When you are in push up position, make sure your toes are in front of your heels. 
• Focus on pushing your heels back, rather than having the heels directly over the toes.
• Flex the quad muscles in your legs, which will engage the glute (butt) and stomach muscles.