On January 5 2010, I attended an event in Melville (Long Island), New York, where Tony Horton was promoting his new book aptly titled “Bring It!” That is one of his signature phrases, often heard in the P90X video series. The schedule included Q&A, testimonials, a workout (of course!), and an opportunity to get our books signed by the man himself.
Tony answered questions before the meeting even started, which I thought was very nice considering it was probably his third or fourth event for the day (the others were television interviews). He did impart some pearls of wisdom, such as
“Do scary things that don’t kill you.”
“On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the easiest, you should try to exercise at the intensity of 7 or 8.”
During the Q&A, Tony brought up the topic of yoga and its inclusion in P90X. He asked how many people enjoyed yoga after they had tried it as part of the program, or at least understood why it’s important. He admitted that when they were developing P90X he was also skeptical about including yoga, at first. Now, of course, he is a big proponent, and I detected some Hindu philopsophy at the end of our workout when we were laying in the corpse pose, and he declared “Everything is nothing; and nothing is everything.” It’s OK Tony, you and I don’t have to agree about, uh, everything.
I would estimate there were 150 people in that hotel ballroom, working out with Tony for an hour. It was tough, of course, but as always in P90X there is a way to adjust the exercises for your personal needs. Tony told us that if we were tired, just stand up and jog in place, which some people did at various points. Others took the challenge to try some extreme variations on pushups, bicycle crunches, lunges, and more. The people right around me were keeping up with the pace (and then some!), but it was clear from a look around the room that all fitness levels were represented and welcome. As usual, I was somewhere in the middle in terms of ability and intensity.
Tony got up close and personal with us during the workout, too. He got off the stage and walked around a few times, adjusting someone’s form here or there. He even pushed on my legs a little, while I was on my back and had them up in the air! They are usually crooked, and he snagged me.
At the end of the workout, Tony pulled out an old favorite (NOT) from the Ab Ripper workout, an exercise called the Mason Twist. The 10 people who were able to outlast the rest of us would earn places at the front of the autograph line. He had to stop those crazy people after four minutes!
The book signing line (two lines, actually, on either side of the stage) were long, but the mood was upbeat. I guess we were all a little dizzy and dehydrated. I chatted with the people around me or listened to some interesting conversations about health, fitness, Beachbody, or Tony. I was surprised to learn that the guy ahead of me in line had walked into this event because he had seen the P90X infomercial and was curious to see what it was all about. I figured this would be a crowd of hard-core Tony Horton fans, but I guess there might have been a few curious onlookers too.
I am working my way through “Bring It!” right now. So far I have completed Part 1, “The Principles,” in which the reader evaluates their fitness level and Tony talks about his “Cycle of Success.” I have spent the past year (almost) doing P90X, and I am ready for a change. Of course, Tony won’t contradict himself here, but I’m sure there will be some differences from the 90-day P90X routine.
Has anyone else picked up the book? What do you think?
