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One-on-One, Volume 2

July 10, 2011 –

I have given a comprehensive and complete review of Tony Horton’s 1-on-1 Volume 1 and Volume 3 series. Now although there will NOT be a Volume 4 (the series is discontinued after Volume 3), I am going back to review all of Volume 2. I am still finishing working through all the workouts, but as I complete reviews, I will ensure all of them are added into this comprehensive post.

You can also download the worksheets for all the Volume 2 workouts HERE.

In case you did not catch my Volume 1 or 3 reviews, I want to restate a few things about the 1-on-1 series.

So what is Tony Horton One on One? How does this differ from P90x and P90x Plus? One on One is an unscripted workout with you and Doc Horton. There are no other people working out with him. It is just you and him (and his trusty cameraman Mason Bendewald from Mason Twist fame). You get to see the real Tony and frankly get to know what makes this guy tick. He shares his stories, his opinions, his quirks, his humor, and his vulnerabilities.


I did Beachbody workouts for a year before I started the One on One series, but I know many who use these discs right after completing P90x. One of the things that intimidated me with One on One was that there were no workout sheets, there was no routine to follow, and frankly I couldn’t even tell what muscle groups were being targeted from the disc names.

Similar to what I did for Volume 1 and 3, I committed myself to documenting the Volume 2 workouts and shining a light for others who may be struggling with the same thing I was. This guide should help you decide if which discs you want to buy.

I not only documented the exercises, but also organized it in a way that shows you the rhythm and cadence of the workout. I have given individual reviews for each disc below as well as the following information:

– Length

– Target Muscles

– Routine: Rounds / Exercises

– Recommended workouts to replace in P90x

– My Recommendation Rating (out of 5)

– Equipment Needed

Lastly, I have put all the trailers in place for your convenience.

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Disc 1 – Cardio Intervals

Length: 40 minutes

Target Muscle: Cardio

P90x Replacement: Cardio X, Kenpo X, Plyometrics

My Recommendation Rating: 3 Stars (out of 5)

Equipment Required: Chair, Markers, Ball

The 3 out of 5 star rating may be a little unfair and is personally biased. This is actually a very nice routine and a solid entry to moderate level cardio routine. However, for a crazy Insanity / Xer like me, the difficulty drags the score down. But even I need to remember that every workout does not need to have your heart pounding out of chest to be effective.

This routine brings you through 20 exercises 2 times! You will see moves from Kenpo X, Plyometrics, Interval X Plus, and more. There are some good side to side moves that require you to put some markers on your floor (washers, playing cards, coasters, or a kid’s toy will do.) I like the side to side moves because it is something that does not actively come in most cardio activities (running, biking, swimming).

In the future, i would use this routine in 2 situations. One would be a recovery week. The second would be if I was trying to bulk up and gain mass and hence lowering the intensity of my cardio. However, for many of you, this disc may be just what the doctor ordered. Don’t let my crazy view taint you. It’s just that once you do Insanity or Asylum, everything else seems like kitten’s play.


Disc 2 – Core Ball Sandwich

Length: 47 minutes

Target Muscle: Chest, Abs, and Back

P90x Replacement: Chest & Back and Ab Ripper X

My Recommendation Rating: 5 Stars (out of 5)

Equipment Required: Stability Ball, Basketball, Pull-Up Bar

We find Tony at Jackson Hole in his hotel’s gym. Frankly, it is a little strange watching this one since we are in the dead heat of summer and there is snow outside the windows at Jackson Hole. Tony takes us through an intense 47 minute routine.

This workout consists of 10 exercises repeated twice. Tony has 3 rounds of Back, Abs, and Chest. He throws in an Ab Bonus exercise between Round 2 and 3. By no means is this as intense as 30-15 from Volume 1. This still remains the hardest Chest / Back routine out there. However, what is nice about this routine is that is brings you through a tough routine in just over 45 minutes. So if you dont have 60 minutes for 30-15 plus another 15 minutes for an ab routine, this one helps you get a great workout done in short order.

I did this routine twice before I did this review. I really wanted to get a sense of the workout before I gave my opinion. You can see the “ball obsession’ that will continue through P90X2, start here. The push-ups are on balls or spynix style. The pull-ups are targeted as high reps. And the ab exercises are all solid moves out of the Tony arsenal. I give it 5 stars. I really like this routine and its efficiency. I will be using it in my regular “Chest & Back” routine.


Disc 3 – Patience “Hummingbird” Yoga

Length: 36 minutes

Target Muscle: Total Body

P90x Replacement: Yoga X

My Recommendation Rating: 4 Stars (out of 5)

Equipment Required: Yoga Mat

I have some good news and bad news for those who dislike Yoga. First, the good news. It’s the shortest Yoga routine out there (36 minutes). Now the bad news. One of the reasons you probably dislike Yoga is because it is so slow. Well, this is Yoga…in slow-motion! Tony moves extremely slow through this routine.

If you have done Yoga X, you will be familiar with all the moves. There is nothing revolutionary on this disc. Frankly, it is really the pace and the overall calming atmosphere that Tony creates that makes this different. In the beginning of this disc, it is positioned as humorous banter between Mason and himself. However, as the disc goes on Tony is serious in his meditative state.

One thing I do like about this disc is its length. At 36 minutes, I could actually use this as a supplemental workout. For example, my first go around with this disc was done after a 60 minute run outside. Now I am all for a good old fashion 90 minute Yoga routine every once in a while. (I actually really enjoy Yoga.) But depending on my training routine, I may not want to use one of my six workout days for only Yoga. So this disc will allow me to have a good 45-60 minute workout and still get in a strong 30+ minute Yoga routine.

I with hold the 5th start because there are really no new moves. But this does give me the a 4th Yoga option (Yoga X, Volume 1 – Fountain of Youth, and Volume 3 – Yoga:MC2) I also recommend you see my post that discusses the great benefits of Yoga HERE.


Disc 4 – 10 Minute Crusher Pack

20/12 – Legs of Gold – Shadow Boxing

Length: 10 minutes per workout

Target Muscle: Abs – Legs – Cardio

P90x Replacement: Ab Ripper X – Legs & Back (Partly) – KenpoX (Partly)

My Recommendation Rating: 5 Stars (out of 5)

Equipment Required: Pull-Up Bar – None – Jump Rope

I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed this 3-pack of 10 minute workouts. These provide a GREAT way to supplement any workout you are doing. In fact, I enjoyed these so much, I may go purchase 10-minute trainer.

But do not be fooled. These workouts are not easy just because they are 10 minutes. These are tough and Tony moves fast through 10 moves. Let’s look at each one individually.

20/12 – This could be my new favorite Ab workout. 20 reps on the floor, 12 reps on a pull-up bar, and repeat 5 more times. The moves on the pull-up bar are tough, especially after completing any back or arms routine where your upper body is already shredded. But this has become my new go-to Ab routine. “6-Point Flexor Burn.” “Round House.” Are you kidding? These are killer moves! I would buy the disc just for this workout.

Legs of Gold – Not many of us like to work legs. It burns. They aren’t glamor muscles and soreness sucks in the legs when you are walking like a penguin! LOL! Seriously, you need to work your legs. And if you don’t want to dedicate a 60 minute workout to that, then this is the disc for you. Do this workout a couple times a week to keep your leg strength up!

Shadow Boxing – There is only one thing you need to bring when you do this disc…a fun attitude! This is just fun and playing around. Plain and simple. Tony jumps rope for a minute, shadow boxes with Mason for a minute, and repeats that 5 times. Actually, this would be a great warm-up for a cardio routine.It’ll loosen everything up and guaranteed to put you in a better mood!


Disc 5 – Butt & Belly

Length: 46 minutes

Target Muscle: Butt and Abs

P90x Replacement: Legs & Back (Partly) and Ab Ripper X

My Recommendation Rating: 3 Stars (out of 5)

Equipment Required:8 Playing Cards

The last time we saw a workout targeted solely at the butt, it was in Volume 1’s Bun Shaper. However, this workout alternates between butt and abs. Each round consists of a butt exercise and an ab exercise. You do a total of 5 rounds and then you get to REPEAT them. FUN!

The Butt part of the routine does bring back some favorites from Butt Shaper, like 8-Card Pick-Up. The Ab portion of the routine is very isometric in nature. These moves are done very slow which really gets the burn going! (Although, Tony does pick it up in sequence 2 as he is running short on time.)

As I mentioned in my previous post, I actually did Back and Belly and then followed it with this routine. 2 workouts, back to back. That definitely got the Abs worked out. However, I will give my same opinion on this routine as I did on Bun Shaper. This does work your upper legs very well. But does it replace a more comprehensive “Legs” routine? I think it depends on your goals. I would suggest using this in one training block of 3-4 weeks, but going back to a more complete leg routine in the next training block.


Disc 6 – Back & Belly

Length: 36 minutes

Target Muscle: Back and Abs

P90x Replacement: Legs & Back (Partly) or Chest & Back (Partly) and Ab Ripper X

My Recommendation Rating: 4 Stars (out of 5)

Equipment Required: Pull-Up Bar and a Mat

There are no surprises in this routine. Tony comes right at you with round after round of Pull-Ups and Abs; 7 to be exact. And even throws in a bonus pull-up at the end.

On the back front, Tony doesn’t go easy on us with just chin-ups. Rest assured that Levers, Corn-Cobs,and X Pull-Ups all await you! On the ab front, you will see alot of Ab Ripper X moves. So this should feel familiar to P90Xers.

What makes this routine unique is that I have always done Chest&Back together and then Abs after. Or I have done Legs&Back with Abs after. I have never done a Back routine with Abs in between pull-ups.

We all have a wheelhouse. You know, those things we are really good at. And while I have made huge personal improvements on pull-ups, I still feel this is an area I need to continually work on. This workout allows me to do that. Many times I wonder whether I am running out of gas on pull-ups on a Chest&Back routine because I am spent from the push-up and pull-up continual pounding or is it because my back is really weak. This routine will help me figure that out and focus solely on my back.

I actually did fairly well in this routine. I did this routine first and then did Butt & Belly (review coming tomorrow) so that I could hit Back, Legs, and Abs all in one day. With swimming being a key component of my triathalon training (obviously!), I am working my back twice a week and will incorporate this routine into my next 8 weeks leading up to my Olympic-distance race.

I hold back the 5th star because many of the moves are similar to what we have seen. This doesn’t mean it is not a good workout though. Doing the same exercises in different sequences is all a part of muscle confusion and one of the reasons I am really liking this Volume 2 series.


Disc 7 – On One Leg

Length: 36 minutes

Target Muscle: Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps

P90x Replacement: Shoulders & Arms

My Recommendation Rating: 4 Stars (out of 5)

Equipment Required: Dumb bells (or Resistance Bands) and Power Stands

One on One, On One Leg! Ironically, this routine has nothing to do with legs. This routine is focused on Shoulders and Arms where all moves are done…you guessed it…On One Leg. But hey, if you want to do One on One, On One Leg – For Legs, we have that routine as well. LOL! (Click HERE.)

This routine goes quick. There is no warm-up or cool down and it clocks in at 36 minutes. There are four sequences where each sequence contains two rounds and each round is on each leg. So you do one round of Shoulders, Bis, and Tris on your right leg and repeat on your left.

Now here is something I found odd. In Sequence 3 and 4, Tony only does Shoulders and Tris. He skips Biceps. Is this on purpose? I sent a note to our friend and buddy Mason Bendewald (the director) to see what was up. Here was our interaction

So there you go. From the man himself! By the y the way, I recommend you join Mason’s Facebook page at MEGA MACE. He is very responsive to any questions!

I am going to be honest, I struggled through this routine. If you really want to test your balance, try this baby out. It is not easy. I lost count of the number toe taps. The great thing about being on one leg is that every move becomes synergistic. Your legs, core, back, everything. So while you may be lightening your load on your weights, you are working alot more muscle groups. Now if you are trying to gain mass and hypertrophy, then I would pass this one up. However, if you are looking to get lean, gain balance, work your secondary and tertiary muscles groups along with primary ones, this is for you.


Disc 8 – Iso Abs

Length: 38 minutes

Target Muscle: Abs

P90x Replacement: Ab Ripper X

My Recommendation Rating: 5 Stars (out of 5)

Equipment Required: Mat

I had heard good things about this routine so I was excited to give it a whirl. Although. 38 minutes does seem a little intimidating. Tony starts out by saying 10 moves at 12 reps a piece. I thought,”That doesn’t sound so bad.” As I made it through the 10 moves and saw quite a bit of time on the clock, I knew what was coming. “REPEAT!” So, it is actually 2 Rounds of 10 moves.

This is a tough routine because of it’s pace. It is super slow with isometric holds. I want to share a funny story during Round 2. Just as “The Gate” is about to start, Tony says “Let’s open the gate and see what is inside!” Instinctively, I responded out loud “Pain!” LOL! Well, it made me laugh. If you can’t crack yourself up….

The moves are actually a combination of a bunch of moves from different routines, but nothing I hadn’t seen before. “Super Scissors”, “The Monster”, “Big Bike”, “Tick Tock”, etc. But everything is super slow and it burns!

Although this could absolutely replace Ab Ripper X, be aware that this routine is more than twice as long. Now maybe you only have time for Round 1. That is okay as well. But I love switching up Ab routines and this one will definitely be in regular rotation.


Disc 9 – Cardio Confusion (Mason’s Choice)

Length: 43 minutes per workout

Target Muscle: Cardio

P90x Replacement: Cardio X, Kenpo X, Plyometrics

My Recommendation Rating: 3 Stars (out of 5)

Equipment Required: Jump Rope, Chair, and Medicine Ball

What makes this cardio routine fun is the unknown and random nature of the exercises. Mason picks exercises from a hat and each one last 1 minute. I would suggest not looking at my workout sheet the first time just to have some fun with the element of surprise.

Tony does 24 exercises that range from moves you have seen in P90X, Power 90, and older 1-on-1s. Tony is off to see how much weight he can lose in this routine as he weighs himself before and after. And while he admits it’s water weight, it is fun to see that he has lost 1 lb from 30 minutes of cardio.

He also has a significant focus on your heart rate throughout this routine. What is your target heart rate zone? I only got into my zone a couple of times. My average heart rate from beginning to end was 106 bpm where I should be targeting 132 – 160 bpm for my age. This routine was not as intense as I would like it to be. Now I could have maybe done the moves faster and deeper, but I admit that my cardio is really strong right now given my triathalon training.

You will not see many new moves in this routine, but the randomness makes it fun. This is a great routine for those looking for entry to medium level cardio. I would probably use it as part of a recovery week.


Disc 10 – 100 / 30 / 20

Length: 46 minutes

Target Muscle: Cardio, Abs, and Chest

P90x Replacement: Chest & Back (Partial) and Ab Ripper X

My Recommendation Rating: 4 Stars (out of 5)

Equipment Required: Jump Rope, Power Stands, and Mat

100 / 30 / 20 is 8 rounds of fun and excitement. :) Each round consists of 100 Jumps over the ole’ Rope, 30 Crunches, and 20 Push-Ups. Tony usually keeps things either cardio or resistance in his workouts. This one is interesting because it does bring in both elements.

Tony mentions that this is a great workout for Power90 graduates and I would agree. This may actually be a little on the lighter side for those who are hard core P90X grads. I am not saying that 160+ push-ups is easy, but there is enough rest in between where I was not feeling pushed to the limit until the last round where you max out your reps.

Given that Upper Body Balance focuses on Chest and Abs, I am surprised that Tony chose to do another routine with a similar focus. Now in defense of the two workouts coexisting, Upper Body Balance is a much harder routine with all Push-Ups on Balls as opposed to this routine using Power Stands. In general, the Ab moves in this routine are easier as well. Many are from Power90 fame.

For P90X grads, I think this would be a great workout for a recovery week. This is where I fit it in. It is tough to fit into a normal training block given its unique muscle groups. However, if having two back routines (Chest & Back and Legs & Back) is too much Back workout for you, then this could be a nice replacement for Chest & Back.


Disc 11 – For Legs

Length: 52 minutes

Target Muscle: Legs

P90x Replacement: Legs & Back (Partly)

My Recommendation Rating: 4 Stars (out of 5)

Equipment Required: Chair and a Coin

Okay, so the actual title of this disc is “One-On-One On One Leg for Legs”. Yeah.,“For Legs” is easier to get out. LOL. So this entire routine consists of moves on one leg. So get ready to put your mind in a balanced state.

You know what I like most about this disc? Tony struggled with his balance, just as I did. In fact, he dings himself one push-up for each toe tap. By the end of the workout he is up to 30+ push-ups so he ends up cranking out 50 for good measure.

Tony does have a very long warm-up (9 minutes) and cool down (6 minutes). So the main workout is actually 37 minutes.

The workout does cover all the leg muscles. However, with the balance element you not only work primary muscle groups, but secondary and tertiary as well. With all my triathalon training, my legs are in really good shape. However, I still find these types of workouts leave my legs aching the next day. And sure enough, I had some mild soreness from “For Legs”. It just proves to me that cardio is NOT a substitute for a leg workout. This workout does not even use weights, but it consists of balanced and wide range of motion exercises. You just dont get that from only cardio.

This is a low impact leg workout as compared to something like “Plyo Legs” in Volume 1 or “Base and Back” in Volume 3. So if you try and avoid jumping or plyometric workouts, this one will be good for you!

You can download the worksheet HERE under “Coach Mike Workouts”.


Disc 12 – Upper Body Balance

Length: 53 minutes

Target Muscle: Chest and Abs

P90x Replacement: Chest & Back (Partly) and Ab Ripper X

My Recommendation Rating: 4 Stars (out of 5)

Equipment Required: Stability Ball, Basketball, Medicine Balls

This is the last disc in Volume 2 and it is well placed there because this really provides the bridge into Volume 3. The push-up exercises in this routine are very similar to those in Chest, Back & Balls on Disc 1 in Volume 3. 4- Ball, 3-Ball, 2- Ball Push-Ups. Stability Ball Push-Ups. And even the “Impossible” Push-Up where your feet are on a stability ball and your hands are on a basketball. (In Volume 3, he changes the name he “Possible” Push-Up). I was actually quite proud that I got 10 in a row today which was my personal best.

Between each Push-Up you get an Ab Move. There are some moves that he eventually put into Volume 3 ARX2 like Row Your Boat, Boat Scissors, and Oblique Roll Crunch. However, a new move call Superman V-Up was way cool and way hard.

If you are not quite ready to start adding Pull-Ups on top of an already really hard Push-Up routine, this is your disc. I would say it is easier than Chest, Back, and Balls because Abs are much easier than Pull-Ups. However, if you want to see what P90X2 is going to be like, skip this disc and go right to Chest, Back, and Balls.

11 Responses to “One-on-One, Volume 2”

  1. […] I have been doing 1-on-1, Volume 2 discs like crazy to get reviews out to this great team as fast as possible. So be prepared for an onslaught. You can see my complete Volume 2 post HERE. […]

  2. […] we discussed Back and Belly. Today, we have Butt and Belly! You can see my complete Volume 2 post HERE. You can also download the worksheets for this workout and all the Volume 2 workouts […]

  3. Richmond says:

    Hello?? I need a guide that helps me which starts first until the 3 months ends!!! I wanna know if I start my frist day with disc 1 or more. I wanna know when do I switch disc on what day? I need a 3 month workout that would be great results.

  4. Kurt says:

    Workoutsheets link doesn’t dome up with a download link right now. Just says ‘Sorry, the page your requested could not be found, or no longer exists.’ Any chance on still getting those sheets?

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