Beachbody Reviews

A Review of P90X3 Incinerator

April 20, 2016

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I'm Mickie. Co-founder and CEO of One Strong Southern Girl. Our team is here for you. We want you to remember us because we helped changed your life. 

Hello!

The Beachbody wizards have come up with some creative names for several really effective upper body exercises in P90X3 Incinerator…

Monkey Pump

Flipper

Skyfer

These aren’t the names of rides at any amusement park or fancy bar drinks your Uncle Ted makes.

These are some of the exercises you’ll be doing in P90X3 Incinerator.

Here’s a reminder of what the P90X3 series looks like:

Let me explain what you need to know about P90X3 Incinerator…

This post may contain Amazon (or other) affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission. You can get more information about that here.

the cover art of the P90X3 upper body burnout video

Instructor-Tony Horton

Category-Strength

EquipmentDumbbells (5, 8, 10, 12, 15, and 20’s), pull-up bar (with assist band), Power Stands*, mat

*optional

Length-31 minutes

HRM-184 calories

Choreography-Simple

My rating-A

Pro Tip-Ladies, here’s a link to my favorite colored dumbbells.

*Depending on your exercise level I’d recommend getting 5, 8, 10, 12 and 15 lb. DB’s to get started. (I also use 20 lbs. when I do P90X3 Incinerator.)

A FEW MORE TIPS-Measure your door frame and check the weight limit on any pull-up bar before you invest in it.  Also, Power Stands are my favorite push-up stand because they’re big and sturdy but whatever push-up stand you have is fine.

The Important Stuff about P90X3 Incinerator

P90X3 Incinerator is a routine of paired exercises. You do one exercise with a dumbbell/band and then follow that with an exercise that focuses on the same muscle group but uses your own body weight for resistance.

There are two badass women (Tamara and Jessica) in Tony’s team. Tamara is showing you how to do the entire workout with a band.

The exercises are slow and controlled. Pay attention to your form.  Don’t waste the 30 minutes you’re committing to this workout by having crappy form.

There are 10 reps in the first exercise of each pair (except for Monkey Pump). You do those with the group.  Then your job is to do maximum reps in 30 seconds on the second exercise.

I’ll tell you exactly what size dumbbells I use for each exercise.  If you’re a man then you’ll (probably) want to use a heavier weight.

Read to the end for helpful tips on every section of Incinerator as well as links to a few places you can compare prices on P90X3.

Warm-Up

The warm-up is a little over 2 minutes of a few aerobic moves to get blood flowing to those upper body muscles.  There are some nice yoga stretches here, too.

Main Workout (The Exercises in P90X3 Incinerator)

BACK

Renegade Row

I use 12 lb. DB’s.  There are 10 reps.

Keep your core strong.  Don’t sag.

Pull-Ups (I use an assist band)

Do max reps over the 30 seconds.  I squeeze out about 12.

Jessica does this without an assist band.  She’s awesome.  I kind of hate her.

CHEST

Floor Flys

I use 15 lb. DB’s.  There are 10 reps.

Don’t get cocky and go too high on your weight here.  You have to do push-ups next.

Push-Ups

I use power stands for these (because I have them) but you don’t need them.  Do as many push-ups as you can with proper form.  I do 13-15 reps.  You may be able to do a lot more.

BACK

Rocket Launcher Row

I use 15’s  There are 10 reps.

Make the move smooth.

Chin-Ups

Do maximum reps in 30 seconds.  I do about 8 (with the assist band).

CHEST

A-Press

I use 20 lb DB’s.

There are 10 reps.

This is different than a fly.  Look at the team for proper form before you do them.

Military Push-Ups

I use my power stands again, but you don’t need them.

I do about 12 reps.

Your arms stay next to your ribcage for this style.

SHOULDERS

Monkey Pump

I use 8 lb. DB’s (use 5’s the first time you do these).

There are 8 reps this time.

There are several steps to this (very original) move.  Don’t skip any parts of the exercise.  Yes, this is hard.

Pike Press

You can use your power stands.

Stick your butt up in the air and do a shoulder push up.  Your head is going straight down.  Do as many as you can in 30 seconds.  I do about 14 reps.

BACK

Pterodactyl Flys

Remember the leg you were leaning on for the rocket launcher?  Put the other leg in front for this exercise.

I use 10 lb. DB’s.  Don’t let the weight crash in to your ankle.  There are 10.

Flipper

This is weird but cool.  I’d never done this exercise until I did Incinerator.  The exercise is done in a low plank position.  Listen and watch the team to know what to do.  You’ll feel this in your back and triceps.

BICEPS

Popeye Hammer Curls

I use 12 lb. DB’s. 

There are 10 reps.

Make sure your palms stay facing your body on each rep.

Kneeler Curls

I keep my 12’s for this max-out set.

You’re in a kneel on one knee.  I do about 16 reps.

TRICEPS

Hail To The Chief

I use 12 lb. DB’s on this exercise.

You’ll be on your back with the weights moving across your face.  Go slow!  Don’t pick up a weight that’s too heavy!  You do not want to learn the hard way that you should have picked a lighter weight.  There are 10 reps.  Go slow (there, I said it twice).

Skyfers

You can use your power stands for this exercise.  Do as many as you can in the 30 seconds.

Keep your knees together and lift your hips high.  I do about 20.

BICEPS

Arm and Hammer

I use my 12 lb. DB’s.  There are 10 reps of each style.

Sometimes I wish I’d picked up my 10’s before the set is over.

TRICEPS

Rocket Launcher Kickbacks

Use whichever leg you weren’t leaning in to for kneeler curls as your support leg.

I use 8 lb. DB’s. 

This is your max-out set.  I do about 16.

Burnout

For 2 minutes you alternate between versions of push-ups, high plank hold, low plank hold (sphinx), side arm balances, and a few other moves.  Tony prompts you to do each exercise.  (He actually does Burnout with the team).  This is a cool section.

Cool Down/Stretch

The cool down/stretch is a little over a minute in length.  It wouldn’t hurt to do a few additional upper body stretches after the workout ends.

Now What?

P90X3 Incinerator is a great upper body strength-training program in well under an hour. Pair it with a short run and a core workout and you’ve covered it all.  P90X3 is worth the investment.

You can find P90X3 Incinerator in the family of P90X3 videos by Beachbody and in the library of workouts with a Beachbody on Demand membership.

Get answers to your questions about Beachbody on Demand right here.

Thanks for reading!

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  1. Wayne Rubenstein says:

    I am only doing challenge, incenerator, and ecentric upper and lower on the same day.
    Is this a good muscle building program?
    3 days every other day with 4 rest days.

    • Hi Wayne! Yes, you can use P90X3 to build muscle. You’ll probably have to progress in weight over time to build. Just out of curiosity, why are you opting to only do those 4 workouts in the P90X3 program? Thanks for reading! Mickie

  2. Josh says:

    Hello and thanks in advance for response.
    Some X3 routines are not in my interest.
    Can you lend your opinion on my plan?
    Monday-Incenerator plus 3 sets of squats for leg and X 3 Abs
    Tuesday-X 3 Yoga
    Wendsday-MMX
    Thursday-The Challenge
    Friday-X3 Pilates
    After 4 weeks take a week for recovery and just do yoga one day, and 15 minutes of walking two days before restarting the same routines for another 4 weeks.
    Saturday-2 mile run

    • Hi Josh, I think you’ve done a great job of creating a balanced plan that’s customized for your tastes (we call that your workout personality)! I love that you’ve included yoga here. Flexibility work is so important when you’re building muscle. I don’t know what your fitness goal is, or what level exerciser you are, but this plan will get you total body conditioning. And when you get bored with it you can create the same type of workout calendar using another program (we call it Program Stacking). Well done! Good luck!

  3. Hector Cintron says:

    I want muscle and strength as my primary goals.
    Can I jump right into X3 Mass schedule and just follow that as my plan?
    My girlfriend follows you and recommended I reach out for your opinion.
    Thanks!

    • Hi Hector! That’s a great question. In general, I really like the Mass workout schedule for building muscle. If you’re new to weight training you should start with light weights and possibly add an extra rest day during the first few weeks. And you might be surprised at how hard those yoga days are but make sure you don’t skip them. Serious weight trainers do a lot of flexibility work to avoid injury and build long, lean functional muscle. You might want to swap in a few Body Beast workouts in that calendar, too, because you’ll eventually get bored of Tony Horton. lol. But overall, I love all the extra benefits you’ll get with P90X3 (agility, coordination and balance exercises), so it’s a smart choice for anyone. Thanks for reaching out with a great question! And please tell your girlfriend that she made my day by recommending me! THANK YOU! Best to the both of you! Mickie

  4. Jerry says:

    Will I be able to continue my boxing class 2 days weekly as I follow X3?
    I can do X3 in the morning and boxing Tues/Thurs evenings fir 45 minutes each.

    • Hi Jerry,
      I’ve never done any boxing (although I’d love to try it) but I would imagine that P90X3 and boxing would be a great pairing of exercise programs. The P90X3 routines are a mix of sculpting/strengthening exercises primarily with a few cardio-focused videos. All of the P90X3 routines are about 30 minutes long and easily modifiable to anyone’s abilities, and the perfect length to blend together with additional exercise styles.
      Best of luck!
      Mickie

  5. John says:

    Thanks in advance for your input.
    I am only planning to use incenerator and challenge from p90x3 since I practice Martial Arts twice weekly.
    Would doing incenerator once a week and challenge once a week in between MA practice be adequate to build some muscle?
    As I get stronger I might add weights to the chins and use bands for pushups in the challenge to keep growing.
    My MA covers explosiveness and flexibility which is why the other routines in X3 are not necessary.
    Thanks again!

    • Hi John,

      The answer to your question is, Yes! P90X3 Incinerator and P90X3 The Challenge are both great strength-training routines to add to your MA program if you’re trying to increase muscle mass and definition. And you could also throw in P90X3 Eccentric Upper and Total Synergistics:-)

      Thank you for the question! Feel free to share your results!

      Mickie

  6. Josh says:

    Can I do incenerator 3 days every other day and build muscle?
    I would do yoga x on alternate days.
    Like full body workouts
    only.
    Thanks!

    • Hi Josh! Yes! Incorporating the Incinerator workout from P90X3 into your weekly routine will build muscle. Mixing up your workout by adding yoga on the days your muscles are resting is a good plan. I’d also recommend blending in the other P90X3 workouts to keep from hitting a plateau or getting bored.

      Good luck!
      Mickie

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