Fitness and Exercise

[Assassin]

I've started the P90x routine recently....well i havent actually started the regiment yet since im no where near the shape needed to actually do it. But i've been doing the plyometrics one on and off, trying to increase the amount i get done each time. Once i can get through the entire video i think i'll start the full program.

Any of you guys have experience with P90x, or know someone who's done it? What are your thoughts on its effectiveness?

I've no idea about all these calculations and theory stuff, and I tend to only run. But I need to build up some upper body strength so I've been doing just push ups and not going to a gym. Just curious, how many chin-ups can you guys do? As in the maximum number. Mine's around 12 I guess, but I'm hoping to do more after this regime.

For upper body (particularly if you're not too worried about specific muscle groups and just want a general upper body workout) pushups is one of the best things to do. It's simply the best excersice for your pecs and it really works on your triceps as well. As for pullups i believe being able to do 15-20 is considered fairly decent, though you should always be pushing to do more ofcourse....that is, dont just get to the point where you can do 20 and then be like "welp, im set for life!" .

I dont know how many i can do right now, probably not more then 10 as i've let myself go quite a bit.

For a general upper body workout, here's what i recommend:

Push ups (pecs/triceps) - try to do 100 each night; either 50/50, or 40/40/20...whatever combination works. But your goal should be to do the 100 each night.

Pullups (biceps) - Set a target and try to beat it. A good variation is to hold position as you come down. Meaning, you go up all the way, hold for 10 seconds....come down slightly (elbows 90 degrees) and hold for 10 sec....come down a bit more (elbows at 130 degrees) and hold 10 sec. Also, you can spread your arms further apart (beyond your shoulders). These are harder to do, but they will bring out that V shape.

Abs - a combination of situps/crunches/leg lifts. Basically do as many different variations as you can, with as many reps as you can. For the leg lifts, bring up each leg seperately...that way you work both sides of your abdominal muscles.

Back Now this is tougher to do at home, especially since there's like 5 different muscles that make up your back. i dont know of any exercises off the top of my head that you can do wihtout weights, but if you have a pair of dumbells you can find a whole bunch of stuff on the intarwebz.

[XanBcoo]

Pullups are primarily a back exercise...

Edit: Chin-ups focus more on biceps.
Edit: And if you're recommending doing 100 pushups, it becomes primarily a cardiovascular exercise, and I'd advocate doing that early in the morning before eating. There's a lot of controversy around when it's best to do cardio, but that's what I've found most beneficial for me.

But as far as strength building goes, pushups are awful. Basically what Archangel said is true.

It's 50/50 if you ask me, you can't tell me you'll build any significant muscle with a high rep ( 15+ ) and cardio routine even if you keep a high proteins and carb diet.

Once you get past a certain number of reps, you're not really tearing and building any muscle, just working out your lungs. You're not going to get any stronger doing a shit load of pushups. But perhaps that's your goal.