P90X is a home exercises program that contains various routines. One of the routines targets the chest and back muscles. This routine is filled with several different pushup variations so if you find that you can not do very many pushups, the routine may be too difficult for you to complete. Consult your physician before attempting the P90X workout.
Equipment
Before beginning the chest and back routine, you must have the proper equipment. Although most of the exercises in the chest and back routine are pushups, there are some exercises that require other items. The most important item is a comfortable mat for performing all of the pushups. A pullup bar is also necessary. In addition to those two items, you will need a few dumbbells of varying weight for two exercises in the routine. A towel and a bottle of water should be kept close at all times and you should wear comfortable clothing and tennis shoes.
Chest Exercises
The chest exercises are all pushups. There are a total of six variations of pushups included in the routine. One set of pushups is a minute long and the idea is to exhaust your chest muscles by performing as many as you can in that amount of time. Each pushup exercise is performed for two sets for a total of 12 minutes. The first exercises is the standard pushup. Military pushups place the hands closer together to work out the lower pectoral muscles. Perform wide-fly pushups with your hands further apart to exercise the whole chest. Do decline pushups with your feet raised on a platform or chair to workout the lower pectoral muscles again. Do diamond pushups by making the shape of a diamond with your hands, placing that on the floor and performing pushups from that position. These are also known as seal pushups. The final chest exercises is also the most difficult: dive-bomber pushups.
Back Exercises
The back exercises are just as exhausting as the chest exercises and consist of various pullups and chinups along with three exercises that utilize weights. As with the chest exercises, all of these exercises are performed for a full minute or until you can do no more. The initial back exercise is the wide front pull-up, followed by the reverse grip chinup and the closed grip overhand pullups. After those, you use weights to perform the "Heavy Pants" exercises, "Lawnmowers" and back flys.
When to Perform the Chest and Back Routine
Perform the chest and back routine nine times during the 90 day cycle of P90X and always on the first day of the week. Do the chest and back routine during the first, second, third, fifth, sixth, seventh, ninth, 10th and 11th weeks. The chest and back routine is one of the essential components of P90X and cannot be swapped out for another routine.
References
- "P90X Extreme Home Fitness: Fitness Guide"; Beachbody; 2009
- "P90X Workout Sheet: Chest & Back"; Beachbody; 2009
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