It looks to me like they really planned out everything and it certainly does look very effective. I received my DVD yesterday, there's some problems I face however..........

I don't have a pull-up bar nor do I think I have the money to buy one (I'm only 17, 18 in November and I'm currently unemployed so my money was spent mostly on the P90X) so do you think the resistance bands work as good? I saw the chest & back DVD and there was a guy using them, is it possible to use ONLY the resistance bands to substitute for the dumb bells and pull up bars?

I have a gym membership, so I go to the gym every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, if I workout in addition to the P90X workouts, would that be bad? I usually run 25 min nonstop everytime I go there and lift weights, but not a whole lot like the P90X requires (maybe like 30 min each visit in addition to the cardio) The gym I go to does have dumbbells, and pull up bars however.

Also, do you think I should be using this workout plan when I'm 17 years old or should I wait until I'm older?

Thanks for looking.

First of all let me welcome you to the P90X community!

Now as for your questions; It's perfect fine to use resistance bands instead of a pull up bar. Just make sure you have a door anchor along with the resistance bands. Also, you may notice you are able to do more with the bands than you could with a pull up bar. Thats ok, if you need to, pause the video and keep going.

As for working out, I would almost be inclined to say do not do it. Reason why I say that is because of two things. One, you might over do it and cause yourself into over exhaustion. Two, if you go to the gym and do the same thing every time, you just lost the element of muscle confusion.

Now, I would do the cardio though. But only if you can handle it. I run about 3-6 miles a morning then do my workout at night. And if you are going to do calisthenics, try to mock the exercises in the video you worked out to. So that way everyday is different.

Thats my two cents, hope this helps.

Ferry,

First, welcome!!

I did the bands for the first two phases my first time through. You'll get a GREAT workout with them!! And you'll get a different workout experience than with weights. I use weights for most of my workouts now, but I do go back to the bands frequently as I really like the feel I get and I can get resistance without worrying about positioning the muscle group to work against gravity.

I wouldn't do both P90X and the gym workouts. You'll get plenty of workout with P90X, trust me! And, if you use bands, you'll be less inclined to use improper technique. That's important because using improper technique can significantly increase the risk for injury. At your age, your growth plates in your long bones are still working, though they'll be filling in within a couple of years. The benefit of P90X is that many of the exercises are body-weight exercises and they'll be kinder to the growth plates. You'll go for reps rather than sheer power. If you want to build pure muscle strength, I'd wait until you're about 20. Don't worry, though...you will notice strength gains with P90X and it will be functional strength, too.

In all things, work at improving with time. Nobody hops down and pops off 100 pushups the first time! They got there by doing 5, then 8, then 10, etc. In my martial arts classes, I tell the students, "You want to be able to come back tomorrow and do it again." If you over-exert, you'll need to have an extended time recovering and you'll lose whatever you might have gained from the effort.

If you have any doubts about your health or stamina, be wise and take the whole P90X package in with you to a visit with your doctor. While many of us here in the forum have fitness backgrounds or medical backgrounds, your physician is in the best position to evaluate you and to be sure you're healthy. Remember that the "X" in P90X stands for eXtreme!!!

Hope this helps...

Kevin