Hey guys. Just wanted to drop in and say "hi" I officially stated P90X today 09/10. Last week I did the Chest and Back + ARX on Friday and then I convinced the fiancee to do Plyometrics with me on Saturday. I decided to restart today (Monday)so that the rest day would be on Sunday which fits into my schedule a little better.

My one question for everyone is if they prefer bands or dumbbells for the workouts. I've done the chest and back twice now and I'm just using the bands for the resistance excercises (Heavy Pants, Lawnmower etc.) and I don't have enough resistance from the bands I'm stepping on it 3-4 inches from the handle and stretching it as far as it will go and I am still doing 25+ reps. Bands are obviously less expensive then the weights so I have no problem getting a heaver one I was just curious what you all prefer.

If I could afford the dumbbells I would (let's face it, you spend a lot of money on the program, buy a pull up bar, buy supplements, buy push up stands, buy a heart rate monitor, and you're looking at a pretty big investment already), but I think for round 2, I'm going to just go to the gym (which I have free access to) to do my resistance workouts. A tip on getting more out of the bands: don't just do the exercise. When you're pulling the band, engage the muscles involved. Really flex your muscles when you do a rep, and you'll feel quite a difference. On other workouts, you pull and hold for a second. The bands are really a pain in the butt when it comes to making loops and whatnot, but in the end - you can still get great results with them I'm sure and you can save yourself some money. However, if you see a good deal on some used dumbbells or if money isn't an issue for you, get the dumbbells.

Keep an eye out for used on sites like Craigslist, etc. I use adjustable dumbbells (the kind with the bar and twist-on clasps). I have four of them and lots of weight plates of 2.5 pounds through 25 pounds each to slide on and off. Prior to a P90X session I set my four dumbbells to the two sets of weights I will likely need for that workout.

I have had one set for years and bought the second set from Walmart a few weeks ago. I think it was $40 and came with 40 pounds in weights, enough for 20 and 20 on each and I had extra plates on hand to up the weight on each. Not the best made set I have seen (the clips rotate a bit and become slightly loose). Ideally I would love the Bowflex style select-tech dumbbells but they are not in my current budget range!

Rick

Rick wrote:

QUOTE:
Ideally I would love the Bowflex style select-tech dumbbells but they are not in my current budget range!

True those are pretty sweet. I've been looking on craigs list for the last week nothing like what I want yet. My dad may have some weights that I can scarf off him to use, I'll have to ask.

I bought 8 &10 pound weights and a pull up bar.We had 5s here already. You could prob buy a little at a time,and as suggested watch Craigslist

farris2 wrote:

QUOTE:
I bought 8 &10 pound weights and a pull up bar.We had 5s here already. You could prob buy a little at a time,and as suggested watch Craigslist

I've considered this too. Maybe just buying one set a month to defray the cost. I haven't really shopped around for weights really, but I might look into getting some smaller weights for the cardio workouts.

I use resistance bands (because I have trouble doing so many pullups). I understand your trouble using them during Heavy Pants and Lawnmower. What I do is double up. We have light, medium and heavy resistance bands. I use both a heavy and a light, or a heavy and a medium and that works pretty well.

I am searching for a "very-heavy" resistance band. Eventually, I will be able to do pull/chin-ups and I will eventually buy the select tech dumbbells. But not right now.

Good luck.