P90X Day 31: Back and Biceps

(Originally posted Feb 9, 2009)

Today is actually day 34, so this update is for this past Friday. Also, this was another new routine I hadn't done before, so I was anxious in terms of what to expect. It definitely didn't dissappoint!

I didn't have a chance to do my workout Friday morning, so I had to sqeeze it in quickly after work because I had some concert thing that I had to go to that night. The bad thing about that is that even though I might finish my workout early enough to leave some free time for the evening, my muscles are usually still so tired that I end up a little drained. I was in a bit of a trance for part of the night! Oh well...part of the price you pay I suppose. 

Anyway, the "Back & Biceps" workout is actually one of my new favorites I think. Similarly to the "Chest, Shoulders & Triceps", there are no repeated exercises, which helps keep things interesting. Plus, this has been the first workout where my arms are barely able to function by the end (that's actually why I'm posting this update today instead of Friday). The reason for this I think has to largely to do wtih the fact that most of the "back" exercises involve different pullups variations...and pullups happen to also work the biceps as well. So, since there are also about a dozen different bicep curl exercises in the workout in addition to the pullups, your biceps end up getting double duty. If you don't feel the burn, you're not doing something right!

Also, this workout has some absolutely insane new moves in it that help reflect the increased intensity of the program heading into the second month. Just as an example: single-arm/towel pullups. These are crazy! The name might be a little misleading since you're not actually just using one arm to do the pullup...but they're still crazy nonetheless. Basically, it's like a regular pullup except that you wrap a towel around the pullup bar where one of your hands goes...and that hand grabs onto the towel below the bar, which ends up giving you a brutal burn. Oi! Then, switch sides. 

Anyhoo, here's the list of exercises for the "Back & Biceps" workout (pullups are done to failure, while all the weighted exercises are done as either 8-10 reps or 12-15 reps depending on whether you're working to build muscle mass or muscle tone. THE LAST 3 REPS SHOULD BURN):
Wide front pull-ups 
Lawnmowers 
Twenty-ones 
One-arm cross-body curl 
Switch grip pull-up 
Elbows-out lawnmower 
Standing bicep curl 
One-arm concentration curl 
Corn cob pull-up (these, like the towel pullups, are insane!)
Reverse grip bent-over row 
Open-arm curl 
Static arm curl 
Towel pull-up 
Congdon locomotive 
Crouching Cohen curl 
One-arm corkscrew curl 
Chin-up 
Seated bent-0ver back fly 
Curl-up/Hammer down 
Hammer curl 
Max rep pull-up 
Supermans 
In-out hammer curls 
Strip-set curl 


Ok, that's my update. I've started to get a lot of questions from folks about the program, so if you have any, don't hesitate to send me a message. And if you think you're interested and are prepared to "bring it" for 90 days...I can't think of a better program to recommend. Today's day 34! KENPO baby :)