Hey Fellas...fitness question

[Asheville NC]

So...12 weeks till the wife and I hit the sand at Couples Negril. Of course, I'm looking to cut a muscle or two into my upper body in anticipation of our trip.
Looking for a good muscle building workout for bulking up the male body a bit.
I'm cutting back my food volume to six small(ish) meals/daily. I'm also adding a portion of carbs to my early meals. I'm doing time in my gym but would welcome a little more input towards a specific workout that worked for this guy or that.
I don't have a load of body fat to lose or anything, just looking to bring out a bit more muscle over the next 12 weeks.
Thanks, folks!

[Questor]

http://www.spartacusworkout.com/

If you know someone who has a copy or you buy an e-copy, this will do what you want like no other workout.

[kurt and Angie]

p90 x is good but takes 13 weeks to complete the whole session.

[kweb1]

Go to muscle and strength dot com - great articles/workouts, etc...

[tj]

I am a huge fan of p90x...have been doing for 4 months

[Hendy]

If you're up for a challenge, P90X has shown me results!! It's tough as hell though.

[Ruminiscing]

A few years ago we did the Body For Life 12 week program. It was fun to do it together and it worked but you sure have to be committed (as you appear to be.)

This year, I am resigned to being just a little chunky. It's tough when you are a food lover...Beer, nachos and wings sure beat tuna in a can or baked potatoes with salsa!!

Good Luck!

[willbryce]

ive got a 4 week program, that will really bust your chops. I cycle it in with 3 other 4week routines. but it will give you results, i am currently preparing for bodybuilding competition, it has served me well. email me and i will send it to you.

[Nick&Nora]

P90X...there's nothing like it, and it works.

[EricW]

Another vote for P90X. I lost 27 pounds in 3 months after returning from couples in 2010 and have kept it off ever since. (You have to stick with your new eating habits and keep doing some type of exercise though, I run 5 miles 3 days per week and do mixed ab and upper body exercises from p90x twice per week)

[dank120]

Fitness and body composition are very different goals. You can have mediocre-sized muscles, a bit of a belly and a less than "fitness model" body and have better physical fitness than a bodybuilder. P90X and Body for Life are great workouts for changing your body composition, and an intense program, like triathlon or martial arts training is gonna be much better for increasing your actual fitness level.

To reference Kevin Spacey in American Beauty, if you just wanna "look good naked", the P90X or Body for Life routines, along with the right kind of eating, will help tone you up for the trip. If you don't wanna drop the dough on P90X, the Body for Life routine is super easy and the guides are free on their website.

[Jackson618]

P90X would be a vote for me if you had longer than 12 weeks before your trip. Try http://onehundredpushups.com. Once you get to the site, there's also 150 dips, 200 squats and 200 sit-ups. I just started 200 squats today, and it's no joke! It takes half the time of P90X, and I believe it might work for ya. Good luck!!

[Jackson618]

P90X...there's nothing like it, and it works.

Have you tried Insanity?!

[LifeLoveEnergy]

"It's a beautiful thing"....Tony.

I personally just like to watch P90x...only because Tony is so crazy in a silly way.

[sorcron]

If you can lay your hands on the book, 'Getting Stronger: Weight Training for Men & Women' by Bill Pearl, I would recommend that. It has a number of sport specific workouts as well as standard bodybuilding workouts. It also has a whole section with nothing but diagrams of different weight training exercises. My favorite is the 4 day on 2 off weight training rotation doing one day of chest, one day of back & biceps, one day of triceps & shoulders and one day of legs. Cardio is mixed in and done on the off days.

Good luck!

[Asheville NC]

Hey willbryce. I'm not sure how to e-mail you from here. But i would like to see that routine! I'll send u a message with my e-mail in it. thanks!

[Bert]

willbryce - I can't find your e-mail here, but I would love to see your 4 week plan. Can you e-mail to deadhead1232000@yahoo.com?
Thanks!

[Tim-n-Lisa]

I have a daily routine of 12 oz. curls which make me feel great. I intend to continue this exercise at the swim-up bar for as long as I can stand the pain... Feel the BURN!!!!

[Alamere]

I've not done P90X but have Beach Body by the same company. It's a series of 10 minute workouts that focus on different areas (abs/cardio/lower body/total body/yoga). Nice thing about the workout is that you can tailor it to your time constraints - each workout is 10 mins - so you can do one or stack several together. It's got the Tony-esque goofy quality.

I intermingle it with Jillian's 30 day shred which is a great workout. It's 20 minutes with 2 minutes of warm up followed by three 6-minute circuits composed of 3 mins. of strength, 2 mins. of cardio; 1 min. of abs. It is a terrific total body workout and it is tough - tougher than Beach Body. It's a little light on the abs, however, so I'd recommend Jillian's 20 minutes followed by a 10 minute ab workout.

Also, my wife just learned this from her trainer - eat as many healthy carbs as you want during the day (quinoa, whole grains, etc.) but NONE after 3 p.m.

[Nick&Nora]

We have four children under 13...my wife and I are a picture of Insanity! We have not tried that one but I have watched the promo for it on the website. My wife has the Brazillian Butt Lift workouts which are hysterical...until you try to do them. Holy Cow that can be some intense lower body and ab work. We will typically do cardio in the early morning and then P90X at lunch or night. Biggest thing though is changing your eating habits. No workout in the world can fix your body if you are not treating it right nutritionally. That's my struggle...portion control and being smart about certain foods.

[pugetpollards]

Hubs and I have done P90X (twice), Insanity, and now P90X2. You can definitely build some upper body muscle with p90X over the next 12 weeks. Hit it hard and you will see results. And I have to disagree with the post that said p90x is only for "looks" - I have 13% BF, I can challenge any girl to a pullup/push contest and I run a 5k with the fastest in my age group (35+); hubs can do pullups in any variation you want for about an hour and uses a weight vest...all due in large part to our workouts with X. Can't wait to show off all our hard work on the JA beach!

[LeeandKathy]

my routine to get ready for CN? 12 oz curls!

[Asheville NC]

12 Oz Curls...my new fav workout, man! That's so solid. Hey that Spartacus workout is no joke! And thanks! Thanks also to kweb1 for the heads up...Muscle and fitness had some KILLER workouts on their site. Printed one and am going to try it tonight at the gym.
So yeah, P90X...I have it...keep telling myself I'm going to get through it...all 90 days one day. But not this day. Tony is nuts and the only time I have to do it is like 5:30 AM and I just don't seem to have gas at 5:30. So hey...with the new years deals around Asheville, we joined a gym. Spent the $ on it so we're going to use the darn thing. And here we are. My beautiful wife goes with me almost every night and with the amenities afforded us in this place, I'm taking advantage. Thats why I'm not going to do the P90 thing this year.
"Yeah...but we paid for this gym, man!"
So thanks for the advice...and hey willbryce...if you are giving out your routine, CC me on that at this address...
mikeiker04@yahoo.com
I'm gonna go pick up my gym bag and my baby and get started on the M&F routine I found.
Still open to ideas though!
Thanks Y'ALL

[Stacie & Chris]

I know you asked for male opinions, but my fiance and I are power lifters, so I feel safe commenting. ;-)

Westside barbell's powerlifting workout, bar none. My fiance is 6'1", 250 lbs of muscle (32" waist, 65" chest) You DID say you wanted to build muscle, right? Everyone seems to like P90x. It's good to lean out, but you're not going to get jacked.

[Asheville NC]

Oh Stacie hey sorry. I welcome ANY advice from ladies or fellas. I meant no disrespect in my subject. And THANKS! I'll google the Westside barbell's powerlifting workout right away.
I've done P90X and I agree, it's not what I'm looking for. My baby and I are already in pretty good shape. I cycle to work often and run some and eat right etc... I'm just looking to (like you said) pack on some poundage to get that..."Armor plated chest" look your fiance has.
So THANKS!