Fitness Destinations

In this edition of FitnessDTV, we are talking about Effective Exercises – in particular, the Push Up Jack movement that is part of the Insanity 60-Day Total Body Conditioning Program.

This movement is a great upper body exercise, it doubles as a core exercise, and it also increases your neuro-muscular coordination, which in turn improves your balance and agility, while also keeping your brain sharp.

As with all push up movements, try to go down as far as you can, getting your upper arms parallel to the ground or lower.

Click on through to learn more about the incredible Insanity 60-Day Total Body Conditioning Program. Insanity consists completely of body weight exercises, so you can do it anywhere, and you do not need any equipment at all.

In this edition of FitnessDTV, our Effective Exercise is the Incline Push up. Incline Push ups are a GREAT way to work your chest muscles from a different angle than they are accustomed to.

This particular type of push up is one of the many push up varieties that are included in the P90X 90-Day Extreme Home Fitness Program. The P90X program is based on the concept of “muscle confusion” which is exactly what you are doing with an Incline Push up – forcing your muscles to do something that they aren’t used to doing, which equals growth.

For this and many equally effective exercises, be sure to check out the many push up varieties that are included in the P90X 90-Day Extreme Home Fitness Program.

In this edition of FitnessDTV, the effective exercise we are demonstrating is called Level 1 Drills, and it is from the Insanity 60-Day Total Body Conditioning Program .

Level 1 Drills are a multi-stage movement that include upper body work, core work, and cardiovascular conditioning. As always, proper form is key to getting the most out of the movement. Even if you are really tired – and you WILL be during Insanity – do your best to get the most out of the movement by keeping your form as much as possible.

Click on through to learn more about the incredible Insanity 60-Day Total Body Conditioning Program. Insanity consists completely of body weight exercises, so you can do it anywhere, and you do not need any equipment at all.

Dips are a classic upper body exercise that people have been doing for years, and there is a reason why. Dips get the job done, they are a body weight only exercise, and they help to sculpt firm, sexy arms for men and women alike.

Dips primarily work the Triceps muscles that are on the back of the arm, and they also work the shoulder muscles. Dips can be done as part of a body weight only exercise program, or they can be incorporated into a program that uses weights, exercise bands, or other exercise equipment.

The proper way to do a dip is to put your hands on something sturdy such as a chair, a bench, or even a windowsill or the side of a desk. As long as the object is flat and won’t move, it will work fine.

Keep your back as close to the chair or other object as you can, because otherwise you will put undue strain on your shoulders, and you will lose some of the benefit to the Triceps muscles.

Drop down until your upper arms are parallel to the ground, and then go all the way back up until your arms are completely straight. To keep constant tension on the muscles – which helps you to get faster results – don’t lock your elbows at the top of the movement.

Three popular dip variations, in order of difficulty, are:

• Knees bent with legs closer to the chair
• Legs fully extended
• Legs fully extended with one leg raised in the air.

No matter how you do your dips, use good form, maintain full control on the way up and on the way down, and mentally focus on the muscles as you do your repetitions.

Dips are an integral part of the P90X Extreme Home Fitness Program as well as the Insanity 60-Day Total Body Conditioning Program. Both programs use dips in combination with many other effective exercises in order to get people REAL results! Click on through to see my personal P90X results.

The Table Dip Raise is another excellent upper body exercise that can be done without any exercise equipment of any kind. This body weight exercise very effectively works the Triceps muscle group at the back of the arm.

The table dip raise is done by starting from a seated position with the feet flat on the floor, and the hands on the floor on either side of the body, fingers pointed forward.

To begin, raise the hips off of the floor and raise one leg into the air as high as possible. Unhinge the elbows and drop the hips all the way to the floor, but without actually touching the floor. Raise back up until the arms are fully straight, and repeat.

Perform 5 repetitions per leg before switching to the other leg. Continue to alternate 5 repetitions per leg for as many total repetitions as you can do.

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