@Ghost: I take it you're aiming for a mix of strength training, and some kind of compromise between size gain and tone (trying to figure out that very last set in the last post there). You also mentioned cutting a while back, and some of the sets are for isolation, but seeing as this is my first read of a 27 page thread, I don't know your agenda: are you competing?
Because this last page is mainly occupied by GoM's numbers, I'm going to reintroduce a contrasting perspective: I'm no body-builder, I don't have nor am I aiming for a huge frame, and I also don't have much time in the day to devote to a workout. Also, I'm totally a ninja... haha, well on a more serious note my main interest is in martial arts, gymnastics and parkour, so I actually want to stay as light as possible to preserve my joints. The last two parts influenced me the most towards body-weight calisthenics: the only equipment I ever purchased was a set of dumbbells (which were going for really cheap, as I didn't realise Olympic spec diameter bars are being phased out), and a chin-up bar that wedges in a door-frame. And the only thing I really use those dumbbells for are fairly atypical, with the exception of the occasional set of bicep curls.
Therefore I don't follow an exercise schedule, I don't take supplements. My job demands that I eat "whenever I can" (i.e. you can't until you go home) so I can't take six small meals a day either, much as I'd prefer to. For most of the year I was doing taekwondo twice a week and fighting in tournaments but now I'm on evening and night shifts and can't do that, either. My exercise therefore consists of things I do incidentally, plus the occasional set between things or places at home. It's surprising how much it builds up if you just do a set every time you change what you're doing, it's easy to do 100-200 pushups/situps etc. a day that way.
Philosophically speaking, the reason I decided that body-weight calisthenics was more suited to me as opposed to weights at the gym and isolation workouts is because I don't like means as an ends unto themselves, which I believe modern weight-lifting largely is. I find it more fun and my body finds it more useful to train by doing stuff, like dancing, flipping, kicking etc. And if I'm in a space where I can't do those things, at least I can perform movements using my body alone, because those are the movements my body would conceivably need to do in activity.
Last year one of my registrars, who was a fitness fanatic (his brush with fame being he used to play high school rugby with Johnny Wilkinson), recommended to me a book called Convict Conditioning, which was all about how to develop and structure a bodyweight calisthenics program to maximise one's athleticism (and get ripped). I quite liked the book because it covers an entire spectrum of stages and gives very clear precise instructions on how to perform every movement, and how they preserve your joints. Don't do crunches, they're not good for your back; do leg raises instead, etc. The ultimate goal set in this book was to master the "major six movements" which covered all major functional muscle groups, up to the "master steps" which are difficult but theoretically attainable:
1) One armed pushup (triceps)
2) One armed handstand pushup (shoulders)
3) One armed chinup (biceps and lats)
4) One legged squat (quads and core)
5) Standing bridge to standing (back and core)
6) Hanging leg raises (abs)
My arms and chest are the weakest parts of my body, naturally, so I still have a number of variations to work through before getting 1, 2 and 3. But I find 4, 5 and 6 easy, so now I'm at the point where I'm looking to have fun by varying things abit. And that's really where I wanted to go with this post: throwing out a few interesting exercises and variations if your regular pushup/pullup/crunch etc. etc. is getting boring:
I don't know what these are called, but they're not easy!
Aztec pushups I picked these up recently because they looked silly. I still haven't quite worked out their advantages, so I won't do these regularly.
Windshield Wipers, another one I recently picked up, after realising I could get my hanging leg raises all the way vertical with ease.
V-sits. I can't do these yet, but this gives me a good goal as I can do L-sits and V-situps. This is where my dumbbells come in... I sometimes use them to prop me up in L-sit variations.
Here's another use for the dumbbells: rollers. To be honest I do these mainly so I don't feel my dumbbell purchase is too redundant
