Thursday, October 22, 2009

Round 4: Day 5: Legs and Back; Ab Ripper X

Legs and Back

Ouch. It's the first time I've done Legs and Back in quite some time, and I'm feeling it. Thanks to the cardio workouts in P90X+, my legs haven't been totally neglected; however, this is a workout which definitely has its place in any exercise program.

I didn't experience any specific difficulties during the workout; it's just that this workout is pretty intense. As usual, I found the standard and single-leg wall squats the most challenging, followed closely by toe-roll-iso-lunges and Groucho walk. The seemingly innocuous Groucho walk is deceiving; the lower you go, the more difficult it becomes. Staying low for the 45 second duration of the exercise is quite a challenge.

I did notice that I struggled a bit during calf raises. I haven't done any specific calf exercises for the last few months, other than the benefits that the cardio routines would bring. As a result, I found my calves burning. That's a sensation I didn't have when I was doing this workout on a weekly basis during the first two rounds of P90X. Again, it just points to the need for including leg exercises in a workout program on a consistent basis. I've tried to accommodate that requirement as part of Round 4. If I feel that legs are being neglected, I'll modify the program accordingly. It's still a work in progress.

Ab Ripper X

As usual, I jumped into ARX immediately upon my arrival home from the office. I really like doing this workout at this time; I'm usually energized, ready to blow off the extra stress and steam accumulated during the work day, and fully recovered from the morning workout. All good things.

The workout was definitely an improvement over Tuesday's workout. I was no longer sore in the abdominal area, as my body is becoming used to the exercises again, so it was basically an issue of mind over matter. I experienced some difficulties and discomfort during the first four moves (actually making me look forward to Fifer Scissors), and the last 10 Mason Twists found me starting to lose my balance a bit, but overall, I'm improving. I'll likely be back in form towards the end of next week, when I'll have had the opportunity to complete a few more ab workouts.

No comments: