I purchased a set of PowerBlocks the other day, and today was the first opportunity I had to use them. This was also the inauguration of the Just Arms DVD from the One on One with Tony Horton series, so I was twice as pumped for this workout.
I don't think that you can really successfully do this workout using resistance bands. It might technically be possible, but you'd have to be pretty creative in positioning the bands for some of the exercises. It really helped to have a set of dumbbells. An adjustable bench would have been a bonus, but I managed to get by without using one. Tony advises that it's possible to use a chair in lieu of a bench, and that's what I did.
The structure of this workout is a little strange. It starts with a series of exercises, all of which are repeated; however, the last 5 exercises are not. I don't know whether this is due to poor time management, or Tony becoming fatigued, bad planning, or a combination of those, but it seemed to me that something was a bit off. At any rate, the focus of the workout is exclusively on the arms: biceps, forearms and triceps. Nothing else is exercised: not chest, shoulders or deltoids. And, it is a fabulous workout.
It's been years since I worked out with weights. I don't think I've done any weightlifting for over 20 years. All of the muscular gains I've achieved over the last year have been achieved using resistance bands and, in limited situations, a pair of 10 lb dumbbells. It was interesting, informative and humbling to use heavier dumbbells today, to see exactly what my body was capable of lifting and to realize that parts of my body aren't as strong as I thought they were (I'm talking to you, left arm!).
Tony starts out with simple curls, using 55 lbs in each hand. That's more than the entire stack of my PowerBlocks. I started with 30 lbs, and found that manageable. Each exercise broke new ground, because I wasn't sure which weight to use, so there was a lot of trial and error going on in weight selection, along with a bit of pausing the DVD to view form and to listen to instruction. Next time, this workout will go faster and smoother. I'd also like to try doubling up on the last 5 exercises so that they match the format of the initial exercises.
It was a reasonably good start today, and I at least managed to establish a benchmark for future workouts and for other workouts where similar exercises are done. I definitely think that dumbbells will make a big difference for me, and I'm really looking forward to incorporating them more fully into my overall fitness routine. I can still feel a bit of soreness in my arms and some overall tiredness. It feels great.
Ab Ripper X
My arms were still sore when I settled in to do ARX after work. I'm not looking forward to seeing what they'll feel like tomorrow, but I'm already thankful in advance that tomorrow is Yoga.
I did ARX in a different setting today. Normally, I work out in my little space in the basement, but upon my return home from the office, my son was occupying my space, and I was advised, in no uncertain terms, that my presence was not wanted. He was in the midst of playing a computer game and, if you know anything about teenage children, did not want to be displaced. So, I grabbed my discs and my mat and headed into another room where, thankfully, we have another DVD player.
It feels a little strange doing a workout in a different place. I had the volume down low, because recently, I've been doing ARX to my iTunes music. I'm just no longer in the mood to hear the chatter during this workout. My wife had the radio volume turned up, so I was reasonably distracted; she was also cooking, so there was an olefactory distraction in addition to an auditory one. And, dinner smelled great.
I had pretty good energy during the workout; nothing posed any particular difficulty for me. I'm getting used to ARX all over again, and enjoying it. Rotating this workout with Killer Abs seems to be just enough to keep things reasonably fresh, for now. I heard that there's a new One on One workout, Butt and Belly, which might be worth investigating as well. For now, I'm going to stick with my ab sandwich: Killer Abs twice a week, with ARX thrown in the middle.
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