Upper Plus was a completely different ballgame today, because of the introduction of dumbbells (present company excluded, of course) to the various exercises. There was a bit of trial and error happening, because I wasn't sure what I was capable of lifting, having employed resistance bands to this point, but it all seemed to work out (no pun intended) reasonably well. I had to pause the DVD occasionally, to set the desired weight level, whereas before, I would just grab the appropriately-coloured band and jump right into the exercise. I found the exercises harder with the dumbbells, and my repetition numbers dropped like a stone. On the other hand, I was really fatigued after the exercises and, in some cases, had quite a bit of difficulty even finishing. There will be some time of adjustment before the correct weights are picked for the exercises.
It was almost like doing this workout for the first time. The dumbbells were fantastic. I'm now really excited about making some gains in my fitness level because I've switched from the resistance bands. I'm looking forward to the P90X workouts where I can add some serious weight and go for 8-10 reps. This workout deals more with time, rather than reps, so it is incumbent on you to select the correct weight which permits you to perform the exercise for the full time duration allocated. I don't mind that approach; it's just that I end up picking up a slightly lighter weight than I'd like to, to ensure that I can continue lifting the weight for the full time period. I'm getting anxious about cranking out some heavy weights to build some muscle.
Even though I found myself pausing the DVD more frequently than in the past, it's still a great way to start Week 6.
Killer Abs
I didn't eat or drink well today. I was a little undernourished and didn't have sufficient hydration. As a result, I didn't have my best effort during Killer Abs, which I undertook around 4:15 today (right after the Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the lowly Kansas City Chiefs - or Chefs - as my son is fond of saying). I still find the first half (Ab Ripper) really challenging. I'm looking forward to the time when the opening sequences become easy. I took a short pause between Ab Ripper and Ab Ripper X for an extended breather, then jumped into ARX. These sequences passed quickly and without incident. Oddly, I find the shorter, Ab Ripper exercises more difficult. At any rate, the workout is great. I've just heard that the new One on One workout, Butt and Belly, is a killer ab workout. I'll have to investigate further when I have the opportunity. I'm always on the lookout for another way to punish my abs.
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