Today was the first time I did this workout. Thanks to Lee Lichlyter on the P90X Facebook site, who set me up with workout log sheets for the One on One series. I found the log sheets to be invaluable during P90X, as they show the number of repetitions completed with a particular weight or resistance band. There's nothing more effective than tracking your progress. Otherwise, you won't remember what you did, so you won't know what adjustments to make to improve the quality of your workout.
As with Just Arms, I was excited to do this workout because it meant using the new dumbbell kit again. My shoulders, and particularly my left shoulder, are about the weakest part of my body. It seems that during Shoulders and Arms, and Chest, Shoulders & Triceps, the shoulder exercises are the ones which give me the most trouble. So, I was grateful for the opportunity to focus exclusively on a weakness today.
The workout is structured as circuit training: 3 groups of 3 exercises. Do one set of three, then repeat. One exercise, Pike Presses, is part of the first two groups. Pike Presses don't really bother me. I initially found them to be tremendously difficult during CST, but now I'm more used to them and enjoyed the variety introduced on this DVD. Tony slings his legs up high on the top rail of his dumbbell rack, then proceeds to drop his head between the PowerStands, so his head is going almost vertically, up and down. I used a fairly high chair for the first round. In the second round, I dropped down to a lower level of elevation, using a couch. These exercises really bring it to the shoulders.
Other exercises I enjoyed were the Shoulder Presses (seated position, pressing the dumbbells straight up), Arnold presses (a half-curl leading to a press, while corkscrewing the dumbbell), Side Presses (lying down on one side and lifting the dumbbell). Overall, it's a nice workout and, although I felt my arms and shoulders grow tired, I never really sweated that much. Lee left three blank spaces at the bottom of the page to encourage the user to do a bonus round and, as I wasn't completely exhausted, I did another set of three exercises (and repeated). After the final set of Pike Presses, I was pretty worn out.
As I write this, my shoulders feel a little tired, and I'm pretty sure I'll feel it in my neck later on. It's difficult to keep the neck relaxed when pressing weights. We'll see how things go over the next few days.
Ab Ripper X
Ripped out ARX after work. Great workout. I'm almost back to where I want to be with this workout.
No comments:
Post a Comment