Thursday, November 26, 2009

Round 4: Day 40: Plyo Legs / Killer Abs

Plyo Legs

It's the One on One with Tony Horton double-header today, commencing with Plyo Legs. That was hard work. There are 20 exercises, all targeting the legs. There are no pull-ups to break up the sequences like in P90X's Legs & Back. You only get brief breaks between the various exercises to grab your knees and breathe.

Working out is difficult. You need to be dedicated to achieve results. Results cannot be achieved by working out casually, for short periods of time, a few days a week. You need to work hard, 5 or 6 days a week, for a good length of time. After months of hard work, results start to come. This was my mindset last night, before today's workout. I was mentally prepared to really push myself today. That was worthwhile preparation, because I pretty much hit my limits during the workout.

There was one exercise (the particular name escapes me) where I quit before Tony did. My body told me that it had had enough, and I fell 10 reps short of Tony. No matter. I made up for it with added intensity during the other exercises. I really squatted low during leapfrog squats, and my legs paid the price for it. I hung in for the 3-minute wall squat, although my body was telling me to stop. I willed myself through it, allowing my mind to drift elsewhere, took deep breaths, and managed to conquer it. Same thing for single leg wall squats. I battled through the one-legged speed squats during move #19, which I found to be the most difficult and challenging exercise in the entire workout. I was actually happy to do the Egan Bros. hops to end the workout.

I'm really enjoying this workout. It's a nice combination between legs and cardio. I'd like to find a way to do it more frequently. I'm pretty sure the glutes will be thanking me tomorrow.

Killer Abs

As has happened before, it's amazing what you can accomplish when you're under a time constraint. I returned home from the office a bit early, as I had to complete my workout, eat dinner, and race off to Parent/Teacher interviews at my daughter's school. When the workout has to be completed by a certain time, I seem to develop a slightly higher energy level to ensure that I'm able to meet my goals. That's what happened with Killer Abs. I really pushed through the first half, which I still find difficult and still get a huge abdominal burn; then, without pause, launched immediately into ARX, which was executed quickly and efficiently. It still amazes me that I find the first half of the workout more difficult than the second half. It makes me thankful that I have this DVD, to help to further create muscle confusion in my abdomen. Modifying the workout schedule to include Killer Abs twice weekly has been a good move, so far.

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