Round 4: Day 13: Cardio Intervals

Writing down information is important, and I'm glad I did so. I've only done Cardio Intervals once, a few weeks ago, and have pretty much forgotten the exercises. To prepare, I consulted my one previous post on the subject and realized that I was unhappy with the warmup. I love sending myself notes. This morning, I decided to forego the taped warmup and did a 6 minute warmup myself, addressing the parts of my body I knew would require special attention. Then, with a warm and reasonably happy body, I skipped the taped warmup and went directly to the workout.

The workout starts gently which, early in the morning, is most appreciated. The intensity builds steadily towards the end of the first set of 20 exercises. Then, a short break, and the entire sequence is repeated. There are a combination of moves: some plyometric, some core, some cardio. Some moves combine both core and cardio, such as plyometric lunges with a torso twist thrown in, just for fun. It's not the most intense workout I have, but I did work up a decent sweat by the end. Considering that Day 6 in the workout schedule is to be a slightly lighter cardio day, this workout fit the bill. I will review the workout schedule to see when this workout is to occur, and adjust the schedule accordingly if it's inserted too frequently. I'd like to dial up the intensity somewhat in the cardio department during this round and don't feel that objective will be achieved if this workout occurs too frequently.

End of Week 2. Looking forward to Week 3, which will see a return to many of the original P90X discs.

Round 4: Day 12: Plyo Legs / Ab Ripper X

Plyo Legs

Ouch. I have a pain in the rear. And it's all Tony's fault. OK, perhaps not all Tony's fault. I suppose I had something to do with it.

Today was my first day of Plyo Legs, the first instalment of One on One with Tony Horton (series 1, disc 1). It consists of 20 exercises targeting, you guessed it, the legs. Well, not every part of the legs. It seems to me that calves have been left out of the equation, although they get some exercise due to being in motion. They're not specifically targeted like calf raises in P90X.

The workout commences with Tony completing a 5-minute jump rope warmup. He then enters his home gym (beautifully exposed with generous amounts of glazing to the California hills) which is neatly arranged and well-equipped (hey, it's Tony, and he is a personal trainer and fitness guru) with a full-length mirror covering the entire wall surface opposite the windows. I'd personally kill for a workout studio like that. Well, maybe not kill, but seriously maim.

The warmup stretches were insufficient for my aging body, so I paused the disc for a few more minutes while I did split-leg hamstring stretches (you know them, and you love them!) and quad stretches. I also did a little running in place just to get my body warm overall and to raise my heart rate a little bit. Tony doesn't wear a heart monitor for this workout, and it's not specifically a cardio workout, but your heart rate definitely becomes elevated at times. It's important to make sure that your body is generally warmed up before getting into this routine.

The workout lasts approximately 1 hour. Tony takes breaks between the various exercises. At first, I thought that the breaks weren't really warranted, but after some time, I was really glad to have them. This workout was pretty intense. There were some familiar moves from P90X and P90X+, with a few new moves thrown in (just for fun) and some modifications of moves I've seen before. Groucho Walk became a monster, requiring you to lift your legs up high in the air, like giant tires, before resuming a low squat pose. Leapfrog squats had you lifting a weight to your chest as you leapt forwards (or backwards) and touching that weight to the ground. This was a glute killer. Wacky Jacks are straightforward, but 100 on each side?!! Also, a more intense version of the Debbi Sievers 80-20 Speed Squat. All the weight on one leg (eliminate the 20, except for a toe touch) and leap vertically as high as possible. This was the 2nd last move. Tony is evil.

I found myself breathing really hard at several points throughout the workout. This is not only a great leg workout, but it's also a reasonable cardio workout. It's definitely a keeper.

Ab Ripper X

You know how Tony advises that you shouldn't do ARX every day? He's right. You shouldn't. I did ARX upon returning home from the office and again, was faced with timing issues, so I had to really crank it out. It was a little harder than yesterday, because my abs would have liked to have had the extra day's rest, but one must push on with the program. No breaks for me this round.

There was a breakthrough, however. Yesterday, I managed to raise my arms in the air for the first and part of the second exercises. Today, I had my hands up for the first three exercises, right to the end of reverse bicycles. My form towards the end of the reverse bicycles suffered a little bit, and I definitely felt it in my thighs and hip flexors, but managed to breathe through the pain and suffering. Now, I've got a new benchmark for this workout.

The balance of the workout was slightly more difficult to complete, due to the added intensity during the first three moves and the fact that I was doing the workout two days in a row. The last 10 Mason Twists were still hard, and I was leaning back a little more than I ought to have done. I'm still waiting for that aspect of the workout to improve. Still, two weeks into the new Round, I'm pleased with my abdominal progress to date and am excited about further improvements.

Round 4: Day 11: Yoga / Ab Ripper X

Yoga

I didn't get around to doing ARX yesterday. I returned home from a meeting at a late hour, and was just too tired to start. So, I'll make it up today, instead.

Yoga was good today. I popped in Fountain of Youth, because I didn't have time this morning for a full Yoga X workout, as I had to attend an early morning meeting. What a great way to start the day: stretching and clearing the mind. It's all good. I paid specific attention to my posture during the Crescent and Warrior 1 poses, obtaining a good stretch through my upper body and shoulders as well as my legs. I also tried to go deep into my lunge posture in those poses, and tried to maintain my hips square so that my torso faced forward. Also, watch out for the front knee collapsing inwards. I find myself making numerous minor adjustments during the poses, and have noticed that as my form improves, so does my strength and flexibility.

I really look forward to Yoga days, not only as a break from the cardio and resistance workouts, but as a terrific workout in its own right.

Ab Ripper X

Make-up time for ARX. Again, I was on the clock, so there was little time for getting your mind right. I skipped the intro and moved right into the workout. I was energetic and pumped. For the first time, I raised my hands in the air during the In and Outs, and for 20 of the 25 Forward Bicycles. After 20, I had balance issues, so I reverted to the familiar and more comfortable hands-on-the-floor position. I was excited to have done some of the exercises with hands up, though, and will try to make that part of the regimen in the future.

I've been reading internet posts recently about the timing and pacing of ARX. There is an opinion that the slower the exercises are done, the better burn you get in your abs. With this in mind, I tried to slow down the pace a bit and really focus on tightening up my abdominal area during the workout. With some exceptions (my mind tends to wander during particularly painful portions) I found this approach to be fairly successful in developing a good burn. I'll try this approach again.

The workout was good, perhaps with the exception of Mason Twists, where I experienced some balance issues between 40 and 50. I still managed to crank out all the repetitions, but the last 10 were somewhat ugly. This will improve over time. Already, I've noticed a nice improvement this week over last week. The abs are coming along. I'm optimistic. If only I could be a little more disciplined in the kitchen.

Round 4: Day 10: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps

Chest, Shoulders & Triceps

I've never done this workout during the middle of a week; I've always done it on a Sunday. This was by design: first, Phase 2 always had CST on Day 1. More importantly, I've always found this to be a very difficult workout, actually, one of the most challenging for me. As a result, I've always taken some extra time between some of the exercises to pause, catch my breath, and gather strength (both physical and mental) for the upcoming challenges. All of these issues faced me today when I scheduled CST for a weekday.

I was nervous last night when considering this workout. Time is precious in the morning, and there wouldn't be time available for pausing the disc and taking a breather like a Sunday morning workout; therefore, upon awakening, I immediately started the workout, knowing that pauses were likely to come.

But they didn't. I ran through the workout. I did pause once, to show my daughter the insanity of Tony's airborne pushups, a must-see on this series, but other than that, the workout ran uninterruptedly. One after another, I pumped out the exercises, using the final workout of Round 2 as a guideline and benchmark. I was able to surpass some of the numbers, and equal the others, with the exception of one arm balance pushups, where, by the time I reached 15, my arms were shaking badly, causing balance issues. I managed to eke out another 2, but didn't count them due to poor form.

Overall, I was really pleased by today's workout on two levels: being able to surpass my expectations in terms of quantity, and being able to complete the workout with only a minimal pause. I think that next time, I will look to increase the resistance level of the band exercises.

Round 4: Day 9: Plyometrics

I didn't eat particularly well yesterday, and made the mistake of not consuming enough water. As a result, I felt a bit sluggish this morning, and wasn't really in the mood to do an hour of Plyometrics. I was a little concerned about how my legs were going to perform because yesterday they still felt rather sore from the previous week's workouts. Usually, that pain has dissipated by Monday, and that was pretty much the case today, although I still felt a few twinges of soreness in my groin and hamstrings. Not enough to make me concerned about injury, but enough to remind me that time is moving along and everything is getting a little bit older. But enough of that.

Shortly after the disc started, I felt really energetic and blasted through the warmup feeling really great. I last did this workout a couple of weeks ago, towards the end of the day, and had a very tough time completing the workout. Today, things were vastly different. I love working out in the early morning. My energy level is so much higher upon awakening than in the evening. I can't recall the last time I had this much energy during Plyometrics. I was pushing every exercise, jumping higher, squatting lower, moving faster, leaping farther than before. By the end of the workout, I was still energized. It was almost as if Plyometrics was too easy today. I should perhaps watch what I say: next time, I'll probably be beaten up by this workout. Still, I really enjoyed this routine. This is one of my favourite workouts.

Round 4: Day 8: Upper Plus; Killer Abs

Upper Plus

I was still(!) stiff in the legs and butt from Thursday's and Friday's workouts. Rest day did my body some good, but it seems to be taking some time for the old limbs to recover these days. For a short time, I was of the mind that perhaps my body was trying to tell me to take some time off, but I decided not to listen. After all, today was an upper body workout, so the legs get an extra day's rest. Besides, it felt good to be sore again, like in the good old days of P90X. That soreness was missing from P90X+, not due to a lack of intensity on my part, but due to a lack of a butt-kicking legs and glutes workout. The soreness is good. It reminds you that you're alive.

I blew away some of the recent numbers from Upper Plus today. I really surprised myself, improving in Double Dip'll Do Ya, Spiderman Pushups, Lean-back Curls and Pumper Curls. I don't know whether that's due to the new workout regimen or a Bring It mentality, but it was a pleasant surprise. At this point in the workouts, I sometimes feel that I've reached a maximum in terms of repetitions or in weights, but it's always nice to exceed expectations. I think that the next time, I'll change the resistance level and start over again. Plateau is the enemy, after all, and one should always challenge one's body (respecting limits, of course).

Ab Killer

I really enjoy this workout. I love the relaxed attitude Tony has in the One on One discs, and this workout has moves from Ab Ripper (the original, from P90, I believe) that I've never seen before. This disc is like a recording of a live concert. If P90X is the studio recording, Ab Killer is the "live" version. It's slightly different, there are fewer reps, but it's nicely paced, still familiar, and feels like you're getting something extra. The opening sequence, Ab Ripper, is, for me, the killer portion of the workout, especially the oblique moves. My son did this portion of the workout with me, and was groaning with pain. I can hardly wait to do this workout again. I only have it scheduled once a week, but I'm thinking of increasing its frequency.