Round 4: Day 41: Medicine Ball Core Cardio / Cardio Intervals

Another double header with Tony today, this time going One on One starting with Medicine Ball Core Cardio, immediately followed by Cardio Intervals.

I was psyched up last night, looking forward to doing this for the first time. I recall that my last few posts regarding Cardio Intervals stated something to the effect that this workout wasn't tough enough, and something similar for Medicine Ball Core Cardio, and was musing about doing these back-to-back to try to get the burn I was looking for. So, this morning, I popped in Medicine Ball Core Cardio, picked up a 5 lb weight (the handle only from the newly purchased PowerBlocks) and away I went. The workout went well, and I developed a reasonable sweat. In the future, it might be worth exploring using a 10 lb weight, at least for some of the exercises.

Following the completion of Medicine Ball Core Cardio, I immediately started Cardio Intervals, skipping the warm-up. I actually didn't find the workout to be too tough, although some of the moves are a bit awkward for me (half-moons and jumping side kicks come to mind). One move consisting of a side leap to a single leg squat followed by a front kick with the free leg gave me balance issues at first, but by contracting my core, I was able to control my tendency to fall off to one side and really improved my form. That was satisfying. From then on, I focussed on what my core was doing during all exercises, and it made a difference in the overall intensity of the workout.

When I completed the workout, I was sweating profusely. My knees had a slight soreness (nothing particularly uncomfortable or concerning) and my legs were rather tired. I'd say that these two workouts should be combined again in the future. In general: success!

That ends Week 6; looking forward to more intensity during Week 7.

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.

Round 4: Day 39: Yoga

Ahhh, yoga. My shoulders weren't too sore this morning from yesterday's workout, but there were still some moments during Downward Dog where I was sincerely glad that I was doing yoga.

Great workout today. Great energy, great vibes.

Namaste.

Round 4: Day 38: Diamond Delts / Ab Ripper X

Diamond Delts

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.

Round 4: Day 37: Plyometrics

Where does a year go? Almost 1 year ago, I started P90X, and had heard nightmare stories about Plyometrics. I'd have to say that the stories are all true. The first day I did Plyo, I was bagged for the entire day. I took numerous breaks, sweated like a pig, huffed and puffed, and basically, couldn't really come close to keeping up. Today, everything has changed.

Plyometrics breezed by this morning. I was well-rested, in a good frame of mind and was ready to tackle the challenge head-on. I didn't even really work up a sweat until after the second break and broke out the Jump Knee Tucks and Mary Katherine Lunges. Everything was working well for me today, almost like I was able to step outside my body, focus on breathing, concentrate on form, squat lower, jump higher and push harder. Afterwards, I took a nice, hot shower, and enjoyed the sensation of being tired, yet invigorated. Great workout.

Round 4: Day 36: Upper Plus / Killer Abs

Upper Plus

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.