Round 4: Day 48: Kenpo Cardio Plus

It's about the half-way point in the program, and a good time for some self-evaluation.

I've been enjoying the hybrid program. At first, I was a little concerned that it wasn't going to give me the results I was looking for, but I've noticed a change in my body over the last few weeks, and have come to an early conclusion that perhaps things are working out (no pun intended) well after all.

I know that the scale isn't my friend, but recently it has been. My weight is down about 6 lbs so far from the end of the last round. P90X+ didn't result in too much weight loss, which was a little disappointing, but it did deliver additional body firmness, leanness and increased endurance. This round seems to be a little more balanced, by re-introducing more focussed resistance workouts, and the switch from resistance bands to dumbbells has, I believe, spurred my body on to more positive changes. I've noticed that my arms are firmer, biceps larger, stomach tighter, and overall energy level is higher than ever before. In short, I'm in the best shape of my life and am enjoying what may be the best health I've ever had. Thanks to Tony and to Beachbody.

The workout today, Kenpo Cardio Plus, went well. Although I broke a pretty good sweat, this workout just isn't as challenging for me as it used to be. When I have a day like this, when the cardio workout isn't enough, I start to daydream about purchasing Insanity. I'll be thinking about that over the next half of this program, and may eventually decide to add Insanity into the mix. Right now, the only cardio workout which gives me some issues is Interval X Plus, where I've been pausing the DVD at half-time to catch my breath after Carlito Push-Ups. I'm fine with all the other cardio DVDs, including Plyometrics. Some are more challenging than others, but nothing really slays me. I could use more intensity in my cardio workouts, and doubling up Tony's One on One workouts isn't really the best solution, as it results in a pretty long cardio session. I'd prefer to have a shorter, more intensive cardio workout than a longer, less intense one.

This ends Week 7; next comes Week 8, Recovery Week. I'm going to break the rules a bit here, and add three ab routines over the course of the next week, to make up for the three I've missed this week. It was an uneven and somewhat dissatisfactory week from an exercise viewpoint, due to a death in the family. I'm happy for the exercise I did, however. It acted as an outlet to channel some emotion, and an opportunity to focus on life and health, rather than death and sickness.

Round 4: Day 47: Shoulders and Arms

What a fantastic workout this is. I had forgotten how much I enjoy this because I believe I've only done it once this Round and will only see it again one more time before the Round is over. I enjoyed it so much, that I'm seriously considering revamping the workout schedule to make sure that it gets included more frequently.

The difference: free weights. I've only ever done this workout using resistance bands. The resistance bands were great, and I not only got a good burn and satisfactory results, but it's really a different ballgame using dumbbells. Again, my weaknesses were illuminated, specifically, my left arm and left shoulder. I started out a bit in the dark, unsure of what weight I should be selecting. The design of this workout (3 exercises; repeat; 3 more exercises; repeat, and so on) was good, because I could estimate a weight to use for a particular exercise, then try it, evaluate, and adjust the weight upwards or downwards for the repeat exercise. Basically, there was a process of information gathering to be done, because I had never used dumbbells for this workout before.

When using resistance bands, I typically used a fairly heavy band for each exercise, and attempted to maximize the number of repetitions. That usually placed me in the 12-15 range, or sometimes even higher, for repetitions. Today, I took a different tack: increase the weights, and keep the repetitions in the 8-12 range. If I felt that I was capable of doing more repetitions, I increased the weight for the repeat exercise, and wrote in the appropriate number in the adjacent column to remind me that, next time, I should start out with a higher weight level.

It was an interesting experience to see the difference between dumbbells and resistance bands. It was really satisfying hearing the light clanging of the dumbbell plates as I hoisted them over my head or curled them up to my face. OK, I felt like a minor bad-ass. But hey, I'm 49, and in the best shape of my life. I'm entitled to a little enjoyment after all this hard work. I'm really worn out now and can still feel the unbelievable pump I got from the workout. It's really exciting to know that I've just opened the door to further improvements. Today's workout completely justified my purchasing the adjustable dumbbells. Now, let's see what this old body is capable of.

Round 4: Day 46: Yoga

I was really in the mood for Yoga today. Yesterday, following a funeral, I sat around the house all day. I'm not really used to spending an entire day interacting with people, and I found it really drained me of energy. By the time 9:00 PM rolled by, I was completely exhausted. I ended up going to bed early, in order to get plenty of sleep and try to recoup my energy for today, to get back into my normal routine and cycle of eating properly and drinking regularly.

Yoga whipped by quickly. I initially felt a bit weak during the early upward dog / downward dog sequences, but that feeling soon dissipated as I became consumed by the rhythm of the movements and focussed on stretching and clearing my mind. My initial stretches were also a bit short of where I would have liked them to be: my hands not flat on the floor, and a bit of a kink in my lower back and some extra stiffness in my hamstrings. Clearly, there was some work to be done. Halfway through the program, most of my problems (physical, that is) had been rectified: my hands were reaching the floor with straight legs, my back felt fine, and I was feeling particularly strong during the upward dog series. I had a minor balance issue during reverse half-moon whilst standing on my right leg, but all I needed was a little more focus, additional concentration, and a reminder to move a little slower and with greater fluidity.

I really enjoyed the stomach sequences, the spinal stretches and the hamstring stretches. Now, I'm nice and relaxed, limber and peaceful.

Namaste.

Round 4: Day 45: Bun Shaper

Things are starting to get back on track. I think the exhaustion I felt yesterday during Chest and Back was due to a lack of adequate food and liquid intake; hence, the body bonked. I got a decent amount of sleep last night (secure in the knowledge that the Saints had beaten the hated and despised Patriots) and, well rested, was ready to shape my buns.

This is only the second time I've done this workout, but really enjoyed it the last time, so I was looking forward to a repeat performance. I did a 5-minute warm-up prior to starting the workout, as I recalled that the taped warm-up was insufficient for me. The 9 exercises are reasonably diverse. Tony takes his time during the first round and, due to self-imposed time constraints, rushes a bit during the repeat round. That's OK with me, as it makes the repeat round more intense work. There's little time to rest, and I really started to feel the burn in my glutes as the workout drew to a close.

I was pleased with my effort today, considering that I was unhappy with what had happened yesterday, and was happy to see that I hadn't suffered some sort of lasting problem. It was also a great way to work out some stress, immediately prior to attending a funeral.

I'm skipping the ab workout today, as time won't permit. I'll endeavour to make it up.

Round 4: Day 43/44: Interval X Plus / Chest & Back

Week 7 has not commenced as planned; on the other hand, sometimes life doesn't move as planned. Due to a death in the family, I was unable to do Chest & Back on Day 43, instead, circumstances dictated that I take another day off. The back-up plan was to do doubles today, making up Chest & Back and Intervals X Plus. This morning went as planned: up bright and early for Intervals X Plus. The workout was acceptable, but not spectacular. I was a bit drained from a stressful Sunday, and just happy to push play and grind out the workout.

I was more optimistic for Chest and Back, planned for the mid- to late afternoon. I got to the workout around 5:15PM, and recognized that I was in for some trouble when my body gave me some resistance during the first set of 30 standard pushups. I'm not sure whether it was a factor of not having eaten sufficiently over the past two days, stress, the time of day, or my mind getting the better of my body, but the workout ended in disaster. Not an injury, but I retired after one round. I really struggled with the workout during the first round, posting numbers which were well below my expectations. I just didn't have sufficient energy to do this workout. I took a brief pause before starting the second round, but when I started to do the pullups, I knew that my body wasn't up to it. Rather than push through and risk injury, I decided to stop. I'm going to ensure that over the course of the next week, I'm eating properly, getting sufficient rest (I'm one to talk, as it's 12:08AM as I'm writing this post) and try to recentre and refocus.

Tomorrow, instead of pursuing an upper body exercise, I'm going to make a switch and do Bun Shaper, originally scheduled for Thursday (Day 5). Shoulders and Arms will now move to Day 5, with Yoga as a separator. Hopefully, that will help me get back on track. I've missed my ab workout this week as well, and will try to make that up. What a mess. Sometimes, life is like that. I'm going to try to maintain my discipline and continue to work out during this week. It should help dispel stress and assist in maintaining some sense of mental balance. Let's hope it all works out.