Round 5: Day 3: On One Leg

On One Leg is the newest instalment of Tony Horton's One on One series. The workout, approximately 36 minutes in length, consists of 13 strength moves all conducted (you guessed it) on one leg. The strength moves are intended to target the shoulders, the biceps and the triceps; however, because all exercises are done on one leg, it's difficult to use substantial weights, as balance becomes an issue.

This was a really enjoyable workout. Tony is back to his usual zaniness and the individual exercises are straightforward. What they are NOT, is easy. This is one of those workouts which identifies your weaknesses. Mine is my left leg. I find it more difficult to balance and maintain body control when standing on my left leg versus my right. Using weights while balancing on one leg forces you to squeeze your glutes and contract your core. Virtually every exercise involves the tightening of the abdominal muscles. Further, there are constant micro-adjustments made in the leg in order to maintain posture and balance.

The easiest move for me was bridge extensions. Lying on the back, supporting your weight on your shoulders and one leg, with the other leg in the air, you lift dumbbells from behind your head to an overhead position (tip of the day: don't smash your face!). As this isn't really a challenging balance move, it is one of the few exercises where I felt I could increase my weights.

One of the more difficult moves was Alternating Leg Pike Spikes. They're pike presses with one leg on a raised platform (I used a chair) and the other leg up in the air. These are the second last move of the day, by which time my shoulders were pretty toasty. Maintaining good form at this point in the workout was a challenge.

This workout will continue to challenge. As I improve in balance, I'll try to increase the weights. Overall, it wasn't the abdominal workout I thought it would be (in spite of my thoughts above), so I'll likely include an additional ab workout on days when this workout is scheduled. My shoulders and arms got a reasonable workout. In every case, I had to lighten my load over what I would normally use for a similar exercise conducted on two feet. Nevertheless, I still felt that my arms were reasonably tired following the workout. That's likely due to the residual pain, stiffness and soreness I've been feeling since last Sunday's 30-15 workout.

Overall, a keeper. Looking forward to yoga tomorrow, to stretch out the kinks.