Round 5: Day 24: Kenpo Cardio Plus

After the Insanity workouts, Kenpo Cardio Plus really seems like a rest day. Although I sweated, my heart rate never really got that high, and my calorie burn at the end of the workout was about two-thirds of what I burn during a typical Insanity routine.

Nevertheless, I still enjoy this workout, and it's nice to be back with Tony, Mark and Traci. I'm definitely improving my endurance and strength, because I never really felt particularly tired during the workout, even though I was trying hard to Bring It during each move. In spite of my attitude, the difficulty of the moves and the pacing of the workout just don't come anywhere near Insanity.

I'm still not particularly adept at kicks, all varieties included. I'm a little faster with my side kicks, and managed to keep up with Mark Briggs; however, the height of my kicks is still lacking. I'm hitting at around hip height, and possibly a bit higher, but am nowhere near shoulder height, nor will I likely ever be. Back kicks are somewhat more successful, although not without some occasional balance issues. Front kicks are probably my best of the lot, although again, tight hamstrings prevent me from hitting the ceiling tiles. Gladiator kicks are still constrained by my low ceiling height. The ceiling now sports a couple of dents where I was overly enthusiastic in my initial leaps. My head sports matching dents, no doubt.

I still think this is a great workout to keep in a Recovery Week. It's still fun, Tony is always zany, and in a short time period, you can work up a decent sweat. It's still a keeper for me.

I've been having second thoughts about yesterday's workout. I'll probably make some changes to the workout schedule over the remainder of this week, to deal with issues from Day 5, and to fine-tune Recovery Week. I'd like to make subtle changes to the schedule to make it slightly more demanding of me. I'm going to see if I can push my body harder. I think I'm capable of doing more than I've been doing so far.