Round 4: Day 59: Just Arms

At some point during the workout, Tony winces "Sleeves of pain", and you know exactly what he' talking about. This is a fantastic workout which works just the arms (hence, the moniker) and by the end of the workout, even brushing my teeth was a difficult task.

This workout exposes my weaknesses, specifically, my left arm. There's no doubt that my left arm is weaker than my right. It's noticeable on both the curl and tricep exercises. Perhaps my two forearms are of equal strength, but not the other arm muscles. I'm almost at the point where I'd use dumbbells of two different weights during the same exercise, but I'm a fan of symmetry during workouts, so I don't. This is where using dumbbells is distinctly different from using resistance bands. The bands generally gave me the feeling that both arms were essentially of the same strength. The dumbbells show otherwise. My left arm falls behind. I'm starting to notice that during pushups as well. I'm going to focus a little more on form to see whether I can rectify this situation.

I really enjoy this workout. It's fun, challenging and engaging. Tony is in good humour and it's nice to see what kind of weight he's using during the various exercises. I get a tremendous pump in my arms, and my body feels nice and tired (in a good way) by the end of the session.

Round 4: Day 58: Cardio Intervals

I know, I know. I said the last time I did this exercise that I would not do it again without pairing it with another cardio workout. Well, I woke up this morning and didn't feel like pairing it with another cardio workout, so I did Cardio Intervals in isolation. And you know what? I should have paired it with another cardio workout. The only upside to not doing so is that the workout ran (no pun intended) for only 40 minutes. And that's a beautiful thing.

There's not much to be said here that hasn't been mentioned before. I don't get much of a heart pump from this workout. Tony seems to be huffing and puffing, but cardio isn't really his thing. As I was doing the workout, I was thinking ahead to next summer (and it's not even officially winter yet!) mentally assembling a cardio workout to do by the lake, without any equipment. That's the beauty of this workout: no equipment necessary. Between this workout, Plyo Legs, Super Cardio and Plyometrics, I could put together a killer leg/cardio workout without the need for any equipment. That would be a nice thing to bring lakeside during a cool early summer morning.

My son had a fever yesterday, and we all fear that it could be H1N1. We're not too worried about him as he is in good shape, but we're keeping an eye on him to make sure that he gets plenty of rest and fluids and keeps his immune system charged. Personally, I'm a little nervous about getting sick, but I hope that healthy eating and regular exercise will stand me in good stead. We'll see over the course of the next week.

Round 4: Day 57: 30-15 / Killer Abs

30 - 15

I love this workout. It's similar to Chest and Back in P90X, but ramped up in intensity. It's so simple and straightforward: just pushing and pulling, every exercise using body weight. I start out strong, then slowly deplete in energy throughout the course of the workout until, at the end, I can't lift my body up anymore. Even washing up after the workout was tough. I couldn't really move my arms. I had to soap up, and move my head to my hands. Not pretty, but rewarding in its own right.

I think I might have it in me to do a few more repetitions of the staggered hands chataranga pushups. I'll make sure to leave a note to self for the next workout.

Killer Abs

I busted out Killer Abs around 5:30PM. I'm still finding the Ab Ripper moves more difficult than the ARX moves, but I am starting to become accustomed to Ab Ripper. Still, during the 2nd and 3rd moves, my obliques are really crunched, unlike oblique V-ups. I've heard negative things about crunches over the past few months with respect to toning abs, but I'm Old School: I still like to feel the burn.

It's a great start to Week 9 - so far.

Round 4: Day 55: Yoga

Yoga is a nice way to wrap up Recovery Week. There's not much to be said about the benefits of yoga that hasn't already been cheerfully related in previous entries. My daughter noticed that today's workout (Fountain of Youth from the One on One with Tony Horton series) didn't finish up with Shavasana. True enough, and an egregious oversight, in my humble opinion. From now on, whenever I happen to be doing this workout, I will finish up with Shavasana. There's something about that pose (lying on the back, completely relaxed, mind empty, enjoying the present moment) that mentally and physically wraps up a good yoga session. I suppose that Tony didn't include it in the workout because he was running a little behind the clock, already having extended a 40-minute session into a 47-minute session. I guess he felt that one more minute would have been too much.

I still have one more abdominal workout to make up from last week; perhaps I'll be able to do it later this afternoon.

This ends Recovery Week. I'll get my son to take the traditional photos of me on Sunday, being a poser. I'm looking forward to pounding the weights again next week, when Week 9 commences.

Namaste.

Round 4: Day 54: Mammoth UML

Not being in the mood for either Core Synergistics or Medicine Ball Core Cardio, I decided that the time was right for an overall body workout and selected Mammoth UML (from the One on One with Tony Horton series) to do the job.

I've only done this workout once before, and recall losing energy towards the end, especially when Tony does jump-knee-tucks as the last move and spontaneously decides to throw in an additional 10 leaps, just for fun, of course.

Today's workout was not as exerting as before, and I had no problems keeping up with Tony (although I did fall behind during oblique V-ups for some reason - likely the added weight of wearing shoes). I had a good overall workout, although I didn't get too sweaty, and would rate this as a reasonable workout to pursue during a Recovery Week. I like the range of exercises that Tony employs, and enjoy the variety of upper-middle-lower exercises during each set. There's no chance for boredom during this workout as a result.

The most challenging moves for me remain the "middle" moves: those that specifically target the abdominal region. I'm not used to doing these types of exercises wearing shoes, and I found the additional weight made a slight difference. Also, mostly 30 reps were done, which is more than I'm used to. On the other hand, my abdominal region could use the extra hit.

The upper (arm) and lower (leg) exercises were varied and interesting. Most of the upper moves consist of some variety of push-up, but there are enough styles of push-up in Tony's repetoire to keep things moving along nicely, without completely burning out the shoulders or arms.

Overall, a satisfying experience, and Tony was relaxed, informative and in good humour. It's also nice seeing him in another environment (the workout takes place in a hotel room adjacent to a ski hill) and he's forced to use his imagination to provide a workout routine which doesn't employ any specialized equipment: only what's immediately on hand is used (chair, sofa, boots), demonstrating that one can pursue a decent workout wherever one happens to be. That's important information to have, because you don't always find yourself in a fully equipped gym. Sometimes, it will be just you and gravity.

Round 4: Day 53: X Stretch

While definitely not my favourite workout, X Stretch is nevertheless an important component of Recovery Week. I never break a sweat, which is a nice break in itself, and I do admire the organized way in which stretches are employed: you stretch all your body parts (use your imagination) starting from the head and moving downward to the toes.

For some reason, Phil, standing to the rear in the video, is not my favourite participant. He's very limber, but Tony has him modifying many of the moves. Also, he seems to have attitude. Perhaps I just have an attitude about him.

Also, the music during this workout reminds me of an outdoor skating rink during the 1960s. The use of light, pop-like organ tunes is a combination of amusing and annoying. I didn't check to see whether there is the option of playing the DVD without the music, but I'll definitely be looking for that option the next time I use this workout.

In all, the workout was effective: I got a good stretch and I now feel relaxed.

Round 4: Day 52: Super Cardio

This being Recovery Week, I decided not to up the ante by doubling up Super Cardio with another cardio workout. At first, that seemed like a good idea; following the workout, I realized that I didn't push myself hard enough. I'm still suffering from the last round of this workout comprising Kenpo moves, which allow my heart rate to drop and my body to cool off prior to completing the workout. That is the great shortcoming of this workout.

I should probably use Interval X Plus more frequently. The problem with that is that I've come to enjoy the variety that my current program offers and don't really want to do some workouts more frequently. That's starting to drive a decision to purchase the Insanity workout. I'm afraid of Insanity; I hear that it's about the toughest cardio workout around. I'm afraid that I won't be able to do it. On the other hand, I was also afraid of the P90X videos, then the P90X Plus workouts, then the One on One workouts. It's probably just fear of the unknown. If I want to take my fitness to the next level, perhaps I should be giving Insanity further investigation and eventually take the plunge. I have a number of weeks left in this Round to ponder my decision.