Day 3 - A glimpse of sanity

DVD - Cardio Power & Resistance

Oh thank God.

I know my endurance can't have increased much in one day, so I have to assume this workout was a little easier than the Plyometric Cardio Circuit. And by "easier" I mean I needed to take fewer, and shorter, breaks.

Right before starting, I adjusted the laces on my cross trainers so I could tie them tighter. Bad move. It changed the position of the arch support enough that about a minute into the DVD, my right foot began to feel as though it were in the throes of a charlie horse cramp (it wasn't). I had to stop and re-adjust. Ok, back to it. And no, I didn't start it over. I'm smarter than that. I knew what was coming.

The workout is structured the same was as the Plyo Circuit. 10 1/2 minute warm up, consisting of the following circuit: Jog, Power Jacks, Log Jump, 1-2-3 Heismann, Butt Kicks, High Knees and Vertical Jump. I made it through the first two reps of the warm-up pretty well. The third was tough and I took a couple of extra seconds-long rest breaks. Better than last night. Then the same stretch session as the Plyo DVD. Tonight, the warm-up and stretch portion were 20 minutes - half the DVD.

The first set of intervals were a combination of moves to work the legs and moves to work the upper body, always employing your core, done at a cardio pace. Power jumps & squat kicks (legs), and 2 different riffs on push-ups.

After the first set, there was an "extra move". I dare you to try these and see how many reps you can do. Start in a V position with your palms flat on the floor a little more than shoulder width apart and your feet behind you so that you are on your toes. Now bring your knees down so you are crouching and they are between your arms. Keep only your toes on the foor. Now raise and lower yourself with your arms like you would if you are doing a push-up. One of the push-ups we'd done earlier also started with a similar V position, but this time our hands were turned in toward each other and we raised and lowered from that position.

The second interval set featured more moves to alternately work the legs and upper body, but they were a little more complex to execute. For some reason, I couldn't get the hang of the Moving Push-up, where you move your body sideways while doing a push-up. It sounds easy, but I couldn't figure it out. I'll watch it in slow motion so I can see what was going on, but I couldn't do that mid-workout. So I just did regular push-ups.

With just over 3 minutes left to go, Shaun takes it back down with a shortened version of the stretch you did earlier. In order to do the cool down, most of the crew had to peel themselves off the floor.

As I've been writing this, I've realized why this workout seemed easier for me to get through with fewer rest periods. Power and resistance were the focus. I was moving at a cardio pace, but the nature of the moves was such that you couldn't do them as rapidly, even at your fastest, as the more cardio focused moves in Plyo. I've always had a fair amount of strength in both my arms and legs and some of these moves were similar to Tae-bo and other workout series I've done. Don't get me wrong, some of these moves really tested my strength and I would often reach my limit with the cardio-level before the end of the interval. I was happy, though, that whenever this happened it seemed like Shaun would magically say "ten more seconds" and I would haul my ass back up for the last 5-4-3-2-1. I don't miss the counting you get with Tae-bo in general, but having those last few moments counted down really helps me for some reason. I tell myself "it's only 5 more. You can take 5 more."

My calves and outer thighs were sore today, as were my shoulders, both back and front. Not unbearably sore. No where near as sore as the first time I did kickboxing, after which I literally could not get up from the floor I'd sat down on the next afternoon. Not sore enough to make tonight's workout impossible. I'm not so sure about tomorrow. My calves hurt, and that is saying something. When I say "hurt" I mean I am walking like a duck around my aparment tonight. I can't remember any other workout that made calves hurt like this. I wonder what they'll look like 60 days from now?