So now I know what they meant by "the interval circuits get even harder".
In my Days 33 & 34 post I asked:
Even harder? What does that mean? The moves are harder? The interval circuits are longer? There are more interval circuits? I guess I'll find out on Monday.
The answer is all three. The moves are harder and in many cases you are required to do two and up to four different moves in a single part of the circuit. Instead of 30 seconds for each part, it's 45, so that the interval increases from 2 minutes to 3. And there are now 3 interval segments instead of 2.
The warm-up is different, as I mentioned last night. Jog (sprint during the final section); Arms-Up Jumping jacks (instead of starting with your arms out to your sides and bringing them together over your head, you hold wrists just above your shoulders with elbows in and push your arms straight up, sort of like a military press); Side rope jumps (remember Rocky's jump-rope training? you simulate part of it here, jumping side to side and moving your arms like you are holding the handles of the jump rope together and swiping the rope to the side of you rather than jumping over it); 123-Heismanns; High Knees (but with your arms out at your sides like they would be before starting a traditional jumping jack); Switch Kicks; Hit the Floor; & S-S Floor Hops (start in plank position, keep palms on floor and hop back and forth with your legs behind you).
The stretch section was pretty much the same as all of the rest of the DVDs, but maybe a little shorter.
When the warm-up and stretch were over, I looked at the workout counter displayed on the TV: 45+ minutes to go. 45!!!?!?! All of the other DVDs are 20-21 minutes after the warm-up and stretch. So basically, the intense part of the workout just doubled.
The first interval circuit was tough on my shoulder area. I was able to do the singular moves from start to finish, but the combo moves were so hard on my pecs and deltoids that I think I maybe did half. I did well with Pedal Lunges (these are in one of the first month workouts; basically you sprint in place, followed by 4 deep lunges. Repeat for 45 seconds. Then a seriously hard combo series for 45 seconds where you do 4 each of Ski Abs, Push-up Jacks, In & Out Abs and Oblique Push-ups (like the high plank oblique move from Cardio Recovery, but you add in a push-up with your arms). HELL on my shoulders. Then came Power Strike (where you lunge on the left side, 2 punches downward, lunge right side, 2 punches downward. Repeat). You round out this interval with Frog Jumps.
Between each round you get the usual 30 second water break, with the exception of the 3rd round, after which you go straight into a minute-long Football Runs/Cross Jacks (football shuffle but you spin on a 4 count, then back the other way on a 4 count and finally execute 4 Cross Jacks).
The 2nd circuit consists of: Hook Jumps (4 hook punches high, 4 hook punches low, 4 high jumps with simulate jump rope arms, switch sides and repeat). High Knees with Twist. (As you run with High Knees you hold your arms in front of you with fists above chin height and rotate your upper body side to side while you do High Knees);
High-Low Jab with Squat (jump high and punch on a diagonal, then back to a squat and punch to the side as you land)to the side, punch as low as you can in a squat); and finally Floor Switch Kicks (switch kicks done with your body in the position you need for Tricep dips).
The 2nd interval is followed by 1 minute of 1-2-3 Jab Across (Side jumps with a punch to each side).
This 3rd and final interval set consists of: Side Suicide Jumps (instead of putting your hands in front of you and jumping into plank with your feet, you jump to the left side then stand up and jump to the right); Squat Hooks (like Power Jacks but instead of your arms going up when you jump, you punch across your body as you squat); then the tough Full Body Drill (start standing up, drop to the plank position, run in place 8 times, do 4 Moving Push-Ups, then 8 counts of wide-knee running in place).
Max Interval Circuit is capped off with Plank Punches, 1 minute of holding yourself in plank position on the floor and alternating your arms punching forward, so that your fists punch higher than your forehead.
If that seems like a lot, that's because it was. I did well with the exercises requiring a single repetitive move, and was able to get through each interval of most of these. The combo moves were harder, both in terms of the moves and executing the transitions between the moves.
So how do I feel? My deltoids and pecs are sore. I was still feeling the 6 days of shoulder-burners from Core Cardio & Balance before I started Max Interval Circuit. That so many of the exercises in this Max workout involved some sort of push-up or plank position move just exacerbated the issue. My hamstrings are sore, particularly above the knee, but no where near as much as my deltoids and pecs. My upper back is a little sore, as are my knees. Not wanting to be left out after Core Cardio & Balance, I can also feel it in my hip flexors. We'll see if I'm still sore tomorrow. I'm thinking it might be a day that stats with Ibuprofen.
The workout as incredibly intense, but not quite as intense as I was imagining in the cardio department. IMHO, some of these moves have a terminal velocity: no matter how fit you are, you just can't do as many as fast because of the complexity of the move or the effort required. Your heart rate still gets way up, but because you are using more power, not more speed. It seems to me that these moves raised my heart rate steadily, as opposed to shooting it way up really fast all at once.
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