DVD - Max Interval Circuit
It's been 40 days and 40 nights ...
I had to come home early from work today to give a plumber doing work in one of my building mates' apartments access to mine at several points during the afternoon. This mean I got to start the workout around 4:00 instead of my usual 6:30. It's amazing how much harder I can push myself when I'm not mentally exhausted from a day at the office.
I'm not able to compare myself much to the crew in the video at this point because I am so intently focused on my own workout that I barely watch the TV, except to see which moves are coming and make sure I am doing them right. I don't remember if it is in this workout or one of the other Max workouts, but Shaun even says at one point "don't try to follow us. just do what you can do". Sure, he's talking about not trying o emulate their pace, but I'd have to be watching them to even attempt to do so. I have caught the "go at your own pace" warning flashing on the screen a few times.
I had an easier time with the combo moves this time. By easier, I mean I felt coordinated enough to do them. I seem to have trouble when moves require part of my body to go one direction and another part to go the opposite. For example, the S-S jump rope move in the warm-up when I'm supposed to be moving my legs side to side and my arms in an s-pattern going the opposite direction. I actually have to think about what I'm doing to get it totally right. I think I figured it out tonight, though. It works if I keep my hands more in front of me going the way they are supposed to go, without moving them as far to the side as I had been trying.
It seems as though the two days of less stress on my shoulders sufficed. Today the shoulder intensive exercises were merely difficult, not next to impossible. I notice I have more trouble with the ones that require a push-up like press toward the ground. The ones where I'm required to hold a plank pose are much easier. When I got to the ski abs/push-up jack/in & out abs/oblique push-ups segment, I was able to do close to all of the ski abs and in & out abs, but had to do slightly fewer of the push-up jacks & oblique push-ups.
I think over the course of the next few weeks I will make great progress with this workout (assuming no extraneous ankle or other injuries). I already did better with it than the first time (knowing the moves before they were introduced certainly helped). Maybe by the end of next week, I'll be able to watch the crew a little more to see how I measure up.
Showing posts with label shoulders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shoulders. Show all posts
Friday, February 12, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Day 37
DVD - Max Interval Plyo
The brochure said my legs would be begging for mercy.
It lied!
It's my shoulders that are begging. Please have mercy upon us. Please!!
Seriously, my shoulders need a break.
The warm-up is the same as Max Interval Circuit.
When the warm-up and stretch are completed, you've got 39 minutes of the workout to go. Noting the time, I knew there would be only 2 interval circuits in this workout. There just wouldn't be time for 3. Still, the workout was too long for just 2 interval circuits, so I wasn't sure what would make up the rest of the time. I would have to wait until the end of the 2nd interval set to find out.
As with Max Interval Circuit, the first interval set consisted of 4 exercises, each performed for 45 seconds per circuit, repeating the circuit 3 times. All but one of the moves were knew to me. First came Switch Jumps (start in a squat, jump up and spin 180 degrees, land in a squat, repeat) followed by Squat Push-ups (start in a squat, fall forward and execute a push-up from that position, push back up and repeat). Then came Wide In-Out Abs (start in a squat with your palms on the floor, jump back to a wide-legged plank, then jump back to the starting position and repeat). This circuit was rounded out with Power Jumps, one of the Fit Test moves.
At the end of this set, instead of a break we got 1 minute of a different exercise, One-Legged V Push Ups (start in a V position with your palms on the floor and fingers facing in toward each other, lift one leg off the floor and do a push-up in this position - repeat for 30 seconds per side). Ok, the last segment was hell on my pecks, deltoids and biceps. But this ... what's worse than hell? Should I start considering this in terms of Dante's levels?
The second interval set was complicated. Some of these moves just can't be done fast - well, except maybe by one freak machine guy in the videos, who, eventually, was standing up pounding on his heart unable to do anymore. These moves are serious plyo. The first was called Pogo (start on one foot with the other leg bent, bend forward and touch the floor extending the raised leg backward, then raise up and hop on one leg, bringing the raised leg up so that your knee goes above your waist) and no one did it fast. Power push-ups came next (start bent over at the waist with your hands on the floor, fall forward into push-up position and do a push-up, then pop back up into the starting position) - I had to be super careful, here. The move was hard and all of the muscles in my shoulders are so taxed that I was worried I wouldn't be able to hold myself up and might fall to far and bash my face into the floor.
After that came a move that seemed like a slice of heaven after the last move, Globe Twists (start in a squat, pop up, land on both feet at the same time, squat down with one hand on either side of one knee, then pop up and do the same on the other side) - easier than the Globe Jumps in the fit test. And as if all the other shoulder burning moves hadn't been enough, Shaun rounded this circuit out with Level 3 drill (drop into push-up position, do reps of push-ups, then do a count of floor sprints, hop up and repeat).
With Level 1 drills from the first month you do 4 push-ups followed by a 4 count of floor sprints. Level 2 drills were 8 and 8. You'd think Level 3 would be 12 and 12 since 12 is 3X4, but you'd be wrong. According to Shaun's math, 3X4=16. This part of the circuit is completed in 2 reps, so you do 32 of each. Now multiply that 32 by 3 intervals. 90fucking6 motherfucking push-ups. I did slightly more than half of each interval because FUCK, my shoulders couldn't take any more. I don't know what I'm going to do if the workout I get tomorrow is shoulder-intensive. Anybody want to send me some morphine?
As with the first interval set, there is a break between the 1st and 2nd completion of the circuit as well as between the 2nd and 3rd, but no break after the 3rd. Instead you do 1 minute of a combination of Power Lunges and Hop Squats (4 each before repeating). My shoulders appreciated the rest.
But they weren't able to rest for long.
At this point, the "what do I get instead of a 3rd interval set" question was answered. The answer was 4 more exercises, each one executed discretely and for a minute each. Each one requiring a lot of strength - and of course, 2 of the 4 were shoulder intensive. Side Push-ups (Sort of a contorted push-up, it's hard to describe if you can't see a body do it, but the weight isn't exactly balanced so it taxes one shoulder more than the other so that you do 30 seconds on each side). Kickstand Touch the Floor (sort of like Pogo, but when you touch the floor with your hand, the toes of the "raised" leg should be on the floor so it looks like a lunge). The 2nd to last exercise was another combo, 8 Power Knees/4 Diamond Jumps (the Power Knees are the same as the Fit Test. Diamond jumps are sort of like Power Jumps, but you bring your feet together in the jump so your legs make the shape of a diamond). The final move before the cool-down stretch was Balance Push-ups (do a push-up, but when you come up raise one arm in front of you and the leg on the same side, repeat)
After all of the push-up moves, I don't know if I'm going to be able to lift anything tomorrow. I'm worried I won't even be able to lift my arms above my head to put a shirt on, and I don't own any with buttons.
The brochure said my legs would be begging for mercy.
It lied!
It's my shoulders that are begging. Please have mercy upon us. Please!!
Seriously, my shoulders need a break.
The warm-up is the same as Max Interval Circuit.
When the warm-up and stretch are completed, you've got 39 minutes of the workout to go. Noting the time, I knew there would be only 2 interval circuits in this workout. There just wouldn't be time for 3. Still, the workout was too long for just 2 interval circuits, so I wasn't sure what would make up the rest of the time. I would have to wait until the end of the 2nd interval set to find out.
As with Max Interval Circuit, the first interval set consisted of 4 exercises, each performed for 45 seconds per circuit, repeating the circuit 3 times. All but one of the moves were knew to me. First came Switch Jumps (start in a squat, jump up and spin 180 degrees, land in a squat, repeat) followed by Squat Push-ups (start in a squat, fall forward and execute a push-up from that position, push back up and repeat). Then came Wide In-Out Abs (start in a squat with your palms on the floor, jump back to a wide-legged plank, then jump back to the starting position and repeat). This circuit was rounded out with Power Jumps, one of the Fit Test moves.
At the end of this set, instead of a break we got 1 minute of a different exercise, One-Legged V Push Ups (start in a V position with your palms on the floor and fingers facing in toward each other, lift one leg off the floor and do a push-up in this position - repeat for 30 seconds per side). Ok, the last segment was hell on my pecks, deltoids and biceps. But this ... what's worse than hell? Should I start considering this in terms of Dante's levels?
The second interval set was complicated. Some of these moves just can't be done fast - well, except maybe by one freak machine guy in the videos, who, eventually, was standing up pounding on his heart unable to do anymore. These moves are serious plyo. The first was called Pogo (start on one foot with the other leg bent, bend forward and touch the floor extending the raised leg backward, then raise up and hop on one leg, bringing the raised leg up so that your knee goes above your waist) and no one did it fast. Power push-ups came next (start bent over at the waist with your hands on the floor, fall forward into push-up position and do a push-up, then pop back up into the starting position) - I had to be super careful, here. The move was hard and all of the muscles in my shoulders are so taxed that I was worried I wouldn't be able to hold myself up and might fall to far and bash my face into the floor.
After that came a move that seemed like a slice of heaven after the last move, Globe Twists (start in a squat, pop up, land on both feet at the same time, squat down with one hand on either side of one knee, then pop up and do the same on the other side) - easier than the Globe Jumps in the fit test. And as if all the other shoulder burning moves hadn't been enough, Shaun rounded this circuit out with Level 3 drill (drop into push-up position, do reps of push-ups, then do a count of floor sprints, hop up and repeat).
With Level 1 drills from the first month you do 4 push-ups followed by a 4 count of floor sprints. Level 2 drills were 8 and 8. You'd think Level 3 would be 12 and 12 since 12 is 3X4, but you'd be wrong. According to Shaun's math, 3X4=16. This part of the circuit is completed in 2 reps, so you do 32 of each. Now multiply that 32 by 3 intervals. 90fucking6 motherfucking push-ups. I did slightly more than half of each interval because FUCK, my shoulders couldn't take any more. I don't know what I'm going to do if the workout I get tomorrow is shoulder-intensive. Anybody want to send me some morphine?
As with the first interval set, there is a break between the 1st and 2nd completion of the circuit as well as between the 2nd and 3rd, but no break after the 3rd. Instead you do 1 minute of a combination of Power Lunges and Hop Squats (4 each before repeating). My shoulders appreciated the rest.
But they weren't able to rest for long.
At this point, the "what do I get instead of a 3rd interval set" question was answered. The answer was 4 more exercises, each one executed discretely and for a minute each. Each one requiring a lot of strength - and of course, 2 of the 4 were shoulder intensive. Side Push-ups (Sort of a contorted push-up, it's hard to describe if you can't see a body do it, but the weight isn't exactly balanced so it taxes one shoulder more than the other so that you do 30 seconds on each side). Kickstand Touch the Floor (sort of like Pogo, but when you touch the floor with your hand, the toes of the "raised" leg should be on the floor so it looks like a lunge). The 2nd to last exercise was another combo, 8 Power Knees/4 Diamond Jumps (the Power Knees are the same as the Fit Test. Diamond jumps are sort of like Power Jumps, but you bring your feet together in the jump so your legs make the shape of a diamond). The final move before the cool-down stretch was Balance Push-ups (do a push-up, but when you come up raise one arm in front of you and the leg on the same side, repeat)
After all of the push-up moves, I don't know if I'm going to be able to lift anything tomorrow. I'm worried I won't even be able to lift my arms above my head to put a shirt on, and I don't own any with buttons.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Day 29
DVD - Core Cardio and Balance
This workout is a whole different kind of hard. There are no insane top-level heart rate cardio sections and no intervals. The moves start slow, though not quite as slow as Cardio Recovery. As in Pure Cardio you do each move for 30 or 60 seconds, depending on the move. The initial segment is comprised of a move that is like jumping rope without the rope, followed by mummy kicks, high knees, Heismanns, Hit the Floor and a couple of other moves similar to ones done in the other workouts. Only not as fast. More aerobic than anerobic.
In my opinion, some of the moves are harder to do when you are doing them slowly. Something about the control needed when the moves are slower and more deliberate seems to make my muscles hurt more while I'm doing the workout, if not as much later.
After the initial segment, there is a stretching section just like the intense cardio workouts. The first few moves after the stretch section are plyometic moves. Not exactly cardio, but your heart rate shoots up because of the use of your legs to launch yourself from the floor. My heart was thumping and I was dripping after a minute of jumping as high as I could from a slight bent-knee position, keeping thighs together in the air and landing again on a slight bended knee - controlled jumps, not fast at all.
There are also a number of combination moves where you do 8 reps each of two moves, repeating this for the alloted time (8 hook punches followed by 8 hop squats), or 8 reps of one move followed by a quick change move (8 jabs, do a 180 degree jump turn, 8 more jabs, repeat).
Even though I wasn't pushing myself to move as hard and fast as possible, there were moves I couldn't do for the full time allotted - same goes for the crew in the video. Overall I did pretty well. The moves that got me came toward the end.
The first set were hip flexor moves. If you are like me, you may not know what a hip flexor is. For weeks, I thought Shaun had been calling one of the regular stretch moves "Hip Flex and Stretch"> He was saying "Hip Flexor Stretch". I didn't realize there was a special name for the place circled on the picture to the right. I thought it was just generally referred to as "hip". Anyway, the hip flexor section of this workout is a series of 3 moves, each done for thirty seconds. The kicker is you are not ever supposed to stop. It isn't cardio, so you don't have to worry about your heart or ability to catch your breath. But HOLY FUCK does it hurt to do them. First, you stand on one leg and bring the other repeatedly up so your knee goes above your waist. Not exactly fast, but not slow. After 30 seconds you stop with your knee in the air, and pulse upward from that position for 30 seconds. My hip flexor was screaming part way through the first move. By the second, I had to stop for a few seconds. The final move starts with your knee still raised, and requires you to extend your leg out with your foot flexed. The people in the video could raise their lower legs to a straight line with their thighs - I got mine somewhere in between perpendicular and straight. For the time I could do it. I didn't get all the way through without stopping, and for the last 10 seconds I couldn't lift my legs much past 90 degrees.
What really, really hurt was moving my hip flexor out of this engaged position and putting my foot back down on the floor. Holy FUCK again.
The final set of moves was just as hard, but on my shoulders instead of my hip flexor. These moves are done from a plied squat position, with your arms extended out so they make a straight line with your shoulders. First you pulse the arms. Then you bring them in front of you and move them back. Then they go up over your head and back to a straight line with your shoulders, like you are flapping your wings. Then you circle backward. Then you circle forward. At some point in there, I was yelling through the burning pain in my shoulders to keep myself going (a tactic often employed by Shaun and the crew). Michelle Obama arms, here I come.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)