Hey everyone,
So the last week or so since I completed P90x have been a little less exercise-filled than I would have hoped! I"ve managed to to still be fairly active and get a few solid workouts in, but I just happen to be someone who does better when I have a structured program to work within. After all, that was part of the reason I found P90x so effective in the first place; while anyone can probably get ripped working out for 90 days straight, P90x actually gave me the structure and motivation to actually do it!
Anyway, knowing that my fitness level would likely become difficult to maintain after stopping P90x (and not wanting to simply do another round of the program right away), I decided to purchase a new program that recently came out by the same company: ChaLean Extreme. Rather than having Tony Horton as the instructor, whom I will admittedly miss, I now instead have Chalene Johnson as the fitness guru who's going to guide me on this new leg of my exercise journey. She's about 40 years old, 10 years or so younger than Tony, and she's evidently made her name doing the Turbo Jam series for BeachBody...which I had never really heard of, but apparently a lot of people really like. But the basic concept is fairly similar to P90x in that it's a 90 day program (with a bonus 30-day maintenance routine after completion) with a different "phase" of workouts each new month.
The first month is called the Burn Phase (Designed to push the muscles to “failure” in just 10 to 12 reps and will target correct form and effectiveness of working out. You're lifting heavy weights to jump-start your metabolism and break down those "extra" reserves of fat. In these moderate training workouts, you'll work your upper body then lower body); the second month is called the Push Phase (Here you're lifting even heavier—beyond your comfort zone—working one muscle group at a time for fewer reps ...6-8, so that you build the muscle you need to burn fat); the third and final month is called the Lean Phase (This last phase switches back to using 10-12 reps, but with lots of new synergistics moves to burn the fat more efficiently). The general theme for ChaLean Extreme is slightly unique from P90x in that its mantra is "Muscle Burns Fat" and so it focuses on using really heavy weights with super slow reps. Apparently, slower reps help to build muscle faster while also creating an "afterburn" that continues to burn fat after the workout is finished.
Anyway, that's the deal. Last night Katie was nice enough to come over and the do the first workout with me :) She used the bands and I used my PowerBlocks (still love those things). I have to say that after watching her use the bands and having used them myself, resistance bands can be great if you are doing suitable exercises that were designed for them. However, if you're trying to adapt a dumbbell workout for use with the bands, the result is often awkward movements and lots of trial and error. I might have to pick up a few extra dumbbells for her if she comes to work out again :)
That being said, last night was the very first workout called Burn Circuit 1. One thing that I'm happy about with this new program is that the workouts are all around 30-45 minutes instead of an hour to an hour and half for P90x. I definitely can benefit from the extra down time! I will say though that right after the workout started I could tell this was an entirely different creature from P90x in terms of tone and style. Gone are the goofy off-the-cuff jokes by Tony Horton, the gym-rat backdrop, and the awesome background exercisers that I'd come to know and love. Instead, we have a middle-aged instructor who doesn't really look to be in all that great of shape (unlike Tony who is like Jack Lalanne Jr. at his curent 50 yrs of age); a white, pristine looking exercise room that looks like it's made more for Barbie aerobics classes than getting ripped; and a bunch of hokey-seeming background exercisers with smiles that never seem to leave their faces. It kind of left me cold, and I thought I'd bought myself some Tae-Bo-esque chick workout. Whereas P90x felt honest and sincere, ChaLean struck me as a bit fake....at least in terms of presentation. But again, the workout hadn't really started yet, and it's the workout that matters most!
So, after things got underway I have to say...not too shabby. And it's a totally different type of workout. Lifting slow and heavy keeps things very controlled and much less frantic than the breakneck pace and intensity of P90x. But it still "burns so good!" However, I'm not a huge fan of the synergistic nature of a lot of the moves. Doing lunges at the same time as doing shoulder flys isn't the easiest thing for me...it's like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time! The slower pace helps, but it still can lead some awkward movements when you're trying a move for the first time. One thing that helps though is that Chalene does a pretty solid job of instructing on form, etc. during the exercises. And she always lets you know what weight she's using (unlike Tony, who I'm afraid doesn't always do the best job of giving instruction during his exercises).
Well, before I knew it, the workout was over after a brisk 40-ish minutes. Ending things so quickly makes it feel like I've kinda wussed out after doing P90x for so long, and I was afraid that maybe I 'd made a mistake...that this was setting me up to lose some of the progress that I'd worked so hard for. But maybe the slow-rep style just affects the body a bit differently in terms of HOW it hurts. I mean, even though I recovered last night fairly quickly from Burn Circuit 1, this morning I am as sore as I've been in a long time! A pleasant surprise if I do say so myself :) Either way though, it leaves me excited to see how this program will be able to push me.
Since ChaLean Extreme is a tad less stringent in terms of the time required (shorter workouts PLUS an extra "off" day each week), I think I'll still occasionally supplement the program with some of my P90x stuff. But overall, I think this will be a good change of pace for me. As with P90x, I plan on blogging about my experiences with the program, and I'll of course be glad to take any questions if people have them. There were quite a few while I did P90x, and I've even convinced a few folks to give it a try which has been pretty exciting to see :) So, yeah.... check back for updates, and I'll keep you folks posted as frequently as I can. Till the next workout!
BURN CIRCUIT 1 SUMMARY (each move is 12 SLOW reps with a heavy weight. Also, just FYI, I was pretty humbled during this whole workout as I was only lifting a teensy bit more than Chalene the entire time. That woman is way stronger than she looks!):
1) Sumo Squat with Hip Lift: I don't know how to describe the "hip lift" part, but the Sumo Squat is basically just squats with heavy weights
2) Lunge with Posterior Fly
3) Push-up with Leg Lift: I'm normally pretty good at push-ups, but you definitely feel the burn when you're going this slowly and this precisely
4) Dead Lift with Posterior Fly
5) Lunge with Core Rotation: these suckers are hard!
6) Dumbbell Bench Press and Leg Lower: Doing a bench press on the floor keeps your elbows from going all the way down, but these still burn like crazy if you're doing 'em right
7) Squat with Side Bend
8) Forward-Lean Lunge with DBL Arm Posterior Fly
9) Chest Fly With Hip Lift: This was actually a killer chest move with weight I was lifting. Has me excited, since P90x, as great as it was, isn't the best program for guys looking to develop their chest muscles.
*again folks, LIFT HEAVY! LIFT SLOW!
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