Well, yesterday marked Day 5 of the Chalean Extreme program, and that means it was time for Burn Circuit 3. Like the day before, I sorta wished I had Katie with me as my workout buddy...I wasn't feeling particularly motivated last night!
Anyway, the workout was fairly challenging, but I don't think it whooped me near as badly as Burn Circuit 2. I think part of the reason for that was that I intentionally lifted a little lighter on some exercises than I might have otherwise. That's not to say that it was easy! I still ended up failing by 10 or 11 reps on several of the exercises (reaching 12 reps is the goal in this month 1 phase).
For all of the Burn Circuit resistance workouts I've noticed that each one incorporates fairly identical lower body movements into the compound exercises that you're doing. The only real factor that changes all that much from workout to workout is how you incorporate the upper body. For instance the first exercise in each of the Burn Circuit workouts has you doing a Sumo Squat: for Burn Circuit 1 you're doing a Sumo Squat with a Hip Lift to crunch the oblique muscles; Burn Circuit 2 had a Sumo Squat with Bicep Curl; and Burn Circuit 3 had a Sumo Squat with Shoulder Press.
The problem with this is that it lessens the distinctiveness of each of the different Burn Circuit workouts. Whereas in P90x, Chest & Back day was like a totally unique experience from Shoulders & Arms day, here most all the workouts closely resemble each other. For me, this can make them a bit more boring than I'd prefer. But the main issue is that I really don't like working my legs anyway...and so to have to work them every single resistance workout by using the same moves kinda drives me a little crazy.
The other issue I'm having with Chalean Extreme is that I don't particularly enjoy lifting slow & heavy. Or at least I don't like lifting slow & heavy when I'm doing the type of compound/synergistic exercises used in the program. They can be a little bit awkward, and like I said earlier it can become a little bit tedious to do such similar types of leg squats, lunges, etc. all the time.
That said, even though I don't necessarily enjoy the workouts as much as P90x, it's hard to complain too much when the workouts are 15-30 min shorter! Plus, despite that I don't love the slow/heavy theme, I can definitely tell that it's all kinds of effective!! I've been sore all week in a way that I haven't been since the first half of P90x. And I really do think this program might help me add a wee bit more size to my frame in a way I've never truly had before.
Ok, anyway, here's the breakdown for the exercises in Burn Circuit 3 (GO HEAVY OR GO HOME...10-12 slow reps):
1) Sumo Squat with Overhead Shoulder Press
2) Lunge with Calf Raise (there were a number of moves in this workout that try to work the calves, but I didn't dig 'em too much. it's awkard for me and therefore less effective to try to do calf raises when I'm also trying to balance myself in a lunge or squat position with such heavy weights!)
3) Squat with Lateral Shoulder Raise
4) Lunge with Frontal Press
5) Squat with Calf Raise
6) Sumo Squat with Delt Raises
7) Squat with Double Overhead Press
8) Lunge with Lateral Raise
9) Sumo Squat with Calf Raise
*Tonight's workout is supposed to be "Burn Intervals", so it should be interesting. If it's anything like P90x Intervals Plus+, I could be in big trouble (that one is SOOOO hard!)
Anyway, the workout was fairly challenging, but I don't think it whooped me near as badly as Burn Circuit 2. I think part of the reason for that was that I intentionally lifted a little lighter on some exercises than I might have otherwise. That's not to say that it was easy! I still ended up failing by 10 or 11 reps on several of the exercises (reaching 12 reps is the goal in this month 1 phase).
For all of the Burn Circuit resistance workouts I've noticed that each one incorporates fairly identical lower body movements into the compound exercises that you're doing. The only real factor that changes all that much from workout to workout is how you incorporate the upper body. For instance the first exercise in each of the Burn Circuit workouts has you doing a Sumo Squat: for Burn Circuit 1 you're doing a Sumo Squat with a Hip Lift to crunch the oblique muscles; Burn Circuit 2 had a Sumo Squat with Bicep Curl; and Burn Circuit 3 had a Sumo Squat with Shoulder Press.
The problem with this is that it lessens the distinctiveness of each of the different Burn Circuit workouts. Whereas in P90x, Chest & Back day was like a totally unique experience from Shoulders & Arms day, here most all the workouts closely resemble each other. For me, this can make them a bit more boring than I'd prefer. But the main issue is that I really don't like working my legs anyway...and so to have to work them every single resistance workout by using the same moves kinda drives me a little crazy.
The other issue I'm having with Chalean Extreme is that I don't particularly enjoy lifting slow & heavy. Or at least I don't like lifting slow & heavy when I'm doing the type of compound/synergistic exercises used in the program. They can be a little bit awkward, and like I said earlier it can become a little bit tedious to do such similar types of leg squats, lunges, etc. all the time.
That said, even though I don't necessarily enjoy the workouts as much as P90x, it's hard to complain too much when the workouts are 15-30 min shorter! Plus, despite that I don't love the slow/heavy theme, I can definitely tell that it's all kinds of effective!! I've been sore all week in a way that I haven't been since the first half of P90x. And I really do think this program might help me add a wee bit more size to my frame in a way I've never truly had before.
Ok, anyway, here's the breakdown for the exercises in Burn Circuit 3 (GO HEAVY OR GO HOME...10-12 slow reps):
1) Sumo Squat with Overhead Shoulder Press
2) Lunge with Calf Raise (there were a number of moves in this workout that try to work the calves, but I didn't dig 'em too much. it's awkard for me and therefore less effective to try to do calf raises when I'm also trying to balance myself in a lunge or squat position with such heavy weights!)
3) Squat with Lateral Shoulder Raise
4) Lunge with Frontal Press
5) Squat with Calf Raise
6) Sumo Squat with Delt Raises
7) Squat with Double Overhead Press
8) Lunge with Lateral Raise
9) Sumo Squat with Calf Raise
*Tonight's workout is supposed to be "Burn Intervals", so it should be interesting. If it's anything like P90x Intervals Plus+, I could be in big trouble (that one is SOOOO hard!)
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