CHALEAN EXTREME Day 2: Rest Day (But I did P90x Intervals Plus+)

(Originally posted April 21, 2009)

Hey everybody,

Like I said in my little introduction yesterday to ChaLean Extreme, this program has 2 rest days a week (unlike P90x which only had one), and one of these was technically yesterday. However, not wanting to lose too much momentum I thought doing some "light" cardio would be best to keep me in the swing of things. And by "light" I mean doing P90x Intervals. I've already reviewed the Intervals workout in a past post, but man oh man this thing never seems to get any easier. Every time I do this workout I have to take an extra long break at the halfway point, absolutely covered from head to toe in sweat. Last night Katie came over to borrow my computer for a bit, so I felt obligated to go give her a sweaty hug when I was taking my break. Delicious :) Ha. Anyways, there's really nothing new to report for yesterday on the workout front since it's one that I've blogged about before, I but I figured I'd keep y'all posted on the goings on. Also, have had a few more people asking me about getting started on the P90x program, which is always kind of exciting since it's great to see people wanting to get themselves in better shape. Good stuff!

Ok, tonight is Burn Circuit 2, so we'll see how that goes. Also, FYI, whereas P90x had abdominal work 3 days a week, ChaLean only has it once...which is simply not enough in my opinion. So to rectify this, I'm just going to do ab stuff on all of my resistance days. Should help to keep things slightly more consistent with what I had been doing up to this point from my P90x workouts.

p.s.-recently discovered that Target carries nutritional bars for dirt cheap compared to anywhere else I've seen. Not as big a selection perhaps, but I was very excited to discover this! Also, tried Odwalla bars for the first time this past weekend. Delish and very very natural. Another great find!

P90X Day 2: Plyo X

(Originally posted Jan 8, 2009)

Seems like folks are interested in me continuing to blog about this, so here we go. Plyometrics this morning: the "mother of all P90x workouts" according to Tony, the instructor dude. I think I only ever really had to do plyometrics back in high school a wee bit for wrestling and lacrosse. Holy crap this was hard. And I admittedly dogged it towards the end. My legs were not made for 1,000 jumping reps and squats in a row :)

That being said, I survived mostly....although I took about 1hr 20 min to complete a 1hr workout. Oh well. Improvement is the name of the game. 

Also, I was supposed to the Ab Ripper video last night as an add-on to the Chest & Back stuff. It kind of was hard on my back, so I replaced it with some old school 5-day abs video I stole from my mom (that's right, my mom)....which was actually still really hard, but at least it didn't hurt! 

I can't imagine keeping this up for 90 days...but that's two down. Also, passed a big test this morning since I actually woke up! It's going to be too hard to be consistent with this stuff if I try to cram a workout in after the workday. Morning, sadly, is going to be my "go-time".

P90X2 (Day 2): Plyocide

So we're on to Day 2 and "plyo-land" or "Death by Jumping" as Tony would say!  After yesterday's X2 Core workout, I have to say that I was actually pretty excited about what today's Plyocide would bring.  Although Plyo X in the original P90X was an absolutely killer workout (perhaps the hardest in the program), it was never really my favorite.  As a matter of fact, although I did my first round of P90X with no modifications, I found myself swapping Plyo X in subsequent rounds with the likes of Core Synergistics or Pure Cardio.  There was simply too much lung-bursting, joint-pounding jumping in the original plyo routine.

This time around, Plyocide's plyo program--while still focusing very much on explosive movements--is a bit better rounded.  The moves are more synergistic in nature, bringing your core more into play.  Also, as with yesterday's X2 Core, there is much stronger focus on the warmup and cool-down than in P90X.  You really get the feeling that Tony was much more deliberate in how P90X2 was put together, with a likely goal of maximizing both the effort expended as well as the recovery time.  So, while I'm hesitant to say that this workout is quite as killer Plyo X was, I have little worry as to the results that it will bring and am confident in my preference for it over the original.

Overview

• Equipment
• med ball (still don't have one, but I simply used a 10lb dumbbell instead...worked just as well)
• stability ball (primarily used in the warmup)
• plyo box (definitely didn't have this!  had to use a step ladder we keep in our closet..be careful if you try something like that)
• towel
• foam roller (just for the warmup)
• Time
• 55 minutes overall
• 14 min warmup (probably could have used a bit more time with the foam roller portion after yesterday...Katie and I paused for a bit of extra stretching)
• 12 min cooldown

Notable Moves

• Killer Katherine Lunge
• This is rough.  It requires a medicine ball, but I simply used a 10lb dumbbell instead (not a perfect substitute, but certainly good enough).  Basically, you do plyo jump lunges where you go down into a lunge and then explode up switching legs and then repeat.  The catch is that rather than normal plyo lunges you're doing these with a 10lb weight in your hands, bringing it up over your head each time you jump.  It's hard to describe, but it will leave your legs and arms feeling like jelly.
• Frog Burpee Hop
• Ok, this is straight from an Insanity workout.  Basically do a wide-legged burpee and then jump up with a wide-legged knee tuck, bringing your elbows to your knees. 
• Wide Leg Jump Press with Med Ball
• Ouch!  It could just be because this is towards the end of the workout, but this almost killed me.  With a 10lb weight in hand, start in a squat position.  From there explode up off the ground into an x-jump with your feet/legs spread wide and your hands (holding the weight) extended above your head.  If you focus on making sure you jump with your legs wide, it will burn.  Believe me!

Summary

At the end of the day, was this as hard as I remember the workouts being in P90X?  I'd have to say no. But again, like with X2 Core, I really am enjoying the workouts much more, and I appreciate the added focus on core strength and stability, recovery, etc.   I'll be able to tell in a few weeks whether or not this new strategy of Tony's will still bring the results!

Alright, that's it for now.  Until tomorrow's Recovery & Mobility routine!!

Shaun T.'s Insanity: Day 2 (Plyometric Cardio Circuit AKA "Kill me Now!")

Ladies and Gents,


Consider this a forewarning that I might not survive through all 60 days.  My trepidations following the beating I took in yesterday's Fit Test apparently had merit.  Day 2 of Insanity is quite possibly the hardest workout on DVD or otherwise that I have ever attempted...and I wouldn't even dare to suggest that Katie or I did a good job keeping up.  In terms of P90x comparisons, it's most akin to the Intervals Plus+, Plyo X, and Core Synergistics workouts. 


That said, we did what we could, which is really what counts in the end.  You have to remember the payoff you're looking for at the end of all this.  Fitness results don't come easy, but they're always well worth it.  And as I said yesterday... you can always push yourself harder than you think you can (that definitely goes for me: this workout, as hard as it was, is definitely the sort that's easy to cheat on).

www.beachbody.com

Cardio Warm-Up (10.5 minutes of intervals)
The warm-up consists of 3 cycles (no rest in between them) of a series of different exercise movements, which each movement lasting 30-60 seconds.  With each cycle, the pace gets faster, and believe me when I say you'll be longing for the workout to be finished by the time you complete the warm-up.  Comparing this warm-up to P90x's is somewhat of a joke (even though I think P90x warm-ups do a good job of accomplishing what they're supposed to).


Warm-Up Cycle Movements:

• Jog (basically running place; sounds easy enough, but Shaun pretty much has everyone sprinting by the third cycle)
• Jumping Jacks (Shaun makes you touch your hands together at the top, which actually isn't that easy for me these days due to flexibility issues)
• Heismans (Very quick heisman movements compared to those in P90x Plyo)
• 123s (basically, these are heismans with a little bit of pitter-patter footwork in between)
• Butt Kicks (running in place with knees down, kicking your heels to your butt)
• High Knees (running in place while making sure your knees raise up to your waist with each "stride")
• Mummy Kicks (bizarre move where you keep your arms and legs extended straight out, doing a sort of run while kicking your feet out in front of you, all while crossing your extended arms back and forth over each other in front of your chest.. you'd have to see it!)

For the last cycle, there were a bunch of added moves I can't remember... basically some crazy footwork drills. Not an easy way to finish!


Stretch (7 minutes)


This portion of the workout is more akin to the the P90x warm-up than the actual "warm-up" is.

The Workout (~20 minutes of crazy interval circuits)

First Circuit (3 cycles: each movement, again, lasts 30-60 seconds):

• Suicide Drills
• These are basically mini shuttle runs in the middle of your living room
• Power Squats
• Squat jumps... start from standing position, go down into a squat, jump as high as you can, repeat
• Mountain Climbers
• I have never seen mountain climbers like these... and they're hard!!  Standing up, you basically start running with high knees in place, while simultaneously reaching your arms up in turn like your trying to scale up a wall.
• Ski Downs
• Squat Jumps essentially, but you jump laterally from side to side like you're skiing

Second Circuit (3 cycles)

• Basketball Drills
• Pretty much squat jumps... you pretend to be shooting a basket during the jump
• Level One Drills
• These are hard!!!  From standing position drop down into plank for 4 pushups, then 4 "normal" mountain climbers in plank position, then stand up to repeat
• Ski Abs
• Even harder!  In plank position, jump your feet up in toward the right side of your rib cage, then back to plank, then to the left side, and repeat.
• In and Outs
• Yep, even harder.  From plank jump your feet right into/under your chest, then back out to plank.  Repeat.  Killer on your arms, abs, legs.

* In the third round, a few extra moves are added.

• Jabs (I found a lot of consolation seeing one of the background exercisers on this move barely able to move her arms... she had a huge smile on her face that pretty much said "are you kidding me, Shaun?")
• Cross jacks (a weird version of a jumping jack that involves criss-crossing your legs)
• Upper Cuts
• Attack (very similar to jabs)

Diagnosis
This is one hard workout, and I took LOTS of breaks.  I've taken breaks during P90x before, but usually that was more on days where I was feeling a little tired already.  In the case of Insanity, the breaks were more to keep me from having to go to the hospital.


To help with the recovery I'm using some Optimum Nutrition Oats & Whey, which was my recovering drink of the moment during my latter hardcore P90x days.  I think I'm going to need as much help as I can get.


REMEMBER:

1. Have water nearby
2. Take breaks as needed
3. Push harder than you think you can (don't take those breaks unless you NEED them)
4. Maintain good form!!!  Again, very easy to cheat on these sorts of exercises.  Do them in front of a mirror if you can, or with a friend who can keep you accountable.  

Good luck! To me since I have to work out gain tomorrow, and to you if you decide to join this fitness massacre :)