CHALEAN EXTREME Day 16: "Off" day (i.e., did Tony Horton's 10 Minute Trainer: Cardio)

(Originally posted May 5, 2009)

Well, yesterday was technically my "off" day but like the previous week I decided to throw in some cardio just so that I don't lose too much momentum. I find that if I take too much time off from working out that it's much harder to get back into the swing of things later on. Anyway, last week I did P90x's Intervals Plus+ workout which nearly put me in a coma. I had forgotten how difficult that workout was, and since Chalean's resistance workouts don't seem to have as much cardio side benefit as P90x I think that I might just take things down a notch. Plus, I didn't get home till late last night, so I wanted something short and sweet.

Well, nothing's shorter or sweeter than Tony Horton's 10 MINUTE TRAINER program. I think I've mentioned off-handedly before that I obtained the 10 Minute Trainer stuff a while back, and these quick workouts are great for days when you're short on time! Just 'cause they're short though does not make them easy!! Because you're only working out for 10 minutes, Tony (who's the same instructor from P90x) really works you hard.

Anyway, even though I've done a few of the 10 Minute Trainer workouts before, there are still some I haven't had a chance to check out yet. But last night I decided to do "10 Minute: Cardio", "10 Minute: Core Cardio", and then I also threw in at the end an ab workout from The Firm's 5 Day Abs video that I have.

For almost all of the 10 Minute Trainer workouts, they involve doing 10 different moves for 1 minute each. There may be a a couple seconds rest in between moves, but the clock doesn't start until the exercise itself starts....so the entire workout actually probably lasts closer to 11 minutes or so. Plus, they have a very quick warm-up and cool-down that you can do, but these are optional. The "Cardio" workout, which I've done before, is extremely effective for how fast it goes by. Since it usually takes a while to get a good sweat going, you might think that it's not all that difficult at first....but once you get to about the 7th or 8th minute the sweat starts pouring! And you can make it even harder if you want by wearing a belt that with a resistance band attached to it that you can hook up to a door frame. I haven't used that yet, but the workout is actually pretty effective as it is.

After I finished the "Cardio" workout, I then decided to try out "Core Cardio" for the first time. Some of these moves were similar to what was in the regular "Cardio" workout, but it was different enough to tell that the it was involving the core a bit more. Unfortunately though, I felt pretty wiped by about 1/2 way through it and quit early. I've only quit workouts before finishing a small number of times since I started P90x/ChaLean, but every now and then I just sorta shut down and can't make it through. Oh well! I guess it can happen to everyone from time to time.

Anyway, here's a breakdown of the 10 Minute Trainer "Cardio" and "Core Cardio" workouts (each move is 1 minute each):

CARDIO
2:00 - 0:00 Warm-Up (I’d recommend)

10:00 - 9:00 Combo Run

9:00 - 8:00 Warrior Lunges

8:00 - 7:00 Tires (like tire drills in football...sorta involves running with high, wide knees)

7:00 - 6:00 off The Line (like a football drill, pitter-pattering the feet...followed by some lateral side stepping)

6:00 - 5:00 Charlestown Kick

5:00 - 4:00 Circle Run

4:00 - 3:00 “The Gretch”

3:00 - 2:00 Defensive Slide (just a lateral side-stepping move like in bball drills)

2:00 - 1:00 Side Lunge - Side Kick

1:00 - 0:00 Hop Squat - Run Home

2:00 - 0:00 Cool down (I’d recommend)


CORE CARDIO - these all have weird names and are pretty hard to explain!
2:00 - 0:00 Warm-up (RECOMMENDED)

10:00 - 9:00 CRESCENT PRESS

9:00 - 8:00 OBLIQUE HOP SQUAT

8:00 - 7:00 TOWEL HOP SQUAT

7:00 - 6:00 THE BELLA TWIST

6:00 - 5:00 TWISTING SPRINTER

5:00 - 4:00 SPEED SKATER (I made it about halfway through this move before I had to bail on the rest of the workout)

4:00 - 3:00 LOADING DOCK

3:00 - 2:00 TRAVELING BODY BLOWS

2:00 - 1:00 ARC TWIST

1:00 - 0:00 REACHING SKATER

2:00 -0:00 COOL DOWN (RECOMMENDED)

P90X Day 16: Plyo X

(Originally posted Jan 23, 2009)

Ugh... that was hard. So, like I said in my last note, I've been having a good bit of trouble staying energetic for my workouts the last week or so. I had done a little bit of reading on different supplements that might help me in that department, but the whole exercise/supplement industry is a bit overwhelming. There are so many stinkin' companies out there pushing the "next new thing", trying to make money before all else...and it makes it difficult to sort out what's what. Anyway, I went to eat dinner tonight at Whole Foods Market with the parentals, and while I was there I decided I would pick up a bottle of the Nitric Oxide supplement (meant for bringing energy to a workout) they carry since I figured it would be a little more natural than some of the alternatives out there. Well, aside from paying way too much for it, it seems that nitric oxide isn't really a good solution for cardio workouts! I was sweating like crazy, and felt like I had to drink a good gulp of water after every single exercise. I did survive, but man, I will reserve that stuff for weight training only from now on!

That said, on to the actual workout. Things have definitely improved since week 1, that much is certain! As you may remember, plyo made me throw up the first time I did it, and that wasn't remotely a concern this time...even though I felt like crap through it. I still have to take a few extra breaks at times (no more than a minute I would guess), but my form is better, and mentally I am now better able to keep going from exercise to exercise without keeling over :)

For Plyometrics X, the exercises are grouped into 6 rounds (each round consists of 4 different exercises, one after the other...the first 3 exercises of a round last for 30 seconds each, while the 4th exercise is a minute long; also, there is a 30 second break in between each of these rounds). Each round is repeated once before moving on to the next. The breakdown is as follows:

ROUND 1: Jump Squats; Run Stance Squats; Airborne Heisman (aka lateral leaping); Swing Kicks (these are hard! basically it involves standing in front of chair and swinging your legs, one at a time, over the top of it repeatedly)

ROUND 2: Squat Reach Jumps (these are basically the same as "jump squats", except you jump higher!); Run Stance Squats with direction switch (like the regular run stance squats, except on these you twist in the air each time); Double Airborne Heisman (this to me is one of the easier exercises....essentially, they're regular heismans with some extra footwork); Circle Run (you run your feet in a circle around a towel on the floor as fast as you can)

ROUND 3: Jump Knee Tucks (ugh! this is where it starts to get real); Jumping Lunges; Leapfrog Squats; Twist Combos (for these you sort of mime mogul skiing)

ROUND 4: Rock Star Hops (another of the toughest plyo moves...jump as high as you can repeatedly, kicking your butt with your feet); Gap Jumps (one foot, standing long jumps); Squat Jacks (jumping jacks, but with your butt close to the ground); Military March (don't even know how to describe these...kinda like marching Nazi/North Korean style in place)

ROUND 5: Run squats with 180 jump; Lateral Leap Frog (think basketball practice passing drills); Monster Truck Tire (extreme lateral jumping); Hot Foot (jumping on one foot)

ROUND 6 (BONUS ROUND, one minute each): Pitch & Catch (mimics baseball pitching); Basketball Jump Shots; Football (mimics those foot grid obstacle course type things that football players use in practice)

* This workout is hard!!!!!!!!

But....just keep pushing "play"

Tomorrow is my easy day: Shoulders & Arms