Day 56 was the final day of this workout program, which was Lift More. Even though the final workout of Lift More was on Friday, since I have not started a new program yet, I considered this weekend (and the two recovery workouts) to be a part of that. Today, I just did the roll and recover routine from Lift 4.
My impression of Lift More as a program is mixed. I liked the smaller cast (there were four total cast members, and only two worked out with Joel on any given day, aside from the last workout in which all of the cast members participated), so it was easier to follow what was going on. I also liked that it was a program that built upon Lift 4, but overall, I liked Lift 4 much more.
I didn't like that he increased the number of reps per set from 10 in Lift 4 to 12 in Lift More, since 8-10 reps with a heavy weight is really the sweet spot for muscle building. Nor did I like that he alternated between the LIFT/HIIT and LIFT formats every other week for each workout. I found myself constantly adjusting the weight I was using, and since there were almost no breaks and the transition time between exercises was minimal (at best), it was extremely hard to keep up with the cast. There were times when they were six or seven reps into an exercise before I had started because I was constantly changing weight. Unlike Lift 4, in which you can pretty confidently go up in weight every two weeks, that is not the case with Lift More. Also, for the most part, the HIIT exercises were more strength-based exercises meant to burn out your muscles than they were cardio-based. So I did not feel my cardio improved much at all over the course of the 8 weeks.
For equipment, you need a weight bench (and, depending on the height of your bench and ceilings, a step platform) and a pretty vast selection of free weights. You can use adjustable weights, but as I said, the transition time between exercises is almost non-existent, so it would be very hard to keep up if you are just using adjustable weights. And, the tracking sheets are god-awful. They took the Lift 4 tracking sheets and made them even worse (which I did not think was possible). The exercises you are doing on a given day are not grouped together, and you often have to go between two sheets of paper to write down what weight you used for a particular set. And, I refer back to the lack of transition time. And you do not get all that much time between blocks, so it is not like you can use that time to do it because you have to get your next group of weights ready.
Ultimately, it is a good program, but it is very hard, and some things about it are very frustrating. It is absolutely NOT a program that I would recommend for those who are beginners to lifting. I think you need to be intermediate to advanced to be able to do it well and keep up with the video. I am glad I tried it, but it is honesly not a program that I would go back to multiple times.
