Workout Update: Lift 4: Day 49

On day 49, I did the Flexibility and Mobility 1 routine from 25-Minute Speed Train.  I actually made appreciable progress from last week. I could get much deeper into many of the stretches, including ones that I had not been able to get into for quite a while. 

Workout Update: Lift 4: Day 42

Day 42 was the flexibility and mobility routine from 25-Minute Speed Train. I again felt that I could get a bit farther into the stretches this week than I could last week. So, while I am not even close to where I want to be, my flexibility is getting better. 

Workout Update: Lift 4: Day 35

Day 35 was a rest day, so I did the flexibility and mobility workout from 25-Minute Speed Train. Again, I felt that my flexibility and range of motion have definitely improved since last week. Not by leaps and bounds, but incrementally. I still have a ways to go to get to where I want to be, but every improvement is good.

Workout Update: Lift 4: Day 28

Day 28 was the flexibility and mobility routine from 25-Minute Speed Train. I again feel like I made slight progress from last week. While I am still tight in all the same muscles, I do feel that my range of motion is getting better, little by little.  

Workout Update: Lift 4: Day 21

On day 21, I again did the flexibility and mobility 1 routine from 25-Minute Speed Train. I again feel that my flexibility is improving, as is my balance, but neither is yet where I want them to be. 

Workout Update: Lift 4: Day 14

On Day 14, I did the Flexibility and Mobility 1 workout from 25-Minute Speed Train. I was also outside doing some yardwork, so while this was an off day, I was quite active. My hamstrings were very tight today, so the flexibility workout really helped.  

Workout Update: 25 Minute Speed Train: Day 56

Day 56 was the last workout of the 25-minute speed train program. It was the second of the two flexibility routines. While I still prefer the first one, this one did grow on me a bit throughout the program. So, my plan going forward is to complete another round of Lift 4, followed by the follow-up to that program, Lift More. Then, I will probably try Tony Horton's (who has returned as a BODI trainer) new program, The Power of 4. 

Workout Update: 25 Minute Speed Train: Day 55

Day 55 was the last "real" workout of the 25-minute speed train program, which was core-cardio. This week, the workout uses the Give Me Five format. So, in each of the four blocks, you did a pre-fatigue exercise for 60 seconds and then four 40-second sets of the second exercise. I actually prefer this to doing four blocks and a burnout round, even though you do every exercise for a longer overall period of time. 

Workout Update: 25 Minute Speed Train: Day 54

Day 54 was the last lower-body workout of the program. It uses the Dirty MOFO format. The four exercises in this workout are front-loaded squats, sumo deadlifts, alternating front-loaded lunges, and calf raises. With the five sets, you increase the weight as the time decreases, and then stay with the heaviest weight you can as the time increases again. On some of the exercises I had to step the weight back down, and on others I was able to keep using the heavier weight for the 40 and 60 second sets. 

Workout Update: 25 Minute Speed Train: Day 53

Day 53 was the final upper-body workout of the program. It used the burnout format, which meant doing three sixty-second sets of a weighted exercise followed by a 45-second burnout set that used a band or bodyweight. This workout used most of the tempos that we have used throughout the program, including 4x4, 3x1, and 2x2. Joel encouraged starting with heavier weights and drop setting as needed, which I did in each of the four blocks. 

Workout Update: 25 Minute Speed Train: Day 52

Day 52 was the total-body workout for week 8, which utilized the "Give Me Five" format. In this workout, you use a band move to pre-fatigue one of the muscle groups worked in the specific block, and then perform a compound exercise for four 40-second sets.  Ultimately, it was a good but challenging workout.

Workout Update: 25 Minute Speed Train: Day 51

Day 51 was the first lower-body workout of the final week. Surprisingly, it was a superburnout workout, not the Dirty MOFO or Give Me Five, which is what I was expecting. All of the exercises in the workout were ones we did before, but there were a couple of twists on them. For example, this week, while doing swings, you used two dumbbells instead of one. And, Joel has you do variations of deadlifts in each of the first two blocks.  

Workout Update: 25 Minute Speed Train: Day 50

Day 50 was the first upper-body workout of the final week of the program. It used the Dirty MOFO format and worked the chest, shoulders, back, and triceps. The weighted exercises each used one of the tempos (4x4 for chest press, 1x3 for front raises, and 3x1 for back flys). The final exercise was negative triceps push-ups in which you start with one of the modified versions, progress as far as you can (hopefully to an unmodified version for at least part of the 20-second set), then modify again. The workout was challenging, but I can tell I'm making progress with my muscular endurance and strength gains. I could do the entire 20-second set of negative triceps push-ups unmodified, which I could not do at the beginning of the program. It will be interesting to do Lift 4 again after this program since many of the exercises in this program are in that one, but without the tempos (or mostly a 2x2 tempo). 

Workout Update: 25 Minute Speed Train: Day 49

Day 49 was the first of the two flexibility and mobility routines. This is still the one I like better, mainly because it features a mix of standing, seated, and prone stretches, while the second routine has mostly seated stretches. The plan is to finish week 8, then do another round of Lift 4, then try Lift More, then go either to Power 90 and then P90x or jump right into P90x. 

Workout Update: 25 Minute Speed Train: Day 48

Day 48 was week 7's core-cardio workout. The format is the same, four blocks with two exercises that you alternate and then a burnout block doing four of the eight exercises for 45 seconds, back-to-back. There are a couple of new exercises in the workout, one new variation of the bear plank and a lunge chop with the dumbbell. Every other exercise is one that has been in the prior workouts.  

Workout Update: 25 Minute Speed Train: Day 47

Day 47 was the second lower-body workout of the week, and it was, as predicted, the second "Give Me Five" workout of the week. So, in each of the four blocks, you do a pre-fatigue band exercise for 60 seconds, followed by four sets of a weighted exercise. Three of the weighted exercises use tempos (4x4, 3x1, and 1x3), and one (alternating lunge pulses) does not. You may need to use lighter weights than you did in previous weeks, given the format, but even if you do, it's still a good workout.

Workout Update: 25 Minute Speed Train: Day 46

Day 46 was the second upper-body workout of the week. This one is a regular super burnout, so you do three blocks alternating between two exercises, doing each exercise for two sets, then doing a burnout block at the end. This workout focuses on the chest, shoulders, back, and biceps, so you hit all the upper-body muscle groups. Of course, that means tomorrow's leg day will be that pre-burnout format, which should be interesting. 

Workout Update: 25 Minute Speed Train: Day 45

Day 45 was the week 7 total-body workout. There was another switch-up with this one, in that it uses the Dirty MOFO format. So, you do four exercises (all of which are compound movements, however) using the 60-40-20-40-60 time intervals. On the weighted exercises, you do the increasing and decreasing weights. On the bodyweight exercise, which is a high-plank to low-plank to triceps push-up to downward dog, you start on your knees, then start moving to your toes for some of the exercises, and eventually (hopefully) all of them.  

Workout Update: 25 Minute Speed Train: Day 44

Day 44 is the first lower-body workout of week 7. It is just a "regular" burnout workout in which you have four blocks consisting of a weighted exercise that you do for three one-minute sets and a band exercise that you do for 40 seconds. In this workout, you do sumo deadlifts, front-loaded lunges, side lunges, and calf raises as the weighted exercises, and the band exercises are things like pulse kicks, deadlifts, and pigeon calf raises. Some exercises use the various tempos, and others do not. So, it is a good workout that definitely tires you out by the end.

Workout Update: 25 Minute Speed Train: Day 43

Day 43 was the start of week 7. It switched back to upper-body to start the workout and introduced both a new tempo (4x4) and a new format. This week, you pre-fatigue the muscle group you will be working in the block with a burnout exercise, and then you do four forty-second sets of the weighted exercise. So, in the first block, you do 60 seconds of push-ups at the 4x4 tempo, and then four sets of chest presses, doing a 3x1 tempo.  In block 2, perform the arrow pulls with the bands for 60 seconds, followed by four sets of rotating rows with no tempo. In block 3, you do shoulder raise pulses with the bands for 60 seconds and then four sets of weighted lateral raises. In the final block, you do w-bicep curl pulses with the band for 60 seconds, followed by biceps curls with the 2x2 tempo. So, in each block, you do five total reps. You will be using very light weights in this workout because doing the burnout exercise at the beginning of the block instead of at the end will definitely wear you out.