Workout Update: Dig Deeper Days 63 and 64

Days 63 and 64 were the Dig Deeper rest days. For day 63, I did the LIIFT4 Roll and Recover routine. This session focuses entirely on foam rolling and stretching to relieve muscle soreness from the heavy lifting days. It helped loosen up my muscles after a demanding week of workouts. For day 64, I did the X-Stretch routine. Because of the dizziness issues I had earlier in the week, I adapted the routine to minimize the amount of bending over. Keeping my head up during the stretches kept things stable and prevented any lightheadedness. It was a good way to finish out the week safely.

Workout Update: Dig Deeper Day 62

Day 62 brought us to day 5 of Phase 3, which closes out the lifting week. This was the shoulders-and-abs workout. In this one, you do two shoulder exercises followed by an ab/core exercise. In this one, you do only three sets of the lifting exercises, with 10 reps per set. The core exercises are all 45 seconds long, and you do those for three sets as well. So, this is another fast-paced workout. Because I was still feeling a bit off, I did not use as heavy a weight as I could for some exercises, but I wanted to stay safe. It was a good workout to end the week.

Workout Update: Dig Deeper Day 61

Day 61 was day 4 of Phase 3, which is the leg workout. It is the longest workout of the Phase, at just over 50 minutes. This workout uses the exact same 12-10-8-6 reverse pyramid format for the primary lifts, meaning you tackle heavy sets of 12, 10, 8, and then a heavy set of 6 as the workout progresses. Because there is no core component to break things up, lower-body fatigue builds up quickly. Since my energy was a bit off and things felt a little rocky last week, I made sure to listen to my body and adapt a few movements. For the Bulgarian split squats, I decided to use a lower step bench instead of the standard tall weight bench. Bringing the height down gave me much more control over my balance and stability, making for a safe, effective, and smart leg session.

Workout Update: Dig Deeper Day 60

Day 60 was day 3 of Phase 3, which is the arms workout. The structure shifted to a demanding reverse pyramid format. For the primary lifts, you do 12 reps in the first set, 10 in the second, 8 in the third, and wrap up with a heavy 6 reps for the final set. A couple of the exercises (the hammer curls and triceps kickbacks) follow a 21s format. So, you do 7 reps on one arm, 7 reps on the other, and then 7 reps using both arms together. The burnout alternates between reciprocating curls (hammer curls and neutral curls), in which you do 24 reps for each, and triceps dips. It is definitely a tough workout. 

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 59

Day 59 was day 2 of Phase 3, the back-and-abs workout. This one is a bit different in that you do a set of back exercises immediately followed by a 45-second ab exercise, and you essentially alternate between the two for five sets. That makes the workout fast-paced and finishes quickly. While you do alter the number of reps between sets, it is not like the weight progression in Body-For-Life. Shaun says you can use the same weight for all sets, or go up or down as needed. I opted to keep my weights consistent across the blocks to really focus on the mind-muscle connection (Shaun's buzz phrase for this workout). Moving straight from heavy rows and pulldowns into a 45-second ab burner without any real rest forces you to keep moving. By the fourth and fifth sets, the fatigue was definitely real, but the fast pace meant it was over before I had time to talk myself out of it. It’s a tough format, but it felt great to get it done and push through.

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 58

Day 58 was day 2 of Phase 3, which was the back and abs workout. For the entire workout, you pair a back exercise with an ab exercise and alternate between them. For most of the back exercises, you do four sets and increase the number of reps in each set. So set 1 has 6 reps, set 2 has 8, set 3 has 10, and set 4 has 12. After each set, you do the corresponding ab exercise for 45 seconds. So, essentially, the ab exercises act as an active rest for the back exercises. You do not have to adjust the weight from set to set, but you can go up or down as you need to. 

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 57

 Day 57 was the start of Phase 3 of Dig Deeper, the Build Phase. For the final group of workouts, it is just Shaun T, without his trainer, Kristen, or the guy who was with them during the Phase 1 workouts. Day 1 of Phase 3 is chest. The format is quite different than in the prior workouts. None of the exercises are really new, but you are performing more sets and fewer reps per set. Several of the exercises have 5 sets of 8 reps, using as heavy a weight as you can. A couple of the exercises use the 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 rep scheme in which you drop the number of reps by two in each set. One is a bodyweight exercise (decline push-ups), and one is weighted (hex presses). I started with 25 lbs in the hex press, and did the first three sets at that weight, then dropped to 20 lbs for the final three sets. Afterwards, I did the upper body foam rolling from 645 before winding down for the evening.

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Days 55 and 56

The weekend days were off days from Dig Deeper, but I did get my walks in, foam-rolled, and did the P90x stretching routine. I definitely needed the rest from Dig Deeper, especially going into the final phase/4 weeks. Overall, a good recovery weekend.

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 54

Day 54 was the final workout of Phase 2, Bis and Tris. The workout went well, and I was able to increase the weight I used from last week for a couple of the exercises. My form on triceps dips (and range of motion) is getting a lot better, which is nice since I have never been great at them. 

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 53

Day 53 was the final shoulders, glutes, and abs workout of Phase 2. I was able to increase the amount of weight I used for two of the exercises, but had to hold them steady for the rest. However, shoulders are my weak spot, so that is not surprising. I do love being able to make use of "getting stuck"/reducing my range of motion, which allows me to use a little heavier weight to challenge myself and work on getting my shoulders stronger.

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 52

Day 52 was my final leg workout of Phase 2. This is my favorite workout of the program so far, and it went very well. I actually increased the amount of weight I used for some of the exercises after the first set, which I rarely do during the workouts. So, my legs are absolutely getting stronger. And, my range of motion in the squats and lunges is getting better as I lose weight overall.  

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 51

Day 51 was the final chest and back workout of Phase 2. As has been the case for the past few weeks, I could increase the weight for some exercises and used the same weight for others as I did last week. I did notice that the core-focused exercises, while still not easy for me, are getting easier.  

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 50

Day 50 was the start of the final week of Phase 2 of Dig Deeper, which meant doing the total-body workout again. Even after 4 weeks, the workout is still challenging. I was able to increase the amount of weight I used from last week for a couple of the exercises. The last burnout round was pretty killer, with almost no breaks between exercises or sets. 

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Days 48 and 49

Days 48 and 49 were the rest days for Dig Deeper. I still did my approximately two-mile morning walks and did some flexibility and mobility work each day. I did some foam rolling on Saturday and did the P90X stretch routine on Sunday. This upcoming week will be the last week of Phase 2 of Dig Deeper.

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 47

Day 47 was the final workout of week three of Phase 2 in Dig Deeper: bis and tris. This is still a very challenging workout. I had to use the same weight I used last week for almost all of the exercises, but I did increase the weight for the last 3-minute burnout block, alternating the 90-degree rotations and triceps kickbacks. Going from 8 lbs (which was not exactly easy) to 10 felt like a huge jump, especially in the last minute. At the end of the night, I did the upper body foam rolling routine from 645, which helped loosen me up a bit.  

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 46

Day 46 was the shoulders, glutes, and abs workout. This is a harder workout for me, but I challenged myself to increase the weight I used where I could and took advantage of "getting stuck" and not doing lateral raises through the full range of motion, which allowed me to use 15 lbs instead of 12. That burnout at the end is still killer, even with 3 lb weights, but the burn did not hit until I got to the very end, so I am going to try it using 5 lbs next week. 

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 45

Day 45 was the legs workout. This is actually my favorite workout of the program so far. It is short, but challenging. I was able to increase the amount of weight I used for a couple of the exercises and will be able to increase the weight for others next week.  

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 44

Day 44 was the chest and back workout again. I was able to increase the amount of weight from last week for some of the exercises. For those that I had to use the same weight as last week, I will be able to increase the weight next week. So, I am progressing and am getting appreciably stronger and leaner during this phase.  

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 43

Day 43 marked the start of the third week of the second phase of Dig Deeper, which meant doing the total-body workout again. I was able to increase the amount of weight I used from last week for some of the exercises, but I had to keep all of the weight in the final burnout block the same. Even bumping the weight up a little changes the workout quite a bit, especially when you are doing the 1-3 tempo lifts 

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Days 41 and 42

Days 41 and 42 were mostly rest days. I did, however, do my morning walk each day, and yesterday did the P90x stretch routine in the evening. My range of motion continued to improve, but was not extremely different from last week.