Workout Update: Lift 4: Day 17

Day 14 was the mid-week rest day, so all I did was roll and recover and stretch. I also put together a shelf in the evening which got me a little bit of movement and did one outdoor walk in the morning. So, it was still a fairly active day.

Workout Update: Lift 4: Day 16

Day 16 was back and biceps, which switches to the circuit format this week. As with yesterday's workout, I was able to increase the amount of weight I used for each of the exercises by a couple of pounds (thanks to microplates on my hex dumbbells and the Bowflex 552s). I did, however, drop-set the full curls in the burnout round, starting at 17.5 and dropping to 15 in the second and third sets.  

Workout Update: Lift 4: Day 15

Day 15 was the beginning of week 3, which was chest and triceps again. It switches back to the 50/50 format, and the HIIT portion is pretty brutal. It begins with 180 squat jumps as the 60-second exercise, so the soccer runs and jump lunges are harder than they would be if the 180 squat jumps were the third exercise. I did have to modify the 180 squat jumps at some point in each set, but got through them. However, I was able to do both exercises in the core block unmodified. 

Workout Update: Lift 4: Days 13 and 14

Days 13 and 14 were the weekend rest days. I did both Lift 4 recovery routines on Saturday and X-Stretch from P90X on Sunday. Nothing was all that different in any of the routines from what they were last week.  

Workout Update: Lift 4: Day 12

Day 12 was the final workout of week 2, which was legs. The twist, of course, is that this one is all HIIT, and yes, it includes the dreaded triple-bear. It starts with high-knee runs, then triple-bear, then catchers (with jumps), and finally jump lunges. You do three sets and then two burnout rounds in which you do all of the exercises for 30 seconds without stopping. I definitely had to switch to modifications as the workout went along, but I could still do more unmodified than I have at any other time I did the workout.  

Workout Update: Lift 4: Day 11

Day 11 was shoulders, which is again an interval workout. I kept the weight the same as last week and was again able to do all of the HIIT exercises unmodified; however, I did slow down in the second and third sets.  I did have to pause a couple of times in the core exercises (and this is the workout where he does an extra 30 seconds of the sit-up twists since the cast were all doing bicycle crunches in the first set). Overall, however, it went well.

Workout Update: Lift 4: Day 10

 Day 10 was the mid-week rest day. I was still active, doing a couple of outdoor walks during the day and about 20 minutes on my walking pad in the evening. I also did the two recovery routines from Lift 4. The foam rolling felt very good and was much needed to work out some of the soreness. 

Workout Update: Lift 4: Day 9

Day 9 was the back and biceps workout, which is a 50/50 workout this week. The exercises are pretty much the same as last week in the weighted exercises, and I kept all the weights the same as what I used last week. The most notable thing is that in the HIIT and core blocks, I did all of the exercises unmodified. That includes the 180 squat jumps, which I have never done unmodified. I always started with the modification before, and this time I did all three sets unmodified. I had to go slow and paused a couple of times, but that was definitely huge progress. 

Workout Update: Lift 4: Day 8

Day 8 was the start of week 2 in Lift 4. It was Chest and Triceps again, but this time in a circuit format: two blocks of 4 exercises performed back-to-back with only transition time between them, then a 30-second break between the first two sets and a 60-second break after the third set before the second block. Then, a burnout round consists of three sets alternating wide push-ups and triceps push-ups. Finally, you finish with the core block, which alternates bent-knee windshield wipers and weighted flutter kicks for three sets. 

This one definitely burns out your chest and triceps. I used the same weight as last week for the repeated exercises (there are a couple of new ones), but by the burnout round, I could only do push-ups on my knees and ended up doing micro push-ups in the second and third sets. I did have to pause a couple of times during the core exercises and switch to the modified flutter kicks for a few seconds, but I definitely have better strength and stamina than I did in the prior rounds of Lift 4. 

Workout Update: Lift 4: Days 6-7

Days 6 and 7 were rest days. On day 6, I did both the foam rolling and stretching routine from Lift 4, and on day 7 I did X-Stretch from the original P90X. I had a lot of muscle soreness from leg day on Friday, so the recovery workouts helped a lot.  

Workout Update: Lift 4: Day 5

Day 5 was the fourth and final workout of week 1 of Lift 4. It was legs, which in week 1 is the 50/50 workout. This one was brutal, but I was able to do all of the HIIT exercises unmodified for part of the time. In this one, you do high-knee runs for 60 seconds, triple bear for 45 seconds, and no-jump (and no push-up) burpees for 30 seconds. I did have to do the modified stepping version of triple bear at the very end of the first set and for sets two and three. However, I did it unmodified for most of the first set, and in prior rounds of Lift 4, I either stepped or just held bear position. And I did not have to modify either of the core exercises. So, it is a much easier workout to do now when I am anywhere from 30 to 40 lbs lighter than the previous times I did the workout. 

Workout Update: Lift 4: Day 4

Day 4 of Lift 4 was the shoulders workout, which is the interval workout in week 1. So, you do two weighted exercises and follow that up with a 30-second HIIT exercise. Then, of course, you have core at the end. I was able to lift heavier on nearly all of the shoulder exercises than I could do in prior rounds of the workout, and I could do the HIIT and the core exercises mostly unmodified. Now, I could not go as fast as the cast members during HIIT (but they are all mostly dancers and/or fitness professionals in great shape), and I had to switch to the modification of the flutter kicks a couple of times, but I never had to pause them. And I was able to go back to the regular version after a few seconds. Overall, however, a great workout.

Workout Update: Lift 4: Day 3

Day 3 was the mid-week rest day in Lift 4, but I did both of the recovery routines. I did the foam rolling first and then immediately followed it with the stretch routine. That order definitely works best for me. I had a lot of muscle soreness from the first two workouts, and the foam rolling absolutely helped with that.  

Workout Update: Lift 4: Day 2

Day 2 of Lift 4 was the back-and-biceps circuit. Like yesterday's workout, I could do both core exercises unmodified, but I did have to pause a couple of times. During the "main" workout, I did have to drop-set the wide curls and hammer curls in the third set of each. However, I was able to maintain the same weight I used for all the back exercises through all three sets. Another thing I noticed is that, despite a few months of lifting heavy during Dig Deeper and Dig In, I still have a lot of muscle soreness, so just switching up the workouts was a bit of a shock to my body's system. I am looking forward to the recovery routines this evening, which I will definitely be taking advantage of. 

Workout Update: Lift 4: Day 1

Yesterday was day 1 of Lift 4. I have done multiple rounds of the program since 2022. I actually first did the program when I was early in the process of trying to lose weight after I had reached my highest weight back in 2021. The last time I did a round of it, I was about 25 lbs heavier than I am now, so it will be interesting to see what it is like now that I am in better shape and nearing my goal weight. Also, every other time I did the program, I paired it with something, whereas now, I am just going to be following the program and not adding anything extra besides some extra foam rolling and flexibility work here and there.

So, day 1 was chest and triceps, which was one of the 50/50 workouts. The resistance portion was still very challenging even after having finished Dig Deeper and Dig In. I was trying to use weights similar to what I ended with in those programs, and there were definitely times I was struggling. I did find the HIIT and core portions of the workout easier than the last time I did them. I did not have to modify as much as I did when I weighed more. Even so, I did have to switch to modifications at some point in the mountain climbers and the triceps push-ups (which are in the final block of resistance exercises). Those are the bane of my existence. I had to start those on my knees and was only doing micro-push-ups on my knees in the third set. 

Workout Update: Lift More: Day 56 and Program Review

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.

Workout Update: Lift More: Day 55

On day 55, I did the stretching routine from Lift 4. It went fine, no big improvement from last week that I can really report, however. 

Workout Update: Lift More: Day 54

Day 54 was the final day of Lift More, which was arms. It was a LIFT/HIIT workout with four blocks of superset, each one alternating between one of the biceps exercises and one of the triceps exercises. Then, you do HIIT, which brings back a "favorite" from Lift 4, triple-bear.  And, of course, you end with core and stretching. The workout was definitely tough, and I did drop-set on a few exercises. I did not try to raise the weight on any exercises, because I had pretty much been at the max that I could lift for each one last week. Monday, I start P90X for the first time in a long time.

Workout Update: Lift More: Day 53

Day 53 is the second leg day of the week, and the final one for the program. This is a LIFT-only workout, so you have three blocks of triple sets and a burnout block that uses the resistance loops. I maintained the same weight for each exercise, except the calf raises, which I only dropped to 35 lbs since they were paired with front-loaded narrow squats, which I cannot do with 45 lbs, which is the weight I have been doing calf raises at. And, of course, you finish with core and stretching. The core does require you to be in plank, but thankfully, it is the sways, which are not as bad as some of the other plank-based core (and cardio) exercises. Next week, I am going back to my OG beachbody workout, P90X. I made a goal to do it again when I was at or below 200 lbs, which I finally am. I am hoping I can get down to 185 by the time I am finished with P90X. We will see how that works out.

Workout Update: Lift More: Day 52

Day 52 was shoulders. It followed the LIFT/HIIT format. I did need to drop-set on a few exercises, but was mostly able to use the same weight from last week. The HIIT exercises were more cardio-based as they tend to be on shoulder days, and the core component was actually not bad. Overall, a good workout.