Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 34

 Day 34 was sculpt 5-6. This workout went really well. I was able to hit 11 reps on a few moves (so the weight will go up for the next workout) and I generally felt stronger during this one than I have the past couple of times I did the workout. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 33

 Day 33 was cardio 5-6 and ab-ripper 200. This workout went very well. I am getting to the point where I can get through the workout without modifying any moves (almost). I still do have to go a bit slower than the people in the video, but I am getting better. Ab-ripper 200 is getting easier for me, although it is not easy. I am definitely glad that I stuck with it (even though I generally hate ab routines) so when I do get to p90x in a few weeks, I can keep up better with the ab-ripper x routine.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 32

 Day 32 was the modified T25 stretch workout again. I can tell that my flexibility is continuing to improve, slowly but surely. My balance is still shaky on the moves where you cradle your leg and then do the cross-legged one-legged squat move. Those are really the two hardest moves for me to do. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 31

 Day 31 was the first sculpt 5-6 workout after the recovery week. It was nice to be back to lifting weights and finding that I had not lost any strength with the week off. I managed to hit either the same rep count as I was hitting the last workout, or go up a couple of reps for some exercises. I still would say that I do not like this workout better than any of the P90X resistance workouts, but, if you are looking for a decent total-body workout, it is a good option.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 30

 Day 30 was the cardio intervals and ab-ripper 200. Even though the cardio intervals workout is a bit longer, I mostly like it as a cardio workout. It is easily adaptable to your fitness level and Tony encourages modification as you need it. I was able to do all 200 reps in ab-ripper pausing a couple of times, but that was it. Overall, a good workout.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 29

 Day 29 was the upper-middle-lower workout again. The second time through was a bit easier than the first time I did the workout. Some of the pushup moves are challenging but nothing horrible difficult. The workout does flow very well and does not seem "too long" at all. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 28

 Day 28 was a stretch or rest day, so I did the T25 stretch video again. I can definitely tell that my flexibility, while not good, is improving over the course of time, especially when doing two stretch workouts per week. I still modify this one to focus more on hamstrings, but otherwise stick to what they are doing.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 27

 Day 27 was the last day of the "recovery week" which was sweat 5-6 and ab-ripper 200. I still really like this workout and like that it has some moves that are totally original and are not repeats from the base power-90 workouts or in p90x. The pace is very good, and like any of the other workouts can be made as challenging as you want, depending on your fitness level. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 26

 Day 26 was the cardio core workout again. The second time around I thought the workout was a bit easier than the first time (although I would not call it an easy workout by any means). There are some moves that I do the modified versions the entire way through, and I am not at all good at the Dreya Roll into the push-ups. That is probably the hardest move for me. Like I said, it is a workout that could have easily been in p90x. It could easily replace the core synergistics workout. Overall, a good one.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 25

 Day 25 was a new workout, UML, which stands for upper-middle-and lower. Basically, you alternate doing a push-up-based chest move (the upper), a core-based move (the middle), and a leg exercise (the lower). Then, between rounds, there is a short (about 15 seconds) water break. Sometimes Tony just goes to the next round of moves without taking a break. It is a challenging workout. A bit shorter than the regular p90x workouts, which is probably the only reason it was in the Master's Series set and not used as one of the p90x workouts. The Master's Series workouts were being made around the same time as P90x, so there is a lot of overlap between them. So, you will definitely recognize some of these moves if you have done P90x. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 24

 Day 24 was the rest day during the recovery week, so I did the x-stretch video (from p90x). It is a good flexibility workout that has mostly beginner to intermediate moves. On the handful of more advanced moves, Tony does show or explain variations that can be used to make it less intense. Conversely, if you are very flexible, he shows how to make some of the stretches more intense, so there is something for everyone. It is a bit long, clocking in at just under an hour, but it flows well enough that you are not just waiting to get it over with.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 23

 Day 23 was the second day of the recovery week, which was the sweat 5-6 workout and ab-ripper 200. The workout went well and I was able to do all 200 reps in ab-ripper without pausing or stopping at all. My form is still not great on a couple of ab-ripper moves, more because of limited flexibility than anything else, but I can tell that my core is getting stronger.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 22

 Day 22 was the core-cardio workout. It is exactly what it sounds like...a mix of core exercises and cardio exercises. Again there are some moves from the various p90x workouts in this one as well as some moves that are not in p90x. It is a very challenging workout and could have easily replaced one of the workouts from p90x, like the Kenpo-x workout. Again, even though there is not a dedicated modifier (they kind of rotate who is modifying), Tony does show different variations of the moves that you can do, so you can tailor it to your ability. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 20

 Day 20 was the plyo-legs workout again. Overall, I really like the workout. I would even say that it is a bit more challenging than the p90x plyometrics workout because each move is one-minute long as opposed to 30 seconds, and some of them are very difficult to do for an entire minute. Really the only thing that this one does not have in it that the p90x workout does is the high-impact jumping moves like the jump knee tucks. And, because you can modify each move, you can make it as easy or as hard as you need to.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 19

 Day 19 was the sculpt 5-6 workout again. I was able to hit the 11 rep max on a few more exercises, so the weight on those will be increased next time. I definitely find the push-up moves in this workout a lot more challenging than those that were in the 1-2 and 3-4 workouts. This one ends up being a bit longer workout (about 45-50 minutes), but not quite as long as most of the p90x workouts. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 17

 Day 17 was cardio intervals again. It is definitely tough to get through both rounds of it, and I still cannot do the intense version of every move, even in the first round. But, my stamina is getting better so I am progressing. There are a few moves in the workout that I am not a big fan of, but, on the whole, I like the workout. Ab ripper 200 was about the same as it has been. I can get through all 200 moves, but definitely have to pause a couple of times and I still cannot get my legs to straighten out on the move where you stick your legs straight up and try to touch your toes. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 16

 Day 16 was the sculpt 5-6 workout again. I definitely like it a bit better than the 1-2 and 3-4 workouts in the base Power-90 set, but I still prefer the p90x approach in which each resistance workout targets 1-2 muscle groups instead of being a total-body workout. I was able to hit 11 reps on a couple of the exercises, so those will have the weight increased next time. Overall, it was a good, fast-moving workout.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 15

 Day 15 was cardio 5-6 and ab ripper 200. Both workouts went well. I was able to get through each one without taking extra breaks and again did all 200 reps of ab ripper. As I said in a prior post, I generally like this workout more than the ones in the base Power-90 program. Although that could be because the 1-2 and 3-4 workouts each had the same moves, so it was nice to get more variety in this workout. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 13

 Day 13 was the plyo-legs workout and ab ripper. No big change from the first time I did the workout, but I felt like I could get a bit deeper on some of the squat-based moves (and there are a lot of them). I was getting tired near the end, but I managed to get through it, and all 200 moves in the ab-ripper workout. 

Power-90 Master's Series Day 12

 Day 12 was the sculpt 5-6 workout again. I did it a bit later in the evening than usual, but managed to get it done, and did hit 11 reps on one of the resistance exercises. But all of the rest will keep the same weight when I do the workout again on Tuesday. I am looking forward to starting on P90X again where the resistance workouts are focused on one or two muscle groups. I think the total body workouts are okay, but they never tend to really give any one particular muscle group a really good workout.