Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Days 6 & 7

Days 6 and 7 in Dig Deeper are rest days; alternatively, there is a steady-state cardio workout. I just took both days off; however, I walked about 2 miles each morning and did quite a bit of yard work each day, so I was still quite active. It was definitely nice to get a break, given how many reps of weighted exercises you do during the week in each workout. 

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 5

 Day 5 is the end of the first week of Dig Deeper (unless you do the optional steady-state cardio routine on one of the two off days). It is the second lower-body circuit of the week. It follows a very similar format to yesterday's workout, with two blocks/circuits with weighted exercises and a core exercise. Each block has three rounds/set, and you perform 12 reps of each exercise in every set. Also, like yesterday's workout, it goes quickly and has a bit of a cardio effect, even though you are not doing any traditional cardio. 

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 4

Day 4 is the second upper-body circuit workout of Phase 1. This one has two blocks/circuits, each with 4-5 resistance exercises (mostly using dumbbells, with a couple of bodyweight-only exercises) and an ab/core-focused exercise. As with the other workouts in this phase, each circuit is performed three times, but in this workout, each set has 12 reps. The total workout time, including the warm-up and cooldown, is just under 50 minutes. The "main" portion of the workout goes by quickly, however, since you are almost constantly moving, and the rest periods are short. I was not sweating as much as I was in yesterday's total body circuit workout, but my heart rate did get over 130 a few times. 

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 3

Day 3 of Dig Deeper is a total-body circuit workout. It follows a similar format as the first two workouts. In this one, you do four circuits of three exercises: an upper-body exercise, a lower-body exercise, and a core-focused exercise. You also do three sets for each circuit/block. The main difference between this one and the first two workouts is that you do 16 reps in each set, as opposed to the 20, 16, 12 format.  

It is a good workout, but tough. It goes by fast. In some of the exercises I fell behind the cast and was ending the prior exercise while they were starting the next one. There is very little rest between sets or blocks, so your heart rate will get up there, and you will be sweating by the end, even if you do not sweat much while weight lifting. 

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 2

Day 2 of Dig Deeper is the first of two lower-body circuit workouts in the program's first four-week phase.  It follows a very similar format to yesterday's workout. You have two blocks of work that form a circuit, and within each of the circuits/blocks, you perform 3 sets of 4-5 exercises, with minimal rest between the exercises and a short rest between sets. The workout is just under 50 minutes in length, but it is so fast-paced that it goes by very quickly. Most of the exercises are variations of squats or lunges, but the first circuit does include bench step-ups. There is no cardio in this workout (or the entire program), but because the first phase focuses on muscle endurance, and you are doing a lot of reps, your heart will get up into zone 2 or even 3 at times, and you will sweat a bit. As with all of Shaun T's workouts, he does get a bit goofy, and he loves saying the name of the workout multiple times. But if you have done any of his other programs, you know to expect it.  

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 1

Today was day 1 of my next program, Dig Deeper, which is a muscle-building workout by Shaun T on the BODI platform. After finishing P90X, I was trying to figure out what to do next, so I did the 10-minute muscle program and then did the first two weeks of Joel Freeman's 10-minute speed train program. Those are good, especially if you are a beginner, have had a long layoff or break from working out, or want to de-load/recover and still work out in a way that prevents you from losing too much muscle. 

The first day is an upper-body circuit workout. The first month focuses on muscle endurance, so you do a high number of reps with light to moderate weight. This workout has two circuits, each containing 4 exercises (chest, back, biceps, and triceps), performed for 3 sets. In each set, you do all four exercises back-to-back, with little to no rest. At the end of each set, you do a core/ab exercise, then you get a 45-second break before the next set starts. In the first set, you do 20 reps; in the second, you do 16; and in the third, you do 12.  All four exercises in the first block/circuit use weights, and in the second circuit/block, two of the four are performed just using your bodyweight, and the other two use weights. 

You definitely need an assortment of dumbbells and an adjustable weight bench. The transitions between exercises are very quick, especially in sets 2 and 3 of each circuit, so it would be very hard to do this workout with adjustable dumbbells like Bowflex SelectTech or Power-Blocks. That is not to say you cannot use them, but you would need to be very proficient and quick at changing the weight. 

The workout is good, but it is tough. It will get your heart rate up a bit, and you will probably be sweating and tired by the end of it. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 70

Day 70 was a rest day. I did do the Lift 4 stretch workout, but did not foam roll. It was nice to have a day off from workout out since I have been pretty gassed this week. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 69

On day 69, I just did the Sculpt 3-4 workout from Power 90. I was able to increase the amount of weight I used on a couple of the exercises, and actually had to break out the micro plates to get the "heavy pants" (bent over back rows) to 27.5 lbs.  

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 68

Day 68 was Friday Fight Round 1 in Max 30, Sweat 3-4, and Ab-Ripper 200 from Power 90. I could only get to the 8:26 mark in FF before maxing out, and once I did, I took a lot of breaks, but I was trying to do as many unmodified exercises as I could. The evening workout went fine. There is nothing major to report from that one.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 67

Day 67 was Tabata Power again in Max 30. I made it to the 23:38 mark before maxing out, which was a significant improvement from Tuesday. In the evening, I did Sculpt 3-4 from Power 90. I did not increase the weight for any of the exercises from the last workout, but I did hit 10 reps easily on a couple of the exercises, so I will be increasing the weight next time. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 66

Day 66 was Sweat Intervals from Max 30 in the morning and Sweat 3-4 and Ab-Ripper 200 from Power 90 in the evening. Both workouts went pretty well. I made it to the 11:30 mark in Sweat Intervals before maxing out. I was a bit tired in the evening workout, but I got through it.  

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 65

Day 65 was Tabata Power from Max 30 in the morning and Sculpt 3-4 from Power 90 in the evening. In the Max 30 workout, I was able to get to the 16:10 mark before maxing out doing a mix of unmodified and modified exercises. My intent is to do every exercise in each circuit unmodified at least once before I switch to modifying, then max out when I cannot go any further. In the Power 90 workout, I was able to increase the amount of weight on a couple of the exercises.  

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 64

On day 64, it was back to two-a-day workouts. I did the cardio challenge workout from Max 30 in the morning, and Sweat 3-4 and Ab-Ripper 200 in the evening from Power 90. My approach to the Max 30 workouts is to do unmodified exercises for as long as possible in each block, then switch to modified. That way, I can work my way up to doing a fully unmodified round.  I will count maxing out when I have to take a break from the modified exercises, which this time was at about 12:50 into the workout. I did the unmodified version of every exercise in the workout for as long as I could in the first round of each block. For some exercises, that was the entire 30 seconds, and for others, it was about five seconds. In the second and third rounds, sometimes I started with the unmodified versions and switched to the modified, and for some exercises, I just did the modified versions in the second and third rounds. That was tough and emphasized how much harder the high-impact versions of the exercises are than the low-impact versions. The Power 90 workout went fine. I have taken to doing the Ab-Ripper workout as the warmup since the Power 90 warmup is pretty useless by today's standards, where he warms up with a ton of static stretching. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 63

Day 63 was a rest day in Power 90, so I did the Lift 4 stretch workout. I did not do foam rolling, however. I think I am maintaining my flexibility, but am not really improving it during this round. If I had unlimited time to work out, I would follow the cardio workouts with a few minutes of yoga. I do plan on getting the bike before the end of the year to do the bike workouts in the morning, so I may start doing the "five-er" yoga routines after that to try and increase my flexibility. We shall see.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 62

Day 62 was Sculpt 3-4. I did manage to increase the amount of weight I used on a couple of the exercises, but for the most part, I used the same weight as last time.  

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 61

Day 61 was Sweat 3-4 and Ab-Ripper 200 again. Both workouts went fine. I do not really think I made much improvement from the last workout, but did not backslide either.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 60

Day 60 was Sculpt 3-4 from Power 90. The workout went well. I was again able to do more of the bodyweight exercises, and have better form, and was able to increase the amount of weight I was using on several of the lifting exercises. So, overall, it was a good workout.  

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 59

Day 59 was Sweat 3-4 and Ab-Ripper 200 in Power 90. They both went fine, although I did not feel like I had as much stamina in this workout. That is probably because I am taking the week off from Max 30. It is a bit of a double-edged sword doing the two-a-day workouts. My cardio stamina is better, but the second workout is very tiring.  

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 58

Day 58 was Sculpt 3-4 from Power 90. I was able to increase the amount of weight I used for a couple of exercises, but I was able to easily hit 11 reps on quite a few of the exercises, so the next time I do the workout, I will increase the amount of weight on those. I also got deeper on my push-ups than I have in a long time, so I am making progress. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 57

Day 57 was the start of week 9 in Power 90, which was the full second phase where you only do the 3-4 workouts. So, today was Sweat 3-4 and Ab-Ripper 200. Both went well, although I was a little tired by the time I had a chance to work out. I am taking a week off from Max 30, so I can finish the four weeks of month-1 workouts at the same time as I finish this round of Power 90.