Day 26 was legs in Lift 4 and lower body foam rolling in 645.
The Lift 4 legs workout was another HIIT workout. That meant no lifting, which was kind of nice, but the HIIT was pretty brutal. I definitely did not have the best workout, but I managed to get through it.
Day 25 was upper body foam rolling from 645 and shoulders from Lift 4. Shoulders was an interval workout so each block has two shoulder lifting exercises and then a 30-second HIIT move. The HIIT moves were not as tough as they could have been. The hardest of the bunch were the squat jumps, but the soccer sprints and speed skaters were not bad at all.
Day 24 was corrective ankles from 645 and the two recovery routines from Lift 4. All of the foam rolling went well, although I did switch from the rumble roller to the regular foam roller for the lift 4 foam rolling just to give myself a break.
Day 23 was corrective hips from 645 and the week 4 back and biceps workout which is a 50/50 workout. The HIIT portion of the workout was tougher than the lifting, especially the wide mountain climbers and the squats. I was able to use the increased about of weight from the prior week for all of the lifting exercises, however, which was nice.
Day 22 was the corrective shoulder routine from 645 and the start of week 4 in Lift 4. The Lift 4 workout was Chest and Triceps and this week it is a circuit workout, doing the two quad sets and then the burnout round. I was able to stick with the increased weight for most of the resistance exercises, but I did have to reduce the amount of weight I was using for a couple of them on the second and third sets. By the time I got to the burnout round my arms were already like limp noodles and I could barely do the push-ups.
Day 21 was again the two recovery workouts from Lift 4. I again used the rumble roller for the foam rolling routine and then went right into the stretching routine. They went fine. There was no real difference between this one and the previous day.
Day 20 was the two recovery routines from Lift 4. I was not very flexible or mobile today, and I had a large lunch so I was not exactly feeling limber. But, I got through it and got it over with.
Day 19 was lower body foam rolling from 645 and Legs 50/50 in Lift 4.
I again used the rumble roller for the foam rolling which really helps during the lower body foam rolling routine since you are generally spending 60 seconds foam rolling each area. The legs workout was tough because you are using extremely heavy weight for the entire lifting portion and then doing the three sets of HIIT after that. The only good thing is that the core portion is just one exercise, side planks holding for 30 seconds on each side.
Day 18 was upper body foam rolling and shoulders. The shoulders workout was an interval workout. So you do two resistance exercises followed by a 30-second HIIT exercise. Then, of course, finishing with three sets of core. The upper body foam rolling in the morning definitely helped prepare for the shoulder workout, but it was still very tough. The HIIT portion, however, was not too bad.
Day 17 was corrective ankles from 645 and the two recovery routines from Lift 4.
All of the foam rolling went well today. I am glad I switched back to the rumble roller because it is much more effective at this point than the regular foam roller. My hamstrings continue to be my weak point flexibility-wise, but they are getting better, slowly.
Day 16 was corrective hips from 645 and Back and Biceps in Lift 4.
The back and biceps workout was a very hard circuit workout (so two rounds of four exercises done for three sets and one burnout round with two exercises done for three sets). I was able to initially increase my weight for all of the exercises, but there were a couple of exercises for which I had to lower the weight (or even set the weight down) for the second and third sets. And, I was still breathing heavily even without doing HIIT. The core component was more challenging today than it was yesterday.
Day 15 was the start of week 3, which was another chest and triceps workout. This time, it was a 50/50 workout, and you increase the amount of weight (or try to) for all of the exercises. I was very tired doing the workout since I spent most of the day at the hospital, but I pushed through. And, I was able to increase the amount of weight I was using for all of the resistance exercises. The HIIT portion was hard, but I got it done and the core portion was not too bad. Hopefully, tomorrow's workout will be a bit easier, but we will see.
For Day 14 I did the two recovery routines from Lift 4 plus corrective shoulders from 645. I normally do corrective shoulders on Monday mornings, but this morning I had to be with my mom at the hospital and knew that I would not have enough time to get it in, so I got it in on Sunday. I also did that workout using the regular foam roller. After an entire week of using the rumble roller, I barely felt anything going back to the regular roller. So, I will probably start using the rumble roller again for the rest of the corrective routines.
Day 13 was the two recovery routines from Lift 4. I again used the rumble roller for the foam rolling routine, and it was again rough (although not as bad as it was early in the week). Then, the stretching routine went fine. I do like that it is relatively short I just am not a huge fan of the selection of stretches. It would be nice if there were more variety from what he does in the warmups and cooldowns to the regular workouts.
Day 12 was lower body foam rolling from 645 and Legs in Lift 4.
Since this was week 2 of Lift 4 it means legs was the HIIT workout, meaning three rounds of four exercises done for 1 minute, 45 seconds, 30 seconds, and 15 seconds, then two bonus rounds in which you do each exercise for 30 seconds. The exercises are rough after the first one (which is high-knee runs). After that you do triple bear, catcher jumps, and jump lunges. Once you get to the core portion it is almost a relief.
Day 11 was upper body foam rolling from 645 and shoulders in Lift 4.
I again used the rumble roller for the foam rolling and it definitely was uncomfortable, especially when I was foam rolling (or holding the roller on a trigger point on) my lats. The shoulders workout was an intervals workout, so each block had two lifting exercises followed immediately by a 30-second HIIT exercise. Then, the core portion had one additional set of twisting leg lifts since the cast did bicycles in the first round. So, it was a tough workout, but it was short.
Day 10 was corrective ankles from 645 and the two recovery routines from Lift 4.
I again did all of the foam rolling using my rumble roller. I could not stay on it as long when rolling some areas, like my hip flexors, as I can when using the regular foam roller, but I am getting used to it. And, I find that I have fewer knots the next day since I have been using it.
Day 9 was the corrective hips workout from 645 and Back and Biceps in Lift 4.
The back and biceps workout was a 50/50 workout and was tough especially the HIIT portion. Thankfully, the lifting and core portions were not that bad (not that they was easy). I can tell that the corrective shoulders routine from 645 has helped with the Lift 4 workouts because during the rows and flys Joel was warning against shrugging your shoulders which was not a problem at all for me because of the corrective shoulders routine. I also used the rumble roller for the foam rolling portions of the corrective hips routine, which was tough to get through, but I made it.
Day 8 was corrective shoulders from 645 and Chest and Triceps Circuit in Lift 4.
The circuit workout was very tough. Doing the 40 reps without any rest made my arms feel like spaghetti noodles by the end of the burnout round. While my chest was not as wiped out as my arms, it was pretty close.
For Day 7 I again just did the two Lift 4 recovery workouts, but I used the rumble roller for the foam rolling workout. This is the second time I have used the rumble roller for that workout and it was still tough, but not impossible. I was able to use it for the entire routine but definitely did not put as much of my body weight on the roller on certain body parts as I do with the regular foam roller, which has more give. I thought using the rumble roller also provided me with more mobility which helped when I did the stretch routine right after that.
Day 6 was just the two recovery workouts from Lift 4. Nothing much new to say about either of them, aside from the fact that I did not have many knots in my legs when I was foam rolling and I could get a little deeper into my hamstring stretches.
