Day 3: Plyo

Hi everyone!

So, let's start with the good news.  I didn't swear or whimper too many times during today's workout.

Oh no, not because it was easier. BECAUSE I COULDN'T BREATHE!!  Yikes!  :-)  

Let's get straight to the headlines, shall we?

The Headlines

1.  My body is still pretty sore from Day 1 and Day 2.  But in a really good way.
2.  Plyo, aka TapouT Legs, is hhhhaaaarrrrdddd.  Did you get that? Hhhhaaaarrrrdddd.
3.  I've always had strong and fit legs. Which makes #4 all the more disappointing.
4.  I tapped out way more than I expected or wanted to today!  Grrrrr.
5.  The team on the dvd killed it.  I am SO inspired by them, male and female.

The Scoop

Plyo is tough. It's hard core, extreme training. There is no quick path to completion. There's a ton of variety and the excitement just keeps on coming. The moves are all awesome. Plyo is all about continuous exertion. It requires strength, endurance, and agility. And this... is where I'm most challenged.

I learned a few things about myself today. First, I have a lot of strength. Good thing because you need to be strong to do this workout program. Second, I have pretty poor endurance. I'm breathing hard at the end of the warm-up. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that, but it's true. Hmmm. Must build cardio strength and endurance. But the big discovery and realization today? I have no agility.

We all know after P90x that I have no coordination. If you recall, I punched myself in the face during one of the moves. Very impressive. One of the things I love about Mike's TapouT is that it's really pushing beyond just coordination improvements to full-on agility. It's seriously tough.

I can't even list all of the challenging moves here because there are so many. Lots of lunges, squats, power jumps, speed skating moves. As much as I hated some of them real-time <grin>, they are all really great. Like yesterday - creative and very effective (read: hard). The agility comes into play as Mike shakes up the traditional moves with power bursts, laterals and combinations. It's intense! But don't miss this point in my story: It's mad fun. Even when I can't breathe. Maybe even especially when I can't breathe.

Memorable Moves

For those of you not yet doing the program, you'll have to visualize. My fellow TapouT XT'ers will smile as they remember these.

- Squat, hop, 1-2-3 punches.  Tight, fun, hard. Loved them.
- Front lunge, back lunge, hop, hop.  I don't really have words except to say I felt every one.
- Lateral lunges with knee drives, curtseys and kicks. Yowsa. My tail was on fire.
- Pulse lunges with speed bags. Oops. My feet were supposed to leave the ground?
- Load, explode, elbows. I'm not going to explain it, but I felt like I could conquer the world after.

My super duper "I suck at this" move?  Tuck jumps.  Wide stance, jump, and pull your knees waist high. It sounds so easy. Go stand in front of a mirror and try one. Now try 25 or so. In rapid fire. Agony. Must work on my power moves! Mike would be so disappointed. '-)

Overall

I'll finish with my favorite Mike quote today:  "You don't walk away from this challenge. You run to it!!" I didn't walk away. But I didn't exactly run to it either. I need to get much better at this one. If you can do this workout, you are REALLY FIT! And I want a piece of that. 

Game on, Mike. I'm gonna come and get it next time.

More soon.
Lis

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My "real" life beyond TapouT XT:

    Author and Coach: www.soulforbreakfast.com

    Executive Consultant: www.laiventures.com