Click below for the blow-by-blow.
When I got up this morning, I was still sore from Tuesday's Max Interval Circuit session. With aching quads and stiff knees, I hobbled into the kitchen to choke down some yogurt before slowly shuffling into the garage to work out.
For the first 15 minutes of Max Interval Plyo, I was on (somewhat) familiar territory. Shaun T goes through the exact same warm-up sequence as he does in Max Interval Circuit. We perform three rounds of the following sequence, increasing our pace with each iteration:
- Jog in Place
- Arms Up Jumping Jacks
- 1-2-3 Heismans
- Side-to-Side Jump Ropes
- Arms Out High Knees
- Switch Kicks
- Hit the Floor
- Side-to-Side Floor Hops
The five-minute stretch routine that follows is also virtually identical to the one in Max Interval Circuit (but with an extra hamstring stretch replacing the quad stretches). And then, it's time for business.
Max Interval Plyo consists of two circuits of four 45-second exercises each. Each complete circuit is repeated three times, and a bonus move is added to the end of each completed circuit. After you survive that torture, Shaun T leads you through a concluding sequence of four exercises.
This circuit was hardcore:
- Switch Jumps (starting in a deep squat position, jump up and execute a 180-degree midair turn, landing in a deep squat but facing the opposite direction; repeat)
- Squat Push-Ups (starting in a deep squat position, fall forward onto your hands, and then explode up, pushing yourself back into your starting squat position; repeat)
- Wide In & Out Abs (just like In & Out Abs, but with your legs and feet wide apart)
- Power Jumps (starting in a squat position with your hands at chest-level in front of you, jump straight up, touching your knees to your hands; land in a squat position and repeat)
After three repetitions of this circuit, we go right into one minute of One-Legged V Push-Ups. They're just like the V Push-Ups from Cardio Power & Resistance, only with one leg up in the air. Super-fun! (Only not really.)
Oddly enough, I found Circuit Two to be a bit less intense than the previous circuit, but maybe I was just delirious. Four brand new moves are featured in this circuit:
- Pogos (very similar to the Deadlift Squats in P90X Legs & Back, only when you come out of the squat, you do a one-legged jump)
- Power Push-Ups (starting in plank position, do a push-up, but explode up -- jumping your feet in towards your hands so that you end up in a standing pike position, and then jump your feet back into a plank position and repeat)
- Globe Twists (like Globe Jumps from Cardio Power & Resistance, but leap from side-to-side, twisting your torso out to the side with each landing)
- Level 3 Drills (starting in a standing position, drop down into a plank, do 16 push-ups, 16 plank runs, pop back up to a standing position, and repeat)
As with the previous circuit, this sequence of four exercises is repeated three times before Shaun T launches into a bonus move: one minute of Power Lunges/Hop Squats. Relative to what I'd just completed, alternating two Mary Katherine lunges with two pulsing hop squats was a piece of cake.
Final Sequence:
The workout concludes with four exercises (which -- thankfully -- aren't repeated).
First up: Side Push-Ups. With staggered hands and stacked feet, you do a push-up facing the left side, and then you move to the right side and repeat.
Next: Kickstand Touch-the-Floors. Start in a lunge position with one hand on the floor; explode up and jump off the floor with your front leg, and simultaneously bring your other knee up to your chest while your opposite arm reaches straight towards the ceiling. Repeat.
Then, we're treated to 8 Power Knees / 4 Diamond Jumps. We know Power Knees from the Pure Cardio workout. Do eight of them, and then jump up four times with your knees out to the side, feet together, and arms up. (Not so easy after almost an hour of body-pummeling cardio work.)
Last but not least: Balance Push-Ups. Do a military push-up with your elbows tucked close to your sides -- but as you come up, reach your left arm to the front and lift your left leg off the ground. Do it again, but lift your right arm and leg. Repeat.
I was relieved not to have to repeat these last four moves. I'm exhausted just writing about them.
