Round 3 / Day 91: One-on-One with Tony Horton - Recovery 4 Results

Even though I feel kind of guilty for not pushing myself harder on recovery days, I know I need a break. Between work and kids and chores and everything else, I just don't have the energy to go balls-out to-the-wall seven days a week.

By the way, did you know that "balls out" has nothing to do with testicles (unless you're playing beer pong)? Because I didn't.

Round 3 / Day 77: One-on-One with Tony Horton - Recovery 4 Results

I know I shouldn't, but I kind of feel guilty about not going balls-out on recovery days.

Round 3 / Day 56: RKC Man Maker + One-on-One with Tony Horton - Recovery 4 Results

I have a cold. But I did my recovery exercises today, and threw in some kettlebell swings nonetheless. It didn't make me feel any better, but hey -- it didn't make me feel any worse, either.

Round 3 / Day 33: One-on-One with Tony Horton - Recovery 4 Results

For a second, when I first woke up this morning, I flirted with the idea of doing Insanity Max Recovery. But then I tried to move my arms. (Let's just say that yesterday's workout was not kind to me.) And I thought about all the push-ups Shaun T would make me do. Can you blame me for pulling out the Recovery 4 Results DVD instead?

Round 3 / Day 28: One-on-One with Tony Horton - Recovery 4 Results

No X Stretch for me today -- I opted for the (shorter) Recovery 4 Results, which I skipped last week when I was stymied by the lack of a DVD player in my hotel room.

Oddly, though, I'm not sure I needed a recovery day today. The workouts I did this week didn't strike me as being as challenging as usual -- possibly because for the first time in months, I didn't have any Insanity sessions this week. It's also possible that I've just gotten accustomed to a more rigorous exercise regimen, and I shouldn't expect my system to be shocked like it was when I was new to P90X.

Which begs the question: Do I need a full week of recovery? I'm scheduled for super-low-key sessions for the coming week, but something tells me I'm going to deviate from the plan and squeeze in a couple of "real" workouts.

Round 3 / Day 21: Rest

I brought my One-on-One "Recovery 4 Results" DVD with me to Chicago, but my hotel room doesn't have a DVD player (nor does my netbook, for that matter).

Oh, well.

Round 3 / Day 7: One-on-One with Tony Horton - Recovery 4 Results

Recovery 4 Results was just what I needed this morning: An easy, mellow routine that still keeps me moving. I also appreciate that there's a bit of low-intensity cardio and resistance thrown into the mix; it's just enough to make me feel like I've done some actual exercise today.

Post-Round 2 Recovery Week: One-on-One with Tony Horton - Fountain of Youth + Recovery 4 Results

I broke down and fed the Beachbody machine by purchasing both P90X+ and a bunch of "One-on-One with Tony Horton" DVDs (which I'll just call "1-on-1" going forward for the sake of my tired, tired fingers).

(The packaging, by the way, is mystifying. The four P90X+ DVDs each came separately in cellophane-wrapped, full-sized plastic cases. The pricier 1-on-1 DVDs in the Volume One set, on the other hand, come in a flimsy cardboard-sleeve booklet, just like the original P90X discs. Why the special treatment for the cheaper P90X+ discs? My gut -- and I hope I'm wrong -- is that Beachbody felt the need to gussy up the P90X+ packaging to compensate for the rushed-to-market, low-rent nature of the videos.)

Anyway, I decided to try out the 1-on-1 Fountain of Youth DVD last night. It's like manna from heaven: An abbreviated, greatest-hits version of the Yoga X workout. (Sadly, it doesn't include Crane.) Yoga X is great if you have 90 minutes to slowly work into each of the moves, but Fountain of Youth -- clocking in at just 48 minutes -- is a godsend for those of us with actual lives.



This morning, still feeling sore from swinging a kettlebell, I popped in the 1-on-1 Recovery 4 Results video. This one gets high marks, too. Tony crams in a good amount of stretching, yoga, and even some light cardio and resistance work into this 38-minute session.



I don't know if it's because both of these videos feature relatively mellow workouts, or because I'm starting to appreciate Tony more, but the douche factor is surprisingly low -- especially in light of all the lame jokes and excessive camera-mugging shown in the 1-on-1 commercials.