P90X Day 3: Shoulders & Arms + Ab Ripper X

Today's workout seemed a bit less strenuous than Plyo or Chest & Back, but only because the moves were limited to my shoulders and arms, giving the rest of my sore body a much-needed break.

Initially, I was surprised that I couldn't lift as much weight as I normally do when I work my arms, but quickly figured out the reason: P90X's Shoulders & Arms program quickly marches through 15 different exercises targeting the same cluster of muscles, all performed to exhaustion, while my normal, pre-P90X routine was to sleepwalk through 3 to 5 different exercises, all performed while watching TV between sets (and sometimes even between reps). With P90X's Shoulders & Arms program, groupings of two to four exercises form a circuit, performed with little to no rest in between. Even after lifting lighter weights, I was pretty much spent (and a dripping, sweaty mess) at the end of the hour.

Lesson learned: This is circuit training, not traditional weight training.

Here's what I did this morning:

First Circuit:

• Alternating Shoulder Presses
• In & Out Bicep Curls
• Two Arm Tricep Kickbacks
• Repeat

Second Circuit:

• Deep Swimmer's Presses
• Full Supination Concentration Curls
• Chair Dips
• Repeat

Third Circuit:

• Static Arm Curls
• Flip-Grip Twist Triceps Kickbacks
• Repeat

Fourth Circuit:

• Seated Two-Angle Shoulder Flys
• Crouching Cohen Curls
• Lying-Down Triceps Extensions
• Repeat

Bonus Circuit:

• In & Out Straight-Arm Shoulder Flys
• Congdon Curls
• Side Tri-Raises
• Repeat

And after Shoulders & Arms were done, I had to get through yet another session of Ab Ripper X. I'll detail this particularly torturous workout in a future post, but for now, let me just say that I fucking dread the 300+ reps of ab exercises contained in Ab Ripper X. After an hour of huffing and puffing, the last thing I need is another 15 minutes of gut-wrenching twists and crunches.

Bye for now.