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| Inside Out Method Collection |
I’ve been a fan of Jillian Michaels for a long time, but I only recently purchased several DVDs from her best friend Bob Harper’s workout series called Inside Out Method. I say Bob is Jillian’s best friend because they have spent so much time together as trainers on The Biggest Loser, but I know from Jillian’s podcast that they are in fact close friends. I have followed MyTrainerBob on Twitter for a while (also the name of Bob’s website) and on Facebook. When he advertised a $5 sale for his videos, with free shipping, I couldn’t resist! I’ve been on his website several times since then, and it seems the sales are pretty frequent, so price is not an issue if you want to try one or more of the workouts.
What I Like
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Variety: Bob’s Workout (2 parts), Yoga, Strength, Body Rev (cardio with weights), and two Kettlebell workouts
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Calorie burn is high for a strength training workout
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30 and 60 minute versions of each workout
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Small group or one-on-one workout format
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Full body workouts
What I Don’t Like
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What is the Inside Out Method? Is there an overall philosophy which led to this video series? Is it just a marketing label?
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There is no recommended workout schedule. There are six videos in the series, and no overlap, but does this mean I can do one video per day, six days a week and repeat until I achieve the desired result? Should I avoid doing certain workouts on consecutive days, to allow proper recovery time?
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Bob’s introduction to each video features him walking into the gym (with video special effects), and a tough-sounding voiceover which can be summarized as “You wanted me as your trainer? Well, now you’ve got me. Let’s do this!” I don’t know if it’s motivational or just cheesy, but it does take a moment to skip past it after you’ve seen it the first time.
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Video editing tricks including stop-action and slow motion, sometimes for emphasis, sometimes for entertainment.
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Bob uses certain exercises a lot, such as kettlebell swings and tricep presses. If you have lower back issues, be careful with the kettlebell exercises! Done properly, they can strengthen those problem areas.
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Which weights should I use? All the videos use weights, for arm exercises, deadlifts, and kettlebell swings. It’s hard to decide which exercises call for heavy, medium, or light weights, because Bob doesn’t provide too many cues. Also, it’s up to you to keep track of which weight works best for each exercise. If you try to stick with the same weight for the entire workout, you might not be working hard enough, or you might get tired too quickly.
Coming Soon
I have been using the “Complete Collection” videos for a couple of weeks. This includes Bob’s Workout, Yoga, Strength, and Body Rev. I am working on a detailed review of each workout.
Note: As I indicated above, the best prices for Bob’s videos are available at his website. I don’t have an affiliate link, but I want you to get the best deal possible! If you would like to support the blog, please visit our featured advertisers as well.
Related Links
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| Guess which body part made this hole? |
Since I started blogging at the beginning of 2011, I have sustained several exercise-related injuries to my shoulders, knees, and feet. A few days ago, I experienced my most embarrassing injury so far. I have to blog about this one, right?
I use a chin up bar similar to this one from Beachbody , which hangs around the top of the door frame. I usually check that it’s secure before I do any pull ups. Well, this time, either I didn’t check it so well, or maybe I was “kipping” (using body motion to help me get up there). The chin up bar fell off the door frame, and down I went. As you can see in the picture, my butt hit the wall on the opposite side of the hallway, and then I landed.
I lay there on my side for a moment, trying to figure out what got hurt and how much. My wife came running upstairs because of the loud crash. I was fortunate that my only injuries were the area near my tailbone (apparently not the tailbone itself), and my right elbow (scraped), and of course my pride. In the hours following the accident, I determined that if it was a serious injury, I would be in much greater pain than I am. What I feel is a low level of pain, somewhere between annoying and uncomfortable, with an occasional groan. (I still won’t say, as Tony Horton did in P90X2’s X2 Core, “There’s fire in my buttocks!”)
This happened on Christmas Eve, so I had a built-in recovery day after that. (Despite my Beachbody friends’ encouragement on Facebook, I did not attempt to work out on Christmas, although I have done it on occasions when I was awake early enough.) Immediately following the incident and overnight, I applied an ice pack to the affected area. Yes, I had an ice pack up my butt, OK? With some clothing in between… I did the same on Christmas night when I went to bed.
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| Jillian Michaels Body Revolution (Amazon) |
On December 26, it was time to evaluate what kind of workout I could do, if any. Even a minor injury can get in the way of physical activity. I decided to try the Cardio 3 workout from Jillian Michaels Body Revolution. There is a variety of exercises in this 30 minute workout, including lunges, burpees, plyometrics, and more, so I decided to see what was possible for me while remembering the difference between soreness and pain. I got through the entire 30 minutes, at a moderate pace. Here is a summary of my findings:
OK: Upper body, plyometrics (small jumps), push ups, jumping jacks, lunges (carefully!)
NOT OK: Jumping lunges (or any big jumps), lifting heavy objects with one arm, sitting down/standing up, difficult abdominal exercises
That’s not a complete list, but you get the idea. The pressure point is down at the base of my spine, so any movement that presses or rotates that area is uncomfortable.
The lesson here for me is 1) Be careful when you set up your equipment, and 2) When you are injured, find your workout limits without delaying or preventing your recovery. I could “fight through the pain” but who knows what kind of additional damage I could do, or how long it would take to feel better. In the meantime, I am learning compassion for those who have chronic conditions which cause pain or discomfort, and find a way to overcome them.
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| Bobby, Alphonso, Tony and Collette doing Scissor Twist |
I have a confession to make: During seven complete or partial rounds of P90X, I didn’t complete the Ab Ripper portion of the workout nearly as much as I should have. In fact, as I got several weeks into the 90 day cycle, I would do it less and less. The problem? Lack of time. P90X workouts generally take me a little longer than the elapsed time on the screen, because I have to hit the pause button to change places in the room, or adjust weights, or because I didn’t quite start at the same time as Tony and the Kids. So the 60 minute workout might actually take 70 minutes, plus a few minutes to clean up my stuff. At that point, I always told myself, “So much for Ab Ripper! Maybe next time!” Occasionally, I promised myself to do the 15 minute ab workout in the evening, but I rarely did.
Finally, in late 2011, P90X2 came along, and X2 Ab Ripper was born. By this time, I had read several suggestions on the Team Beachbody message boards that it was OK to do the Ab Ripper at a different time than the main workout, if a person was too tired to go from one to the other. I committed myself to evening Ab Ripper sessions during the P90X2 Phase 2 workouts, since there is no Ab Ripper in Phases 1 and 3. As a result, I am happy to report that I did the X2 Ab Ripper on scheduled days most of the time!
Do I have washboard abs as a result of this technique? Well, no. I might have a little body fat covering them, or maybe I need to work on it a little longer. I do have a strong core for push ups and other P90X2 exercises requiring the use of the stability ball, so I can confirm that it’s working!
Does anyone else have difficulty doing Ab Ripper as scheduled during a 90-day round of P90X or P90X2? Do you have any suggestions?
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Blackout Map After Sandy
(flickr.com photo by NASA) |
On Monday, October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy was a huge storm, stretching along most of the eastern United States. It was being described in the media as a “Superstorm” or “Frankenstorm.” Here on Long Island, we were preparing ourselves for a power outage, possibly lengthy, as well as some major flooding in the areas that are usually prone to water damage. As it turned out, our home was among the approximately 900,000 customers on Long Island who lost electrical service on October 29. We were among those fortunate enough to have our home left intact by the storm, despite some large tree branches falling in the yard. Power was restored to our home eight days later (November 6). We’re thankful that our situation was not as bad as it was for those who lost everything to the storm.
What are the health and fitness implications of being in the cold and dark for the better part of eight days? (OK, it was only about six days, because we spent a couple of nights with friends who had power.) For the first day or two, I tried to make the best of it. I pulled out my old friend, Bring It! by Tony Horton. After all, I had a flashlight, and my list of now-familiar exercises. The basement was cold, but not too bad at that point. The first workout went off without a hitch, and I took a lukewarm shower afterwards with the some of the water remaining in the hot water tank.
On the second day, the cold was starting to get to me. My workout was not as productive. I was developing some unusual aches and pains in my lower back, neck, and head. In short, I felt miserable, and I had no idea why. Maybe it was a touch of food poisoning, as we were trying to work our way through leftovers before they spoiled. Maybe the cold was affecting me somehow. A few days later, I also had sinus pain and headaches.
At that point, I decided that it was not going to be “business as usual” for my healthy habits, until power was restored. I took a long walk with a friend around the neighborhood, to examine the storm damage and see what gas stations were open during the fuel shortage caused by the storm. What a mess! Anyway, the walk loosened up my back a little, along with a couple of visits to the chiropractor that week. I did my best to get as much sleep as possible, since there wasn’t much to do, but the noise of generators in the neighbors’ yards didn’t help. As far as healthy eating was concerned, we ate meals with friends, or fast food, or whatever we could find at a supermarket that actually had electrical power. The biggest change in my healthy habits for the week? I didn’t log my food in Calorie Count at all! I figured that I would deal with the damage when the lights came back on, and surely all the shivering I was doing had to be burning some calories, right?
It was a hectic week, with long lines at gas stations, getting back to the office as soon as I could to get some work done, taking care of the family in a cold, dark house for several nights, and cleaning up the minor storm damage in the yard. The morning after the power was restored, November 7, I weighed myself as the first step towards getting back on track. I had lost two pounds, which was not my goal, but I had certainly not gained any inches around my waist from all the unplanned meals and stressful situations. I was near the end of my schedule for P90X2 round 2 before the blackout, but I decided to take some recovery time before finishing. I have been doing recovery workouts from P90X and P90X2 since then (about a week and a half).
What lessons can I take from this experience? First of all, I definitely feel better when I exercise regularly and eat healthy food. Second, I prefer to be in temperatures above 60 degrees most of the time, unless I am exercising or wearing a jacket. (The inside of our house got down to the low 50s while we were still there, and colder for the days we were gone.) Third, I need to work on my attitude during stressful situations. I am definitely a “glass half-empty” sort of person, which is not helpful when times are tough! Even though I doubted my commitment to healthy habits when I was living day-to-day without electricity, I am happy to report that I am easing my way back into the right frame of mind. Oh, and losing the entire contents of our refrigerator and large freezer is an opportunity to stock them with healthy food, right?
Don’t forget to check out all my CAST PROFILES!
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| Robert in a Step Up Hammer Press |
Full Name: Robert Hudgens
P90X2 Introduction: Don’t Mess with Texas! That’s what Robert says, and I don’t want to “mess” with Robert, either. He accompanied Tony on a Beachbody military tour in Japan.
Background/Current: Robert was a Team Beachbody Top Coach in 2009. He and his wife Melissa tell their coaching success story in this video. He was a paramedic who is now saving lives as a fitness coach.
My Comments: It’s great to see that Robert and Melissa run their Team Beachbody business together. It was inspiring to learn that they reversed their financial situation, getting out of debt in just one year, when Robert became a coach.
Official/Personal Websites:
Monster Home Fitness (coaching/team page)
Team Beachbody coach page
Facebook (personal; subscribe or friend request)
Facebook (“Like” page)
YouTube (CoachMelissaH, Robert’s wife)
Twitter @FitCoachRobert (not active; also follow @MelissaHudgens)
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