P90 Masters: Sweat 5/6

This workout is part of the Masters series, intended as an intermediary between P90 and P90X. This is a cardio circuit workout. It has three rounds, each consisting of 3 exercises done for 30 seconds each, with each round done three times before moving on to the next one. The workout is about 45 minutes, but I was able to easily get it down to 30 (to fit my morning workout time) by cutting out the yoga section which follows the warm-up and stretch, and by doing each round only twice; each exercise is chaptered so you can easily skip ahead.

Tony works out with two background exercisers, but each section is done for such a short duration that I do not recall them chatting about modifying or anything. There is a water break after you have finished all three repetitions of every round. The warm-up and cool-down sections felt a little long to me, but other than that, I was happy with the format. I love circuit workouts!

I was less happy with the specific mix of exercises Tony used. Some of them felt a little light for something we only had 30 seconds for. I was expecting everything to be plyo-ish, I guess. And a few of them were just weird (for example, there was this move where you go into a sort of sumo squat and then just stomp your feet; it was very effective in Ten-Minute Trainer when done plyo-style, but when you remove the impact and just walk, it was kind of silly and not all that effective). If I did this again, I might pick other exercises and just follow along for the timers, and the camaraderie. It would be extremely easy to sub in your own exercises and get a killer workout. I have been thinking of making a cardio deck with all my favourite moves put onto cue cards, and I could just pick 9 of them, plug this dvd in and go.

So, as it is, I would say this is not my favourite routine from the Masters series. But it's such an easy one to modify because most of Tony's 'cueing' in a workout like this is just telling you when the 30 seconds are up. So you could plug your own moves in here without feeling like there's no point. I do like the format a lot. With a bit of tweaking, I think I could get some good use out of this routine. Bit if it were not part of a set, I would not buy it on its own. Tony has done better!

I really enjoy Sweat 5-6. The P90MS Sweat 5-6 is a logical extension of the P90 Sweat 4-5. It is a basic Tony workout. I found it less intense than the P90MS Plyo (you have to note that Sweat 5-6 is a part of a series of workouts that have varying levels of intensities which you can push to a higher intensity). The first time I did it, I paused along with Tony between exercise segments and though my heart rate hit the target zone, this was not sustained. However, by continuing through the breaks, it's easy to keep the HR up. Once you get the moves down, you could really push it and get a great workout or...other way around, making it a fairly easy workout if you choose to. That's why I think you could really push it harder if you wanted (go faster, raise leg higher etc).

You have to do them a few times and know the moves so that you can work through the breaks. This is especially true of Core Cardio and Sweat 5/6. (I am now at the point where I can do this with the Plyo workout, but I have to tell you that when I started the Plyo, I needed every break I could get.) Some of the moves take a little more coordination than the P90 and take a while to refine. Once I got the hang of them and really pushed them, I had no trouble getting my heart rate up. The key to Sweat 5/6 is really pushing it and working through the breaks.

The other thing I liked about it was the fact that you really work the leg muscles well. I also felt it in my abs WHEN I was working out and not just the soreness afterward. Oh and I really enjoyed the yoga part of it too. Tony expains each move well so you don't have to look up at the tv much.

There seems to be more of an emphasis in these workouts on the large muscles in the legs and glutes--there are a lot of squats and squat type moves. After a few weeks of the MS workouts, go back to the standard P90 Sweat or Power Half Hour workouts and you will really see a difference. I have much more stamina and can now take these workouts to a much higher level. It is no longer so hard to speed up past Tony and the kids on the P90 or PHH. (They're still great workouts, but you'll see real progress...)

Breakdown of Sweat 5-6:

The program length is 44min. There's a long warmup/stretch/yoga section: about 14min.

Then about 32 minutes of the familiar 3x3x3

Duck and cover (basically a fast squat turning left and right like a boxer)

Torso twists (low to the ground)

Front Squat into single leg lifts

X 3

break

Groucho in a hurry back and forth (picture Groucho Marx walking fast, forward and backward)

Sideways crossover left to right (reminds me of a basketball drill)

Tires on Fire (picture 2 rows of tires lying on the ground on fire and you have to run through them, left foot/right foot etc.)

X 3

break

Jab slide uppercut (just as it sounds)

Low block lunge punch (just as it sounds)

Jump kicks like "drop kicks"

X 3

cool down/stretch: 8min.

No Ab ripper

The workout is as follows:

1.Warm up (3:54)

2.Stretch (3:31)

Yoga section with 4 sun salutations

(upward dog/downward dog/warrior)

3.Duck and Cover (30 sec)

4.Twist and Pivot (30 sec)

5.Squat knee raises (30 sec)

REPEAT 3-5 x 3

6.Water break (15 sec)

7.Groucho in a hurry (30 sec)

8.DB Scoot (15 seconds each way)

9.Tires on fire (30 sec)

REPEAT 7-9 x 3

10.Water break (30 sec)

11.Jab slide uppercut (15 sec right then 15 sec left)

12.Low block lunge punch (15 sec right then 15 sec left)

13.Jump kick (15 sec right then 15 sec left)

REPEAT 11-13 x 3

14. Cool down/Stretch (8:30)

I will start with the 'cons,' especially given the previous review by Adrien.

CONS: A major gripe is the sheer length of the time between exercises. There is a lot of patter between exercises and especially before the repetition of each segment. Tony has a prolonged conversation with the 'kids' which slows down the action. In the first go-round of the third section with the upper body work, introduction of each move is prolonged to a point where you could have run through the segment twice per side before Tony actually starts the segment. The subsequent rounds are a bit faster.

A second issue is that as compared with the P90 original program, there is far less arm work here. This isn't necessarily a disadvantage, but something to take into consideration.

It would be difficult to increase your heart rate if you follow Tony, given the sheer number of breaks.

Total exercise time is probably close to 20 minutes. If you add the warm up that puts you to 28 minutes. Part of this is from prolonged stretching at the beginning and end, but mostly this has to do with excessive time between exercises.

Of note, the Yoga section is actually shorter then the original P90 one--something that I really think is sad.

With the exception of the jump kicks, it may be hard for some to keep up their heart rate during the last segment. It took me a while before I could do this aerobically, and I had to do these exercises about twice as fast as Tony and the kids to keep up my heart rate.

PROS: If you look at this workout as a 'stand alone', it may not have appeal. But if you look at it as part of a series it really fits in well. This is a lighter aerobic workout that contrasts well with the core cardio, plyo, and cardio interval workouts (which can be killers). If you are designing a program, it is important to have some days lighter than other so that you don't fatigue and can really 'bring it' on the harder days.

This workout kicks things up a notch from the original P90 series in the sense that Tony has you working larger muscle groups in the upper legs and buttocks areas harder then in P90. This builds strength, stamina, and burns more calories.

There are two choices that are both valid to increase your heart rate and keep it 'in the zone'

1) Skip the patter and just do the exercises

2) Work through the patter continuing the previous exercise

The first method yields a nice intermediate level workout. The second method really gives a low advanced workout. It's really just a matter of keeping yourself moving at all times.

NOTE: Purists will argue that a workout video shouldn't require that you touch the controls and should model the exercises on the screen so that you can mirror the exercises. You should not have to 'modify' program. Purists would be right. This is a problem with the video representation of this program. Nevertheless, the program itself stands.

After combining this workout with the rest of the P90 MS, I see the method to the madness. I really enjoy doing this workout and it is a valid part of a whole. This video really needs a 7-8 option where another round is added and the instruction/patter is eliminated yielding a more fluid workout.

So my grading is as follows:

WORKOUT: A

VIDEO: B-

I guess that averages out to a 'B'... not bad.

Maybe I was expecting too much from this. I was very disappointed. It follows a similar format to P90 in that you do a series of 3 exercises for 30 seconds each, then repeat the cycle 3 times...then move onto a new series of 3 exercises. There are 3 series total. As the workout begins, Tony has you run around a bit in place to warm you up, then you stretch, then you do a series of yoga moves. By the time you actually get into the body of the workout I think it is only about 20-25 min of cardio. Not enough for me. There is also too much time spent bewteen exercises, so my HR was dropping. In order to keep myself working up a sweat I had to hold 1 1/2 lb. weights & jog or do jacks during the breaks. This did get my HR up, but since the cardio portion is so short I did not feel that I got a good workout.I skipped the final stretch because I had to put in another cardio workout to keep my heart pumping.

I can see where this would be challenging for those who are fairly new to exercise, probably advanced beginners since there is some high impact in here. But for someone like me who usually does Cathe, Spinervals & running for cardio, it just wasn't effective. I wish there was less "filler" and more cardio.