XTrain - Chest, Back & Shoulders

I've only done this once, yesterday. I generally don't *love* weights work. I like strength/visible muscle/strong bones - hence I do them. There are some that I groan through, get bored with, watch the clock.... and with this, I didn't. I used two-thirds of the weight listed for Cathe, which was plenty for me - an intermediate who hasn't done any weights work for FAR too long.

The layout of the workout:

Eight rounds, each having 3 exercises. Chest, back, shoulders. Most exercises are 16 reps, with Cathe noting that only doing 12 is ok, if you can't manage 8 then lower your weight next time, if 16 isn't a struggle, increase it next time. She's really aiming for that 12-16 rep-range. Each round lasts between 4 and 7 minutes. No stretching happens during the workout that I recall.

There were a LOT of weights out on the floor by the time I finished.......

Equipment list (with Cathe's weights) is:

Dumbbells in lb: 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 25, 30, Tubing, Stability Ball, Step used as bench/incline

What I liked:

No exercise was repeated (so no groans of boredom were heard), though some were very close variations, like bench press versus incline bench press on the stability ball; standing bent over rear delt flys versus bent over rear delt flys whilst sitting on the stability ball; and one-arm standing bent over row versus the same with a twist from palm-in, to underhand at the top.

Music:

Niether here nor there to me. There IS a no-music/Cathe's voice only option, which is perfect if you want your own music that might be more motivating. She rarely relies on the beat, often commenting that "we're ignoring the beat", and said something like "we're not here to bounce to the beat". She definitely had a 'this is serious" attitude about the workout. You could easily play a CD or have headphones on instead.

Set/Clothing:

Nothing out of the usual for Cathe - clear, bright; clothing tasteful as usual...

What I didn't like, or more what I wasn't delighted about:

The premixes. I like premixes that save me time jumping around the chapters to create a different workout, like an upper body workout premix of a total body workout, or a weights only premix of a cardio/weights circuit workout. It's no effort at all for ME just to add in a single chapter before the stretch, or just jump to the stretch half-way through rather than finish the whole thing. There are TWELVE premixes.... BUT here they are:

1: Insert the Core #1 chapter before the stretch

2: Replace just TWO exercises that have tubing with a non-tubing one (ok, not everyone has tubing, but it's pretty thin for a premix)

3: Jump to the stretch after 4 rounds.

4: As above, but insert the core chapter before the stretch.

5: Jump to the stretch after 5 rounds.

6: As above, but insert the core.

7: Jump to stretch after 6 rounds.

8: As above, but insert the core.

9: Jump to stretch after 7 rounds.

10: As above, but insert the core.

11: Whole workout, then repeat rounds 1-3 and core, for 78 minute workout.

12: Repeat every 2 rounds: (1, 2, 1, 2), (3, 4, 3, 4)..., no core. for a 94 minute workout.

I'd have preferred the premixes save me jumping around the workout, like "just chest", "just back", "just shoulders", and none of them included the 100 rep challenge (Lateral Raises). This many mixes that save just one or two clicks on the remote seems pointless - apart from being able to say IT HAS TWELVE PREMIXES!!!

NOTE: The weight given is "Cathe's Weight"

Breakdown

(5:17) Warmup

(42:22) Workout

____(6:13) Round One

________(1:45) Tempo Push Up (x24, bodyweight)

________(2:07) One Arm Rotational Row (x16, 30lb)

________(2:11) Side Leaning Lateral Raise (x16, 8lb)

____(5:20) Round Two

________(1:38) Dumbbell Press on Ball (x16, 25lb)

________(1:37) "T" Band Pull (medium tubing)

________(2:05) Shoulder Circle (x48, 5lb)

____(4:45) Round Three

________(1:23) Reach Tap Push Up (x24)

________(1x16, 20lb:59) "T" Prone on Ball (x12, 15lb)

________(1:23) Seated Alternating Dumbbell Overhead Press (x12, 15lb)

____(7:07) Round Four

________(1:45) Chest Fly on Stability Ball (x16, 20lb)

________(3:42) One Arm Row with Tubing (x32, medium)

________(1:40) Bent Over Rear Delt Drop Sets (x16, 12, 8; 10lb)

____(4:15) Round Five

________(1:09) Lower Chest Incline Fly on Ball (x16, 10lb)

________(1:52) Dumbbell Pullover on Stability Ball (x16, 30lb)

________(1:14) Double Arm Upright Row (x16, 15lb)

____(4:05) Round Six

________(1:39) Incline Dumbbell Press on Stability Ball (x16, 30lb)

________(1:11) Back fly on Stability Ball (x16, 12lb)

________(1:15) Dumbbell "W" Press on Ball (x16, 12lb)

____(5:02) Round Seven

________(1:57) Three Way Chest Fly (x16, 20lb)

________(1:45) One Arm Row (x16, 25lb)

________(1:20) Simultaneous Incline Hammer Front Raise on Ball (x12+, 8lb)

____(5:25) Round Eight

________(1:21) Push Up (x12, 10, 8 - all at a fast pace)

________(0:19) Rest Break

________(2:03) Superman "Y" on Ball (x32, bodyweight)

________(1:55) Lateral Raise with 10-20 Degree Tilt Drop Set (x12, 10, 8; 8lb)

(3:37) Stretch

TOTAL TIME: (51:16)

(10:26) Bonus: Core #1

(7:34) 100 Rep Challenge: Lateral Raises with 10 to 20 Degree Tilt.