X2 - PAP Lower

I slacked off a lot during recovery week.  There are supposed to be three yoga workouts during the week.  I did precisely none.  I feel a little guilty about that, but it was also the hottest days of the year so far, so only a little guilty.  My body needed the rest anyway.


Today marks the start of phase 3.  There isn't much to phase three, only 4 workouts.  PAP Lower, PAP Upper, Yoga, and Recovery and Mobility(rest day).  PAP stands for Post Activation Potentiation.  Here is Steve Edwards blog posting about PAP:  http://steve-edwards.blogspot.com/2010/08/post-activation-potentiation.html.  He states, in a nutshell, "In laymen terms, this means that doing heavy lifting prior to explosive activity can actually help you fire higher threshold muscle cell motor units which, even even simpler terms, means that you will jump higher, run faster, or life more weight. "


This is certainly one workout you get out what you put into it.  There are 2 blocks, with a water break between.  Each block is 4 exercises, 4 times each.  At a run time of 62 minutes, there is a new(!) 10 minute warmup.  No stability ball this time around.


The exercises have a fair amount of variety.  The first block starts with Step up convict.  With dumbbells in your hands, just for added weight.  Your right foot steps up on a step.  Left knee comes up high.  Left leg comes down, right leg comes off the step into a step back lunge.  Rinse and repeat 8 times for each side.  This is followed up with a short, explosive exercise.  Plyo skaters, only 8 times.  Think super skater with a jump to the side, changing legs.  


The next exercise, I have trouble with.  Not because I can't do it, but because it kills my knees to do it.  One leg hops, pretty much hot foot from P90x plyo.  Front and back, 5 seconds, side to side five seconds, repeat, and then change legs.  I did it on both feet.  Finally, a strength move, and this one is going to leave my hips sore tomorrow.  Lying on your left side, you raise your right leg, and keeping it straight, touch your toe to the ground in front of you.  Then, lifting it as high as you can, bring it behind you, touching your toe to the ground.  8 times, each side.


I will save the second round description for my next post as I'll be doing this routine 6 times over the next 3 weeks.  You wrap up with another round of NIS(neuro-integrated stretching).  It's the same thing plyocide wraps up with.  I can't say it does much for me, but I tried it this time.


I'm not wiped out.  I definitely held back a little since I was learning the exercises and didn't really know what was ahead.  To anyone doing this, definitely watch it ahead of time, and TRY a couple of the exercises, particularly the ones that use dumbbells as they fairly complex moves.