Hey Guys!
I am on my 4th week of the Marc Megna Amp Trainer and have been loving it!! If you read my last update during the 1st Phase you’ll know that I was in a total fitness rut and need a boost and this 8 week trainer was a welcome change.
During the phase 1 I did 3 days of total body lifting days and 2 steady state cardio days & it was a fun change to my previous 5 day split lifting schedule. Phase 2 is a little different in its set up, I’m still doing 3 days of total body lifting but now its 3 days of different cardio breakdowns.
The total body days this round went from 4 sets of 5reps (for most lifts) to 4 sets of 8 reps. So my focus switched from hitting max weight & sometimes failing during my 4th set. To really focusing on form during each lift and making sure that I could hit 8 reps (sometimes 6, dang bench press) with excellent form at a challenging weight.
I also love that there is 1 primarily bodyweight workout during the total body days. I sometimes have difficulty balancing lifting and bodyweight exercises but know the importance of bodyweight exercises because they are super important for maintaining healthy joint alignment and stabilization. I also SERIOUSLY felt those single leg deadlifts, one of my favorite exercises that I do not do enough!
The cardio days are a welcome change to my routine as well. I loved phase 1 steady state cardio and getting to do some personal development reading when on the elliptical. Phase 2 brought a change to the cardio routine and I kind of love it! Lets be real…. I am terrible at motivating myself to do cardio, especially indoor cardio, so having a program “force” me to do the cardio is absolutely wonderful!
During this phase there is 1 day of “Alactic Aerobic Intervals” which is basically 10 seconds of all out work and 50 seconds of recovery/rest for 16 & 18 minutes (depending on the week). I’ve done two of these workouts so far, one on the treadmill & one on the rowing machine. For both of these workouts I upped the work period to 15 seconds and then did an active recovery rather than a straight rest because lets be real, I wouldn’t get back on the treadmill 😉
The other two days of cardio includes a steady state session & then a “Cardiac Power” session. The cardiac power session is a prolonged work/recovery interval session. Doing 2 minutes of hard-but-manageable-work and 4 minutes of active-recovery, 6 times for a 36minute workout. Ive done this once and oh man was it hard! Its pretty sad to say that 2 minutes of hard running is a serious challenge but thats my current reality. I pushed myself through the workout which is EXACTLY why I am doing this program to push myself outside of my comfort zone and previous “gym box”.
I am excited for Phase 3 & 4 because I am truly loving this program and can’t wait to see the results of these 8 weeks.
Allison In Wellnessland 