One of the things that I like is their little affirmations that they show periodically throughout the workout and when you’re done. My favorite to date:

Enjoy the rest of the day as a fitter version of your former self.

This follows the second workout, and every time I read it, I thought, “That’s true! I’m fitter than I was 40 minutes ago!” A little cheesy, possibly, but very encouraging to me.

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My contact at PUSH.tv told me that the DVDs usually arrive very promptly (and that was my experience with the initial DVD, just not month two) but that it can take up to 12 days with the postal system. Given the four weeks I ended up doing what was supposed to be a two-week workout, I’d rather they either sent the new DVD earlier (say, at the end of the first two weeks on a new DVD) or sent it via more reliable mail, even if it cost a couple of dollars more.

Aside from the delay, I’m pleased with the new DVD. Like the second workout on the first DVD, this new workout is a challenging-but-achievable step up from the exercises I got used to. The incremental changes keep it from being overwhelming. I’m vaguely dreading the day we do full-body push-ups on the floor, but I feel like the step push-ups I’m doing now are preparing me.

With this DVD, I’m also starting to use the “Area of Focus” section in addition to the main workout. I switched my area of focus from legs to abs (because as it turns out, my legs are killer-strong from biking, but my abs are just sad), which was good, since I never bothered with the Area of Focus segment when it was legs.

The Area of Focus is basically the same thing as the general workouts (at least for me, since I have Jessica Smith as my trainer and she also leads all of the Area of Focus exercise), except that each two-minute bit is focused on an ab exercise. The result is a tough workout, even though it’s only about 10 minutes long.

I read recently that “cycling requires core strength but doesn’t produce it.” That hadn’t really occurred to me, particularly that cycling won’t make my abs measurably stronger, hence my new focus in the workouts. I’m continuing to do the regular workouts three times a week, and then doing the abs Area of Focus on alternating days.

An indication that this PUSH.tv thing really is working: Daniel did the abs workout with me yesterday and I was stronger. Not to gloat; it’s just that I’m hardly ever stronger than him. He’s going to join me on that workout regularly, so I have no doubt he’ll be whooping up on me shortly, but it’s nice while it lasts…

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Fortunately this picture is not from the long (100 km) charity ride on Saturday, but instead from a short ride around town on Sunday. Daniel and my mom rode the tandem and it was windy enough that I wanted to draft on my single bike. It didn’t rain much while we were actually out riding, but a whole lot of muck from the earlier rainstorm got kicked up, right onto my face. It was still worth it for the drafting (Daniel was pushing a pretty good pace and I was working to keep up) and that’s what showers are for, right?

Saturday, on the other hand, was beautiful biking weather. It was cool-ish in the morning and warmed up to mid-70s by the time we were done. There was a good bit of wind, but it was constant, so at least what we fought as a headwind also benefited us as a tailwind.

Because of the differences in terrain and wind between this ride and the Cycle for Independence last month, it’s a little tricky to compare. This weekend I think we had a little more wind, but also more tailwind to push us along. Overall, though, I think I’m stronger. We managed to shave some time off and get it done in almost exactly four hours, and Daniel says he felt like I was stronger (his opinion is particularly significant as he was the other rider on the tandem).

Because I tend to try all sorts of things at a given time (rather than be a good researcher and do a control run, then add one variable), it’s hard to directly correlate results to one change. Did I do better because of PUSH.tv or because of all the mountain biking? Or was it because I’m slightly lighter? Who knows. But it does seem like this combination of PUSH + lots of biking + healthier eating is having the desired effect. I’m continuing all three and hopefully by my sister Leanna’s wedding (August 19) I’ll be downright buff.

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In any case, tomorrow is the Bob LeBow Bike Tour, another 100km charity ride.  I’m trying to remember the last time Daniel and I rode the tandem, and I’m not sure we have since the last 100km.  It’s mostly been mountain biking lately (and I am just not gutsy enough to attach myself to Daniel on single-track, even if we had the bike for it).

This will be a good functional test of the PUSH training, since I’d only done it for two weeks before the last ride, and now it’s been five.  I haven’t done this ride before, but if it’s a similar course, the ride time and overall feeling when I’m done should be a good indicator of progress.  I’ll update you with my impressions next week.

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Here, for your comparative pleasure (and my record-keeping), are the numbers thus far:

Hey, maybe that’s why I don’t like measuring! That was slightly depressing. I’m not sure what to make of it, just because my weight and body fat is going down, but a good number of my measurements are going up. (Of course, it may just mean that my self-measurement techniques are screwy, too.) I guess another month will be enlightening… especially since that month will contain another metric century on the bike, and lots of hard mountain biking.

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For one thing, I received these resistance bands in my PUSH package; you know, those long, thin, stretchy sheets of some wonder-material (they always make us think of the movie Ski Patrol…).  They weren’t used in the first workout, so I thought maybe in this one…

Well, no.  It may very well be that they’re actually for the cardio or the ski workout that are also on the DVD and that I haven’t tried yet.  (It may also be that they’re really just for tormenting your cats, which is the main thing we’ve been using them for…)

Fun resistance bands aside, I was pleased with the second workout.  PUSH did a very good job of making it a natural progression from the first workout.  There were two segments that were repeats, a bunch of new and different exercises, and (my favorite) several segments that were “upgrades” of segments in the last workout.

For instance, in the first workout, there was a segment called “Forward Stepups,” where you put a step on its highest setting, kept one foot on the step, and moved the other from the floor to a knee-raise above the step.  There were a bunch on one side, a bunch on the other, and then a break, before doing a set on each side again.

In the new workout, the segment is repeated, but there are no breaks, and you hold your arms in the air the whole time.  It’s a small change, but it makes the exercise more difficult while still keeping it doable.  Similarly, we’ve moved from knee-pushups to full-body pushups using the step to make the transition gentler.

I really like these incremental changes in difficulty, because I feel like I’m making noticeable progress, but I don’t feel overwhelmed.  As I mentioned yesterday, I think these workouts are improving my health and fitness ability in general, and that’s a very good result for a practical girl like me.

My only gripe with the second workout (beyond my general list ) was that there seemed to be something wrong with the video on a few segments.  I’m not an A/V geek, but I’d say that the frame rate was too low; Jessica seemed to be having a bit of a strobe effect.  I only noticed it on two or three segments, but it was pretty distracting.

Other than that minor annoyance, I’m very happy with my PUSH experience and looking forward to seeing how they’ll challenge me next.

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The PUSH DVD contains two workouts, one for the first two weeks, and one for the two weeks after that.  There’s also all kinds of extra stuff I haven’t taken the time to explore yet.  The cardio could be very helpful if you’re having trouble getting cardio in; these days, I’m biking four or five times a week, so I haven’t gone there yet.

The workout consists of 40 minutes worth of shorter segments (I haven’t timed it, but I’m guessing they’re about 4 minutes apiece).  There are warm-up and cool-down segments, and in between those, various strength training exercises, usually two sets for each exercise.

When I signed up, I asked the PUSH system to select a trainer for me, and I got Jessica Smith.  I don’t know what the other trainers are like, but I’m really liking Jessica so far.  She’s comfortably friendly without being too “chirpy” or annoying.  Think “smiling,” not “scowling” or “hooting and hollering”.  Some people like the ends of the spectrum, but for me, Jessica’s got it just about right.

The workout itself seems skill-appropriate.  The exercises are challenging but not so hard as to be depressing.  I’m definitely sweating by the end but am able to follow along.  I think that’s ideal considering that the workouts are intended to get progressively harder.

I also like that the exercises are not all “same ol’ same ol’.”  I haven’t done a lot of workout videos, but I’ve done a few and it seems like many of them use a standard set of exercises.  My PUSH DVD has several exercises on it that I’ve never done before, which helps to keep it interesting.

Now for a few short gripes.  I really am generally happy so I’m keeping these brief.

• It took a while for me to figure out what the “time-left” bars were on the side of the screen.  It would have been nice to have them labeled or explained somewhere.
• The animations are a bit… odd.  Not bad, just kind of “huh?”  Probably makes things more fun, but also more mockable. 
• I’d prefer to have a quick cue sheet or something so that I’d know in advance what equipment I’d need and in what order.  With the step, its risers, the exercise ball, my mat, my dumbbells, and a chair, it’s a lot to shuffle without having a guide.
• On a related note, some of the transitions are inconsistent.  Most segments give enough time to set up the equipment before launching into the exercise, but a couple jump right in.  I really only have trouble with this on an exercise that requires the step on risers; it takes about 15 seconds for me to grab everything and get it set up, and by that time, Jessica’s already underway with the movement. (This isn’t such a problem after a few times through the workout because I know to get it ready, but I’m hoping not to have this learning curve every two weeks.)

Again, I’ll reiterate that my overall impression is very good, and I’m looking forward to seeing how I like week 2.

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PUSH is an interesting mashup between old-fashioned workout videos (made a little more “new-fashioned” by using DVDs) and the web-based personalization that tech-savvy folks have come to expect. I was intrigued, and thanks to this very blog, was able to get a review subscription so I could test it out and share.

The concept

The core product/service is personalized DVD workouts based on your current (and constantly increasing) level of strength, your interests, and equipment on hand. A new DVD arrives each month with two “personal training” (strength) workouts, a cardio workout, and various extras.

The idea is that you avoid boredom because you do your current, personalized workout for just two weeks before moving on the next one. The plan dictates that you do the strength workout three times a week, plus 100 minutes of cardio, so you end up doing a workout six times… enough that you feel pretty comfortable with it, but not enough to get bored.

The signup process

The service is subscription-based ($25/month, with discounts for multiple months), and when you enroll, you’re asked for personal preferences in workout equipment. I have an exercise ball, dumbbells, and can borrow a step from my sister, so I listed those.

You also get to choose your “personal trainer”—your DVD instructor. There are four trainers to choose from. Each trainer has a short bio to help you pick, but I’d really like to see a sample exercise segment on each profile, since it kind of felt like random selection (sure, he may sound nice, but how will that translate into instruction?). I ended up asking the PUSH system to select a trainer for me.

There are a few more preference kinds of questions, like music style and activity interests. I chose cycling, though I’m not convinced this choice has any real bearing on the workouts; that’s just too many variables. But it seems like an idea with real potential for future expansion—I’d be much more interested in workouts that are specifically designed to make me a stronger cyclist.

Finally, you enter your payment information, and you’re done. It’s just a matter of waiting eagerly for the first DVD to arrive. Right after subscribing, PUSH sent me an email telling me that they had received my signup and my DVD was scheduled to ship that night—impressive! It was expected to arrive in two weeks—not impressive. As it turned out, though, my DVD showed up only two days later. Details about the actual workout coming soon!

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