Friday, July 25, 2014

PiYo: Drench Review

Yesterday evening, I got to launch myself into the unexplored territory of PiYo disk three with the inaugural time through Drench. Drench, clocking in at just under fifty minutes, is the endurance PiYo workout. It's also the workout that is going to make me take back some of my words about PiYo being easy because this workout is hard. 100% definitely a challenge for anyone. 


PiYo Drench throws in all the PiYo moves we have learned and a few new ones, like PiYo flip (see the insert in the image above for a look at a PiYo flip). The variety was great. The speed at which we transitioned from move to move was endlessly engaging. I felt really focused and absorbed the entire workout because I was being challenged in interesting ways and kept constantly in motion.

The workout consisted of eight sections. The first two, Warm Up and Heat, were somewhat standard and similar to what we've done in the past. (More or less the Warm Up in the same on most of the PiYo workouts.) The Heat section felt a little longer to me, and I think we did more reps that in the past.

We then moved onto Legs. This was without a doubt the toughest part of the PiYo Drench workout for me. The really hard part about it was that you did all of the moves through on one side and then the other. This meant that you were working each leg for an extremely long amount of time! Midway through each side, I found that my legs were really burning. I can feel my glute muscles today and they are sore.

The Plank & Core section was another one that used a lot of moves we've seen in the past. I actually considered it a recovery because I was so glad to be using my arms instead of my legs. There were a few PiYo push-up variations. I find that move to be kind of fun, so it was nice to do it again.

From there we moved onto the Power section my legs were still a bit tired from the earlier Legs section, so they were shaking a bit during the Plie squats that we did. However, we moved through the moves pretty quickly here and had some fairly easy cardio segments that made this power section go quickly. You had the option to add a little bit of impact here during the Lunge < knee lift you could jump on the standing leg; plus there were some burpees at the end (though only one set).

By the Beast & Kick Thrus section I was getting kind of tired -- this was a really workout! I was so excited to be really challenged by this PiYo workout. The Beast is a move we've done a lot before, but I like how it forces you to engage your core and use your legs and arms. (Beast involves being on all fours and then lifting your knees off the ground so that your weight is evenly distributed between hands and curled under toes. This engages your quads, shoulder, and core a lot.) I'm still getting the hang of the kick thru and cannot get my leg very high or very far forward -- though I probably never will because I have poor hip flexibility.

The penultimate section, Flow, was definitely my absolute favorite and alone worth the price of admission. It was exactly what I imagined I'd get when I ordered PiYo and is precisely what I wanted from the program. Here we were doing yoga moves with a lot of quick movement from move to move. We didn't hold a lot of static poses but were continually transitioning through focusing on dynamic flexibility. Midway through we got to experiment with the new move PiYo flip, which was pretty exciting. I felt a lot of work in the supporting arm and on the last flip that arms was starting to feel kind of jelly-like. So basically, it was awesome.

The workout finished up with Stretch & Strengthen. As if often the case Pigeon, one of my favorite moves, was featured along with some push-ups. At the end of the workout, I was beat. No impact, but I had worked hard. This was definitely all that I have been hoping for with PiYo. Drench, unlike the rest of the PiYo workouts can truly stand alone -- I would have this be my sole workout of the day.


To give you a more detailed idea of what to expect here is the moves list. A big shout-out to my husband for helping put this, plus the other moves lists you see on the PiYo posts, together.

WARM UP:
Best posture
Circle arms, bend knees
One arm over, one arm down
Chair pose
Lunge, arms back
Repeat series from top
PiYo Cross
Repeat series from top
Inhale up
Half bend over
Calf stretch
Crouch
Repeat series from top

HEAT:
Plank
Knees down
Tricep push-up
Down dog
Crouch and extend
Runner's Lunge
Sun Salutation 1:
-Inhale up
-Half bend
-Hop back
-Plank
-Chaturanga
-Up dog
-Down dog
-Lunge back x 2 (each leg)
Sun Salutation 2:
-Inhale up
-Half bend down
-Hop back
-Plank
-Tricep push-up with leg raise x 2
-Down dog
-Up into windmill
-Chair pose
-Windmill other side
Repeat Sun Salutation 1 x 2
Repeat Sun Salutation 2 x 2
Combine Sun Salutations 1 and 2
Lunge stretch
Switch leg
Inhale up
Half bend down

LEGS:
Plank
Low lunge
Lift and lower
Rise and lift knee
Warrior 3
Bend knee > lower
Low lunge (alt. lead)
Lift and lower
Rise and lift knee
Warrior 3
Bend knee > lower
Repeat series (alternating leads) x 5
Plank
Up dog
Down dog
Feet forward > roll up
Lunge > toe tap
Add touch floor
Add knee lift
Add straight-leg kick
Bowlers lunge > toe tap
Add touch floor
Add knee lift
Add sweep arms
Skater
Squats (wide 2nd time through)
Repeat series from standing lunge (alt. lead)

PLANK & CORE:
Squats
PiYo Push-up
Squats
PiYo Push-up
PiYo Push-up variation > right leg, left leg, tricep push-up x 3
Plank
Elbow plank, legs wide
Alternate reach arms
Plank
Down dog
Open split down dog
Knee in > leg extend > knee in > leg up
Down dog
Walk hands to feet
Roll up
PiYo Push-up variation > right knee, left knee, tricep push-up
Roll up
Chair
Repeat series (alt. lead)
Down dog
Roll up

POWER:
Squat
Slow skate
Add speed
Add arm pulls
Squat
Lunge > knee lift
Add lift onto toes
Repeat lunge (alt. lead)
Wide squat, arms lower and lifting
3-Pulse wide squat
Add toe lift
Sumo Burpee
Wide squat

BEAST & KICK THRUS:
Beast
Alternating hand touches
Alternating fall back > beast
Add kick thru
Add higher kick thru
Increase tempo
Beast
Lower knees
Child's pose

FLOW:
Plank
High lunge
Raise arms, then lower
Warrior 2
Right Angle
Triangle, circling arms
Repeat series (same lead) x 4
Runner's lunge
Sweep leg back, flex abs
Side plank
PiYo flip (optional)
Plank
Repeat from runner's lunge (same lead) x 2
Repeat series from high lunge x 3
Down dog
Repeat entire series (alt. lead)

STRETCH & STRENGTH:
Down dog
Open split
Slowly bend knee
Repeat (alt. lead)
Plank
Tricep push-ups
Pigeon
Pigeon (alt. lead)
Elbow plank
Alternate leg lift
Plank
Runner's lunge
Switch legs
Wide plank
Push-ups
Walk hands back
Straddle stretch
Inch feet in
Round up
Inhale up
Half bend down
Round up

PiYo Drench is a serious workout that was a lot of fun and a good challenge. It's more of a time commitment than the other PiYo workouts on the calendar, but, believe me, it's worth it. This one will work you!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Did it this morning what a workout exhilarating

Skoglys said...

Currently doing Piyo and I love your reviews. I agree with you on Drench for sure 😄