DDP Yoga: The best workout you are not doing

(Sorry, keyboard got a little dusty there. It always seems to whenever I watch that video.)

Let's set the stage here a little. Over the past few years (not coincidentally since Kim and I have been together) I have tried to get in better shape. I tried fitness through video games (EA Active for the Wii got me in shape for my wedding), worked out with trainers but nothing really seemed to stick. The video games were weird and finding time for the trainers was a huge challenge especially given my constant travel. I never tried any workout DVDs mainly because nothing I saw seemed focused towards my needs. P90X and Insanity both seemed to be directed towards people who were already in shape. I have a bad shoulder and a bad hip and was never an athlete in my life. I looked at those workouts and knew that there was no way that I could start at that level.

I knew of Diamond Dallas Page from my years of watching wrestling and heard that he had become a motivational speaker and was doing yoga. The fact that I can tell you the post wrestling careers of many wrestlers (Paul Orndorff owned a bowling alley for a while) as well as their real names gives a sense of my intensity from the wrestling side. When the above video went viral though I realized that I had to give DDP yoga a try. There is no way you can watch that video without being inspired to get off your ass and work out. If Arthur can do that using DDP yoga it has to have something to it. So for our anniversary Kim got me the DVD set.

I am on week eight of the program and I am just thrilled so far. First off, any exercise program that you stick with for eight weeks is a good one. It is so easy to get tired of a routine, expecially when you are doing the same workout for the fifth or sixth time, and just quit. Somehow, DDP makes the workouts interesting with a good level of energy. Plus, all you need is a yoga mat and the will to complete the workout.

The workout themselves are a mix of traditional yoga and more traditional exercises. Yesterday I mentioned how yoga has a learning curve but DDP makes it easy by starting out with clear examples of each move and changing some of the names to either a) make them clearer (raising your hands over your head is Touchdown) or b) make a bad pro wrestling pun (Warrior poses are now Road Warrior poses but without the face paint). You start out with relatively easy routines with plenty of options to make them easier or harder. That is a great thing as I really feel that anyone could get started with this program. Today I did the introductory workout again and I was impressed by the challenge still but happy that it had become much easier. Typically you do a lot of lunge related moves, some dynamic resistance, and then a lot of core work.

Over time you get into harder workouts. Right now I've maxed out at the Diamond Cutter workout, which is 50 minutes of hell. One of the hallmarks of the rountine are slow count push ups. You hold yourself in a plank for a three count, then lower down on a three count, hold low for a three count and when your arms are burning like mad you push back up on a three count. In this workout you do more of those than you can imagine. While the entire workout is no impact you never stop working so it is great for cardio. You'll sweat, you'll be tired but you never feel as though you are about to hurt yourself. After eight weeks I have definitely become more flexible and I feel stronger. I don't have six pack abs but at least I feel like I have abs, which is an accomplishment in and of itself.

I don't expect that this workout will turn me into a star athlete but I don't expect it to do so. But it gets me off my ass and I can do the workout wherever I find myself that day. As I said before, the best workout is the one that you actually do. I really recommend giving DDP Yoga a try. It is a great gateway into yoga and workouts in general and if you stick with it you will see results.