Plyocide.  The name alone instills fear amongst anyone who's ever pushed "Play" on the original P90X workout, Plyometrics.  If Plyometrics was the "mother," then Plyocide must be the "granddaddy," right?

Well, yes and no.

I'll be honest - I was a just a little disappointed with Plyocide.  Not because it's a poor workout, but because it's not what I thought it was.  I'll hold my ultimate opinion until I do the workout at least a few more times, because I think it's unfair to completely base a judgement upon the first time you do it.  Why?  Because the moves are unfamiliar, and it's hard to go "hard" without really knowing what you're supposed to be doing.  So, several times today I found myself concentrating on the television to ensure that I was getting the form right rather than just concentrating on going hard.

My impressions? 

1) I cannot jump rope very well.  Seriously, I have a new-found respect for people, fighters come to mind, that whip that rope around effortlessly, even throwing in criss-crosses, etc.  Plyocide opens up with Tony jumping rope as the warm-up, and yes, it definitely does get you warmed up!

2) I don't really like the fact that you need equipment, or at least Tony uses equipment, during Plyocide.  Tony uses a jump rope, a medicine ball or basketball, dumbbells and a box during the workout.  One of the attractions of Plyometrics, for me anyway, is that it's as hard as it is without any other props or equipment necessary - it's just you and your willpower to keep up.

3) Some of the moves are awkward (for me anyway!).  There's a move called "Top Tap 360" where you basically hop around in a circle while tapping the top of your medicine ball with your toes.  I felt like a jack-ass, and my feeling was quantified when my wife (who was doing it with me) burst into laughter.  I said "what?", looked at how silly she looked and we both giggled through the rest of the minute.

4) Tony, yes the God that is Tony Horton, breaks too much!  There were many times that I was "ready to go" and Tony was either talking to Mason (the film guy) or just plain sucking wind.  Now, I know I'm not in better shape than Tony, so I often was wondering "what gives?"  My heart rate fell too low many times and I found myself doing Wacky Jacks or something else until the next move started in order to keep it up.

5) Plyocide is more of a great LEGS workout than a great CARDIO workout.  In my humble opinion, Plyometrics was the other way around - yes, it worked your legs, but it was a killer cardiovascualr workout.  Plyocide - not so much.  That said, my legs feel like "jello" right now, but I'm not sitting here thinking "wow, that was a KILLER cardio workout" like I do after Plyometrics.

BOTTOM LINE:

Plyocide is a very good workout, just not what I expected.  If you're looking for a great cardio workout, stick with Plyometrics, Interval X from P90X+ or Cardio Intervals from the Tony Horton One-on-One series, Volume 2.  If you're looking for a pretty good cardio workout but that will ultimately feel more like a "legs" workout, then definitely give Plyocide a try!

Here's the Plyocide lineup:

1. Rope Jumps - Doubles
2. Jack-in-the-Box Knee Tucks (pretty tough!)
3. Top Tap 360 (I felt silly doing these)
4. Killer Catherine Lunges w/Medicine Ball
5. Wide Leg Tip-toe Squats
6. Run Jump Chair (pretty tough!)
7. Warrior 3 Lunges (didn't get much out of this one)
8. Think Drills (Wide-Narrow-Shoulder-High-Low)
9. Depth Charges (oh momma, these were hard)
10. Super Skater Kicks (these were made more difficult because they followed Depth Charges)
11. Rope Jumps - Singles (very similar to Hot Foot)
12. Run Ups (liked these!)
13. Football Hero (Go-Set-Jump) (these were harder than I thought they would be)
14. Jump - Tap - Jump
15. Frog Burpee Hops (oh momma, part II)
16. Half Pipe Spins
17. Weighted Quick Jumps
18. Two Lunge Box Jumps
19. 4 Direction Iso Lunge
20. Medicine Ball "Jump Press"