The one-legged squats I can get down to the correct posture, but I cannot get back up.  I am substituting just a regular squat right now, is there anything else I can do (adjustment to the exercise) or should I just stick with the substitute?

A two-legged squat is a fine substitution. If you want, you can also try doing the one legged squat and then using your free leg to help you back to the starting position. This is called an "eccentric" and is often used to help build up strength towards being able to do the full movement.

I have found that the leg swoops and the wheel/table exercises seem to be putting a lot of pressure on my elbows, am I doing something wrong?  I am trying to make sure I use the form shown in the video but after a just one set my elbows are starting to hurt.  The wheel/table also really stretches my biceps and I have had to move my hand position so that the fingers point more like 90 degrees to the body, othewise the stretch in the bicep is uncomfortable.

Both these exercises should be done with the arms locked out (meaning no bend in the elbow). This will obviously remove the strain. A good trick to use while working into these exercises is to use a raised surface to put your hands on. This could be a solid coffee table, bench or chair. Simply put your hands on that surface instead of on the floor.

Much like the one-legged squat the jump squat is really tough, I can not do more than a couple before my form is shot.  Is there something I can substitute for this exercise or should I just keep the repetitions low?

Just start with the jumps and switch to squats as soon as your form begins to deteriorate.

Ok, one last issue - for the prasara yoga, the initial pose, I cannot get my elbow to the outside of the knee. How can I adjust this exercise?

Press your forearm against the outside of the thigh instead. Try this. If it does not work let us know.

Stick with it Matt and you'll be richly rewarded. Please don't hesitate to ask as many questions as you need.

Cheers,

Adam

Even when I keep the elbow locked, once the weight transfers to that elbow – as in the transition into and out of the position – it hurts a lot.  So I am trying to ice, etc. it.   Also, that exercise really puts a large stretch from the inside elbow across the shoulders and chest and back down into the other elbow pit, so much that it is fairly uncomfortable once into the table position.  I was using a box that is about 16″ off the ground this last time (I didn't have anything else available with the correct width).  I am wondering if I should continue with this exercise?  If I cannot, is there something I can substitute for it?

Anything causing discomfort above a 3 on a scale of 1-10 must be discontinuted. For now, you can try substituting with the Lower Body Russian twist explained in the free FUN-Damentals ebook…

As for the leg sweeps, I played around a bit and found a small lift (about 4″) seemed to work out well, I cannot do the full 10/10 set more than once, after that I am doing about 5/5 or 6/6 and I feel pretty wiped out at that point and form starts to become a problem.

Keep working like this — respecting your Rate of Perceived Technique…

Just for clarification on the yoga position you mentioned above – when using the forearm, am I still trying to keep the hands pointing (fingers being the point) up towards the face or should they be pointed towards the floor?  Towards the floor seems like it should work better, but I thought I would ask.

Yep, that's correct. Hands pointed to the floor. Use your forearm to press into your outer thing for the twist.

Cheers,

Adam

Great work! Sounds like you're making solid progress.

That feeling of having more gas in your tank, of having more energy than you've felt in a long time, is supposed to be there. People forget that the word "training" implies that we're training for something. "Working out" has become an end in itself, and in general we think that if we're not wiped out and exhausted all the time from our exercise (the walking wounded), we're not doing enough. Remember: you're training to be better prepared for your day t o day life. Take this new energy and go out and enjoy your life with it. Have some fun! Do stuff you haven't been able to do in a while. Don't feel that you have to spend it on more exercise.

>I have looked around the forum and I see 'cocktailing' mentioned and usually in a negative way.  I am not 100% on what you are referring to in this regard.  Could you please explain this concept in more detail and how/why it is bad?

Sure. Cocktailing refers to mixing different training protocols which target competing energy systems into the same workout or training cycle. At best you will merely slow your progress – the results you reap won't be what you're expecting, and they won't be predictable. At worst you're setting yourself up for injury.

For example, let's say you wanted to train strength, and also speed/agility. Working heavy squats in the same cycle or the same session as movements to increase leg speed/agility will not cause improvements in both of your goals. You may improve a bit in strength if you're lucky, but speed/agility will most certainly regress. You're better off working a cycle of strength, and then following that with a cycle of speed/agility, during which you take the strength gains from your previous cycle and channel them into the athletic endeavour you're pursuing (in this case speed/agility). None of these ideas are new or startling – it's been well accepted in sport science research for decades.

>Also, since my main goal at the moment it continued fat loss, once I complete a 4×7 cycle, do I just start over at the beginning of the MRC cycle or just keep doing hybrids in the 4×7 format?  Maybe that is a silly question, but I would still like to know.

Not a silly question at all! If you're enjoying the fat loss program and still motivated by it, start over but bump up your level of movement sophtistication whenever possible (you may not be able to jump an entire level across the board, but you should be able to increase with some of the movements while the others catch up). Or, you can choose another program from the book. Strength or Hypertrophy would be good possibilities given your goals.

>I am really enjoying the Prasara yoga flow, can I do it more frequently than just the Low Intensity days?

Of course. Just make sure you don't do it so much that it begins to compete with your training. It should be compensatory recovery rather than "work".

If you aren't already doing so, try using the Prasara flow to unload right after the "work" sessions of your Moderate and High intensity days. You'll get a really great, deep release when you're core is heated and your muscles nice and juicy.