INSANITY rocks the core

Rob working core

Day 25-28 I've been going through some trainings and Rob has had meetings so we've split our workouts. Day 29 starts our Recovery week and frankly, I'm ready. The full week of Core Cardio and Balance will be welcome because the last few days I haven't had the loads of energy. I CAN HAS ROCK HARD ABS Cardio Abs is a 20 minute workout that starts with jogging core work. Who would have though that was necessary. :) You move into core jump sets. The wide Oblique jumps are killer. I feel so much weaker in the jogging/jumping portion. It's something that is really new to me since starting this series. I fight for height in my jump and as long as you are jumping from the bottom it's a lot easier. There's a guy on the video who looks like he has springs on his feet. He's a machine. Matwork We move into matwork which is done in the c-curve position. I think this portion feels like it is taken from Pilates. Not exactly what you'd see in Pilates but uses the principals. I always remove my shoes for this part of the workout. I do not need the extra bulk of my shoes messing with my balance. I actually toss in a little Pilates matwork with this portion. I'm not showboating, just found a spot here and there that moves like "The Saw" or Leg circles fit nicely. Shaun T does not show many modification on the C-curve mat work but you can move your arms back a bit to take the stress off your back. I follow the Pilates rule with these abs- ALWAYS FOCUS ON FORM . You'll hear that throughout INSANITY and it rings true. DO THE PLANK!! We finish with Plank work. Most people don't do Plank because they hate it. But they hate it because they don't do it. DON'T SKIP PLANK. Drop right now and hold plank for 1 minute. Make this a priority. When I'm teaching I hear so many moans from students who don't want to do it. Plank is an incredibly important move for core strength and rock hard abs. I will keep this disc as part of my rotation after I finish INSANITY. It's a winner! Working on Teaser

INSANITY day 24

Day 24: Plyometric Cardio Circuit Longest 45 minutes of my life. My heart rate got to 162 for most of the workout. I had to take more breaks than usual this time. I actually did a recovery drink and followed INSANITY with an hour of TurboKick. Today is Cardio Recovery with the Deep muscle work. I like it!

How'd you get so fit?

Days 22 and 23. Both yesterday and today were a little crazy so Rob and I worked out separately. Yesterday was Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs. I rocked it. I finished that and did an hour of Turbo Kick. It felt great. My kicks are so much better. I used to feel out of breathe during the Turbo(high intensity) section but now I breeze through it. I keep thinking.. "work harder"! Rob also rocked his workout. He was in the other room and I could see him tearing it up! He's so much more flexible than he used to be. New striations are showing up every day. Day 23 Today we had Cardio Power and Resistance, which is becoming my favorite workout. This is the one with weird inversion pushups. I was truly exhausted after that, no Turbo Kick today. I was gone most of the day and just felt tired from staying up all night working on the blog. I need to get more sleep. I'm a geek, my job excites me. Today I was out and someone asked my how I stay so fit. I thought that was pretty awesome.

DAY 21 Plyometric Cardio Circuit Here's a clip of our workout for Day 21. This is at the very end of the workout just before the final stretch. Rob said this was another "Sham-wow day". I'm a big fan of these standing core workouts. The basketball jumps and ski abs, well not so much but we can't have everything now can we? Check back in tomorrow for more!!

INSANITY gives me EIT

DAY 19 Core Cardio and Resistance Tough workout yesterday, but it was really good. The harder I work, I find myself with Exercise Induced Tourettes. (EIT.. I made that up) Now.. I want to say that I mean no disrespect to those with Tourette Syndrome, which is a horrible, horrible thing. I am just having a hard time describing this INSANITY induced happening.   Moving from V-pushups to ball pushups, to plank sprints and then back to more pushups at high speeds and intensity makes me just scream the weirdest nonsense. Yes.. the "I CAN DO THIS" and "Somebody kill me" gets mixed in with expletive anacronyms. (We've got kids here, you know). My new scream is ENFAMIL. It started out as F.M.L. (if you aren't sure.. don't worry about it.. you don't need to know). So now ENFAMIL is part of my EIT blasts.   The most logical reason could be that I'm not breathing much and needing oxygen. Shaun T tells you to take deep breaths all the way through but that's a challange when you are working at maximum intensity. I compare the feeling to a pressure cooker blowing. That's what it feels like. Once in a while I find myself mumbling incoherently while doing this workout. I've seen Shaun T. doing that as well so I'm not too worried. Today , Day 20, is our off day this week. We are going to film tomorrow's workout so we'll have some more clips this week! We'll bleep out the EIT. :)

Top 10 reasons to love INSANITY

Necessities: Sham wow,Insanity and a Beardie.

10. Menu Plan contains so much food. Not just snacks but 5 meals a day of real food.

9. Nutrition plan is easy to follow.

8. Workouts average less than 1 hour a day.

7. You can't cheat. You want to do it at 100 percent but even if you did this workout on auto pilot, it would still kick your butt.

6. Sweat. Detoxifying sweat comes out of every pore. I've never sweat so much in my entire fitness career. It's really that intense. You sweat so much you need a Sham-Wow to keep it together. I have one for the floor too, so I don't break my neck from doing a slip down. By the way, I trained the University football team in college. They worked out hard but not like this,

5. The stretching is perfect. Shaun T also focuses on the hip flexor, groin area a lot. Many programs scrimp on that area and we really need to stay flexible there. Men often have flexibility issues in this area so the added focus makes a huge difference in performace of pretty much everything including the day to day stuff.

4. You can turn the music off and use your own. Great feature.

3. It's 60 days not 90! Woot

2. INSANITY shows you exactly where you are strong and where you need work. No second guessing here. 1. Rapid results. It works. You can see and feel changes every day. Yes.. it's INSANE but you know you are up to the challenge!! Can you even imagine how you'll look in 60 days! Get more info on getting started by clicking here!

INSANITY CONTINUES: Big changes!

Power Jumps!

Day 15: FIT TEST!!

We've completed 2 full weeks of INSANITY and it's time to see the results of our 2nd fitness test! I think I made some strides in my fitness. I added repetitions to every one of the drills. Here's how the fitness test works. Each movement is done for a full minute at your fastest speed. As you do the INSANITY workout each day, you are incorporating these drills for speed,strength and cardiovascular fitness. Here's my results compared with 2 weeks ago. Results: Fit test Drill reps/ 60 seconds day 1 day 15 1. Switch Kicks 56 82 2. Power Jacks 50 62 3. Power Knees 78 85 4. Power Jumps 21 25 5. Globe Jumps 6 8 6. Suicide Jumps 7 9 7.Push Up Jacks 8 13 8. Low Plank Oblique 27 28 We wil have video for you shortly!!

Killer Ab workout Day 13

First time for TWO workouts in one day!

Day 13: Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs

Did you ever have one of those days that did not go the way you planned? Well.. that was today. We had blocked off today as a working day but ended up having to run several errands. That pushed our INSANITY workout to later in the day so I was in the middle of my mid-afternoon drowsies. WARM UP/WAKE UP! No yawning allowed here. Once we got moving it was on! Pure Cardio's warm up has 3 circuits and each time they get faster. Then comes the stretch followed by ALL CARDIO. No water breaks are given during the cardio. By the end of the DVD, Shaun T is mumbling and the people on the DVD are falling out. After the final stretch, we moved directly into disc 2 for the day, CARDIO ABS. CARDIO ABS is about 20 minutes long and starts with jogging, moutain climbers, jumps and everything is core-centric. That is followed by the seated ab mat workout. Shaun T. tells you with great pride that there are NO CRUNCHES in this workout, but I almost think most people would rather have crunches than do Plank work! I loved the Cardio AB disc. I felt really good doing it. I do a lot of Pilates, Turbo Kick and core workouts so abs are one of my stronger assets. I will tell you that by the time I got to the Low Plank series, I once again landed in a pool of my own sweat so don't think I'm showboating. Hard day, but good! Tomorrow is our official rest day and we film our 2 week fit test again on Monday!

What is your favorite ab routine?

Day 12: Cardio power and resistance

Today's warm up was much better. Although there is that drama at about the 3 minute mark where my legs feel like lead. Starting with the jogging right off the bat into Log Jumps is where I want to start grousing. Once I get past the first circuit, I'm feeling pretty good. My pulse was at 153 after only 3 minutes into the warm up. This disc is about 40 minutes and includes some very interesting resistance moves. I'm actually happy when it's time for V-Pushups. That's a rest for me. The leaps.. not so much! Everything in this disc requires you work from the core. If you aren't.. UR DOIN IT WRONG!   Things that helped me today. 1. Using my Yoga focus. I guess that's what Shaun T. means by "Dig deeper". I had to really glaze over and stop thinking about anything else while I was in the moment. This is a bit of a struggle and something I try work on in my Yoga practice. I have some exercise A.D.D. I probably attribute that more to teaching than anything else. I am thinking about my next moves or what's going on around me. During this workout.. I have to regroup. It helped a lot today. 2. Sips of water, not gulps. I got nauseous when I drank too much water at once. 3. Great playlist. We turn off the music on the DVD (thank you, Beach Body, for that feature) and it helps so much. This weekend we are going to put together some playlists for our workouts that don't slow down. Music really motivates me. I need it and I need it kind of loud. Heart Rate My heart rate peaked at 168 BPM. Isn't that like "You are dead" ? We call it "sucking air". My Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) is 176. To figure it MHR, take 220-YOUR AGE= MHR.**** I peaked at 95 % of my MHR. I wanted to note that I'm doing this program without MONSTER drinks or Sugar Free Redbull. Not because it's part of the program but because I'm trying to limit my caffeine. I'm not saying I never use it, but today I did not. Even though I was at 95% of my MHR, I did not stay there the entire time. I fluctuated between 155 and 168. I'm hopeful that as I continue to get in better cardiovascular shape, I'll lower my resting pulse. I feel good today! I'm definately improving. Tomorrow is Pure Cardio AND Cardio Abs. DOUBLE WORKOUT!   *****This formula is the easy US version. If you want to get some other formulas just Google" Maximum heart rate". There are calculators to help. ;)

Stressed out

Today was HARD!
Day 8/60 Today was horrible. I hated it. I'm not trying to be negative but my stress level is through the roof! It's back to school time, we have a sick kid, a few other stressors.. I feel like everything just piled up and I could feel my blood pressure go up. Right before we started Cardio Power and Resistance, I had words with one of the kids over something totally inconsequential. I had to spend some quality time in Downward dog before I started in on this workout! Sidebar: Sometimes its the day to day parenting that just gets to ya! Working out : The warm- up was extra grueling. My legs felt like lead. We had already walked for over an hour, rested up, ate meal number one but I still felt like I was 100 years old. The warm-up starts out with some of the hardest cardio I've ever done in all the years I've taught classes. It got better after the stretch but I was seriously having trouble getting through this one. I actually like this one because it has resistance training. The V pushups, Plank/sprints and tricep dips are my favs. I had to sit out a few times but I did finish. I did not finish with the attitude I wish I did. We need a better play list! I think that will help. I'm going to run choreography for Turbo Kick later today so I'm going to make sure to replenish. On a brighter note. I got a lovely birthday package from one of my besties. That made me feel better.

INSANITY - Day 2 - Plyometric Cardio Circuit

 

Since Day 1 was a fitness test, it would be tempting to consider Day 2 the first day of Insanity.  But since the fit test was such a butt kicker, it definately qualified as a MAX Intensity workout. 

Day 2 is the Plyometric Cardio Circuit, and it has you hitting the ground running.  Tons of killer Plyometric moves and intense cardio.  Most of my workout history has been spent avoiding cardio, in the past few years, I have been doing some Turbo Kick Classes, but for the most part, cardio and lower body have been marginalized, asI focused on upper body and weights.

With that in mind, I was really happy with my ability to keep up.  I did take a few seconds to catch my breath from time to time, but  maintained my intensity throughtout.  As I am sure will be a recurring theme of the workouts and my posts, one thing I really like about Insanity is the fact that the moves are simple, any reasonably fit person can accomplish every move.  It is the sheer number, duration and intensity that create the burn, and effectiveness of this workout.

 NO PAUSING - NO STOPPING - JUST PURE INSANITY!!!

Day one: fit test

WOW... If you have any doubts as to whether this program is serious, you will lose those doubts, straight out of the gate.

The Fit Test is intense, tons of plyometrics and cardio... I am starting to understand that when this program is over, I will have elevated my fitness nearly to the level of a true athelete.  The drills which you run in the fit test resemble drills you see in Professional Sports training programs, and they just don't stop.

The key to the fittest is speed and perseverence, you are trying to knock out as many of each drill in the allotted time, so you are pushing for your Peak performance every minute of the test... the breaks are short, the sweat is abundant, and when you are done, you feel it.

Now I have read in forums and beta boards, that many do not make it through even the fit test, and it is important that you hide the remote when you start the test or any of the INSANITY workouts.  NO PAUSE, if you want the results, you have to do it straight up... and what is the point of pausing the fit test, that's cheating and in this case you are only cheating yourself.

The fit test consists of (in parenthesis are the number I did):

• Switch Kicks (96)
• Power Jacks (68)
• Power Knees (86)
• Power Jumps (44)
• Globe Jumps (9)
• Suicide Jumps (9)
• Push-up Jacks (21)
• Low Plank Obliques (25)

I was pleased with my numbers, compared to the people in the video, and I'm excited to increase these numbers and decrease my body fat.

Ready for DAY 2, more work, more sweat....bring on the results.

 

 

INSANE birthday

It's my birthday today and also day one of INSANITY. The past few weeks have been full of whirlwind eating and delicousness. Rob and I spent 5 days in Las Vegas celebrating our 15th anniversary. Needless to say there is no point to going to Vegas and not eating all the amazing foods. I guess we took a little vacation from ourselves because if it didn't move I ate it. I knew we were going to be hitting it hardcore when we got home and it was worth every single bit of gelato! I'm not going to lie..I was feeling pretty flabtastic after we got home. Starting INSANITY on my birthday was perfect for me. Turning 44 was not nearly as bad as turning 40. I feel good about my fitness right now, but I am nervous because this program is an huge challenge. I haven't EVER had very many reasons to do plyometric jumps. In fact.. in all my years of teaching, that was something I definately avoided in my workouts. Here are my reasons for starting INSANITY and seeing it through. 1. I want to prove to myself that I can accomplish this. 2. I know it will make me a better instructor. 3. If you submit your before and after pics, Beachbody will award you with a cool Tee. I WANT THAT SHIRT!   8/3/09 Results: Fit test day 1 1. Switch Kicks 56 2. Power Jacks 50 3. Power Knees 78 4. Power Jumps 21 5. Globe Jumps 06 6. Suicide Jumps 07 7.Push Up Jacks 08 8. Low Plank Oblique 27   We'll be doing this fit test every two weeks. Looking forward to the progress!

Insanity is 100 percent mental

Rebounding can be dificult, but I'm learning that it's 100% mental. 

I would not say I was a yo-yo dieter, but I tend to flucuate in my weight depending on my workload and stress.  I've had high points, like turning 40 years old weighing 185 lbs, which is less than I weighed when I was 26 years old.  But that high point was preceeded by my lowest point, October 2002, age 35, when I woke up one day and discovered I had balooned up to 247 lbs.

After losing the weight, I've kept a good diet, been active, and have not seen the dark side of 200 lbs again.  But I have floated up to the high 190's, As recently as 6 months ago there was a little voice in my head that was saying... "you're older now, just accept it, you're not going to get down there ever again."   Now I'm back down to 183lbs!!!  It is all mental!!!  It's about finding a way to silence the voice of defeat and replacing it with a more positive voice.  Age is nuthin' but a number!! My goal is to prove that the calendar is lying.  I want to be able to say "I'm healthier, more fit, and can do more with my body at age 43, than I could when I was 25, in the Air Force, boxing, scuba diving, and lifting weights nearly every day. 

To acheive this, I'm dedicating myself to a 60 day, hard-core fitness program, Shaun T's Insanity.  This program uses no equipment, no weights, not even a chin-up bar.  It's MAX Interval cardio and resistance training.  The way I see it however is this workout too is 100% mental.  Its about not stopping when you are tired, not giving up, always pushing through, and doing your maximum each and every time.

Monday is Day 1, fit test, measurements, before photos, etc.  I am determined to follow this program like a religion, word for word, meal by meal, no missed workouts... my goals is set, it's not a specific weight or measurement, it's a feeling, an attitude, its the journey not the destination.

It's 100% Mental.