Insanity Day 52: Another Double Workout!

Today was Extreme Cardio and Cardio Abs, also known as "an hour and ten minutes of pure sweat and pain". I burned 760 calories total and feel pretty good, but not as good as yesterday. My right side is a bit sore, probably from setting my drums and PA system back up by myself last night before band practice, or perhaps it was from carrying the Poland Springs water jugs in two at a time this morning. Either way, clearly my core wasn't tight and I slightly pulled something, but it didn't impact my workout. I didn't have quite as much energy as yesterday. I should experiment with eating some carbs later in the evening to see if that helps. I'll admit I skipped breakfast this morning so that's even more likely to be the cause. Just too much to do to prepare to head down to Philadelphia for my wife's aunt's funeral that I mentioned a few days ago.

My workout tomorrow will be a rare evening workout due to the trip, but I'll get it in.

I weighed myself this morning. I'm getting very close to my goal of losing 20 pounds and should hit it before the program ends next week.

I'm sticking with a disciplined diet and haven't felt hungry at all. The new lifestyle has really settled in.

"52" has been the hardest number to write backwards, in case you were curious. Try it if you don't believe me!

 

Insanity Day 51: MUCH Better Plyo Today!

What a difference a day makes! I felt 100% better today, I'm sure in part due to eating healthy all day yesterday and getting to bed by 10pm (which NEVER happens). I had a ton of energy and was excited to workout. I burned 782 calories today doing the dreaded Max Interval Plyo. I must say, this was my best experience with this particular workout that I've had yet. I did all the exercises and both my back and shoulders felt great! I really hadn't enjoyed Max Plyo at all until today.

I have a crazy busy day at work, so I need to keep this post very brief. Back to my Rest & Recovery Drink then on to more conference calls!

 

Insanity Day 50: Payback for the Weekend!

It's Day 50. It's Monday. And it's a tough day to have an off day since I had both the Fit Test and Max Interval Circuit. Let's start with the good news: I burned 1297 calories between both workouts, and increased my Fit Test scores on 3 different moves. Ok, good news over.

On the negative side, my scores on the other 5 moves decreased from the previous test. I'm still up for all moves from the beginning of Insanity, but I definitely felt "off" today, especially during the Fit Test. I simply had no energy at all. In my mind, there's no question as to why: We had family up this weekend and went out for about 5 meals, and I ate whatever I wanted. I also switched my Saturday and Sunday schedule so I worked out yesterday instead of being off. The bottom line is this was self-inflicted. I will work hard to get back on track again this week.

Once the workout was complete, I felt energized as always and look forward to my final Fit Test in 2 weeks. That one is on a Sunday so I'll need to be really good that weekend to max out the grand finale.

Have a great week!

 

 

 

Insanity Day 48: The Old Switcheroo!

Today I did my Day 48 workout, but it's technically Day 49. That's because I switched my Saturday and Sunday schedules. The band I'm in had a gig Friday night and I didn't get to sleep until 3am. I was completely beat on Saturday and even took a nap. There was no way I was going to get anything out of that workout and I really needed a day of rest, so I took it. I did the workout today and it was actually pretty easy! I did the Core Cardio & Balance, which was the workout I did for an entire week between Month 1 and Month 2 of Insanity. It was pretty easy then as well, but I found it incredibly easy after doing 2 weeks of Month 2 "Max" workouts, and at only 37 minutes, it flew by. So today was still kind of a rest day in some respects. I still burned 503 calories and worked up a bit of a sweat. 

A couple quick unrelated thoughts...

- The gig went well, so thanks to everyone who came out to see us! 

- I'm not a Nascar fan or anything, but I'd love to see Danica Patrick take the checkered flag at Daytona. 

- I didn't see Lincoln yet, so I'm pulling for Argo for Best Picture tonight at the Oscars. Fantastic movie.

Feeling good and ready for tomorrow!

Insanity Day 47: First Double "Max" Workout!

Today was Max Cardio and Cardio Abs. I did a few double workouts with Cardio Abs last month, but this was the first time coupling it with a Max (month 2) workout. It was brutal. I don't know how many calories I burned because about 2 minutes into the warm-up I realized I didn't have my heart rate monitor on. This was probably because I'm preoccupied with other stuff today. My parents are on their way and should be here by the time I post this. And the band I'm in has a gig tonight so I have about a million things I need to do to prepare for that. I took today off from work, so getting all this done should be a bit less hectic.

I felt great today and probably burned close to 1000 calories total, including Cardio Abs. By the way, I hate Cardio Abs! Not because it's a bad workout, but because it's a hard workout. REALLY hard. And it's only 16 minutes! Crazy stuff.

Anyway I'll keep today brief. Have a great weekend. One more workout until a much needed day off!

On a very sad note, my wife's Aunt Ellen passed away this morning from cancer. Like her sisters, including my mother-in-law, she was a fiesty, loving, energetic, positive person who loved nothing more than her family. She will be missed, and the whole family will be in our thoughts.

 

Insanity Day 46: Took It Easy for Max Recovery Today!

I really suffered last week with the Max Recovery workout, which isn't a recovery at all. There's no cardio, but the plank work is the most brutal in all of Insanity. I skipped a few of the exercises to avoid aggravating my shoulders, but I did the side-planks and all the other stuff, especially all the stretching which is excellent. I still worked up a bit of a sweat. Once I'm done with Insanity I definitely need to incorporate some upper body weight lifting to get my shoulders to the point that I can do all the plank work in Insanity. As I've said before, it's not a muscle soreness feeling. It's real pain, like I'm straining tendons or my joint itself. I still think it's rotator cuff related, and I also plan to do some exercises specifically to strengthen those tendons, but not until after Round 1 is over!

I'm looking forward to the Max Cardio and Cardio Abs double-workout tomorrow. I may do the Cardio Abs tonight because tomorrow is going to be crazy busy getting ready for our band's gig. Setup will probably start around 4pm...It's a long process!

Got a whole bunch of family coming up to see the gig, and the grandchildren and grand-dog (who's at her least favorite place on the planet today...the groomer's!). My parents, my wife's parents, and even my wife's Aunt. Should be fun!

Insanity Day 45: Tough But Rewarding Plyo!

Today was Max Interval Plyo, the most muscle-intensive workout of Insanity. Burned 841 calories in 55 minutes. Plyo will always burn less calories than cardio since it doesn't keep your heart rate up all the time. My shoulders felt a bit better today so I modified less and did almost all of the push-up/plank stuff. I also started my Cosamin DS regimen yesterday, so it will be interesting to see if it makes a difference on the old joints.

My diet is going very well this week. The amount of fruit and veggies I've eaten is crazy, and my weight is falling off again. Down another pound from yesterday. I know I said I didn't have a goal weight, but I've changed my mind. I do now, at least for this round of Insanity. I don't have an overall goal weight, however. I'll never (and probably should never) weigh what I did when I first met my wife Meghan. It was 172, and I'm 6'2". God I miss that metabolism! You may be thinking, "Wow he must've been really active", but believe me I was not. Aside from some intramural football (like 10 games total) and skiing a couple days a year, I basically got no exercise all through college. It was just good metabolism, because it certainly wasn't diet. I wasn't some starving college kid. I ate everything in sight. I would sit down with a 16" pizza, fold it in half, and eat it like a big taco. And I'd do this multiple times a week! Anyway, I'd be pretty happy being somewhere between where I was in college and where I started before Insanity, but we'll see!

I'm really feeling great overall and am now enjoying Month 2. Those first few days were a real test, though, and I don't miss them at all.

Sorry for the blurry picture. My hand was shaking from all the push-ups! It also looks like we're on a 5-day laundry cycle at my house because I'm wearing the same shirt from Day 40. I'd say I need more T-Shirts, but my wife would correctly disagree! :)

Insanity Day 44: Loving the Max Interval Circuit!

My favorite workout of month 2 is definitely Max Interval Circuit. Last week I burned 1099 calories. Today I burned 1050. That's just awesome. I love the moves, and the pool of sweat I leave on the floor when I'm done. My back is 100% and my shoulders (actually my rotator cuffs I'm guessing) are probably 85%. I had some pain doing the "full body workout", which is a combination of 4 brutal plank/push-up moves, so I modified a bit and did the usual high knees, butt kicks, and some push-ups against the wall (at an angle). I ordered some joint relief pills (Cosamin DS) which should arrive today or tomorrow, which should help build cartilage. The bottom line is doing push-ups is harder on my body than on someone who's in good shape. I'm much heavier and I'm not as flexible, plus I'm stressing some tendons and things that have probably never been stressed before. So none of this bothers me. What would be a problem would be if I ignored the pain. I read the worst thing you can do is take Advil before working out, because that just masks the pain and will result in you being more likely to get really injured. So I listen to my body, modify and rest when necessary, and keep pushing. It's working well for me, so that will continue to be my approach.

I'm working very hard on my diet these last few weeks of the program. I continue to slowly adapt to a new way of eating overall while to eliminating all the bad stuff completely. I'm eating as much fresh fruit and vegetables as I can, while minimizing bad carbs and maximizing protein. I slept great last night (as I have for the past 44 days!) My cardio has improved so much it's not funny. I recovery in less than 2 minutes. It used to take 10-20 minutes...no joke!

I'm also down another pound. I'm not going to be more specific than that until this round of Insanity is over. Needless to say, I'm very happy with how much I've lost. It's not as much as the people in the infomercial (shocking, I know), but it's been a slow, steady, fairly consistent weight loss, which I've read is a much healthier way to lose than they do on the Biggest Loser. No one should be losing 10 pounds in a week if you're 6 weeks into an exercise program. That just can't be healthy. As I've said from the beginning, this is not a competition. Not in the slightest. It's a lifestyle change. One that I'm embracing, learning to really like, and that I believe will lead to even better things down the road. I could not be happier.

My entire shirt was soaked, except the sleeves apparently. And by now, I'm a black belt in writing numbers in reverse. "Twos" are the hardest, in case you were curious.

 

Insanity Day 43: Extreme Cardio Monday!

Great workout today. My whole body is feeling really good after a full day off. I did some push-up and plank work in today's Extreme Cardio workout, but I also modified a bit. No rotator cuff pain, and no back pain. I will continue with the daily heat pad and stretches.

I burned 845 calories today. I only have 3 weeks left. This must be what a smoker feels like 3 weeks before New Years every year. I'm looking forward to it but I'm also going to miss it. Only thing is, this is a good addiction, and I don't have to quit in 3 weeks. I've pretty much settled on the fact that I'm going to repeat Insanity from the beginning. I will take a week off to heal first. I've also ordered a couple of bonus DVDs that come with the Deluxe Insanity (which I didn't purchase) that include a new Extreme Abs and Upper Body Workout (the latter which actually uses weights). In doing the order, I was connected with a Beachbody "coach" online. He already sent me an e-mail and friended me on Facebook. I wasn't really looking for a coach but it will be interesting to see what guidance he can provide, especially as I'm reaching the end of Round 1. Since my primary goal in getting fit is weight loss, I think repeating Insanity makes sense. Once I get closer to my goal, I'd like to add P90X in and do some type of hybrid program. Everyone online says I should do P90X as a standalone program before doing a hybrid, but I'm not going to listen to them. One, I like Insanity way too much, and two, I need something that is more cardio based with just a sprinking of weights and muscle work. I've always marched to the beat of my own drummer. Just ask my wife or my Mom. Ok, you can probably ask just about anybody who knows me. ;-)

Speaking of drummers, I play the drums in a local rock band and we have a gig this Friday. About the only other time I'm as soaked as the end of an Insanity workout is the end of a 3-hour gig. So it should be interesting to see how I handle a morning Insanity workout followed by the gig. Just lugging the drums and PA system up from the basement, into the car, out of the car and into the bar where we're playing, then back into the car, then back down into the basement...that's a workout in and of itself. Luckily with that part I'll have help from my bandmates (right guys?)

Alright, enough for today. Thanks for continuing to read the blog, and have a great week!

 

Insanity Day 41: Last Workout of Week 6!

I worked out late today. Just finished at 3pm in fact. I didn't feel quite as good as yesterday, probably because I've only had a bowl of cereal to eat, but I didn't want to eat a big meal then workout. I still felt pretty good though. Burned 754 calories doing Max Interval Plyo. This was the workout I did earlier in the week that I think started the problems with my shoulders. After doing some research online, I think the problem is the rotator cuffs, which are basically a bunch of tendons that hold your bones in the shoulder sockets. Bottom line is every time they did push-ups or planks, I did it against the wall or did a combo of high kneeds and butt kicks instead, so I kind of made it a bit of a plyo-cardio hybrid. I've learned so many different exercises with this program that modifying is pretty easy. My shoulders feel good, but I still got a solid core workout and burned a lot of calories. So mission accomplished!

I'm completely off tomorrow, and can't believe I've completed 6 weeks of this craziness. I know I can complete the program, and only have 3 weeks to go. Have a great weekend!

 

Insanity Day 40: What a Difference a Day Makes!

Today was different. I felt great when I woke up and couldn't wait to workout. I have no idea why, given that the last few days have been pretty frustrating. Perhaps it was the admittedly unhealthy dinner I had last night. We went to dinner with some friends for Valentine's Day and I had calamari, beef carpaccio, and veal parmesan, not to mention a few glasses of red wine. Maybe I needed the carbs. Who knows? All I know is was ready to bring it. And I did.

I burned 1099 calories doing Max Interval Circuit. This was the same workout I did on Monday right after the Fit Test. You may recall me complaining about the double workout, but I burned over 1500 calories that day. Well I was ready for it today. I made it through the entire warm-up without stopping or taking a break. That may seem silly to those who've never done Insanity, but the warm-up in the second month is as hard as the workout in the first month. The only thing I struggled with were some of the plank exercises. My shoulders continue to hurt a bit, but not a muscle soreness. More like tendons or the joints as I mentioned yesterday. So instead of some of those exercises I did some extra high knees, butt kicks, cross jacks, and straight-arm jacks. I was drenched by the end.  I downed 3 bottles of water, and I'm sipping on my recovery drink as I type this. My heart rate peaked at 181 and averaged 152.

I just felt like I was "on" today, and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. This is the boost I needed. Day 40. Unbelievable. Only 23 days left!

 

Insanity Day 39: Recovery Day...Kind Of!

Today was my first day doing Max Recovery. It was similar to last month's Thursday recovery workout, but of course more intense. My shoulders are sore from all the push-ups and planks, and this workout had a ton of them, some which I skipped. It wasn't a muscle soreness. It was more like a joint or "shoulder socket" soreness, so I didn't want to injure myself. A few times I just stood up and jogged in place. Shaun T has a very interesting view on what recovery means!

I couldn't find my heart monitor strap this morning. Perhaps the dog stole it and is tracking her heart rate as she chases deer around the yard!

Overall, I'm not enjoying month 2 as much as month 1 so far. I know that no one can do all of every workout, but I was feeling so good about month 1 by the end of it, and I'm struggling even to complete the recovery workout now. Many of the stretches seem like really hard yoga. I don't know whether to be really impressed with those who do yoga, or simply to hate yoga altogether. Right now it's a little of both. ;-)

I like the cardio stuff, but the strength stuff we're doing this month is MUCH harder than last month and is just beating this 42-year-old up. But as I've said before, I will continue to push on! There is no question my core is stronger. I was out shoveling some snow this morning and caught myself holding my core tight as I shoveled. I literally laughed out loud!

Insanity Day 38: Extreme Cardio!

Day 38. Today was my first taste of Extreme Cardio Conditioning. My body is so beat up after the last 2 days that I was definitely not ready for this. I thought I would burn a ton of calories but I really struggled to keep up today. I still burned 610, but I was hoping for a lot more. I'm starting to think that a full week of recovery was too long last week. My heart rate never got above 163 and averaged 140 today. I just felt a bit lethargic. But I powered through it and finished. Tomorrow is my first Extreme Recovery (or whatever they call it). Hopefully after an easier day my body will be ready to go 100% again. If I sound a bit disappointed, I am. But I know I shouldn't be. I need to keep telling myself that I've been working out almost every day for 38 days. Not 3 days a week, but 6 days a week. I've read other people's Insanity blogs and most others struggle with this week as well, so I need to keep everything in perspective. It's funny in how just over 1 month I've gone from having a very low expectation of what I'm capable of to such a high expectation. I suppose that's another way to measure my progress, and for that I feel good.

I'm still working hard at my diet. Lots of protein. My biggest issue is the carbs. The bottom line is I can't stand the taste of whole grain or wheat bread. I grew up eating white bread and I just don't like anything else. So when I eat a sandwhich, I'm sticking with my Italian sub roll. I don't like brown rice either. And I don't like whole grain pasta. There, I've said it! And as I've said before, if I give up everything I like, I'll quit this thing. And that's not going to happen!

Insanity Day 37: Pushing Play Every Day!

I am REALLY sore today. Yesterday's double workout and 1492 calorie burn caught up with me last night. My back is actually fine (I did a lot of the heat pad and stretching), but my arms, legs, core and even feet were very sore when I woke up. It's not painful. It's just a really good sore feeling. First time I've felt that in Insanity, since it's more cardio than muscle work in general.

There's a saying that Shaun T uses, which is "Push Play Every Day". So despite being sore and really wanting a rest, I pushed play. I'm glad I did.

Today's workout was Max Interval Plyo. First time I've done this, and I expect I will pay the price tomorrow, since today was much more about strength training than cardio. So I basically used all the muscles that were sore, but once the warmup was completed they felt fine. I burned 779 calories today. My maximum heart rate was only 167 (average was 140) so I suspect when I get to the max cardio workout later this week, I may set a new record for calories burned in a single workout. We'll see!

Lots of new moves in today's workout. There was only one I couldn't do, and probably will not be able to do at all, which is one called a Power Pushup. The name is a bit deceiving, since it implies some type of fast, snappy pushup, perhaps with a hand clap. But it isn't. I can't do it because I'm simply not flexible enough to do it. Not even close. You start in a plank then jump up to a straight leg standing positioning while your hands are still down on the ground in front of your feet. My hamstrings are nowhere near flexible enough to even stand that way yet alone jump up into it. So I bagged that exercise completely and did the "in/out plank jumps" that I despise but I can do, and they work me hard. The side pushups and squat pushups were hard as well, but I could do a handful of each. With those, plus the Level 3 drills, I must've done over a hundred push-ups of one type of another. Where did I put that ice bag for my shoulders?

I wasn't really all that gased at the end because as I said it was more strength training than cardio today, so today was certainly easier than yesterday from that perspective.

Looking at the calendar, it seems this is the hardest week of Insanity. The next 3 weeks all have an easy Friday workout, which is the Core Cardio & Balance that I did during recovery week last week. All 4 weeks have a Max Recovery on Wednesday's which I'm guessing will not be easy, but probably won't be cardio. I'll find out tomorrow!

37 days down. 26 to go!

 

Insanity Day 36: What's Significant about 1492?

If you guessed that's the year Columbus set sail for Africa but found a bunch of islands in the Caribbean, you'd be right. (By the way, Columbus never made it to what we now know as the United Stated of America. The furthest north he ever made it was Cuba. Not sure why I along with most other kids learned that in school, but I digress!)

The other significance of 1492 today is, that's how many calories I burned doing a combination of my third Fit Test and my first Phase 2 workout titled Max Interval Circuit. Whoever thought it would be a good idea to come off a recovery week then do this was CRAZY. Yes I know who it was (thank you Shaun T), but it was just cruel. I thought month 1 would prepare me for month 2. Wrong. This was absolutely insane. The warm-up was as hard as the hardest workout from month 1, and to do it back to back after being exhausted from my fit test was just mean spirited. To break down the calories, I burned 564 calories during the Fit Test (results below) and 928 calories during the Max Interval Circuit. I drank 3 bottled of water, then my recovery drink, and I'm still thirsty. This month is going to be a real test.

I couldn't keep up with the workout today. Nobody could, unless you're already a world class fitness instructor. This just wasn't human. I made it through the end, but I had to take lots of short breaks during almost every movement. The sitting switch kicks....there are no words. So it's back to square one. I'm a beginner again. It will be interesting to see how (or if!) I improve this month. The workouts are now an hour long instead of 40 minutes, so wish me luck!

Fit Test results:

The 4 voyages of Columbus. None made it to U.S.A. (News to me as well!)

Insanity Day 34: Last Day of Recovery Week!

Just finished my last recovery week workout. I burned 541 calories. Unlike earlier in the week, I did all the exercises with modification, including the ones that target the back. My back feels great again. No soreness at all. I feel really good going into Phase 2. I weighed myself this morning. I am down 2 pounds this week, with a total weight loss of 15 pounds in 5 weeks.  I worked my butt off for every pound while still enjoying the occasional things I like, such as the 2 glasses of wine and bowl of real strawberry ice cream I had last night. But that was fine because unlike most (ok, all) Fridays, we didn't go out to dinner. We stayed in and had turkey chili.

We got about 10 inches of snow last night. Nothing compared to New England where it's still snowing. More importantly, we never lost power. My thoughts are with those who did lose power, because we were out for 2 weeks after Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy and that was awful.

My brother-in-law, his wife and my neice and nephew are all coming up today. We're making good on our Christmas gift to them, which was to take them to Medieval Times in Lyndhurst, NJ this evening. Their kids are younger and really wanted to go. I took my family several years ago and I must admit, I really enjoyed it. I mean, ok it's a little cheesy, but you get to drink beer, eat dinner with your hands and watch sword fights and jousting. What's better than that?

Anyway, enjoy the rest of your weekend. I'm off tomorrow. Completely. Then Phase 2 begins. I feel a combination of nervousness and excitement. But as they say, I will continue to "push play every day."

 

Insanity Day 33: TGIS (say the kids!)

TGIS: Thank God It's Snowing. At least that's what the kids are saying, since they have today off from school. Since Meghan teaches preschool in town, she is off today as well. It seems I'm the only one working today around here. They upped the forecast to 10-14", but that's nothing compared to what our friends in New England will be getting, especially around Boston.

Speaking of Meghan, she worked out with me today. As always, I pushed myself harder with an audience and burned 589 calories. Not bad for a recovery workout. She thought the only difference between this workout and the others was that they call this a recovery workout. She's probably right. At once point my heart hit 184 beats per minute, so I was definitely pushing. Average was 143 which is right in the zone.

My recovery "crackacino" is already down the hatch, so it's time for a quick shower, then a bunch of calls to end the week.

For those in the path of the storm, be safe.

One more recovery workout tomorrow, then an actual day of rest Sunday.

Have a great weekend!

Insanity Day 32: Groundhog Day and Snow on the way to Disney!

It's Thursday of recovery week, and I completed Core Cardio & Balance for the third time. Feels like that movie Groundhog Day, except luckily I don't wake up to Sonny & Cher every day (sorry if you're a fan). Only two more "recovery" days to go before I get an actual day off.

I suspect I may be getting a bonus workout tomorrow if the forecast holds. Currently they're predicting 6-12" of snow so I may be doing a lot of shoveling. As I said yesterday, I'm actually fine with the snow. I hope the kids (and Meghan) get a 2-hour delay, but it looks like the worst of it will be Friday evening so perhaps they'll get an early dismissal, or perhaps the forecast is wrong (that never happens, right?).

I think I've also mentioned this before, but I am absolutely ADDICTED to the P90X Recovery Formula. I've said it tastes like a thicker version of Tang, and it does, but it really does hit the spot after a workout. I missed it while I was in Asia last week. I was afraid they might think it was a drug or something, and my Mandarin is pretty poor (as in, I don't know any at all). Anyway, I love this stuff. No I've never made myself an extra glass. Only 1 per day, and only on workout days. Mmmmm.

I'm also addicted to Insanity. I think I was driving my wife crazy because I was laying in bed last night with my iPhone after 1am just watching before-after Insanity videos on YouTube and reading Insanity reviews on the Amazon app. And I already bought it! To be honest, I find the stories inspirational. They keep my head where it needs to be so I can continue being motivated. All those reasons I started are still true today: I'm 42. I'm not getting younger. It's getting harder and harder to get in shape. It's now or never, or at least later, but it would be harder later. The certainty I have that I can complete this program, and progress I've made so far, that I can actually see when I look in the mirror. I won't lie. It feels great. Let me explain...

You may know that my family...ok my kids and I...ok primarily me...I'm a Disney fan. Always have been. Always will be. The notion of driving to Florida from NJ is a bit daunting, but this journey feels just like that. I'm only 32 days in. I haven't even reached Richmond, VA yet. Even when I finish Insanity, I won't be to Pueblo's South of the Border by a long shot. But it doesn't matter because we're headed somewhere I really want to go. It's easy to find the motivation to complete the drive, because the destination will be awesome. That's how I feel about getting fit. I'm going to Disney World!

Ironically, we are going back to Disney after a couple years off. Heading there with my in-laws and cousins. First time for the young ones. Imagine the shape I'll be in by November. I can't wait.

Snow!

Insanity Day 31: Halfway There!

Today was my second day of recovery week and also marks the halfway point of Insanity. 31 days down, and 31 to go. Today was the same workout as yesterday, and I burned 513 calories. I pushed a bit harder today but also modified a couple of exercises to go easy on my back (instead of "hit the floor" I did "mountain climbers", for example). My back is sore once again. I used the heat pad last night and did a lot of stretching, but I will use the rest of this week to get it back to 100% so I can give 100% when Phase 2 starts Monday. My favorite stretches are "child's pose" and "cat stretch pose". If you have lower back pain, just search for them on YouTube. They work very well.

The day before this all started, I had Meghan take a bunch of pictures and measurements of me. This was a necessary step in my 2-month-long effort to win a free Insanity T-Shirt. Yes, a T-Shirt. Well, today we need to do the same thing, then once more when this is over. Will I ever post those online? Uhh.... Not sure. I know I have some people from work that read this, and they certainly don't need to see the "before" pictures of me with my shirt off. But we'll see. If the "after" pictures are passable, perhaps I will. What's the fun in an after picture without the before picture after all, right? I get that. We'll see.

I must say by the way, that working from home does make this easier. I had early calls this morning but nothing from 11-12 so having some flexibility of when I do the workout really helps. As I've said before, I'm not a morning person, so I suspect if I had to go to the office each day, I'd either need to do this during lunch (I know at least 1 person who did Insanity at my company's nearest office during lunch), or I'd have to do it at night when I got home but before dinner. (You don't want to do Insanity workouts after eating. Trust me. Don't go there.) But the idea of working all day, then doing this doesn't appeal to me. I suppose it does relieve stress and helps clear your mind, but it does that at 11am as well! ;-)

Keeping an eye on the weather because it looks like Friday could be a big nor'easter. Still too early to tell. Could be rain. Could be over a foot of snow. I'm hoping for snow, but I know I'm in the minority around here.

What's with my hair anyway? Nice hair unicorn!

 

Insanity Day 30: This is Recovery Week?

My first official day of recovery week since I slacked off on Superbowl Sunday and had to make up my last beating, I mean workout, of Phase 1 yesterday. Well, today was a bit easier. All during Recovery Week I will repeat a new workout called Core Cardio & Balance. I burned only 489 calories, but the workout was still 37 minutes long. It was much less cardio, so my heart rate didn't go nearly as high. My heart monitor uses the heart rate (along with my age and weight) to calculate the number of calories burned. Lower heart rate = less calories burned. That's not totally accurate in my opinion, because if I'm lifting weights I'm still burning a lot of calories even if my heart rate isn't that high. But I digress. The toughest part was the last 3 minutes, where you had to stand in a wide-leg squat position and hold your arms straight out. Then you flap them up and down gently, then lift them up all the way and back down to straight out, then round and round in small circles...frontwards then backwards. At first it seemed incredibly easy and I was about to convince myself that because I can play the drums for hours at a time, this would be a piece of cake. But after about a minute, my shoulders burned more than I've ever felt. And I had 2 minutes to go. I needed to take several very short breaks (just a couple of seconds) to make it through. We'll have to see if I improve over the next 4 days (I do this same workout every day through Saturday).

I must admit the timing of this new DVD was perfect. I was just at the point where the previous workouts were getting a bit repetitive, especially the warm-ups. The warm-up today was completely different. It was great not being able to predict everything Shaun T was about to say. New is good.

Next week starts Phase 2 with a completely new set of DVDs, but the workouts are 15-20 minutes longer than Phase 1. That's good because this program has been really easy so far. Ha!

 

Insanity Day 28: Or is it 29?

When I got back from Asia, landing in Newark around 1:30pm, I did the right thing and stayed up late that night in an effort to try to get back on schedule. I ended up sleeping until after 11am, catching up on the sleep I didn't get the previous 36 hours. Well that was yesterday, and there just so happened to be a rather popular sporting event on last evening. Long story short, we had a lot to do because we were hosting and some friends came over to watch the game. So I never had a chance to do my workout.

Today was supposed to be my first day of a week-long recovery, but I was determined to finish my last "real" workout of Phase 1. So I did Plyometric Cardio Circuit, and will shorten my recovery week by one day. So while I'm calling today Day 28, it's really Day 29. So tomorrow will be Day 30.

I burned 691 calories today and feel great. I'm going hard core on my diet. I thought my weight stayed even last week, but when I weighed myself this morning I had in fact lost 1 pound. So I'm down 13 pounds in 4 weeks. If I can lose just half of that in the next 5 weeks, I'll be down 20 pounds. Ok, so I'm getting ahead of myself!

Have a great week!

 

Bonus post: Back home!

Just got back to New Jersey from Asia a couple hours ago. Took a quick shower and headed to my son's basketball game. Feeling pretty good, and hopefully I'll sleep well tonight.

The flight met expectations. Middle row coach for the 15 1/2 flight from Hong Kong home. If this had been an "enhanced interogation" I would've confessed. The seat had so little padding that I spent every few minutes constantly adjusting my position. At least there was decent leg room, and they fed us more than we could eat. The food was good for airplane food, probably because it was made in Hong Kong.

I'm taking today as my day off and will do the last workout of the first "phase" of Insanity tomorrow, then it's 6 days of recovery workouts before phase 2 begins.

Meghan and I are headed out to a quick dinner, then I will try to stay up to at least 10pm so I can get back on schedule.

Have a great weekend!