Ran today instead of Insanity

Did a 2.3 mile run with my friend John today instead of Insanity. The weather was just too nice. Still I burned 425 calories and averaged just over 9 minutes a mile, which is a personal best!

Need to head to the west coast for a short notice meeting tomorrow so not sure what my Insanity schedule will be. May have to do some makeup days!

Insanity Round 2 Day 9: Late Workout Today!

Keeping today's post very short. It's late (after 7pm!) and I just finished my Pure Cardio workout. Had a long day of meetings including an early customer meeting, so had to push the workout to the end of the day.

I burned 545 calories, with my heart rate peaking at 171 and averaging 143. Not great numbers. I went through all the motions and felt good during the workout but noticed my heart rate just didn't go that high. Perhaps it's just the time of day, or my eating schedule being "off" today due to the meetings. Either way, it is what it is. I'm glad I got the workout in. I fear that I skip one workout, I'd quickly become a slacker, and I'm not going to let that happen!

Til tomorrow...

P.S. If you're playing the "Will he wear a yellow shirt?" drinking game, then DRINK!

 

Insanity Round 2 Day 8: Cardio Power & Resistance

Starting week 2 of Insanity with some Cardio Power & Resistance. I burned 631 calories, with my heart rate peaking at 177 and averaging 154.

I've noticed my calorie counts are lower this time around and it just occurred to me why: The calories burned is calculated in part based on my weight. I weighed over 20 pounds more last time I did Insanity. I updated my weight in my heart monitor watch when I started Round 2. This must be one of the reasons why it gets harder to lose weight the lighter you get: You have to work harder to burn the same number of calories.

Anyway, I felt strong today, even with the moving push-ups and globe jumps. Power jumps are still hard as hell, but I'm getting better and better at them as time goes by. Still, I can't imagine ever enjoying them!

I may go running on Wednesday. Not sure what (if anything) I'll do regarding my scheduled Insanity workout. Perhaps I'll do both. Not sure yet. I'll figure that out tomorrow...

Have a great week everyone!

Insanity Round 2 Day 6: Some Plyo Today!

Saturdays are tough. I've been at work all week, and I've done Insanity every single day. Working out on the weekend always takes a little more motivation than other days, and today was no different. The in-laws are visiting, so we had a nice steak dinner and some wine last night, which only adds to the lack of motivation to "push play". But in the end, after a cup of caffeine and lots of water, I did the Plyometric Cardio Circuit workout. As always, I felt much better at the end than I did at the beginning. I burned 743 calories, peaking at 182 bpm and averaging 161.

The biggest difference I've noticed between my first round of Insanity and this second round is that the lessons I learned the first time are really paying off. As you may recall, I had lots of issues with a sore back and sore shoulders. This time around, I've had neither. Aside from being a little stronger, I think the primary reason for this is form. My sore back was most likely caused by not keeping my core tight when I did all the "bending down" moves the first time. Of course, that was in part because I didn't have much of a core to keep tight! As for the shoulders, I looked up some articles and videos on YouTube for the proper form for push-ups, and I was doing them wrong. I tended to lift my shoulders up (like you do when you shrug your shoulders), when you're actually supposed to do the opposite. I also had my elbows going straight back instead of straight out, so I was inadvertently doing tricep push-ups. So with the proper form, and a core that I can actually keep tight, I have no pain at all. That's made this craziness much more enjoyable overall. I just didn't know any better last time.

Anyway, I made it through the first week of Round 2. Just eight weeks to go. Just! ;-)

Have a great weekend! (And yes, another yellow shirt!)

Insanity Round 2 Day 5: Tough Cardio Today

Short post on a busy day today...

Today was Pure Cardio, which I normally really enjoy. But my legs were sore and weak from yesterday's "recovery" workout (which I ironically found to be pretty easy compared to Round 1). The first half of Pure Cardio has tons of squats, running, and lunges and my muscles were just beat. I wasn't out of breath. I just had no strength. Never happened before. It could also be that I didn't eat breakfast before the workout today. I had to workout much earlier than usual due to my work schedule. Still, I burned 602 calories and felt great at the end.

I did hit one major milestone today, however. I'm now 1 pound lighter than I was at the end of Insanity Round 1. Woo hoo!

Have a nice weekend!

Insanity Round 2 Day 4: First Recovery Day!

Today was my first Cardio Recovery workout of Round 2 of Insanity. Unlike how I felt last time around, I thought today really was a recovery. Good muscle work and yoga but no cardio. Still, I burned 320 calories in 33 minutes, with a maximum heart rate of 168 and an average of 115. You may be asking, "How did your heart rate get that high with no cardio?" Well, the answer is, there's is some tough plank work about halfway through that involves lifting each of your legs and doing pulses up and down while in a plank. Being Insanity after all, even the recoveries are challenging.

I continue to eat well, averaging 5 meals and 2 snacks a day. Each meal is about 200 calories (one of them is the P90X Results and Recovery formula), and each snack is about 100 calories. With that said, my dinner (the one I eat with my family each evening; I eat another one a bit later as well) is probably closer to 300-400 calories, so I'm consuming anywhere between 1200-1400 calories per day this time around. That's down from 2200 calories per day at the beginning of my first round of Insanity, although I think I was down to about 1800 per day towards the end. I had to reduce my calories further this time around for a few reasons, but the primary two are (1) I weigh 22 pounds less than I did last time on Day 4 and (2) I'm still trying to lose weight, and it gets harder to do so as you get lighter. The bottom line is I haven't been hungry. I feel energetic before, during and after the workouts. I'm sleeping great. And I think I'm just learning more and more about what I need to eat each day.

So I'm 1.5 pounds away from getting back to my finishing weight from Round 1. And I realized I never had Meghan take those "after" pictures of me so I can send them in for my free Insanity T-Shirt. As soon as I lose the next 1.5 pounds, I'll be able to do that. No I won't be posting any shirtless pictures here. Plenty of others have done that online. But you may catch me in the Insanity T-Shirt in an upcoming post. Definitely a badge of honor for anyone who's completed the program.

Til tomorrow...

P.S. While I never gave it much thought, yellow T-Shirts are apparently my favorite color.

Insanity Round 2 Day 3: So Far, So Good!

Day 3 of Round 2 of Insanity and I'm feeling great. No soreness of any kind. Cardio has come back quicker than I expected. My weight has already started dropping. Couldn't be happier.

Today's workout was a return to Cardio Power & Resistance. I must admit I'm enjoying all these Month 1 workouts much more than I did in Round 1. I burned 704 calories in 39 minutes, peaking at 186 beats per minute and averaging 162. I felt fast and strong, never having to pause the DVD or skip a move (not even Globe Jumps and Power Jumps, which were my nemesis last time around).

The bottom line is I'm finding I can push myself harder than I did in Round 1, and that's certainly because I'm entering Round 2 in much better shape.

The diet is going well so far. I'm drinking water non-stop, and eating lots of fruit and vegetables.

So far, so good!

 

Insanity Round 2 Day 2: Feeling Much Stronger Today!

Great workout today. Much better than yesterday. Probably because of getting a good night's sleep, eating better yesterday, and being very well hydrated. Regardless, the Plyometric Cardio Circuit was actually fun! I had energy throughout, never had to pause the DVD or take more than a couple second break. I burned 708 calories, with a peak heart rate of 185 and an average of 156 over the 42 minute beat down.

My diet is getting back on track: Lots of fruit and veggies. Five meals a day (200 calories each), plus two 100 calorie snacks. And tons of water.

It's good to be back at this, and I'm feeling stronger already. Have a great rest of the week...

P.S. Did you notice I switched from a red to blue marker? I wouldn't want anyone to think I was reusing my pictures from the previous round of Insanity!

Insanity Round 2 Day 1: Why I'm Doing It Again!

So here I am again at the beginning of Insanity, having completed my first round almost a month ago on March 10, 2013. So why would I put myself (and my body) through this all over again? If it wasn't clear to me before today, it sure is now: If I don't continue, I won't stay in shape, and certainly won't get into better shape. After just a couple weeks off, and despite skiing for a week in Colorado, I gained back 5 pounds and my cardio is nowhere near as good as it was last month. I also wasn't eating right, and I just didn't feel as good or strong as I did just a few weeks ago. I want that back, and even more of it. So here I am back with my virtual buddy Shaun T, resuming my routine to "push play every day" (except Sundays!)

I decided I'm not doing the Fit Tests again until the very last day. I never enjoyed them and I don't need a test to know I feel and look better. So I will substitute a different workout on the days the Fit Test is in the program.

Today I did the Pure Cardio workout. I burned 723 calories, with a maximum heart rate of 182 and an average of 153. That's all good, but I felt like crap. My heart was once again feeling like it would burst out of my chest. It's that tight, breathless feeling that is reminding me of the progress I lost by not working for out for a few weeks. I had to take a bunch of breaks and even paused the DVD a few times. It was not the Insanity I remembered. It was REALLY hard again! My cardio should come back pretty quickly I'm told. Probably just a week or two. But I literally felt like I did back on Day 1 the first time around.

One thing I learned the first time is to keep the core tight when doing anything that involves bending down. This will protect the back, and as you may recall I had a lot of issues with back soreness last time around. I'm sure I'll have some again, but I think I'll be better at avoiding it, and I always have the trusty electric heat pad if needed. My shoulders were the other problem, and I purchased some resistance bands to do some rotator cuff exercises. I haven't started those yet, but I'll get to them once I get back into a routine.

I'm still down 16 pounds from my starting weight the first time around, and I'm guessing the first few pounds will shed quickly, but I'm sure it will be hard work to lose weight after that. I'll be really happy once I'm below my finishing weight from last month, because then I'll be making real progress again.

I also just enjoyed my first P90X Recovery drink in several weeks. Just as delicious as I remember (seriously, it is!).

Anyway, it's good to be back. I will continue to blog every day to keep myself accountable. It really works, so why mess with a good thing?

And so my journey continues...

 

Insanity: Unfinished Business begins tomorrow!

After a great ski trip and a week of gluttony I'm restarting Insanity tomorrow. Back to a healthy diet and 6 days of exercise each week. Can't wait to "hit play every day"!