Insanity Day 26: Heading Home Tomorrow!

Today was Pure Cardio & Cardio Abs. Heading home from Singapore tomorrow through Hong Kong. 3h45m flight to Hong Kong, then a 15 hour flight from there. It looks like I will have the privilege of being in a middle seat in economy for that long, last leg. I was really hoping some seats would open up when I checked in this morning but no luck. Oh well, at least I'll be home before the sun goes down tomorrow.

Although I don't think Beijng got a fair shake due to the record-breaking pollution, I think even if it were warm and sunny there, Singapore would be the winner for best city on this trip. This place is incredibly beautiful. The highways are lined with flowers. There is greenery everywhere. The local roads are not on a grid system, despite the skyscrapers it has almost suburban feel to it. There are tons of great restaurants. We're heading to the Marina Bay Sands after a media interview this afternoon. It's a 55 story hotel on the water with a "sky park", restaurant, bar and infinity pool at the top.

As for the workouts, my plan is to do my Saturday workout after I get home, but I may take it as a rest day and do it on Sunday. After 19 hours of flying in coach and a 13 hour time change, I just don't know how I'll feel, other than tired! Either way, it will be my last workout of the first phase of Insanity. I'll say bye-bye to all the DVDs I've used thus far, and will have a week of recovery (which still consists of mild workouts) before phase 2 begins. I've been told phase 2 is similar to phase 1 except the circuits are longer, so the workout is closer to an hour as opposed to the 40 minutes I've been doing. Sounds like fun! I'm really glad I'll be back in my cold basement to do those. Working out in a hotel room between meetings SUCKS.

Anyway, if you're still reading this blog, THANK YOU for all the support. It has served its purpose of keeping me accountable, and I really look forward to capturing the moment each day.

Have a great weekend!

Marina Bay Sands:

Insanity Day 25: Much Needed Rest!

Yesterday was my recovery day. I completed the recovery workout but didn't have time to post a blog because we had an early breakfast meeting. My body was desperate for a day off anyway. Because of the time change coming to Asia, my Saturday and Sunday blurred together so I never really got a day off. So yesterday's workout was a real treat. I had an early morning meeting again today and am about to start Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs before lunch, so today you get two posts for the price of one, which is still free by the way!

Insanity Day 24: Nothing Like Plyo in Singapore!

I flew to Singapore last night. Singapore Airlines is now my favorite airline. I was in coach for the 6 1/2 hour flight due south, and my dinner was better than any I've had in Business First on Continental/United. Smoked salmon (I know. Fish on a plane? Dude, it was AWESOME!), roasted chicken that actually taste like a restaurant, free wine and beer. Perhaps their labor costs are much lower. I don't know. But how they can provide that quality service versus anything in the U.S. I can't fully understand.

Anyway, I'm staying at the Pan Pacific Orchard. Haven't seen much of it since I arrived at midnight. Did Plyometric Cardio Circuit, which is probably my favorite workout. I still took it easy on anything involving the back, but I feel better today. Still wish I had my heat pad. I should've packed those disposable ones. Lesson learned for next time.

It's so good to be out of all that smog in Beijing. I felt MUCH better working out today than earlier this week. The room's A/C works much better, too.

I flew right over Vietnam last night, and thought of my father-in-law who fought there. Strange to know I was only 6 miles above it. I could see the lights and wondered what it must've been like for all those men. This part of the world is so foreign to me. On the map that was zoomed out I could tell I am actually west of the west coast of Australia. It's a wash as to weather it's faster to fly home east or west. I chose east, as I'll be flying home through Hong Kong Saturday morning.

Anyway, I'm off to shower. Til tomorrow!

The picture I took from the backseat screen in front of my as we approached Vietnam:

Insanity Day 23: From Beijing to Singapore with Duck Neck!

Last morning in Beijing and just completed Cardio Power & Resistance. This getting up at 6:00am and going to bed at 10:00pm thing is so not me, but I continue to do it to get these workouts in. After more than 3 weeks, there's nothing that would prevent me from finishing this program. But I will admit I didn't look forward to my workout. Whether it's the time change, air pollution, or my hot hotel room, the workouts seem much harder here than they did at home. I've had to take a few more breaks. I also had a bit of a sore back last night so when the time came for globe jumps today, I jogged in place. I don't have my heat pad or time to get on the floor and stretch my back like a cat in the middle of a customer meeting. So best not hurt myself 8000 miles from home.

Yesterday we had a couple of excellent, if not a little strange, traditional Chinese meals. First was "hot pot", which you can get in the U.S. It's like fondue, except they use boiling spiced broths that they put different meats, veggies, noodles and even fruit into. You then pull it out of there with a spoon or chopsticks and dunk it in a sauce that you make at a sauce buffet bar. Then you shake it off and eat it. I ate something I thought was a green bean. It wasn't. It was the hottest freakin' pepper I've ever had. My arms were sweating. My head was soaked. And the locals loved it. Yeah they got me. I should've known it was coming. I also should've known that they don't really have any vegetables here that are the same as the U.S., even if they look the same. About the only things they have that look the same are onions and tomatoes. Everything else is different. Example: The best looking bean sprouts I've ever seen were actually long, skinny white mushrooms. Still, they were good.

Dinner was excellent as well. Lots of different beef, chicken and vegetable dishes. Everything is served family style here. You can't really order an entree like you can in the U.S. The only strange thing at dinner was the duck neck. Imagine a duck neck, plucked of feathers, cut into 1" pieces, then boiled in some type of really spicy broth. They serve it on a plate. Just a pile of sliced duck necks. I had one (see picture below). It was tough and spicy. You hold it with chopsticks and eat around the center, avoiding the esophagus as if it were the core of an apple. You might say "that's gross", but if I told these guys what American hot dogs were made of, I think I'd win the gross contest. Nothing but lips and....well, you know.

Finally, we got to see the Olympic facilities. The "Birds Nest" is incredible. It's HUGE. Much bigger than I imagine. Much larger than any NFL stadium I've seen. Unfortunately, they don't know what to do with it. It's still lit up, but they don't really use it for anything. The only professional sports here are basketball and soccer, and those teams already have their own arenas/stadiums.

We also drove past Tienanmen Square. The pollution is still bad so it looked foggy. It's closed at night with guards protecting it. The locals were nervous even being near it. Apparently protests still occasionally happen, if the police come to arrest protesters (protesting is forbidden here), and you're caught there, you will get arrested. So the locals avoid it completely. Of course, Americans want to see it, since we view it as a symbol of freedom. I must remember I'm in a Communist country. Strange...

Posting this blog is a pain as well. China blocks access to Google (including Blogspot.com), Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and most other non-Chinese social media sites. So I have to go through VPN. Write the blog. Shut down VPN. Open VPN on my phone. Upload photos. Shut down VPN. Start VPN on laptop, insert uploaded photos into blog. Save blog. Blah blah blah... What a pain.

So I have another customer meeting this morning, then it's off to the airport to fly down to Singapore. Short flight. Only 6h40m. Ha! Looking forward to the warmer weather. Singapore is at 1 degree north, just above the equator. It's pretty much 90 degrees during the day, year round.

Signing off from China. See ya!

Hot pot:

Panoramic of the Birds Nest. It's so much bigger in person than it looks here. Click on photo to view in higher resolution.

Insanity Day 22: Pure Cardio next to Tiananmen Square!

Well I made it to China. I learned a few things yesterday: One, apparently I can survive 14 hours in coach. Two, I can't sleep sitting up. Three, Beijing's pollution really is as bad as they show on TV. And Four, China is really far from home.

"Yesterday" was a really long day, whatever "yesterday" means. As I type this, it's Sunday night where you are and Monday morning at 7:45am in China. So yesterday was Saturday and Sunday combined, especially since I didn't get a wink of sleep on that plane. I watched a bunch of movies, read my newspaper, worked on some PowerPoint presentations for this week, and actually enjoyed the downtime. I was met in the airport by my local colleague Chen Wei, and also Steve from my team who had arrived an hour earlier from Phoenix by way of San Fran. After an hour car ride in bad traffic, we arrived at the Grand Hotel Beijing. It's a class, traditional Chinese hotel. The room is very similar to your typical American hotel room but decorated for where I am. My only complaint is it's hot in the room and there's no air conditioning in the winter (it was 5 degrees Fahrenheit outside...COLD!), but I have an interior room with a view of the open atrium lobby. So I sweat like a fiend during the Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs workouts.

Got up at 4:45am local time, but went to bed pretty early last night, so I do feel pretty well rested. We'll see later in the day as the time change catches up to me.

Had an excellent dinner last night with Chen Wei and Steve. Couldn't tell you everything I ate, but it was all good, especially the Peking Duck.

I'm hoping to get a chance to visit Tianamen Square that is literally next door to the hotel (along with the Forbidden City), but we'll have to see if time permits it. The pollution is AWFUL. It's just as bad indoors as out, although most hotels filter the air. While I always thought the pollution was just because the Chinese pollute the air more, in fact that's not really it at all. Beijing is like Los Angeles or Salt Lake City. It gets inversions that trap the air as if in a bowl. There's no where for it to go. It only happens in the winter. Apparently in the summer it's clear blue skies and very nice weather, but of course all the cars and factories are still chugging away. (Note to self: If I ever visit Beijing on vacation with the family, come in the summer!)

Since it was night time when I arrived I don't have many good pictures yet. I took a quick panoramic in front of the Apple store below. If you didn't know any better, you'd think the picture was from New York or London, but this is the central part of Beijing.

We're going to eat dinner tonight up by the Olympic facilities. I'll take some pictures and post "tomorrow" (Monday night for you!).

Chen Wei got me a mask, but I never wore it. I'd say 1 in 50 people wear a mask. I'm only here for 2 days so I'll just keep it as a souvenir.

My flight path: Right over the north pole!

Sunrise over Siberia, Russia from my windows seat:

My workout setup in my hotel room: 

Apple is everywhere in Beijing. This store was HUGE:

Panoramic picture on a busy Beijing street corner in front of the Apple Store. Click picture to view larger:

Insanity Day 20: Off to China!

Got up early to say goodbye to the wife, kids and my parents before heading to the airport. My son Ryan had an 8am basketball game and as of 8:45am had scored 6 points (way to go Ryan!)

Today was Plyometric Cardio Circuit. Burned 648 calories. Weighed in this morning and I'm down 1 pound this week (down 13 from my starting weight). I had weighed myself on Thursday and was down more, so I guess that big birthday dinner had an impact. Oh well, no big deal. As I think I've said before, this isn't a diet or a once-only program. This is about lifestyle change. Slow and steady wins the race, even when it's not a race at all.

So the workout was the beginning of a very long day. After a quick shower, I'm off to China. I'll try to post some pictures if I can get online.

I won't be bringing my recovery drinks or heart monitor with me. Just too much other electronic crap to pack. I wish they would pass a law that all electronics must use a USB charger so I could pack 1 charger for everything.

Have a great rest of the weekend.

拜拜 (That's pronounced "bye bye" in Mandarin...just like here!)

 

 



 

 

 

Insanity Day 19: Lordy, Lordy, Looks Who's Forty...Two!

It's Friday. It's my 42nd Birthday. And it's day 19 of Insanity, so Shaun T's gift was Cardio Power & Resistance. I had an audience today, and no it wasn't my dog Kendall this time. No, this time it was my Mom. My parents are up to take Meghan and me out to dinner for my birthday before I leave for my trip. (More on that in a minute.) I joked to my Mom, as I was going through the warm-up, that now she knows I don't just dump a bucket of water on my head and take my picture in the mirror. As was the case with my Saturday workouts with Meghan, having someone else where resulted in me pushing myself much harder. Last time I did Cardio Power & Resistance last Friday and burned 697 calories. Today I burned 812 (115 more). Apparently I should print out pictures of Meghan and my Mom to hang in the basement so I always have an audience. I also saw my heart rate peak at 189 briefly. By far the highest I've ever hit. Too high in fact, so I paused the DVD and took a minute break to get it back down to about 130.

So this big test I've been mentioning the last few days is a trip I'm taking, leaving tomorrow (after my workout). I'm heading to Beijing, China, then down to Singapore. I was lucky enough to get to go to Asia for the first time in December, 2011, when I went to Hong Kong. Loved it (especially the food), and I've been waiting for another opportunity to go. Because of my new job at work I now run a global sales team (as opposed to one just focused on the U.S.), so I may be traveling internationally a little more. I can't really complain. I used to travel A LOT, but have only been on a plane once since last June (when I went to Denver for a sales conference in December). Anyway, the big test I've been talking about is: I'm bringing my DVDs to Asia and will need to get up early every day to workout in my hotel room. This plus 4 customer visits, 1 media interview and 3 days of sales training (which I'm delivering, not receiving). Anyone who knows me knows I love sleep. I'm a night owl, not a morning person, but I know there's no way I could workout after going out to dinner with a customer. I need to workout on an empty stomach to avoid cramping. So early mornings it will be. But first, a 14 1/2 hour direct flight in coach.

I will continue to blog and hope to post some pictures from China early next week. My only issue is I don't know if China's Internet filters block access to www.blogger.com. If they do, I'll try to post by accessing the site through my VPN connection back to my company in the U.S. If I can't post, I'll capture my blogs in Word and will post when I get to Singapore on Wednesday.

About the only other imact is I'll be doing my weigh-in tomorrow morning after my workout instead of on Sunday.

One more post from home tomorrow, then I'm off. Have a great weekend!

Insanity Day 18: Recovery Actually Feels Like It!

Another "Recovery" day. Still a 33 minute workout, but no cardio. Didn't wear my heart monitor since there isn't much sweating. My parents are coming up tonight and we're heading to the Cafe in Long Valley for dinner. I told our dog Kendall that they're coming up. She goes crazy when you tell her "Grandpa is coming!" Kendall may be the most spoiled of the grandchildren.

Anyway, I feel great. No back pain, but my shoulders are still a little sore. The recovery workout is much easier than the first time. I feel myself getting stronger and more flexible and am starting to see a difference when I look in the mirror. That just gives me more energy to keep going. I will complete this. Next week will be a big test. More on that tomorrow.

8, 1 and 0 are the easiest numbers to write backwards, in case you didn't know. I'm hope you're all working on writing numbers backwards in the mirror.

Insanity Day 17: Another Double Workout!

Busy day at work, and my wife and I are going to try to go see Zero Dark Thirty tonight, so I'll keep this brief. Today was my second dose of the double workout: Pure Cardio, then Cardio Abs. No back pain today, but my shoulders are a bit sore from all the push-ups. Lots more today, plus plenty of plank work. I burned 912 calories. My shirt was itchy so I had to remove it, hence not looking too sweaty today. Feeling good and looking forward to the "recovery" day tomorrow. See ya!

Insanity Day 16: Feeling good!

My back pain is gone again (thanks to the heat pad and some stretching last night and this morning). Today was Plyometric Cardio Circuit. The second half of this is crazy hard and I still can't make it through without a few short breaks, but I'm definitely improving and I feel good!

I burned 678 calories (finally remembered to put my heart monitor on again!). I'm definitely in a routine now and really look forward to the workouts each day. I can see differences in my body already. I'm never tired during the day. And I'm sleeping like a baby. I still sweat like a pig though, and I suppose that's the whole point!

My biggest test will be next week, but I'll cover that in a few days...

Insanity Day 15: Fit Test #2!

Sorry for the late post today. I didn't workout until 5pm or so. Early morning then a busy day at work. Anyway, today was the second of 5 times that I do the Fit Test. It was even more brutal than the first time I did it, probably because I'm able to push myself harder. I improved in every test, with a couple of them huge improvements. I felt great but my back is a bit sore again, primarily because of those awful "globe jumps". So a bit more heat pad and stretching is in on the agenda once I'm done writing this, because at 8pm I have band practice again. No rest for the weary.

I've decided to reduce my calorie intake by 200, down to 2000 total. I've lost a bit a weight so I need less calories, and I haven't felt hungry so I can push a little more. Speaking of weight, for my official weigh-in on Sunday, I was down 11 pounds from my starting weight. I'm happy with that but I can do better if I behave a little more on the weekends. I'm starting to get into a real routine for the workouts, and am confident I will finish this program.

I've been thinking about what I will do next. I know it's premature, but I can't help it. I'm a planner. My short-term goal remains to just finish the 63 days, but I know my journey won't end there. In fact, it doesn't have an end, at least not from a time perspective. My long-term goal is less definitive than a certain amount of time or a certain weight. I probably can't be more precise than to say it's simply to get "fit". I'll know it when I get there, then I'll have to maintain it, but I don't know when I'll get there. It certainly won't be after 63 days. It may take a year. Who knows. I think I may do P90X next, or I may repeat Insanity first then do P90X, or I might do a hybrid. My brother-in-law has talked about swapping workouts once I'm done (He has P90X) but that may not work out if I do a hybrid thing or I repeat Insanity again. Anyway, that's the stuff I'm thinking about. Who knows how I'll feel in 7 weeks.

Another busy day tomorrow, so I'll wrap up and get back to my heat pad.

Insanity Day 13: Happy Two Week Eve!

Tomorrow will technically be the two week point into Insanity, but since it's a day off, I'm really there now. Today was the first day for a double workout. Yes. TWO Insanity workouts back to back. Yes, that's part of the program. And it's mean. Just plain mean!

Meghan joined me like she did last Saturday, and together we battled through both Pure Cardio, then Cardio Abs. Pure Cardio is 40 minutes of straight, super intense cardio. No breaks, not even 30 seconds (although I'll admit I had to take a couple). Once finished with Pure Cardio, we took a 5 minute break and hit Cardio Abs for the first time ever. It was 16 minutes of brutal ab work, but no crunches and no sit-ups. Most of the workout consisted of being on the floor in a "C" position, which is basically sitting with a curled back and bent knees, leaning back just before the point you tip backwards. Then you do all these things with your hands and arms that I'm convinced are only to distract you from the constant ab workout. It was crazy hard. But after just about a straight hour of working out, I feel great. I forgot to wear my heart monitor watch, but I'm guessing I exceeded 900 calories.

Time to enjoy the weekend and a day off tomorrow.

Day 13 complete. 50 to go! By the way, I weighed myself this morning. Down 12 pounds. Woo hoo!

And if you're wondering why I don't look too sweaty, it's because my shirt was soaked almost completely through. I continue to be the sweat champion. Yay me.

Insanity Day 12: 5pm Workout on a Friday?

I woke up in New York City and had a customer meeting that lasted until 3pm. I didn't get home until 4:30 or so and faced my biggest challenge of Insanity yet: Would I actually work out at 5pm on Friday when all I want to do is grab a beer and veg on the couch?

Well, I did the workout, and I'm really glad I did. Today was Cardio Power & Resistance. What is it with all these push-ups? I am getting better at them, but I still hate them. I burned 697 calories (700 if you count the walk up from the basement!)

Regarding New York, I must say I found the best hotel deal I've ever seen. I stayed at the Staybridge Suites on 40th Street between 8th and 9th Aves. I got a corporate rate of $161, 2 blocks from Times Square. The room was brand spanking new with a nice flat screen and HD channels. (side note: I never understand hotels who install the flat-screen but have no HD channels.) The room had a full kitchen (great if you want to BYOB or have kids with you). It included a hot breakfast buffet and even had an evening reception with Stella on draft, turkey sandwiches, hummus and pita chips, and other goodies. Some people were just eating all that for dinner. That is a crazy price for that location. My room was on the 28th floor and had a view of Empire State Building. Finally, there was the Sky Room next door on top of the Fairfield Inn & Suites building on the 33rd floor. It was a beautiful rooftop bar with incredible views. Anyway, if you're ever in New York and can get yourself to visit something other than a Marriott (you know who you are!), give it a shot.

As for the steakhouse last night, Keens was exceptional. I behaved, at least with the food! Shrimp cocktail for an appy with just lemon (I don't like cocktail sauce). Filet Mignon, mashed potatoes, and green beans for dinner. Fresh fruit for desert. Yes, I had some wine. I can't eat steak without red wine. Most of the rooms have pipes on the ceiling, as in the kind of pipes you smoke. There must be thousands of them. Pretty cool.

Anyway, it's Friday and I'm ready for my beer and couch now.

Look! I learned how to write "12" backwards!

Insanity Day 11: Recovery, then NYC

"Cardio Recovery" today. Same as last Thursday. Lots of stretching, yoga, and slow strength exercises. I burned 283 calories in 30 minutes. No back pain at all today, so the heat pad and stretching is working very well.

I'm going out to lunch with my buddy Brian in about a half hour. I need to be good because I have a big diet test tonight. I'm going to a customer dinner in NYC at Keens Steakhouse. I am such a sucker for a bone-in ribeye, but I know I can't do it. I'm going to try to limit myself to a lean steak and a veggie.

By the way, I've really developed a taste for these recovery drinks. They are about 200 calories and really fill me up. Probably good that I just drank it before lunch with Brian.

Day 11 is done!

Insanity Day 10: It SNOW day for a break!

Today's cheesy posting title has two meanings. First, we got some snow, sleet and freezing rain last night, and what started as a 2-hour delay ended up being a full blown snow day for the kids (and Meghan). So my schedule was a bit messed up today, and my workout was after lunch. But the other meaning is, I didn't take any breaks during the workout. No pausing the DVD. That's a first!

Today was Plyometric Cardio Circuit, the same workout I did with Meghan last Saturday. I love the first half and despise the second half. The constant up, down, push-ups, planks, up, down, push-ups, running while in a plank. Ugh. It's thoroughly exhausting. I burned 740 calories.

My back was really sore yesterday after my workout. After several hours of an electric heat pad, I felt 100% better. When I woke up this morning, it wasn't sore at all. I made it through the workout without any soreness either. So I'll keep applying the heat pad to keep my back loose, and will do some extra back stretches once it's warm. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but I continue to think it's just sore back muscles, not any kind of injury. There is no sharp pain at all. I'm just using muscles I've rarely (if ever) used, so I would expect some soreness to be normal.

I'm being very careful with my diet. I had a delicious panini and salad for lunch, and it's turkey tacos for dinner. We bought one of those as-seen-on-TV tortilla bowl makers. You take a soft taco shell or simple wrap, push it into a shaped non-stick pan, bake it in the oven, and voila! A taco salad bowl that isn't fried.

Finally, I'll say that I'm in the double digits. Day 10. Only 53 to go. Woo hoo!

I couldn't find the index cards to write "day 10" on it, so you'll just have to trust me. ;-)

UPDATE: 8:00pm ET. We used the tortilla pan. It didn't really work. The edges were crispy but the bottom was soft. Perhaps we need to bake it a little longer.

Insanity Day 9: Pure Cardio is my Nemesis

I was dreading today, ever since I did the Pure Cardio workout last week. Still by far my biggest weakness...err..I mean opportunity. Burned 786 calories and this workout kicked my butt once again. With that said, I was able to go longer without pausing the DVD. I paused twice for about a minute each. It makes the program go by quicker (duh!). And the push-ups are getting easier to do. The only pain I have is a dull soreness in my lower back. There are A LOT of exercises where you're bending down and touching the floor. You're supposed to keep your core tight and use your legs, not your back. I'm doing that, but I don't care what anyone says: If you're bending down, I'm guessing you're still using your back muscles somewhat. Anyway, it's just a sore muscle pain, not an injury pain, if you know what I mean.

I'm really trying to watch my diet this week. I'd like to get below a certain number of which cannot be named here. Still eating lots of protein with every meal, which for me is the easy part. Some people love sweets. Some love carbs like pasta and bread. But me, I like meat. Beef, chicken, fish, pork. I don't care. I love it all. So a high protein diet is pretty easy. I don't crave carbs, but I make sure to get enough to exercise. My sister is a vegetarian. I suppose I'm a meatatarian.


If I can learn how to write backwards, then the numbers will start looking correct in the mirror. 

Insanity Day 8: Week 2 Begins!

I made it through the first week of Insanity, and today I started week 2. I'll admit it. I really enjoyed the weekend. Real food. A few beers. Even sneaked in a band practice last night. But reality hit hard today. My body wasn't ready to return to Insanity quite yet, but I did anyway. Today it was "Cardio Power and Resistance". I burned 692 calories and my heart rate never got above 170. Not sure if I'm just improving or I didn't push hard enough, but it certainly felt hard enough!

I did do a weigh in Sunday morning. I'll also admit weighing myself last Friday, then again this morning. Wow does my weight fluctuate. Friday morning, I was down 11 pounds from my starting weight. This morning, I was down 10. But for whatever reason, I was only down 5 pounds Sunday morning, so that's my official number as far as I'm concerned.

Not much else going on so I'll keep today brief. Only 55 days to go!

Insanity Day 6: Two is definitely better than one!

I had a partner today. No it wasn't the dog (good guess, though!). It was my wife, Meghan. She's been working out for years, but had taken a few month break after going back to work. She resumed a few weeks ago, joining a new gym in town and doing the treadmill, endless stairs, stationary bike, and elliptical machine. Plus this past Wednesday she did her first boot camp, which she says she'll continue each week.

So she joined me today for my first repeat workout. It was the same as Day 2 (Tuesday), called Plyometric Cardio Circuit. It's a real butt kicker. I had to pause the DVD twice for about 30 seconds to catch my breath, but Meghan and I stuck with each other to the end.

I don't know if it's because I'm already a week into the program, or because Meghan was there doing it with me, but I found I was able to push myself harder than the first time I did the program on Tuesday. There's probably a combination of the pride factor and just the fact that having each other there, we naturally encourage and push each other. But it was awesome. Two is definitely better than one!

I burned 923 calories today. That's good, because I ate Italian bread, salad, some beef carpaccio and veal stuffed with prosciutto and mozzarella last night at Benito's. Just like I said I would. Plenty of red wine, too.

But the morning came. I got up. And did my thing. No regrets.

So tonight I'm going to see a Rush cover band up in Newton, NJ with some friends. More temptations at dinner beforehand I'm sure sure. But that's fine. I'm actually off tomorrow. No workout. Just some real rest. Then I start all over again on Monday. Yeah baby!

As for the sweat contest. Who do you think won?

Insanity Day 5: TGIF!

All I can say is WOW! Just did my first day of "Pure Cardio" and it is abundantly clear what my primary weakness is. Today's workout put such a beatdown on me I couldn't speak when I was done. I collapsed on the floor (voluntarily...don't worry Mom!), as did most of the folks in the video, including Shaun T. It was by far the hardest workout I've done so far. Aside from a few push-ups it was full out cardio, almost non-stop for 40 minutes.

I wore my heart rate monitor for the workout. My heart rate peaked at 180 bpm. It's interesting because every time I took a quick break (and paused the DVD), I was at 180. I could definitely feel that tightness you feel when you're pushing too hard. So I backed down, let my heart recover to about 150 bpm (which took about a minute), then resumed. I did this throughout the program. Probably 5 breaks total. According to the heart rate chart I found online, 180 is about my target peak. For a man, it's basically 220 - your age. Yeah I know. Close enough. Another birthday later this month.

The other thing I learned from the monitor was that I burned 895 calories during the workout. That's amazing. That's 6 beers, or 35 slices of bacon, or less than 1 Eggs Benedict breakfast at Marilyn's. I'm just sayin'.

So it's Friday, and I'm going out to dinner tonight with some friends to Benito's Trattoria in Chester, NJ (a nice BYOB Italian place if you haven't been). My plan, admittedly not the healthiest idea, is to basically save up by eating a low-cal lunch, then I'm going to hammer a 1200+ calorie dinner down like it's my job. I'm sure for those in good shape, you're saying to yourself, "Oh no. Don't do that!". But yes, yes I will! As I said early on, if I don't allow myself some breaks I'll never make it through this. I was eating like that every night, remember. I think lifestyle change is about two things: 1 decision and several small changes. Some people may be able to go from 0 to 100 overnight. But I'm not one of them. Just being honest, as I said I would. I'm sticking with my 2200 calorie goal every day, even weekends. But I will never be that guy who goes out to dinner and orders only a salad. Never. Well, not unless it's covered in terriyaki marinated bone-in ribeye and a half bottle of bleu cheese dressing. Ha!

Well, on that note, back to my recovery drink, which I'm actually starting to enjoy. It kind of tastes like a creamy Tang (remember Tang?).

My wife Meghan is going to join me for the Insanity workout tomorrow. We'll have to compare sweaty shirts. Just kidding Meghan. I know I'll win hands down.


LOL. I held up the wrong number of sausage fingers. Either that, or it's a pretty decent PhotoShop job of removing my thumb. Trust me, today was Day 5!

Insanity Day 4: Recovery?

Today was my first "recovery" day. Keep in mind this doesn't mean rest. No, for Insanity it means another 40 minute workout that they just happen to call "Cardio Recovery". I can say there wasn't any cardio. But it was still hard. There was a lot of stretching and a lots of yoga moves (I assume they're yoga, altough I've never done yoga). Some of the moves were just modified versions of squats, planks, and other exercises we've been doing the past few days. The only difference is you do them slower, you hold them longer, and while you're strained, you bounce up and down slightly (which they call "pulses") to make even the recovery strenuous. In all seriousness, I really enjoyed today.

I should also add that I wasn't really all that sore this morning, even before the workout. That tells me I need to push a bit harder tomorrow. I ordered a heart rate monitor which should arrive today or tomorrow from Amazon. While it will be interesting to see my peak heart rate (which I'm sure will be in the danger zone), I'm more interested in seeing how many calories I burn on these workouts. It will help guide me on my diet.

From what I've read, men burn between 750-1000 calories for an Insanity workout. I assume I'm on the low end for now. Since I'm eating around 2200 calories every day, the net would be somewhere around 1500. I have no idea how many calories I was eating before I started this program, but I'm guessing it was somewhere in the 3000-4000 range. Believe me, I can eat!

My old eating habits were not very healthy. I never ate breakfast (unless my inlaws were in town, in which case we'd go to Marilyn's in Chester, NJ for breakfast...the best around by the way). A typical lunch would be a chicken parmesan sandwhich with an iced tea,, or General Tso's Chicken, or sometimes Panera Bread (Chipotle Chicken Sandwich is the bomb. Hold the tomatoes). Dinner would be whatever we made at home, but we often go out to dinner, especially on weekends. Later at night is when the damage really begins. Pretzels, beer, wings, pizza, cheese, egg and bacon sandwiches. I swear if it were healthy I could live on those things alone. Well, I suppose I have for a long time. I think in the long term, it will be the changes in diet that will be the hardest. But who knows? I haven't started Month 2 yet (which is supposed to be much harder than Month 1 of the program).

Anyway, I owe my dog a walk. She's still on couch from yesterday I think.

Insanity Day 3: Another Day, Another Workout.

Here I am on Day 3 of Insanity. I just finished the workout titled, "Cardio Power & Resistance". Pretty similar to yesterday in that it's more circuit training, but it had some strength exercises. I'm fine with regular push-ups, but this DVD had a new kind I've never seen. You start in a plank position (like you're going to do a regular push-up), but then you walk your feet as far forward towards your hands as possible, without bending your knees, until it gets uncomfortable (but not painful). Then you twist your hands so your fingers are pointing towards each other (towards the center), then do push-ups. It's supposed to exercise you triceps and shoulders. I found them incredibly difficult...something to work on over the next 60 days I suppose.

As was the case yesterday, I was pretty sore when I got out of bed, and just like yesterday the soreness was gone by the time I finished the warm-up. Oh, and the warm-up I thought would be the same every day, wasn't. Completely different today, which was a nice change.

I know it's way too early to say that I'm getting into a bit of a routine, but I must admit I looked forward to the workout. More precisely, I looked forward to the feeling I have AFTER the workout is over.

I haven't gotten on a scale yet. I did weigh myself Sunday night before starting, but I'm not sharing that number here! I know I weigh more at night than I do in the morning. I wonder why that is. If I lose so much weight sleeping, perhaps I should reconsider Insanity and just sleep more? I'm sure everybody sweats a bit when they sleep, but 5 pounds?

I tried to get my dog Kendall to come down to the basement to keep me company today. She wanted nothing to do with it. I must've had that "Do you want to go to the groomer's" look. She hates the groomer, especially the bath. I swear that dog speaks English.

Anyway, I will weigh myself every Sunday morning going forward. That's the only rest day of the week from this program. I'll report my weight loss here, although that certainly isn't my only goal.

Tomorrow is a "recovery" workout. Something tells me it won't feel like one.

Kendall doing what she does best:

Insanity Day 2: To Pause or Not to Pause. That is the Question.

Day 2 of Insanity. Today was "Plyometric Cardio Circuit". I can think of another name. Something like, "Pick 5 things that are really hard to do, then do them 3 times, each time faster than the last, with only 30 seconds to rest between sets. Then repeat that whole thing 3 times with a different set of really hard to do things each time." I guess that title was already taken.

Today was crazy hard, but in a much different way than yesterday's Fit Test. Today I thought my heart was going to explode, but unless you're not really reading this, it didn't. I pushed myself today, but not to my "Gauley River Limit" (see my Jan 6, 2012 post). I had to take breaks.

The big question I asked myself was: When I need a rest, do I just take it while the DVD plays, or do I pause the DVD and resume when I'm ready? I chose the latter, meaning I'll end up doing the whole ~40 minute DVD. It will just take longer. Now is not the time to push myself to the extreme, right? If you're saying "yes it is", you're probably already in shape! :-)

I really feel like I need to build up some cardio these first couple of weeks by pushing hard, but not too hard. This program wasn't intended for the beginner, which I am. Besides, I look in the mirror and Oompa Loompa is still staring back at me. But he is pretty sweaty.

As for soreness, I was pretty sore this morning, but once the warm-up was completed I felt great. The warm-up was the same as yesterday. Perhaps it's the same every day. I guess I'll find out as I progress.

Only 62 days to go. So far so good!

At the risk of sounding like an advertisement. If you're curious as to what each of the DVDs has on it, here you go:

Insanity Day 1: The Fit Test

Day 1 of Insanity. I could not fall asleep last night. Why was I so excited to start a fitness program? Strange... I remember seeing 2:00am on the clock and must've fallen asleep sometime after that. Slept well once I was out at least.

The morning came quickly. I'd love to say I popped out of bed and ran for the first DVD, but that wasn't the case. I woke up after my wife Meghan got up, grabbed my iPhone as I always do. Checked e-mail. Read some news. Looked at the weather. Was I stalling? I didn't feel that sense of anticipation that kept me up so late last night. I started to worry that I was going to struggle getting motivated, and I hadn't even started the first workout! So I slowly rolled out of bed and muttered the old Nike slogan to myself as my feet hit the floor. I put some workout shorts on, including my trusty yellow Long Beach Island t-shirt.

[Stepping onto my soap box. Feel free to skip this paragraph!] You know how they have all those "dry fit" type sport shirts? Yeah, those. They suck. Sweat doesn't evaporate instantly. When you're a big guy you need something to soak up the sweat, so it doesn't just pool on your skin. I have a whole bunch of those shirts if anyone wants them. Size XL of course. No, I'll stick with my cotton t-shirts. They don't itch. They soak up the sweat. And you look tough at the end of a workout because you see exactly how much you've been sweating. I work out indoors, so I'm not worried about the downside of sweating in a cotton shirt in the cold outdoors. If I could wear a sponge, I would. [Stepping off my soapbox!]

I grabbed a bottle of water, thinking I would only need one (ha!) and proceeded to the basement, where my son's Xbox setup is doing double-duty as my workout area. It's carpeted, and there's a decent TV, but the ceilings are only 7' high (which I later learned will require some minor modification to some of the exercises). I grabbed the postcard-sized cheat sheet for the Fit Test that I'm supposed to write down the number of reps I do for each of the 8 movements. I would be doing each movement for 60 seconds. So how hard can today really be? It's only 8 minutes of actual exercise, right?

It started with a "warm-up", a very misleading and apparently misused term used to describe a high intensity aerobic workout lasting only four and a half minutes. I was already tired by the end of it, but I kept up. That was followed by several minutes of stretching that, after the [ahem] "warm-up" wasn't bad. I took all of this very seriously since I knew this was one of the keys to avoiding injury.

Time for the first Fit Test. The first movement was something called "Switch Kicks" that basically consist of hopping on alternating legs while kicking your either leg as high as possible. Your hands are in front of you like a boxer. One rep equals two kicks (one for each leg), and I completed 57 reps, which I thought was pretty good. I was already starting to feel that out of breath, constricted lungs and tight chest feeling, but I was okay. I went to record my reps on the card and the pencil tip broke. I didn't realize I was already that strong. Impressive! A quick pause of the DVD, run to the pencil sharpener upstairs, and I was back in business.

I won't bore you by going through each of the movements in detail, but they were called Power Jacks, Power Knees, Power Jumps, Globe Jumps (they suck), Suicide Jumps (they suck more), Push-Up Jacks and Low Plank Obliques (which I found to be the easiest movement, so I was probably doing them wrong). There was a 30 second rest period between the first few, then it went to 60 seconds, then 90, then 2 full minutes towards the end. All in all, it was about a 40-minute workout. So much for 8 minutes! The hardest part was having so little rest between movements. I'll admit I had to pause the DVD a few times to drink some water and walk off my exhaustion, but didn't delay more than a minute or so.

My results are below, and I'll be honest, I don't know if they are good or not. It doesn't really matter. They're my baseline, whatever it is, and that's my starting point.

Today clearly wasn't about getting in shape. It was just about proving that I'm not. It gives me a baseline to work towards a goal from. And my goal isn't a specific number. It's simply improvement. I'll be retaking this Fit Test every two weeks. Yay me!

In the end, I felt exhausted but very happy that I made it through. As I type this, about 7 hours later, I can tell that I'm going to be sore. EVERYWHERE. My armpits hurt! WTF? I suspect tomorrow will be much worse, both from a soreness perspective, and from a difficulty perspective.

After the workout I immediately made one of the P90X recovery formula drinks that I bought. It's basically a bunch of vitamins and protein to help my muscles recover. Those who know me know that I'm not big into supplements. If you eat healthy, I don't think they're necessary. But so many reviews seemed to indicate they helped with recovery, and with this being as intense as it is, six days a week, I'll give it a shot.

Finally, as for healthy eating, I've gotten a lot of good advice from people I trust who are in much better shape than me. I think everyone needs to find what works for them, and the one thing I know about myself is that if I deprive myself of everything I like, I'll never make it. So my diet goal is pretty simple. I'm going to target 2200 calories a day that is generally high in protein and lower in fat, plus I'm going to limit alcohol consumption. I don't have a sweet tooth so aside from natural sugars found in fruit, I just don't have the temptation. I'm not going outright "ban" anything. For me at least, that's a recipe for failure. And I don't think a small amount of anything is a bad thing. As they say, it's all about moderation. Smaller, but more frequent meals. No grazing. No late night french bread pizza (Mmmmmm). And lots and lots of water. I ate an entire cucumber this afternoon, which is kind of weird but it filled me up.

So that's it for Day 1. I should sleep well tonight! Here are my results and what I looked like after the workout. Note the cotton t-shirt!

Why does my finger look like a big sausage link with strings tied around it?

Insanity Day 0: My Last Day of Sanity

Day 0 of Insanity.

Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life. I suppose that's always true, but in my case I'm referring to a decision I've made. Put simply, I'm tired of being a middle-aged Oompa Loompa who can work up a sweat just watching someone exercise on TV, and it's time to do something about it.

This decision feels different than previous decisions to get in shape, I think primarily because I'm much more aware of my age, and the pace at which birthdays are flying by, than in the past. I suppose that's another thing that's true for everyone as they get older.

I've done some running in previous years, but my knees feel like there isn't much cartilage in there anymore. Could be arthritis. I don't really know. I am committed to getting them checked out by a doctor, but not until "after". For now, I just hope they can make it through what I'm about to begin. I've heard the program is really tough on knees, and to be honest that's really my only fear: That I won't be able to finish. My wife and Mom are probably more worried about me dropping dead of a heart attack, but I know my body well enough to know when I've pushed myself too far. As the infomercial that sold me on this program said, it's not about doing a certain number of reps. It's simply about giving 100%. My 100% will be different on day 1 than it will on day 60. I get that. Besides, I know what it feels like to be truly exhausted. It happened one day on a river...

I was in West Virginia in the fall of 2011, celebrating my buddy Colson's 40th birthday with a bunch of his and our friends. I think he was just trying to recapture an experience he and his now-wife had back in their college days. Trouble is, it was my first time whitewater rafting, so why not start with one of the biggest, baddest, most dangerous Class V+ rivers in America, the Upper Gauley. Seriously, just look it up on YouTube. There are five Class V rapids on the Upper Gauley, one of them called the Iron Ring (great name). The last thing I remember before we were ejected from our raft of 7 people (including a professional guide) was the guide screaming at the top of her lungs that 'We are f**king doomed!' Then I saw the rapid, basically a 15 foot waterfall flowing at 3,200 cubic feet per second (thanks to this being a "dam release weekend"). We dropped down into a hole sideways and all I could see was white water in every direction. Then I saw the sky. Then the raft flipped over, upside down, and I was in the water, wearing a life vest that barely has enough buoyancy to keep you afloat. Within seconds, I was completely disoriented, tumbling around underwater in the rapids with no way of knowing which way is up or down. And how do you hold your breath when your adrenaline is at full blast, and you're scared to death of an undercut rock that could suck you under or a foot entrapment to grab your ankle and drown you? (Yes they warn you of all this beforehand, but you're with "the guys" so you gotta do it, right?) I finally popped up and saw no one. No raft. No other people. So I started swimming to the side of the river. I wasn't sure which side to swim towards, however. Unlike the previous Class V rapids we had already been through, where the guide would say, "Now if you fall here, swim left as if your life depended on it" (yes, that's actually what she said), she had declared the Iron Ring a "no swim zone". Just don't fall out. It was that dangerous. Uhh...okay! So I decided to swim left as hard as I could. Keep in mind I'm in a full wet suit with another insulating vest on top of it, so it felt like swimming with all your clothes on, including shoes. I couldn't generate any thrust at all. If I had been in a swimming pool, a lifeguard would've seen me and jumped in to save me. Michael Phelps, I am not. Anyway, I saw more rapids approaching and quickly realized I wasn't going to make it to shore in time. So I braced for impact and tried to float feet-first through the churning water, barely keeping my mouth above the water for the occasional panicked breath. I reached the next break in the action and resumed my swimming to the left. I was spent. I was barely making any progress but I continued to push myself as hard as I ever had, because my life did depend on it. I was drowning. I was swallowing water and barely had enough energy to lift my head up to breathe. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of swimming I reached a flat, slippery rock along the shore. I was able to grab the far edge with both hands and slowly pull myself, more like drag myself, onto the rock. If it hadn't been slippery I don't think I could've done it. So I laid there, face down on the rock, panting like an exhausted dog after a long game of fetch at the beach. After a couple minutes I rolled myself over and tried to sit up. I couldn't. How was that possible? I literally couldn't sit up. All of my muscles felt like they were fully depleted of all their energy. I couldn't even speak. All I could hear was my own breathing, and my heart beating through my wet suit. Thump, thump, thump. Breathe. Just breathe. Long story short, after about 10 minutes, another raft paddled upstream through an eddy and picked me up. It was a struggle but I got on board. Others in my raft were picked up further downstream and luckily everyone made it through the experience physically unscathed. Those in our raft will certainly never forget it.

I soon came to the realization that I had truly pushed myself to the limit that day.. I don't mean from a fear perspective. Believe me, my Class V days are gone for good. No, the real lesson I learned that day was how far I could push myself physically, and make it through. It was much further than ever before...even further than that Navy SEAL training I did through work on Coronado Island in San Diego the year before. So I learned I can do more than I thought I could, and the biggest obstacle wasn't my muscles. It was my head.

So that brings me back to today. A willingness, and even desire to push myself as hard as I can. This is what I'm thinking about the day before beginning this journey. I'm starting the BeachBody workout program called Insanity tomorrow. One hour a day. Six days a week. It's the Upper Gauley of workouts, except without the undercut rocks and foot entrapments. Once again, the biggest obstacle is the one between my ears. I need to keep my head in the game, and take this day by day.

I know I needed some constant motivation, so I decided to write this blog. I've never done one before, and don't know if anyone will even read this. But knowing that I have to "answer to the blog" ever day will help push me to push me, if you know what I mean.

Tomorrow I take the Fitness Test. I will take some "before" pictures, which I'll post along with my "after" pictures at the end of the program, about 63 days from today. Wish me luck.

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For the curious, here I am from that day on the river. I'm the one in the blue helmet. Taken at Pillow Rock (the second of five Class V rapids) in the fall of 2011 on the Upper Gauley.