Journey Day 67: Some More Cardio Today!

Short post today. Busy work day plus band practice tonight. I did Pure Cardio but had to skip about 5 minutes so squeeze it in before a conference call. Burned 570 calories, maxing the heart rate at 178 and averaging 148.

Tomorrow I will likely do a recovery workout. I feel great with no back or shoulder pain, and I continue to avoid those moves.

Started a new container of P90X Recovery drink. Packaging is exactly the same as the previous 2 containers but the taste isn't quite as good. Strange...

Anyway, til tomorrow!

Journey Day 66: Mixing it Up with Power & Resistance!

I went old school again today, pulling out month one's Cardio Power & Resistance workout. A bit more strength training than I wanted but I followed along to see how I had improved. Those "V push-ups" I couldn't do the first week of Insanity came much easier today, so I did those. Same with the "tricep dips", which I couldn't do at all 60 days ago. That was cool. But then came "hit the floor" and "globe jumps", which I completely skipped and did "cross jacks" and "side to side jump ropes" instead. My back feels almost 100% so I'll continue modifying until after I get back from my ski trip.

I burned 596 calories today, peaking at 178 and averaging 144. As always, peaks and averages are lower with the strength routines because there's less cardio.

Looking at the weather, I'm thinking Friday may be a good day to try running again. More on that later in the week...

On an unrelated note, I saw a good movie last night: Life of Pi. Incredible story, acting, and special effects. I suppose it's a "family movie" since it's PG, but it will mean something very different to a child than it does an adult. To a kid, it will be a movie about a boy and a tiger on a raft. To adults, well, you'll have to see it yourself. Cool story that gets you thinking about all sorts of stuff...

Anyway, I wore a T-shirt I bought in China last month, and it was not good to workout in. It didn't absorb anything, or wick anything for that matter. So the sweat just pooled in strange places. Almost looks like I just poured water on myself, but trust me that was not the case! .

Journey Day 65: Back to Pure Cardio from Month 1!

I was back in the basement for the first time in 2 days after completing Insanity on Sunday. But first, I need to admit that I was bad yesterday. I didn't workout because I was sore, and that's legit, but I wrote in my blog yesterday I was still on my diet, then I proceeded to eat Wendy's for lunch. I hadn't eaten any fast food since starting Insanity and I decided "What the heck", but I felt kind of sick afterwards, and pretty guilty, too. Then I watched "Biggest Loser" on TV and felt even more guilty, but also more motivated. Finally, I watched the Insanity infomercial (which is preserved on my DVR) before bed, and woke up this morning ready to rock and roll.

Instead of doing a short subset of an Insanity workout, I decided to do the entire Pure Cardio workout from Month 1, and it was awesome. I did it so much better than a month ago, and burned 640 calories, pushing myself much harder than I could back then. My heart rate peaked at 182 and averaged 152 for the 37 minutes. I modified the "push-up/plank" and "bending down" moves as I said I would, so as not to aggravate my back or shoulders prior to our ski trip in less than 2 weeks. I just ran in place or did "cross jacks".

I'm going to be very strict with diet, with the hope of losing a few more pounds before the trip.

It was great to back doing Insanity again, and even better to do a workout I hadn't seen for 5+ weeks. I'll just take these next couple weeks day-by-day, deciding which workout I want to do from Month 1 each morning. The freedom to pick is kind of fun.

So my journey continues, and I'll continue to "count up" as I had before. Til tomorrow...

Journey Day 64: Paying the Price for Pushing Hard!

I woke up this morning and I was really sore! That's what I get for burning almost 1200 calories Saturday and pushing so hard on the Insanity Fit Test yesterday. My intent was to workout today, but my body has made it clear I need to take a small break to heal now that Round 1 of Insanity is complete. I haven't had a break since last Sunday, and I suppose I've earned one. So I'm taking today off completely, except for diet of course. And I'll resume some cardio tomorrow, whether I'm sore or not. ;-)

Have a great week!

Insanity Day 63: Insanity is Complete with a Family Fit Test Finale!

This is it. I felt a burst of emotion once I completed the last move and will admit that if I had been alone downstairs, I probably would've shed a few tears of joy at the accomplishment. All 63 days have been leading up to today, and I'm really proud to say I've passed the "Insanity Challenge!"

I was joined by my wife and daughter for the final day. We completed the Fit Test and I was exhausted at the end, left speechless with rubber noodle arms and legs after every move. I improved overall in every movement. You'll see all my Fit Test scores below.

Beyond the scores, what's really important is how I feel. There is no question that I'm in the best shape of my life. I still have weight to lose and muscle to gain, but my cardio is at an all-time best and I just feel fit. The diet, along with all that sweating, has even improved my skin. I've been told I look younger. I certainly feel younger. My core is rock solid, even if it's still covered up a bit (hey, it's a work in progress!). In short, the program has been an absolute success!

Here are my results:

Total weight loss: 22 pounds
Body fat percentage reduction: 5% point reduction
Waist size reduction: 8" reduction

Fit Test results on Day 1 and Day 63:
Switch Kicks: 57 to 79
Power Jacks: 56 to 67
Power Knees: 85 to 160
Power Jumps: 35 to 64
Globe Jumps: 9 to 12
Suicide Jumps: 10 to 19
Push-Up Jacks: 21 to 44
Low Plank Oblique: 43 to 94

You may be staring at the waist size reduction and thinking "How is that possible?", but it is. I'm measuring my waist the "right way". Prior to looking up how to do it, I always assumed my waist was where my pants sit. But it isn't. Your waist is 1 inch below the belly button. I had what some may refer to as a "beer belly", and I measured all improvements with my stomach relaxed. I didn't tighten my core when measuring anything. I was relaxed and loose. So yeah, I really did reduce the size of stomach/waist by 8 inches, and I'm damn proud of it.

I'm deliberately not going to post my actual measurements or weight. That's for 2 reasons. One, I'm still self conscious, particularly about where I started. And two, they're not important. What's important is the improvement, not the result. It's just like Insanity itself. It doesn't matter how many push-ups I can do now (but I will say it's over 100). What matters is how many more I can do now than I could when I started. It's all about doing better every time. When I look in the mirror, I'm very happy with the improvement, but my journey isn't over. So here's my plan for the next 2 weeks:

I'm going to pick and choose workouts, mostly from Month 1, and do them 6 days a week for the next 2 weeks. I will avoid all "bending over" movements and most (if not all) push-up moves. The reason is, as I stated yesterday, I'm going skiing with my family and some friends in Colorado, and while I want to maintain the cardio improvement I've achieved, I don't want to be sore. I've had some lower back pain pretty consistently with Insanity, and my rotator cuffs have also been sore, which is why I'll be avoiding those exercises. I will, however, be doing some rotator cuff stretches and exercises, using a resistance band. A few weeks of strengthening the rotator cuff should help me down the road. I will be skiing 5 full days and will get plenty of exercise doing that.

Once I return from skiing, I will restart Insanity and do the entire program again, except I'll follow the diet even more carefully. It will be hard to lose the next 20 pounds, which would bring me close to my overall goal weight. I've also purchased P90X, which I will do in its entirety after my second round of Insanity. By the end of the summer, I should be in pretty good shape!

I will continue to blog each day the next 2 weeks, letting you know which workout I completed, calories burned, and how I'm feeling. I may even do some from Snowmass, time permitting! This has kept my accountable and was probably the second best decision I made, the first being to start Insanity in the first place.

Thanks to everyone and anyone who has read some or all of this blog. The support I felt knowing people are reading this has been amazing. To those who I've seen or spoken to recently, sorry about all the exercise and Insanity talk. No I don't work for Beach Body. But I am a believer. This has been such a big part of my life these past two months that I don't think of much else, outside of work and family of course. Anyway, thanks for putting up with my new healthy obsession!

So here I am at the end of the beginning of my journey. I've conquered this program and can't wait to see where my journey leads from here. I just need to remember to keep my core tight, keep breathing, never quit, dig deeper, and "push play every day."

Oh yeah, and I need to send the form in for my free Insanity T-Shirt. ;-)

Sweaty and in desparate need of a comb!

Great job Ali!

Insanity Day 62: Two and Two on Sixty Two!

Today is Saturday, and it's Day 62 of Insanity. Two of us, my wife and I, just finished two workouts: Max Cardio and Cardio Abs. It's the last workout of the program. Tomorrow is the Fit Test and I will have completed Insanity! I feel absolutely great that I made it through, but I'll reflect more on that after tomorrow.

I burned 1148 calories today. As usual, I pushed myself harder with my wife there. My heart rate hit 188 and averaged 152.

My sciatic nerve tingling has not returned but my back is still a bit sore. I did the heat pad and stretching again last night and it felt much better today, but I modified a couple of exercises to avoid some of the bending down. I left nothing in the tank. I was "Gauley River exhausted" at the end of Max Cardio, completely dripping in sweat with my shirt soaked all the way through. It was awesome!

After some snow on Thursday night, it's finally starting to feel like spring with sunny skies and temps in 50s today and tomorrow. I may go for that first run tomorrow after the Fit Test. We'll see...

I'm still trying to decide exactly how I'll be working out these next few weeks before I leave for a ski trip. I don't want to have a sore back there, so I may just pick and choose a few Month 1 Insanity workouts to do and skip the moves that aggravate my back, then restart Insanity after I return from Colorado. I definitely want to keep my cardio up so I don't lose anything I've gained these past two months... I'll figure that out on Monday.

Have a great weekend!

 

Insanity Day 61: Last Day of Plyo Torture...For Now!

Second to last workout of Insanity is complete. Goodbye Max Interval Plyo...at least for a little while! I had to skip a couple of exercises due to a time constraint: We're bringing our cat to the vet. She's almost 17 years old, skinny as a rail and is allergic to herself. I won't go into her other issues. Anyway, hopefully it won't be anything serious.

Anyway, I still burned 651 calories in the 47 minutes of the 55 that I did. I still did the complete warm-up and stretches, but I eliminated a couple of interval circuits.

Tomorrow will be the last real workout until the Fit Test on Sunday. Almost there!