Insanity Round 2 Day 58: 1002 Reasons to Continue!

Did you miss me? Sorry for not posting a blog in a week or so. I'll admit I've been slacking off on that a bit, but don't worry, I'm still on my endless journey to be fit. The kids are out of school. My schedule has been crazy at work, and something just has to give sometimes. Regardless, I'm still working out and my Insanity continues. This is the last week, but I will say I on continuing ad-hoc Insanity workouts until I can get the P90X workout program from my brother-in-law. He will be doing Insanity, so it's a good switch. To be honest, I'm really looking forward to a new program. I've been at this for almost 6 months on and off, and as much as I enjoy the workouts, too much of a good thing is just that. Some variety will be very welcomed!

As for today, I completed my favorite Month 2 workout: Max Interval Circuit. I burned 1002 calories (hence the name of my post today) and felt great. The only move I didn't do was the "plank punches", which is the last move of the last circuit. They really tweak my rotator cuffs, so instead I did some dumbbell bicep work again.

Have a great rest of the week!

Insanity Round 2 Day 50: Back At It Again!

After a few days off of Insanity due to business travel and the weekend, I was back at it again today with Max Interval Circuit. I burned 831 calories, with my heart rate maxing at 165 and averaging 137.

As for the past weekend, I put down 32 bags of mulch as my primary workout, and given the 85 degree temperatures with high humidity, I sweat through about 4 T-shirts that day. I always find it funny when I catch myself keeping my core tight while lifting something, like a big bag of mulch. Shaun T has definitely retrained me!

Have a great week!

Taking 2 days off due to business travel...

I'm in Pittsburgh today and tomorrow, so no Insanity workout or blog until Friday. Have a good week!

Insanity Round 2 Day 44: New Workout Today!

Today I completed an Insanity workout that I've NEVER done before. Long story short, there is a Deluxe version of Insanity (that I didn't order) that includes a few extra workouts. I found out about that after I ordered Insanity so I ended up ordering the bonus DVDs separately. One of the bonus workouts is called Max Interval Sports Training. I did that today. All I can say is WOW!

It was very hard. The structure of the workout was very different from all other Insanity workouts. No warm-up stretch. A lot more breaks. No circuits. Every move was new and different, with most lasting 30 seconds to 2 minutes. But the workouts were far more strenuous and intense. The low plank walks were simply not possible for me. Try it yourself if you don't believe me! Get down on the floor into a plank position as if you were doing a push-up, then lower yourself down and hold, with your elbows back (not out) to really stress your triceps. The only things touching the floor are your hands and toes. No knees. Then try walking your body with your hands and feet to the left or right (right hand and right foot together, then left hand and left foot together). Make sure you try this on a carpeted floor or you may fall flat on your face like I did. I couldn't do it at all! My triceps are simply not strong enough yet, even after almost 2 months of Insanity. Crazy stuff.

Anyway, I still loved it, because it was great doing a bunch of new moves I hadn't seen before. It was like finding a long, lost Insanity workout, and after all these months.

I burned 747 calories in 54 minutes, with my heart rate peaking at 185 (during the sprint "ladders") and averaging 139. The average is low because there are a lot of breaks. It's not non-stop cardio, which I'll admit was a nice change of pace.

I emptied my water bottle and completely soaked through my shirt again!

Insanity Round 2 Day 43: Weekend Rehab!

After taking a couple days off for my band's gig and Father's Day, it was back to reality today. I opted not to follow the schedule exactly this week, and did Max Interval Circuit instead of Max Cardio today. I always burn the most calories with Max Interval Circuit, and after eating at Buffalo Wild Wings (where I ate wings and a bacon cheeseburger) I needed it! But no regrets. Letting loose a bit every weekend is what keeps me going all week. Some people need to go cold turkey. Others need the occasional turkey with gravy. You'll need to determine what works best for you.

I burned 958 calories today, with me heart rate peaking at 175 and averaging 150. I also added some bicep weight training as I did last week. That seems to be working well, as I already can see a bit more definition. It will be helpful going into P90X next month!

And if you're wondering why my shirt looks all one color, it's not because I didn't sweat. It's because I sweat all the way through it!

Have a great week...

Insanity Round 2 Day 39: Sanity Check!

One of the nice things about this not being Round 1 is that I'm free to mix things up a bit. Today, instead of doing the Recovery workout, I tried something I've never done before. I purchased the new "Sanity Check" DVD that is meant for people who are going to start Insanity but may not be quite ready to jump right in. It's a single workout, only 26 minutes long, and it's a bit easier than a typical Month 1 workout. The moves are a bit simplified and less stressful, and there are only two repetitions through each set, instead of three. But still, it was a nice way to do something different and still got my heart rate up. I bought this as a gift for my brother-in-law, Mike, who will be starting Insanity once I complete it in a few weeks.

So today I burned 393 calories, with my heart rate peaking at 172 and averaging 143. Pretty good numbers considering the short duration of the workout (keeping in mind that all workouts include a 10-12 minute warm-up/stretch and 3 minute cool-down stretch.)

I've got a band gig tomorrow, so this will be my last workout this week. The Month 2 workouts are just too hard to do, then having to go off and play drums that evening. My arms are too exhausted, as I learned earlier this week during rehearsal. So I'll get back into this on Sunday or Monday (in case you didn't notice, I started this week's workouts on Tuesday so I'm kind of off the schedule a day or so, but no biggie).

Have a great weekend!

Insanity Round 2 Day 38: Max Cardio!

I completed Max Cardio today, burning 704 calories, with my heart rate peaking at 171 and averaging 145. I did not have time to eat breakfast before my workout today so I definitely had less energy. I also had some soreness for the first time, this time in my upper back, probably from pushing so hard the past 2 days. But hey, this is Month 2 and it's not supposed to be easy!

Regarding breakfast, you may be saying, "There's always time for breakfast", but for me, there isn't. I need to eat 45-60 minutes before I workout or I get a cramp, and to do that I would've had to get up an hour earlier than I did. There are 3 things important to me fitness-wise. They are sleep, working out, and eating right. And it's in that order. Sleep is #1, by far. It's also the one that usually gets the short end of the stick with most people, but without a good night's sleep I'll never have the energy to get through the day, yet alone an Insanity workout. Everyone is different, but I've learned a lot about what I need to do to maintain my energy over the past several months, and sleep is the key for me!

Anyway, have a great rest of the week, and that's for reading my blog today.