Month 2 Begins...

This sums up my Insanity journey thus far. I am on week 6! On the Insanity calendar, they don't count recovery week, so this is five. Screw that! I'm counting it all!

So Recovery week was....repetitive. I was super nervous about doing the exact same workout for 6 days. I get bored. After the first two days, I did things to spice up my work out. I would play my iPod for added noise. One day I made it opposite day. If they started on the right foot, I'd start on my left. I know it sounds silly, but it really helped.

Month two brings MAX WORKOUTS! I made the mistake of watching some of the Insanity infomercial on TV. I scared myself. Shout outs to my boys Alex and Craig for the encouraging texts. They've both done it before and told me I could do it.

I'm sticking with my 4am work outs on work days. That only allows me about an hour to work out. Today's workout called for Max Interval Circuit DVD along with Fit Test. I knew there was no way I'd have enough time to do both, so I opted to work out in the morning, and do the fit test after work. After a restless night, I dragged my feet and made my way downstairs.

I was NOT prepared for that workout. I cursed several times. I had to pause the DVD a few times to catch my breath, and that 30 seconds they give was not enough. This makes month 1 of Insanity look like a cake walk! Some exercises that were part of the work out last month, became part of the warm-up. This left room for crazier, more intense workout moves. Also, the MAX DVDs are roughly an hour. These FELT like an hour! Month 1, work outs few by. It was time to cool down before I knew it. This right here....I was like "I STILL have 30 minutes left?!?!" What felt like 30 minutes later, I found myself saying "I STILL have 20 minutes left!?!?"

I don't know how I'm going to make it through. I refuse to let this DVD beat me though. I WILL conquer it!

So this evening, I took fit test for the 3rd time. I definitely felt stronger. Let me say, I make it a habit to leave previous results out of reach. I want to genuinely see what I can do. I don't want to push myself, and possibly do things wrong, just to beat a number. I did my best this go round (and the previous rounds), and will use that to measure my progress. Here are my results:

Switch Kicks - 76 (+3)
Power Jacks - 47 (+3)
Power Knees - 117 (+14)
Power Jumps - 43 (+4)
Globe Jumps - 10 (+2) Suicide Jumps - 12 (+3)
Pushup Jacks - 21 (+3)
Low Plank Obliques - 60 (+12)


I improved on everything again!!! I'm highly pleased with my results. Story: While doing suicide jumps, my nephew was throwing things at me, which could have resulted in injury. I had to stop, get what he was throwing and send him upstairs. I lost count and had to start over...I want to say I was like 5-6 jumps in. I was HEATED! So that makes me wonder if I could have done more. I'll have to see next fit test, which happens to be Christmas Eve.

That's it for now....thanks for reading!

Week 5: Recovery

Week 4 is in the books!! I am on to week 5! The weeks really went pretty fast. I am out of the cardio portion of the program, and this week marks recovery. After this, 4 more weeks left. Wow, really hard to believe it! Thank you all for your support thus far in my crazy Insanity journey. It means more to me than you know.

I used my vision of Recovery Week to fuel me through week 4. "Just one one more week of Insanity, then you get to relax for a week." This is what I told myself. Apparently, Shaun T and I have two TOTALLY different meanings of the meaning "recovery week." I envisioned myself doing some intense yoga (kinda like I did in P90X), very light work. Shaun tricked me...

Shaun T's meaning of Insanity is making me sweat more than the cardio workouts did! He focuses more on core and balance, and less on cardio and resistance. I will admit, it is a great workout. I sweat like crazy! The normal washcloth I use was not working. Had to upgrade to a small hand towel. This morning, it was soaked! The only thing that has me worried, is that I have to do the same DVD every day this week. Six days of the same routine. To motivate myself, I'm trying to do more and more each day. Today was already better than yesterday so that's a win for me! Maybe I'll also incorporate music the second half of the week.

Thanks for reading!

My Rules for Working Out at Home

So I've been asked by a few people how I do what I do. How do I remain disciplined in my workout routine at home. I've heard "I can't do this..." and "I can't do that..." I used to say the same things! I never thought I'd be able to work out successfully at home. I made the decision to cancel my gym membership two years ago, and to do p90x. I later joined a different gym, but again, I'm letting that membership expire, and will continue to do my own thing.

The following are some rules I came up with to help me on my journey to working out at home:

I do rely on and use my friends around me. I complain about working out before I do it and they motivate me to get out of bed and get my exercise done. They keep me honest, as far as getting up, but when the DVD starts, it's just me. It's to the point where I feel bad if I don't put forth as much effort as I know I can. I even rewind back sections when I've half assed the routine! Now THAT'S dedication!

I don't know when it happened, but you rarely see me without my cell phone. I know every chime, sound, noise by heart and hate to leave notifications in my status bar. I HAVE to check it. For this reason, I nix the cell phone during work outs. No distractions. I don't silence it, or put it on vibrate. I don't even bring it to the basement. One time, I was expecting an important call, handed the phone to my sister and told her to let me know when that person called. Other than that instance, I leave the distraction alone. Insanity is roughly 40-45 minutes. Things can wait until after that.

Cue Jay-Z,you know the line about men and women lying, but numbers not lying. That's FALSE! Numbers do lie! On scales! Well, they tell the truth, but they are misleading. Have I gotten on a scale? Yes! I make sure not to live by it though. I don't even get on the scale weekly. I stay far, far, far away! I don't want to get caught up in reaching XXX weight, and then being upset if I don't reach that number. Especially when we all know muscle weighs more than fat! So STAY AWAY FROM SCALES!

Last and certainly not least is this rule! Just because I'm embarking on an Insanity journey, I know it's not for everyone...do what YOU like! Don't base it off of how any workout routine worked for someone else. You may not have the same results! I also enjoy spin class, but know it's not for everyone, and that's okay! I swore I'd never do Insanity, but look at me now! I love it! It's pain, but it hurts so good! (Lawd, I'm starting to sound crazy lol). So remember to find your niche and what you like.

Thanks for reading!

Slacking on Blogging, Not on Working Out!

So I guess it's no secret, I've been slacking on blogging. But I will say that I have not been slacking on my workouts. Last week was Thanksgiving, and I worked through it all, including a 5K Turkey Trot Thanksgiving morning! I still don't like running/jogging, but I completed it in about 43 minutes. Not the best, but it's a start and I'm happy! I feel great! I've noticed slight changes in my clothes. They aren't as tight as before. I'm slowly making my way to my goal!

So in the beginning of Week 3, I had to retake the Fit Test. Here are my results:
Switch Kicks - 73 (+11)
Power Jacks - 43 (+6)
Power Knees - 103 (+20)
Power Jumps - 39 (+13)
Globe Jumps - 8 (+1) (I STILL don't like those)
Suicide Jumps - 9 (+3)
Pushup Jacks - 18 (+6)
Low Plank Obliques - 48 (+13)


So I improved on everything! I'm still loving the pain (not while I'm working out). I'm still working out in the mornings before work (4am!!) most days, and fist them when I wake up on others.

I'm almost halfway through the program and I'm happy. I can totally see myself doing this again once I complete this cycle.

Week 1 Recap

So one week of Insanity done...8 more to go. I can honestly say that this is by far the hardest work out I've ever done. I've taken spin class, I've done Afro-Brazilian dance class, I've done Tae Bo class, and they are hard in their own rights. But NOTHING makes me sweat nearly as much as this work out. AND I LOVE IT! I'm sore every day (not a lot, just slightly), I lose lots of salt and water. My abs are sore and we haven't done an ab workout yet! It goes to show you how much core work is involved. SO glad I started this program. I definitely plan to see this through to the end.

I don't do scales, so I have no weight check in. And I didn't measure. I plan to track my progress by how I feel and how my clothes fit. So far, I don't feel a real difference. I didn't expect it after a week, so I'm not going to let it discourage me from pressing forward.

Two For the Price of One

So I've been slipping on the blogging the past few days, but I'm happy to report that I have NOT been slipping on working out. This post contains updates from the weekend. Friday, I did the Pure Cardio DVD, Since it is my day off from work, I didn't wake up at 4am, but I did work out as soon as I woke up and got out of bed.

Shaun T did not disappoint with this one. It was a circuit workout. Only this time, there weren't as many breaks in between. There weren't repeat exercises. It. Was. Hard. Work. I stopped quite a bit, but made it through to the end.

Due to a chain of events, I didn't have time, or energy to work out Saturday, so that was my rest day. On Sunday, which was supposed to be my rest day, I did the Plyometric Cardio Circuit DVD. I've done this one, so I knew what to expect. I felt that I stopped less this go round, and was proud of that. I was told before starting this program that the workouts are never easy, even after doing it several times. It is a goal to make it through an entire DVD without stopping (outside of given breaks).

So after this workout, I had to go to kickball practice. I haven't laced up my cleats since August. Here's a little math problem for you...Insanity + kickball practice = PAIN! I'm crazy sore. I was limping through the store today. All of this BETTER pay off!

Day 3: Done!

So today was a telework day. I didn't wake up as early, but I did decide to work out first thing this morning. So that was around 7am. I did The Power Resistance DVD. It was one I've done already, and definitely tough. More circuit work. I still can't keep up, but I'll keep trying.

I noticed today that my arms and abs and legs are sore. But I LOVE IT! What's funnier, is that we haven't started working abs yet! A lot of the exercises use your core, and now I'm really seeing that today. I love the sweat, I love the challenge. I love the feeling of accomplishment when the DVDs are done!

Tomorrow, back up at 4am to get this work out in before work!