Day 23

Hmm...no INSANITY workout today. And, I thought I was going to REST, but...

P90X - Yoga X and 2+ miles on the treadmill in my Vibram Five Fingers. Methinks I have a hamstring issue on the left leg...poor calves are really suffering and I think I have a sympathetic style ache further up. My ultra cool compression socks should be here tomorrow. Pix - promise.

So, what to do? I have a 10k on Saturday, a Half Marathon on Labor day (14wks) and an 86mi relay race a month after that. This is running's IN season, people!! I just don't have time to do INSANITY and train for the runs I am signed up for.

I loaned out my INSANITY plan to my 19yo brother...he's up for a challenge. I am going to be at the kitchen table this evening, reformulating my training plan for the month of June.

Three weeks of INSANITY yielded a faster 5k time for me and a full 1% reduction in body fat. I will definitely be doing these workouts again - maybe when running season is over and the treadmill is my only option!

Day 22

Pure Cardio & Cardio Abs

I just couldn't do it today. I woke up early, my joints were really hurting. I felt like I had had enough sleep, yet I still had a hard time making it down the stairs. I decided to do Cardio Abs (15min) first. I was hoping that it would loosen me up and help me to get through Pure Cardio (40min w/no breaks). I got through the warm up and just couldn't do it.

It's not that I felt any specific pain anywhere, just that I ached all over and felt as though a super intense workout was the very LAST thing I should be doing.

I think I will be taking my rest week early. This week I will focus on Yoga and getting a few more miles on my VFF's. I have a 10k on Saturday and feel really good about my goals. A little rest should give me the edge I need to reach them!

Day 21

Rest Day

Ran 5 miles in 55 minutes instead.

Best run I've had in a LONG time. Still wearing my Mizunos for road runs, but concentrating on that mid foot strike. I could tell when I stopped paying attention and was crashing down with my heel again. My hips and knees were begging me to stop!

Can't wait to run in my Vibram's all the time. :)

Day 20

Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Blah. I'm tired of this workout. BUT I noticed that I wasn't nearly dead after the warm up...still had sweat dripping in my eyes during the stretch, but my lungs weren't burning. Hard to believe that I made it through 3 weeks of this craziness!

Only 6 weeks to go...

Still getting used to the Vibram Five Fingers. I am wearing them for all of my INSANITY workouts, and have run a couple of times in them. Today, after my workout, I ran a little over 1.25mi on the treadmill in them. I was running out of nap time, or I would have done more.

My calves are still having a fit about the whole thing, but my knees are rejoicing. I feel like I am much move agile and, naturally, light on my feet.

Day 19

Pure Cardio & Cardio Abs

I didn't sleep well last night - my stupid back was bothering me all night. I took a stab at these workouts and rested when I needed to. Not my best effort, but an effort nonetheless.

Seriously, do we EVER get over all of this jumping!?

I went ahead and did Cardio Abs first (thanks for the suggestion, honey). I knew that after 40 minutes of Pure Cardio, the LAST thing I would want to do would be another workout. My back was suckishly tight and painful, so this ab workout helped warm me up - as Shaun T says - "Nice and good."

As a side note: Dang, I'm tired. I'm almost through week 3 of this program and the "Recovery Week" can't come SOON ENOUGH. I try to do everything to the letter of the plan, but I've had to accept that with this - my best really IS good enough. I could make some excuses surrounding my age, my previous smoking and eating habits, or the number of children I have birthed and nursed, but that really doesn't mean a thing. I'm here, now. Right where I should be. Busting my butt and trying my best.

Day 18

Cardio Recovery

I ended up taking the day entirely off. I didn't feel great the night before and went to bed a little early. I dusted my alarm and had intended to work out over nap time. I had a stomach ache in the morning and a head ache later on.

Good think it was my low calorie cycle day (1400) because I didn't feel like eating...or moving much. Dark and dreary outside - good day to read books and watch a movie with the kids.

Day 17

Scheduled: Pure Cardio/Cardio Abs
Actual: 3.25 miles in 37:11

Wore my Mizuno Waves - tried to land front footed, but did miss that feeling of running un-shod. More treadmill miles for that venture, softer surface.

Nice easy run to get my legs back in to running. My GPS sounded off at the half mile mark with a 10:30 pace, and for the first time in my life I had to slow down. My legs are pretty fried from all the jumping lately, so I was happy when my "easy" run came in at 11:26/mi.

I skipped my INSANITY workout this morning and had a beautiful spring morning run. Tomorrow is Cardio Recovery Day, and I plan to do Pure Cardio/Cardio Abs on Thursday. I am not doing this program 100% to the letter, but running is more important to me. I need to *slowly* ramp up my mileage again for another Half Marathon on September 3rd.

Got my running fix, think I can handle DVD workouts in the basement again. :D

Day 16

Plyometric Cardio Circuit

All I could think this morning was, "Man I'm SICK of this workout."

This is a 40 minute sweat-fest that kicks my middle-aged rear end EVERY time. Though, I have to say, I did't give it the "all out" effort that I normally do. I've been feeling very run down in the last few days and am wondering if I may not be over doing it a bit.

Did I tell you I have a 10K coming up?

So, trying to juggle a little running in with the INSANITY has been about all I can take. I still have 15lbs to loose and am checking the scale to no avail lately...(poetry, ha!) I know that overtraining halts my weight lost faster than a DQ Sundae, but yet I continue.

I need to run 3 miles tomorrow AND do Pure Cardio/Cardio Abs. I don't know...maybe I will go to bed early, sleep in that extra hour and try to do my INSANITY workout over the kids naptime. That won't leave time for a run until after they all go to bed (baseball game for the 12yo) but it just might work.

There needs to be 2 of me.

Day 15

Fit Test

The Fit Test is to be taken every 2 weeks to gauge your progress! These are my results. Day 1 is listed first, Day 15 after the slash.

Switch Kicks - 35/42

Power Jacks - 34/52

Power Knees - 57/80

Power Jumps - 20/25

Globe Jumps - 6/8

Suicide Jumps - 14/16

Push-up Jacks - 35/38

Low Plank Oblique - 46/68

It's amazing to see my fitness increasing, despite feeling quite tired theses past few days.

Keep getting stronger and keep pushing play!!

Day 14

Rest

Sort of.  Little Sister's wedding was a blast!  She was absolutely gorgeous, and it was great to see the fam.

Fit Test tomorrow!

Day 13

Friday... I decided that I didn't have time to squeeze in my INSANITY workout before we left for Kansas City.   We didnt do much packing on Thursday.  I wanted to get there in time to help my sister with any last minute wedding tasks.

I'm sure that I could have taken my DVD's with me and tried to do the workout around the kids and luggage in the room, but I opted not to.   We ended up getting back to the room post Kiddie Bedtime, and I used the hotel treadmill for a short run.  Those 3 miles were hard to get through, and I just wanted it over with!

At least I did a workout today.  Something is better than nothing.

Day 12

Cardio Power & Resistance

This is NOT me ------------------------------------>

But, can we all just pause for a moment and give props to this obviously Super-Fit gal and her perfect form in the 'ol Power Jump?

Pause....

I want to point out that even SHE wasn't born this way. Even if she was athletic in high school, and is only 25 years old in this photo - the only way to Power Jump like this is PRACTICE.

Today, I felt really strong for about the first 6 of these. I was happy with the air I caught and, frankly, amazed at my ability to do any at all. I'm stoked to take the Fit Test on Monday.

Mileage Plan

This is my Master Plan - Muahahahah!!!

I realized that if I want to run a Half Marathon on 9/3, that my training will have to overlap the INSANITY program. So I sat down today and figure up the next 20 weeks or so for mileage. Gotta work up slow so I don't hurt my knees. Oh, and lets throw a long distance relay race in there on 10/1 for good measure.

Yah. That ought to keep me out of trouble for a few weeks.

Day 11

Cardio Recovery

This is a cute little workout - only about 35 minutes - that barely breaks a sweat. Don't misunderstand, you WILL work, but you're heart rate will stay down. The workout starts with a nice stretch, then some deep squats and lunges held for an 8 count. We get a little core work with some slow Level 2 style drills and a nice long stretch at the end.

Thankfully - none of THIS today!!

Tomorrow.

Day 10

Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Dear Tony Horton:

I used to be very afraid of the P90X workout entitled "Plyometrics." Each time that workout came in to the rotation, I shuddered with painful anticipation of varying forms of jumps, hops, and hopping jumps. While I respect and fear your weight training prowess, Mr. Horton, Shaun T. has brought the word terror to my mind with his version of the dreaded Plyo. This routine has blown my mind and - I think - a heart valve or two.

Keep Bringing It and Digging Deeper,

Andrea

Day 9

Pure Cardio

Well, I should have been doing this:

But, instead, I decided to do this:

Running is therapy for me. Yesterday was really tough, and I had a hard time falling and staying asleep last night. I had dusted my alarm in advance, knowing that I would be in no shape for a 6am INSANITY workout. I figured that if I felt better later, I could always do it over nap time.

I was actually pretty tired yet and should have laid down, but my back was hurting me so bad that I wouldn't have slept anyway.

So I opted for a 5 mile run. I made pretty good time - less than an hour. I didn't wear my new kicks, as they are far from broken in enough for trail running. But I was free of my knee brace and concentrated on that mid-foot strike that is supposed to cure my ills. :)

Tomorrow - back to INSANITY.

Day 8

Cardio Power & Resistance

I am starting to see an increase in agility in these workouts. My high knees aren't so low, and my power jumps are starting to resemble a jump, rather than a sorry attempt! I also learned a valuable lesson today.

I can't catch my breath while standing on my head.

It's true.

During the last sequence of intervals, we do Walking Push ups followed by Floor Sprints for the last two sets. I'm pretty winded by the time we get to the floor and got a little nervous when I couldn't catch my breath in a push-up position. No worries, all it takes is dropping my knees and sucking wind for a few seconds to recover.

INSANE.

Tomorrow is the workout that even scares Shaun T. During the stretch, he says that he's "Gettin' scared for what's to come, y'all." Pure Cardio - no breaks - all INSANITY.

Day 7

Rest Day

I had grand plans of running today - but I stayed up way to late last night, our 2yo son had a Mommy episode for about an hour around 4am, and dog-gone it - I was just to tired.

This is a good time to go over the Elite Nutrition Plan that comes along with the INSANITY program. I can appreciate the sane advice of this program - choose lean meats, whole grains and lots of fruits and veggies. Limit the candy and junk and NO alcohol. Pretty basic.

It uses the Harris Benedict Equation to calculate your BMR. That number is then multiplied by 1.7 (assuming 6 "hard exercise" days per week) to arrive at your calorie intake needed to maintain. Subtract 500 if you want to loose weight, add 300 if you want to gain.

Mine looks like this:

BMR = 1500

1500 x 1.7 = 2550

2550 - 500 = 2050

The idea, then, is to eat 5 equal calorie meals per day. So, for me, this would be 5 x 400kcal meals each day. I have messed around with my intake enough to know that 2000 calories per day will NOT help me loose weight. So, I put it right around 1500 with a little room for a case of the hungries now and then. I eat 300 calories at each sitting, making sure to count my Powerade and Recovery drink (ahem...chocolate milk).

I did take a cursory glance at the scale today. After some salty snack indulgence this week, the scale said nothing has changed. No worries. I know that I need to start pushing more water during the day and stay away from the pretzels, etc after dinner.

I plan to report my weight and measurements next week when I complete the 2nd Fit Test. Until then - I will be here "Digging Deeper" and getting fitter!

Day 6

Plyometric Cardio Circuit

This was the second time for this workout. This also is the Day 2 workout. I was less afraid of this workout since I knew what was coming. At least there are BREAKS! Read my full breakdown from Day 2, HERE. I didn't feel like crying - this time. Overall, I think I am already seeing increased agility. I've been so incredibly hungry lately, that I hope I'm losing a little poundage to! My core is so sore that my belly has just got to be decreasing, right? Right!?!

Day 6 is the last day before a total Rest Day. I think I will get up early and go for a nice, slow run tomorrow.

Or maybe I will sleep in.

Day 5

Pure Cardio

Oh. My. Goodness.

This workout started out just like the other ones. The 9 minute warm up consisted of several moves (jogs, butt-kicks, heismans, high knees, etc.) repeated and sped up three times. That was followed by a 6 minute stretching routine. The previous workouts follow the warm up model with 30sec water breaks in between each set.

I noticed there was 25 minutes left on the count down timer when the stretch ended. As we went in to the first set of the cardio portion I felt pretty good. As time ticked on and we continued to "Dig Deeper" I kept waiting for the 30sec water break.

There was none.

Even the people *in the video* were taking breaks and unable to finish all of the reps before we switched (immediately) to the next exercise. With 10 minutes left, the only thing that spurned me on was the hope that the cool down was about 5 minutes long. The last move was burpees...I could not make myself *jump* back into plank - but I walked it. I did keep moving the whole time, but modified towards the end.

I know there is a lot of hype around this workout series. It's supposed to be really tough, and they show sweaty people working out. I'm sure you think that some of that is contrived, like TV often is. Well, I'm here to tell you - it's ALL REAL. If you are even considering doing these workouts, I would caution you to seriously access your fitness level beforehand. I ran a half marathon earlier this month and it's kicking MY butt. I'm SO tired today...one more day and then we get a full rest day.

Day 4

Cardio Recovery

I was ever so looking forward to a day marked "recovery." On Monday I did my Insanity workout in the morning and an hour Yoga class in the evening. On Tuesday I did my Insanity workout in the morning and then decided to run 3 miles on the treadmill at the YMCA while waiting for my son to finish baseball practice.

My cardio really needed some recovering!

This workout starts out with some yoga style stretching then moves on to some plank, lunge and squat series. I did work up a sweat with all the instruction to "get lower, hold and pulse." Ugh. There was a nice stretch series at the end and overall it was only 33 minutes. Not bad.

Before

This is me. Glowing red eyes and all - hey, not a bad photo for a 9 year old. I don't do the bra top photos... my belly has told me repeatedly that she's not going anywhere, so why show you before and after? If I send in my before and after photos, I will get a free INSANITY t-shirt. Woooo....

Day 3

Cardio Power and Resistance

And here we have a horrible picture after a horrible workout. I could not properly convey the amount of sweat dripping from my hair/nose/chin but you get the idea.

Cardio Power and Resistance started out with a similar 10 minute warm up, followed by 6 or so minutes of stretching. It's still a little weird to stretch for that long, that far in to a workout - but technically, those first 10 minutes ARE a warm up. I guess.

There was a lot more jumping in this workout - using your own body weight as resistance to tone your legs. I don't have a problem with squats and kicks - but this white girl CAN'T jump. Or, rather, "I currently struggle with" jumping. Not much air for me, but I keep trying.

We had some walking and inverted push ups, some triceps dips (one-legged as well) and some crazy Ball Tricep Dips. Hard to explain that one - but suffice it to say that I can feel all of this in my shoulders already.

Tomorrow is Cardio Recovery...maybe a little break!?

Day 2

Plyometric Cardio Circuit - 40 minutes

This workout was amazingly difficult. I'm used to running for hours - and sort of scoffed at the short duration of this workout. By the last 10 minutes I was thanking the Lord that it was almost over.

The warm up was 10 minutes of running in place, jumping jacks, Heismans (tires), and butt-kicks. It starts out slow and you repeat (hence "circuit") going faster each time. Following the warm up - which had me drenched in sweat - was 10 minutes of stretching. Oh what a relief! I've never done stretching that far in to a workout, but it was welcome!

The rest of this workout is just as it sounds. Repeating circuits of plyometric moves (squat jumps, tires, jumping jacks, butt-kicks, burpees, prison cell push ups) all done for two minutes with a 30 second break.

I pushed myself so hard. I can't imagine trying harder. I've run for hours on end and NEVER pushed through pain like this. In the last 10 minutes I nearly cried, but I didn't quit. I was so glad when this was over.

Seriously.

Insane.

Day 1 & Fit Test

Day 1 of Insanity leads you in completing your first Fit Test. Different than P90X, Insanity has the Fit Test as a workout day every 2 weeks, and there is a DVD to lead you through it versus a list of moves to complete every 30 days. It takes about 30 minutes, and I was honestly dripping with sweat afterward.

I felt pretty good about how many reps I could do as a baseline. Each move was "to failure" during a 60 second period. I did the moves as fast as I could and made it 45 seconds with most and 60 with a few. I struggled with the Power Jumps because my knee was being a big wuss. I hope that taking some time off of running will help.

Starting numbers on Day 1:

Weight - 163.0

Body Fat % - 34.5

Hips - 39.5

Waist - 33.5

Personally - I don't really care about my bicep, thigh, chest or neck measurements. If they get smaller - yay - if they get stronger, more cut, yay.

Fit Test Results Day 1:

Switch Kicks - 35

Power Jacks - 34

Power Knees - 57

Power Jumps - 20

Globe Jumps - 6

Suicide Jumps - 14

Push Up Jacks - 35

Low Plank Oblique - 46

I will post a "before" picture later. Today is Mother's Day so we are off...church, baseball practice, volleyball game...I've already yelled at everybody - so my day is at least normal. *sigh*

Mission Accomplished

Lincoln Half Marathon 5/1/11. Chip time - 2:39:22!