Insanity Workout Day 128: Bad Week, Good Week, Bad Week…Good Week?

5-12-10: Curses. Another bad week of Insanity workouts. Though, I did maintain relatively healthy food consumption. Yes, if I can eat like I did for the past week, I will be healthy…and happy as the meals I make I do enjoy and I do not completely abandon the super-evil yet super-delicious items. Actually, while I have mentioned it before I feel the need to mention again that I have become extremely addicted to Cream of Wheat. I used to always have this as a kid. Then, from when I was about 12 to about 31, I did not have it at all. I gave it a whirl a month or two ago and remembered its magical powers. Cream of Wheat with a gob of peanut butter and a fair amount of honey (or chocolate chips if I have been a good boy). Fantastic. Yes, while initially I was saving this deliciousness for weekend breakfasts, now I struggle to not have it when I get home from work for dinner. Cream of Wheat, I salute you!

I could give excuses why this past week was not great for workouts, but Shaun T hates excuses. He tells me “when an excuse will give you endless endurance and a sculpted body from the gods, use it. Otherwise be silent or I will destroy you for your insolence.” So, in the end I only did three workouts. This is painful. One more workout makes it an okay week, but it didn’t happen. Worse, two of the “no workout” days were Saturday and Sunday. That just can’t happen. Those have to be the automatic days. That could have turned a poor three workout week into a brilliant five workout week. Disaster.

So the week consisted of Plyro, Pure Cardio/Cardio Abs, and Plyro. I hate not getting a Power and Resistance workout in. Possibly the most painful of the workouts (other than Recovery…I have to start throwing in a Recovery at some point), there is the obvious benefit of getting stronger for the other workouts or future attempts at the Power workout. Still, this just means that Power will be the first workout done next week.

I made it through the warm-up again. I now seem to be able to get through the warm-up once a week. Not there yet, but soooooo much closer now. Before I used to breakdown and cry during every warm-up. Now I’ve found that I can continue doing the workout while crying. Much more efficient.

Pure Cardio was an interesting beast this time. At the five minute mark I had nothing left. I’ve said that before, but this time it was brutal. I believe I must have malfunctioned and had to reboot. All I know is that it was the worst last five minutes I’ve ever had during this workout. He gives a warning during Pure Cardio at about the five minute mark. “Mountain Climbers” are coming. They came and I was defenseless.
Luckily stretching gave me time to recover and I was able to push through the Abs portion. I feel it might have been fatigue/diet related that caused this tomfoolery. A poor sleep and limited calories the night before which the morning shake could not offset.

The Plyometrics workouts went all right. Still wiped when it comes time to do the “Ski Abs” and “In and Outs” (both high plank drills that follow a push-up drill). I think there is going to be a slight delay in conquering these drills. I think my arms need to get stronger. The problem is that by the time I reach any arms related exercise in any of the workouts, I’m already exhausted, so the cardio aspect sometimes stops me before the arm pain does. Plus the legs hurt in those last two drills as well. Huh. They managed to pick two very brutal last exercises for the workout, focusing on every area that, by that time, should be too sore too continue. Shaun T is an evil genius. To combat this, I think I may need to work on some “extra credit” workout assignments. Simple exercises, such as simply doing a bunch of push-ups twelve hours after the last workout and before the next one. Still, this is tricky. One, it isn’t cardio, which is not the Insanity Workout way. Two, this is not a Shaun T sanctioned workout. He may get angry. I may need to scrap this idea.

I need to get back to consistently doing five workouts a week. It all comes down to the weekend. Two workouts must be done over the weekend or the world is doomed. The fate of the world rests in my hands…can I hold off Shaun T from unleashing Armageddon just a little bit longer?

Insanity Workout Day 121: Shaun T’s Web

5-5-10: Weeks ago I had befriended a spider in my basement. His name was Shaun T. In his fun little way he would leave me encouraging messages like “Amazing Pig” or “Super Pig”. Ahhh…that Shaun T. What a kidder. One day, I noticed he went missing. That is the way of the spider. Death is part of life (even if death in this case is a brutal search and destroy mission by my sister). Thankfully, a new spider has taken his place. I call him Shaun T Jr.

This was a phenomenal week for the Insanity workout. Five workouts completed (2 Plyometrics, 2 Power and Resistance, 1 Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs). Yes, five. This is back to the original standard that Shaun T demands (though, still without the Recovery workout). This includes a Tuesday night workout followed by a Wednesday morning workout, even with only 5 hours of sleep.

Nutritionally, I am back. I had one pop and one piece of cake on Saturday for Rich’s b-day party, but other than that I was solid. Cream of Wheat with peanut butter and honey (or chocolate chips, which are oddly not much different calorie wise than honey) has become one of my favorite meals. Another favorite is Turkey burgers made on the George Foreman Grill with Garlic and Chili powder, topped with cheese and BBQ sauce and served on these hamburger bun/pita hybrid thingies. Fascinating bread advances they’ve made over the years.

My mallet finger has not recovered. I believe I reinjured it when helping my brother move some stuff a couple of weeks back. Since I’ve declared myself a doctor, I tested the mobility and it had not improved. I have pushed my second opinion doctor’s appointment back to two weeks from now. It is still annoying.

The temperature change has made for interesting workouts. I thought I sweat a lot before. Yikes. The gallons of sweat all over the floor are a good reminder to drink lots of water the rest of the day. Yes, days go much better when I am able to double my water intake in the day after a workout. Water is very, very important. It cures just about everything. I WOULD be a great doctor.

But, I know you are all really curious how the workouts went. I mean, it has been a while since I’ve done five workouts in a week. Did I overdo it? Hell no! In fact, in a bizarre, unfathomable, confusing twist, this morning, following the yesterday night workout and limited sleep, was the second time I was able to make it through the warm-up. By the end I do not remember ever being so exhausted. And afterwards, throughout the day, I definitely felt very sore. It is good to be sore. I have not felt this sore in a while. My muscles most certainly can now hurt people good.

This follows one of my best Power and Resistance workouts to date from yesterday. Nearly made it through the first two iterations of the Power and Resistance warm-up, and definitely felt improvement throughout the rest of the exercises. I really pushed a lot harder than usual these past two days. Keeping the form…yes the form is essential. I can definitely see how injuries could occur if you tried to push through with bad form. Too many crazy movements could hurt the back and knees. Know your limits. But, yes, I’d have to say that these past two workouts were the best ones yet. I have them right where I want them.

Certain exercises still make me wonder. For instance, moving pushups. I get what they do, but I always think and hope that, while increasing strength, these, and exercises like this one, should be a nice cardio break. Unfortunately, the whole idea of the program is insanity, so even these strength-building exercises are to be done at the maximum hellish pace you can handle. Egads.

I apologize for that last week. This site is not the reason for my dedication, just a means to express it. I have to continually stay focused outside of this blog-world. Depending on readership to motivate yourself to workout and stay healthy is a poor way of doing things. You have to do it for yourself. It shan’t happen again. Completely unacceptable. I just have to focus and go. Look in his eyes and go. Insanity all the way!!!

Insanity Workout Day 114: Pizza:Insanity Ratio Got Out Of Control

4-29-10: Bad week…bad week for Insanity. Bad week for eating. Bad, bad, bad. But…not terrible.

I did three workouts in that week long period. I want to be more in the 5-6 range, but really I hope to never drop below 4. In that respect, the week was definitely below average. Partial laziness and too many deadlines and timed events did me in. When there is nothing scheduled at work or home, things are much easier. When there are many friendly gatherings (every day from last Thursday to Sunday), coupled with work meetings, things get to be trickier. Still, no excuses. I need to re-find my resolve. And I believe that starts with eating.

So, I had way too much pop/pizza/Doritos/cookies/Chinese over the past week. Way, way too much. I find that working out and eating form a symbiotic relationship for me. Neglecting one adversely affects the motivation of the other. However, forming discipline around one also tends to prompt a desire for discipline for the other. Thus, I have eaten well Monday thru today and have worked out twice in that time period. The focus on diet (no going out for lunch this week) has helped me focus on the workout as well. The pop will be eliminated from the party atmosphere once again. Sometimes it just seems right to have a Coke when sitting around with friends. Somehow the talking must make my mouth dry so I must drink more. Large quantities of water are drunk, but pop sneaks in there as well. Clearly my only recourse is to stop talking to people.

Weight has magically remained constant throughout this past week. While that is good news, I should also use it as motivation. What would have happened if I HAD worked out and ate better this past week. I would be slamming. I am not slamming…and it is all my fault.

Probably only one more week left for the splint on the mallet finger. Though, I may test it out tonight. If Dr. Dave thinks it looks good tonight, I can probably cancel that last doctor’s appointment and de-smellify the finger. Man it smells BAD.

The exterminator came the other day, just to spray. My spider friend, Shaun T, was an unfortunate casualty. I was warned that there might be collateral damage. To get the ants, the spiders would have to be killed as well. Sad really. The spiders had done quite a good job on the ants…just not quite good enough.

How did the workouts go? Well, I did one of each. All three of them have things in common. I find myself completely exhausted by the end. The mental motivation of the last iteration never is quite enough to offset the physical fatigue. Still, I felt I had my best Power and Resistance workout today. Exhaustion and spitting sweat. I felt good as I started right after mowing the lawn after work and still managed not to blaspheme. Definitely too sore at certain parts to continue. Soon. Soon, I will get over that hump. There is going to be that point where my reduction in weight, increase in strength and endurance pass each other, where my weight is no longer sufficient to provide an impossible challenge, resulting in increased reps and an even more intense cardio.

The Pure Cardio and Plyometrics each were neither extraordinary or abysmal. Still falling somewhere in the third iteration of the warm-up. Still working on the 10 second rule. Many times I have pushed it to the five second rule. However, near the end, it becomes the 15 second rule and the breaks come more frequently.

Well, that’s all I have for today. Good luck all! You can do it!

Insanity Workout Day 107: You Better Not Cry. You Better Not Pout. Shaun T Is Watching.

4-21-10: Shaun T has many spies and they present themselves in unsuspected ways at unsuspected times in unsuspected locations. For instance, this past weekend I was in Kalamazoo helping my brother move (still Kalamazoo). We went to Red Robins for linner (or dunch). I was going to order myself a chocolate shake when one of Shaun T’s minions lashed out with uncontrollable fury and demanded that I stop. It was my sister. She has been converted to the dark side and Shaun T is the Emperor. Blood is thicker than water, sure, but I guess it is not thicker than chocolate. No shake was ordered. A temporary moment of weakness, thwarted by a minion. Shaun T is always watching.

From the dawn of time (3.5 months ago), Shaun T has slept 23 hours a day. He wakes for one hour to wreak havoc upon the Earth, before going back into hibernation. This one hour causes pain to all who see him. I was lucky enough to see him four times this past week. With one day of moving, this turned out to be a good week. Unfortunately, while he is always watching and has minions everywhere, I may or may not have been able to still have about two bags of Doritos, 12 pieces of pizza, 2 Cokes and 2 Pepsis. While this certainly was not one of my better weeks for eating, it sure was delicious. On a positive note, my weight remained constant. It is much like the good ole days where I could eat whatever I wanted, SO LONG AS I exercised regularly. I have never been so regular (insert fiber joke here). Still right at 210, with about a 35 waist. The year end goal was originally about 195 and 32, so I’m at a very good pace right now, even with the joys of evil eating. I just need the workouts to be maintained.

Blah. The warm-up is still blah. Since fully completing it the one time, I have yet to make it through a second time. I know right were the problem is. The third iteration of the Heisman. This is my wall. If I can make it over this wall, I will be able to force myself to make it through the last two minutes of the warm-up without breaking. Not easily. I will be gasping for air and be sore as a monkey, but knowing that there is only two minutes left will be just motivation enough to risk collapsing in death to make it through (thank goodness I do not have a heart rate monitor as this would surely only discourage me from trying to push through). So where am I? Either at the start of the Heisman or halfway through. Sometimes with 10 seconds left of the Heisman I say “screw it” and take a break. Oh yes. I am close. Yet, so far away. And, as usual, the warm-up for the power and resistance is overly brutal and I haven’t even made it over the moat yet to have a chance at getting over the wall. Another month perhaps? Plenty of time. No rush. Hopefully I will be ready for month 2 at the six month mark. :)

A quick note about Cardio Abs. I mentioned last time that Shaun T fails to congratulate us at the end of this workout. This is not true. He does give an “awesome job” at the end of the workout, but before the final stretching. It is that kind of encouragement that helps me get through. I still haven’t added this to any of the other workouts other than Pure Cardio. This is due to being completely exhausted after every workout (including Pure Cardio) and not feeling like doing after any of them. I only do it after Pure Cardio because Shaun T demands it on the schedule. To add it to other workouts would require a good deal of masochism that I may not have in me…YET!

I have found some extra internal motivation deep down within of late. While I can not define what it is, I do know I have been getting up early the past few days. Getting up early is the key piece of being able to do a workout every day. I just have to be mindful to not let the weekends completely mess me up (though, this past weekend I did have a 6:30 AM bedtime on one of the days…Gears of War 2 is a fun game and supersedes (apparently) sleep.

I find my attitude during Pure Cardio to be a problem. Since it is 15 exercises long and I have, by now, memorized the order with which each exercise comes, I have learned to dread each upcoming exercise moments before we switch to them. I need to convince myself to be “happy” about the upcoming exercises to be able to push through. I cannot be thinking “oh man…stance jacks are next…I should just give up” (stance jacks are exercise three). Yes, a better attitude during the workouts as opposed to the usual “I am in pain, kill me, kill Shaun T, kill someone, please let there be a power shortage” mentality might be just what the doctor ordered. Feigned excitement will be a theme for the upcoming week.

I find that Power and Resistance workout and, specifically, many of the exercises designed to rupture the quads, are not as bad anymore. Let me be perfectly clear. They are bad. They are painful. I still need many breaks for many of them. Still…they are not AS bad as they used to be. This is encouraging. I will use this thought as part of the “feigned excitement” theme this week.

Good ole Plyometrics Cardio Circuit workout. What can I say? I enjoy parts of it. At times I feel I will make it through the whole workout. At other times I wonder if I will ever make it through the whole workout. I feel a little more effort and I have it. I feel that the body is angry and refuses to push through. Stupid body. It’s interesting. I typically have energy to complete the last two minutes of the workout, which is Shaun T’s most violent part of all the workouts (jabs, uppercuts, “the attack”). The problem is that I have this energy because my last attempt at the last two exercises of the last iteration of the second set of exercises is, how you say, not the best. The last two exercises are Ski Abs and In and Outs. I seem to mishear him every time, thinking he says “Sleep Abs” and “Sleep and Sleep”. I probably get 10 seconds out of a possible 30 for each of these exercises. Thus, the energy to finish strong. So, I finish strong…but I was cheating. I am such a cheater.

Well, good luck all and good Insanity!

Insanity Workout Day 100: P3 – Pure, Power, Plyo

4-14-10: This was inevitable. Writing a daily blog about the same workout program every day for 100, 200, 300 days starts to become a daunting task. The blogs just start sounding the same, without any constructive new updates. Almost as if trying to fulfill and obligation as quickly as possible. If they do sound clever, I probably spent more time than I wanted to write it. To that end, I will probably now try to limit myself to writing two times a week. I fell that this will offer sufficient balance between finding something creative to say, without beating my head against the desk. Also, since I find the writing and people reading to be another good source of motivation, twice a week should allow for that motivation to be maintained. I apologize to the millions of diehard readers who long for my daily post.

I also feel that it is important to explain why you have not seen me writing about the “Fitness Test”, which, according to the schedule, should be performed once every two weeks. The answer to this is simple. I do not need it to demonstrate my progress. How do I know that I’m progressing? I look better. I feel better. I have more energy, better endurance. I’m down 20-25 pounds. Everything is going according to plan. Since I know that I am progressing, why waste a day on the weakest of the workouts? So that I can have numerical data showing that I can do 2 extra globe jumps now? Don’t get me wrong. I love numerical data, and not being able to make an optimal graph across time will certainly depress me in the future. I just need the other workouts more. Now, if I get back to the time where I was consistently doing the workout every day? Yes, using one day on a fitness test will come back into play. This time will come again. I just need to get my work days back in order.

As for getting my work days back in order, being that today was 100, I managed to get out of bed at 5:40. Just need to do this another 10 or so times in a row to make it a habit again. To celebrate Day 100, I decided to rejoice with Shaun T and do the Pure Cardio/Cardio Ab combo. It was very festive. I was sweating and dying. Shaun T was laughing and screaming. Good times were had by all.

I am consistently making it to the third iteration of the warm-up for Pure Cardio and Plyo. Getting better in the Power, but have not as yet made as significant a leap. To really make it through, I have to start doing the workout every day again. Maybe today will be a sufficient springboard to get back into it. Though I worry about the 9:30 start time for the Red Wings tonight. This could be a tricky fish.

I feel I am getting better at all of the actual workouts. Still have to be careful with some of the wacky motions because of the stupid Mallet finger (three weeks perhaps?), but definitely not being thwarted by them. One odd thing I’ve noticed is that Shaun T does not say “Good job” at the end of Cardio Abs. It makes me very sad. Like I have disappointed him. To try to make him happy, I passed on free sundaes today at work. My explanation to all was that “Shaun T was always watching.” I’m sure everyone knew what I meant.

Insanity Workout Day 93: Pure and Not Simple – Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs

4-7-10: Today was another fun workout. It kind of reminded me of another workout I’ve done before. Ah yes…It was when I did the Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs workout a billion times previously.

I had a pretty good warm-up…not great. Still, so long as I make it somewhere within the third iteration, I feel good. I was still fairly sleep-deprived going in to the workout today. I can always tell when things are not going to be as easy as usual (which is very, very hard) when I feel like sleeping when I’m putting on my shoes. I pushed through.

I tried the 10 second rule for the actual workout. It did not work as well as usual. Sure, I forced myself to start up, but I noticed myself taking a few too many more breaks. Ah well. I still like the rule. There are also a few exercises in this workout and the following Cardio Abs that I have stopped doing do to the mallet finger. Just too much motion with the arms. Unfortunately, all three seem to relate to jumping ability, which makes me doubtful that I will be able to slam immediately after the splint comes off. It may take a couple of extra weeks.

About the mallet finger. I went to the doctor today and he said it looks good, we tested it and saw some limited mobility that wasn’t there three weeks ago, and he said it should be good to go within four weeks. With this, I can safely conclude that the best way to heal a splinted mallet finger is to workout like crazy, play basketball and ultimate Frisbee. I am certain the complete lack of rest I gave it contributed to the healing process.

Insanity Workout Days 86-92: I’m BACK! 90 Day Recap

3-31-10 to 4-6-10: The Story so far…

Cardio Wars V: Shaun T Strikes Back

So…like bad things were happening in the galaxy and stuff. And there was this guy who wanted to do good things and stuff. And there was this weird breathing guy named Shaun T who liked evil things, but also maybe there was this good part in him deep down.

My goal this year (and for future years as well) was to get into better shape, primarily cardio wise, and to eat better. Eating better has been easier than expected. Of course I have plenty of days where the evil Shaun T would not approve, but this is tempered by the rest of those weeks where many of those pesky obstacles of the past like junk food, pop, sweets, and microwave meals are now avoided. One bad eating day a week will certainly be offset by the six primarily good ones. Well…it has to anyway because there will probably be one bad eating day a week for the foreseeable future. Though, always cloudy the future is.

As far as getting into better shape, the tool I have primarily used is the “Insanity Workout” created by Fitness Guru and world renowned dance choreographer Shaun T. Until this past week it was a rarity to go more than one day off in a row from this program. Now I sense some of you panicking. “Dave? Did you miss more than one day in a row? DAVE? How many days did you miss??? DAVE, WHAT HAS SHAUN T DONE TO YOU???!!!” No, dear readers, nothing terrifying has happened (though Shaun T did set fire to my house, but I thought that to be a mild retaliation and, honestly, only borderline insane). Simply, the Insanity workout, though my primary form of exercise, is actually secondary to any other, more fun, form.

For instance, last Wednesday night, I played, mallet finger and all (the adversity!!!), in my 30+ basketball championship game (we won…yeeha!). If I had been able to consistently play basketball after work every day, I would have never started Insanity. Since I know that I find other things to do after work, morning exercise became more important, and a DVD home workout became even more logical. That being said, if an opportunity arises to do something else instead of Insanity, I will jump all over the chance.

Last Thursday I went to Lansing for my friend Sarz’s annual 30-90 hour birthday party. I played a bunch of Frisbee with him the first night out. Plenty of sprinting involved in our version of street Frisbee. Shaun T watch me play and he was okay with it.

On Friday, we played Ultimate Frisbee, which is, essentially, Frisbee Cardio or Insanity Frisbee. The workout that Shaun T does not include in his box set. About two hours of crazy sprinting, cutting, jumping, and a little dancing. I was exhausted. And sore. Any time you can mix those two ingredients together, Shaun T is pleased.

I also learned how much the stretching that Shaun T forces upon me twice every workout helps keep one from getting sore. Correct. I did not stretch at all for either day of Frisbee. This put me in no condition (regardless of the time constraints that made a workout impossible anyway) to do a fun workout on Saturday or Sunday. Perfect time to try the not stretching, when I couldn’t do the workout anyway. I agree (finally) that stretching is very, very important.

Monday I started up again with a nice Plyometrics workout. Did not make it entirely through the warm-up, but felt stronger in the later part of the workout. Definitely exhausted from the weekend and still a bit sore. It felt good to see Shaun T again. I had missed him.

Today, I took another day off. I feel like this was a wise move. An attempt to get a little more sleep before jumping back in head first on Wednesday.

Food-wise, this was not a Shaun T approved weekend. Three cokes, pizza, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups for one meal, Entemann’s donuts, a couple cookies and Doritos for another meal, Mongolian BBQ, Reese’s Pieces for another meal, more cookies, more Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, a caramel egg, and finally some pasta and cream of wheat to try offsetting everything. An awesome weekend of eating…though Shaun T weeps.

That being said, I still find myself a little bit down weight-wise from a week before last Friday despite all of this tomfoolery. Still feeling good. Still feeling active. I’m back. INSANITY ALL THE WAYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!

Insanity Workout Day 85: Warm-up 56, David 1 Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs Official Workout 64

3-30-10: Hey! I finished the warm-up today. It was almost TOO easy. Well, that’s not entirely true and I would not be surprised if a repeat performance does not take place tomorrow. Focusing on today though, I did it…and it felt good. Perhaps my 1-2-3 Heismans and High Knees were not as insanely fast as I would have liked, but it certainly was not a cheap slowdown attempt at recovering. It was still with some good speed.

It did take me a little bit longer to start stretching (I had to catch my breath before the first part of the stretching which is to take four breaths). I did get through it though and the workout was not ridiculously bad. I stuck with the ten second rule for at least half of the workout. Then it felt like the breaks were getting a little bit longer.

Oh yeah…did I mention I beat the warm-up today? Yeeha!

Insanity Workout Day 84: Screw Recovery

3-29-10: Okay, maybe that title is a bit harsh. Still, I am finding that a second day off per week seems reasonable. Five workouts a week are pretty good I wager. At some point I might jump back to six or start doing other things on the off days, but for now I am pretty comfortable with five.

For those wondering what Cardio Pong was which I mentioned a couple posts ago. It is essentially ping pong played with incredible amounts of enthusiasm, created by my sister. Imagine jumping up and down, raising your arms up and down, etc. after every time the ball is hit. Her methods were insane…Shaun T would approve…Thus Cardio Pong was created.

Insanity Workout Day 83: Hello To You Mr. Plyo. Hello Mr. Metrics. Metrics, Meet Plyo. Plyo. Metrics.

3-28-10: Yes, I do like the ten second rule. It gives me mid-workout motivation. It also manages my breaks to reasonable times. I never feel great when jumping back into the workout after breaks, so why delay the inevitable.

The warm-up was reasonable. Not as far as the previous two times of this variation, but I also felt I pushed harder in certain areas. By Day…200, I should have the warm-up down no problem.

The ten second rule caused much pain in the actual workout. Yet, it got me back in quicker doing the miserable exercises. I feel I am at a 70% complete clip for the first cycle of exercises. Probably at 50% for the second three iteration cycle of exercises. Next Plyometrics I will push for an 80%, 60% breakdown.

Ahh…tomorrow is Recovery. Odds on me actually doing it this week?