7-10-10: Wow! Has it really already been over a month since my last post? Work has been a bit draining, so writing, even fun writing, hasn’t seemed as much fun. Even still, my fans, particularly my sister, demand that I write updates. Therefore I have no choice…I must comply.
Well, how have I been doing, you ask? I have held firm…even with the sometimes crazy work hours and the working from home. While sometimes having terrible 3 times/week, I still have managed a few 5/times a week as well. I would have to guess that I am still at a 4 times/week average. This is good, not great. I need to get into the 5-6 times/week range. Currently, work is going to make that extraordinarily difficult. Actually, I’ve found myself missing the morning workouts far too often. Too many times I am doing post-work workouts, which, as avid readers might know, is no good for me. The reason for the Insanity workout was so that I could have a morning workout because too many things post-workout are too distracting (tv, movies, friends, sitting in a chair doing absolutely nothing). So, for the sake of my exercise routine…and thus, all of mankind….I must get back to morning workouts.
The eating plan has been foiled many times. Even the discipline that I had been following so well of taking half of “eat out” meals home has been faltering. And there have been a lot of eating out events. 4th of July, birthday celebrations, barbeques, and lots of eating out at work. I have had too much pop as well. I have tried to offset this, with eating really well the rest of the time. And, quite honestly, while maybe eating out a bit too many times and having to get past another caffeine addiction, I’m not far off from where I want to be. I still want to have fun eating events. I love to eat. This is inevitable. But, I still need to be mindful of the plan. A dark soul demands it.
Chapter 2: The Dark Soul
In foulness that is hard to imagine, creeps a creature so vile, the skin burns upon meeting it. The tendons ache. The muscles explode with pain. The sweat of pure terror flows freely from all pores, burning the eyes and filling the mouth with molten salt.
I thought I was free of this soul. I thought I could have a chocolate shake here, a chocolate shake there. I thought the missed workouts would not be noticed. I thought I had beaten this soul. I thought he would remain beaten.
The soul of Shaun T can never be beaten. I know that now. The torture he puts my body through is proof. He never truly left. He had always been tugging at the mind, digging his supernatural claws into my brain. Madness, such a distant thought much of the time, became the only thing I could think about. Was I mad? Am I mad? Am I going mad? Has the world gone mad? Does the evil and dark Shaun T have mercy? Will he forgive my insolence. He is now putting me through the trials.
So, my brother has done a couple workouts with me. He did very well. While he is doing some kettle ball workout, I was still impressed with his first attempts at the Insanity workout. He was, of course, beaten. As was I, even in my 100 and whatever attempt. A lot of fun. Greg Lalone also has done a couple workouts with me. Not bad in his first attempt, but Shaun T definitely beat him in subsequent trials. Shaun T can be an evil monkey.
Finally, how are things shaping up for me at the mid year point? I am in pretty good shape, and staying at a comfortable weight of about 208. I could still stand to work on the abs a little bit more, but if this is where I stayed on my Insanity journey, then I would be satisfied. Health is the most important part. And I think I’ve accomplished a healthier life game plan. As far as dunking? I’m not there yet. I haven’t played basketball in a while. Actually, I am itching to play some sort of sport to see the difference Insanity has made, but those opportunities just have not presented themselves.
And a special thanks to my sister for pestering me to write something. Yay Sister!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 149: David Johnny Five
6-2-10: It is always a bit frustrating when there is an extra day in the weekend, yet somehow every hour seems to be accounted for…and this from the world of a single guy…and from an Accountant (ba dum bum). So, while every day off should be a “gimme” in terms of fitting a workout in, I find it really does not turn out that way all that often. Still, not a terrible week. Still got five workouts in, which is great, but know, in my heart of hearts, how close I was to getting that coveted sixth workout in. Ah well.
Since climbing over the warm-up wall, I have yet to look back. Completing the power and resistance warm-up, still resists me, but I feel myself pushing a little bit harder and going a little bit faster for the other warm-ups. The warm-up is now my beotch. Never easy, always breathing heavy, with torrential downpours of sweat, I still will never go back to not being able to complete the warm-up.
The Pure Cardio workout intrigues me most. How am I going to get to that point where I can get through those fifteen minutes after the warmup and stretching? I barely get through any of the two minute segments of the interval training, and at least there are breaks in those ones. I feel I just need to make a conscious effort to get a little bit farther each time. Should I slow down a bit? Perhaps that is the trick. Go more for continuous motion rather than crazy intensity.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I am Shaun T and I say NO! Have you lost your mind puny human? Is the name of my program “Happy Comfy Slow and Steady”? It is Insanity and you will bow down to its awesome power. You will give 120%, 150% of the time.
Other than the workout, the meals were fun over the weekend. Got some delicious pizza one day, delicious ribs that Rich made (seven hour cook time) another day, and awesome chicken, sausage, brownies, etc. at the parents house another day. I tried my best to modify the other meals to make these not seem like such a blatant disregard to the meal plan and I think I succeeded.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I am Shaun T and you are a FAILURE! You think you are fixed it by eating less your other meals?!!! I will eat your soul puny human!
Next week will be a good week. I can feel it!
Since climbing over the warm-up wall, I have yet to look back. Completing the power and resistance warm-up, still resists me, but I feel myself pushing a little bit harder and going a little bit faster for the other warm-ups. The warm-up is now my beotch. Never easy, always breathing heavy, with torrential downpours of sweat, I still will never go back to not being able to complete the warm-up.
The Pure Cardio workout intrigues me most. How am I going to get to that point where I can get through those fifteen minutes after the warmup and stretching? I barely get through any of the two minute segments of the interval training, and at least there are breaks in those ones. I feel I just need to make a conscious effort to get a little bit farther each time. Should I slow down a bit? Perhaps that is the trick. Go more for continuous motion rather than crazy intensity.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I am Shaun T and I say NO! Have you lost your mind puny human? Is the name of my program “Happy Comfy Slow and Steady”? It is Insanity and you will bow down to its awesome power. You will give 120%, 150% of the time.
Other than the workout, the meals were fun over the weekend. Got some delicious pizza one day, delicious ribs that Rich made (seven hour cook time) another day, and awesome chicken, sausage, brownies, etc. at the parents house another day. I tried my best to modify the other meals to make these not seem like such a blatant disregard to the meal plan and I think I succeeded.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I am Shaun T and you are a FAILURE! You think you are fixed it by eating less your other meals?!!! I will eat your soul puny human!
Next week will be a good week. I can feel it!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 142: Moby Tree
5-26-10: “From hell’s heart I stab at thee…For hate’s sake…I spit my last breath at thee!” – Khaaan from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, quoting Captain Ahab from Moby Dick.
Ahhh…it was going to be one of the best workout weeks…EVER! Instead it turned into a pretty gosh-darned good week. I completed workouts four days in a row (Thur-Sun), and finished with a workout on Wednesday for a solid five workouts in seven days. The roadblock came on Monday.
All was quiet on Monday. Too quiet. The storms had settled. The clouds had opened. A ray of sunshine illuminated the seas like never before. Yes. Monday, like so many other days, would be a good day to battle Moby Tree. I moved bravely towards my foe, armed with only a shovel and the spirit of a man who had faced insanity, fallen to the brink of despair, but had never blinked.
I would strike the first blow that day. Energy seething through my veins, and an unshakable will helped me drive the shovel down again and again and again. But, Moby Tree had not survived for so long just to fall before my blade so easily. Every strike, every blow, every effort to uproot the mighty Moby Tree was met with fierce resistance and a quiet resolve. My enemy, mocking me, knew that it held the defensive advantage. I knew this. All he had to do was stay still and he would win. I had to find a way to prevent the monster from playing head games with me. I am in great shape (thanks to the wonders of the Insanity workout and world-renowned dancer, choreographer and fitness guru Shaun T) and need but continue my relentless advance while ignoring Moby Tree’s bizarre brand of psychological torture.
Much time has passed. The monster’s tentacles are fierce. They hold to the seas like a thousand anchors. I thought he had been contained, trapped in a plastic circle prison of doom. Alas, this was not to be. I will never know exactly when, but he had broken through his plastic prison long ago to entrench himself to depths I could barely fathom (though certainly less than a fathom).
It is past the hour and a half mark. The shovel whines and threatens to crack with every effort to displace the beast. I stare at the heavens, swearing that the battle will not be lost by me. Moby Tree will not beat me a second time. Blood filled my eyes and with a horrible vengeance I struck down at the tentacles. No more simple displacement. There would be blood tonight. I struck down again and again. A thousand times I struck down. The creature, originally so stoic, writhed in pain, and clinched with so few remaining tentacles to survival.
My arms, near dead to the world, would not continue. I remembered the powerful mantra from the wise man, Shaun T, “you can do it. Focus and go.” I raised the shovel above my head with both arms and crashed it down with the force of a volcanic eruption. The beast wailed, but would not submit. I brought it up again, slowly, energy dissipating, knowing that I had nothing left for the relentless assault of speed from earlier. I only had energy for a few remaining blows, so they must be mighty blows. The shovel, now an extension of my being, slammed to the earth with the power of a thousand meteors. The beast let out its last gasp, and I collapsed. Despite having killed the beast, I now know that neither of us won that day.
As far as the workout was concerned, I now consistently make it through the warm-up. I do not make it through the power and resistance warm-up, but make it through the regular warm-up every time. Excellent progress. I find myself cursing Shaun T less and less during the warm-up, but still at a moderate level during the actual workout.
During Plyometrics, I feel like I am getting really close to making it through the first half of the workout. So close I can taste it. The second half still has my number, but usually only the last two exercises (ski abs and suicide something or others).
Pure Cardio still has its moments, but I still feel light years away from being able to complete this at the level I feel necessary to move on to month 2. Still getting a great workout from it.
Power and Resistance…my old friend. The warm-up makes me very sore still. This makes the rest of the workout oh so fun. While definitely painful, I do feel I am making great progress towards completing this workout as well. Even the second half of the workout is not out of my future vision sight. The moving pushups at the end are brutal, but I can feel myself catching my breath a little bit during them. The floor sprints that follow sap any and all energy I have left, but it’s certainly all in good fun.
Well…good week. Must maintain at least a 4 workout a week average. Though, the fabled seven workouts in a week is not hopelessly out of range, considering this 5.5 (depending on how you view Moby Tree) workout week.
Ahhh…it was going to be one of the best workout weeks…EVER! Instead it turned into a pretty gosh-darned good week. I completed workouts four days in a row (Thur-Sun), and finished with a workout on Wednesday for a solid five workouts in seven days. The roadblock came on Monday.
All was quiet on Monday. Too quiet. The storms had settled. The clouds had opened. A ray of sunshine illuminated the seas like never before. Yes. Monday, like so many other days, would be a good day to battle Moby Tree. I moved bravely towards my foe, armed with only a shovel and the spirit of a man who had faced insanity, fallen to the brink of despair, but had never blinked.
I would strike the first blow that day. Energy seething through my veins, and an unshakable will helped me drive the shovel down again and again and again. But, Moby Tree had not survived for so long just to fall before my blade so easily. Every strike, every blow, every effort to uproot the mighty Moby Tree was met with fierce resistance and a quiet resolve. My enemy, mocking me, knew that it held the defensive advantage. I knew this. All he had to do was stay still and he would win. I had to find a way to prevent the monster from playing head games with me. I am in great shape (thanks to the wonders of the Insanity workout and world-renowned dancer, choreographer and fitness guru Shaun T) and need but continue my relentless advance while ignoring Moby Tree’s bizarre brand of psychological torture.
Much time has passed. The monster’s tentacles are fierce. They hold to the seas like a thousand anchors. I thought he had been contained, trapped in a plastic circle prison of doom. Alas, this was not to be. I will never know exactly when, but he had broken through his plastic prison long ago to entrench himself to depths I could barely fathom (though certainly less than a fathom).
It is past the hour and a half mark. The shovel whines and threatens to crack with every effort to displace the beast. I stare at the heavens, swearing that the battle will not be lost by me. Moby Tree will not beat me a second time. Blood filled my eyes and with a horrible vengeance I struck down at the tentacles. No more simple displacement. There would be blood tonight. I struck down again and again. A thousand times I struck down. The creature, originally so stoic, writhed in pain, and clinched with so few remaining tentacles to survival.
My arms, near dead to the world, would not continue. I remembered the powerful mantra from the wise man, Shaun T, “you can do it. Focus and go.” I raised the shovel above my head with both arms and crashed it down with the force of a volcanic eruption. The beast wailed, but would not submit. I brought it up again, slowly, energy dissipating, knowing that I had nothing left for the relentless assault of speed from earlier. I only had energy for a few remaining blows, so they must be mighty blows. The shovel, now an extension of my being, slammed to the earth with the power of a thousand meteors. The beast let out its last gasp, and I collapsed. Despite having killed the beast, I now know that neither of us won that day.
As far as the workout was concerned, I now consistently make it through the warm-up. I do not make it through the power and resistance warm-up, but make it through the regular warm-up every time. Excellent progress. I find myself cursing Shaun T less and less during the warm-up, but still at a moderate level during the actual workout.
During Plyometrics, I feel like I am getting really close to making it through the first half of the workout. So close I can taste it. The second half still has my number, but usually only the last two exercises (ski abs and suicide something or others).
Pure Cardio still has its moments, but I still feel light years away from being able to complete this at the level I feel necessary to move on to month 2. Still getting a great workout from it.
Power and Resistance…my old friend. The warm-up makes me very sore still. This makes the rest of the workout oh so fun. While definitely painful, I do feel I am making great progress towards completing this workout as well. Even the second half of the workout is not out of my future vision sight. The moving pushups at the end are brutal, but I can feel myself catching my breath a little bit during them. The floor sprints that follow sap any and all energy I have left, but it’s certainly all in good fun.
Well…good week. Must maintain at least a 4 workout a week average. Though, the fabled seven workouts in a week is not hopelessly out of range, considering this 5.5 (depending on how you view Moby Tree) workout week.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 135: The Above-Average Four
5-19-10: Four workouts this week. Should have been five, but was thwarted by laziness. That being said, I missed the Wednesday workout, which means I will be starting Thursday with a workout, which is usually a day off. This means I will be starting next week off right. This means that I will be invincible.
The continued best part about the workouts is my progress on the warm-ups. I made it through the warm-up two times this week (not the power and resistance one which is still pure concentrated evil). Now, I should point out that I may be a tiny bit sneaky sometimes. For instance, through the first iteration of the warm-up when I am transitioning from one exercise to the next, it is instantaneous. The last move of one exercise flows perfectly into the first move of the next exercise without delay. In the third iteration I sometimes come to a complete stop so that I can “get into a good starting position for the next exercise”. Now, at most it is a 2-3 second loss of time, so I can live with it, but I do acknowledge that the final battle will involve flawless transitions. My defense to Shaun T is that transitions while going at max speed can be somewhat dangerous. His response typically includes lightning being shot from his eyes or breathing fire or both.
Aside from Sunday, when I had Chinese (I love General Tso’s (alt. Tao’s) chicken. He must have been a great man), my meals for the week were, again, solid. Water intake has also become intriguing. On some days I now have three thermos’s of water. It is a lot of water, but water fixes everything so the more the merrier.
I got my splint off today. I still have to be careful and the doctor recommends putting a splint on for athletic endeavors and sleeping for three weeks. Still, it is good to know that the tendon has healed. Or is still healing. It still looks crooked. I imagine that this will most likely continue to get better in this last three week period, but I failed to ask the doc any questions about it. That seemed like way too many details.
The actual workouts went okay. I definitely feel closer on all of them. Plyometrics I know I’m getting the closest on. I can make it through the first seven minutes with minimal breaks now. It is when the final 9.5 minutes start that more breaks are needed. Whatever the break situation, I am closer. Where I was wondering if I would ever get to the month two DVDs, now I am certain that within 9-14 months I will graduate to “month 2” of the workout. It will almost be too easy.
The continued best part about the workouts is my progress on the warm-ups. I made it through the warm-up two times this week (not the power and resistance one which is still pure concentrated evil). Now, I should point out that I may be a tiny bit sneaky sometimes. For instance, through the first iteration of the warm-up when I am transitioning from one exercise to the next, it is instantaneous. The last move of one exercise flows perfectly into the first move of the next exercise without delay. In the third iteration I sometimes come to a complete stop so that I can “get into a good starting position for the next exercise”. Now, at most it is a 2-3 second loss of time, so I can live with it, but I do acknowledge that the final battle will involve flawless transitions. My defense to Shaun T is that transitions while going at max speed can be somewhat dangerous. His response typically includes lightning being shot from his eyes or breathing fire or both.
Aside from Sunday, when I had Chinese (I love General Tso’s (alt. Tao’s) chicken. He must have been a great man), my meals for the week were, again, solid. Water intake has also become intriguing. On some days I now have three thermos’s of water. It is a lot of water, but water fixes everything so the more the merrier.
I got my splint off today. I still have to be careful and the doctor recommends putting a splint on for athletic endeavors and sleeping for three weeks. Still, it is good to know that the tendon has healed. Or is still healing. It still looks crooked. I imagine that this will most likely continue to get better in this last three week period, but I failed to ask the doc any questions about it. That seemed like way too many details.
The actual workouts went okay. I definitely feel closer on all of them. Plyometrics I know I’m getting the closest on. I can make it through the first seven minutes with minimal breaks now. It is when the final 9.5 minutes start that more breaks are needed. Whatever the break situation, I am closer. Where I was wondering if I would ever get to the month two DVDs, now I am certain that within 9-14 months I will graduate to “month 2” of the workout. It will almost be too easy.
Friday, May 14, 2010
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?
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?
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
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!!!
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!!!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
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!
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!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
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!
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!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
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!!!!
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!!!!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
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!
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.
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.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
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?
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?
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 82: Umm...Something, Something, Something, Power and Resistance
3-27-10: For the last couple of weeks, I have had a friend keeping me company in the basement while I workout. I assume he is cheering me on. He is friendly little spider, who does not seem to move much. In fact, he is ALWAYS in the same spot. I have named him Shaun T.
Big Shaun T. was merciless today. The spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak. The warm-up is evil. Still, I felt evil did not totally conquer good today. It only conquered most of good. I am doing better in the first couple rounds of power jacks and vertical jumps, but when that third round comes and it is time to push it…yikes…I felt the second round was pushing it and I wasn’t even pushing it. If that even makes sense…
The plank work is still annoying with the finger, but manageable. At least it has not fallen off yet…which apparently would be no big deal as two people have already said it was either “no big deal” if it fell off or to just “cut it off”. Good workout advice right there.
I tried to do the “no break longer than 10 seconds” thing for this one. It did not work super well. I blame the plank work again. You see, it is difficult to see the on-screen timer, when you collapse in a sweaty heap on the floor.
That being said…another overall good workout. I WILL DESTROY THE WORLD!!!
Big Shaun T. was merciless today. The spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak. The warm-up is evil. Still, I felt evil did not totally conquer good today. It only conquered most of good. I am doing better in the first couple rounds of power jacks and vertical jumps, but when that third round comes and it is time to push it…yikes…I felt the second round was pushing it and I wasn’t even pushing it. If that even makes sense…
The plank work is still annoying with the finger, but manageable. At least it has not fallen off yet…which apparently would be no big deal as two people have already said it was either “no big deal” if it fell off or to just “cut it off”. Good workout advice right there.
I tried to do the “no break longer than 10 seconds” thing for this one. It did not work super well. I blame the plank work again. You see, it is difficult to see the on-screen timer, when you collapse in a sweaty heap on the floor.
That being said…another overall good workout. I WILL DESTROY THE WORLD!!!
Insanity Workout Day 81: Pure Madness and Madness Abs
3-26-10: Another good warm-up. I was thwarted at about the same spot. Maybe 10 seconds earlier. Still, Shaun T was right there. I can do it.
I still feel light years away from being able to complete the Pure Cardio workout. Though, I am finding clever little in-workout mini-goals to complete. Simply put, no breaks longer than 10 seconds. It is amazing. When gasping for air, feeling sore, and with the heart getting ready to explode, break time seems to go WAY to fast. Now I monitor and even if it seems like I’m not ready (truthfully, at some point it feels like it would take 20 minutes to be ready…Shaun T is not amused by this idea at all), I jump back in. With this, I feel I am pushing myself a little farther each time and getting an even better workout on Pure Cardio days.
That pesky Abs workout. It is like driving till the tank is on empty, then attempting to drive it for 15 more minutes. Still, I do like this workout. It incorporates different moves than the main three workouts employ. The best part is that a third of them require being in the “C-sit” position. This means I can sit on the floor, which is, by this point, what I’ve felt like doing for about 40 minutes.
I also played some Cardio Ping-Pong with my sister from about ten to midnight to 12:40. Shaun T would have been quite proud. We both worked mainly on our forehands as opposed to our extremely defensive backhand posturing. Quite intrigued by the results.
I still feel light years away from being able to complete the Pure Cardio workout. Though, I am finding clever little in-workout mini-goals to complete. Simply put, no breaks longer than 10 seconds. It is amazing. When gasping for air, feeling sore, and with the heart getting ready to explode, break time seems to go WAY to fast. Now I monitor and even if it seems like I’m not ready (truthfully, at some point it feels like it would take 20 minutes to be ready…Shaun T is not amused by this idea at all), I jump back in. With this, I feel I am pushing myself a little farther each time and getting an even better workout on Pure Cardio days.
That pesky Abs workout. It is like driving till the tank is on empty, then attempting to drive it for 15 more minutes. Still, I do like this workout. It incorporates different moves than the main three workouts employ. The best part is that a third of them require being in the “C-sit” position. This means I can sit on the floor, which is, by this point, what I’ve felt like doing for about 40 minutes.
I also played some Cardio Ping-Pong with my sister from about ten to midnight to 12:40. Shaun T would have been quite proud. We both worked mainly on our forehands as opposed to our extremely defensive backhand posturing. Quite intrigued by the results.
Insanity Workout Day 80: 18 Minutes Short – Day Off
3-25-10: Another cursed Thursday at 8AM meeting. I woke up early, but not early enough. Assuming traffic was good I would have still been 18 minutes late for the meeting if I had attempted the workout. And traffic is always a wildcard.
Since I did Recovery/Cardio Abs last Thursday night and that resulted in Friday becoming an off day, I decided not to try pushing it Thursday night so that I could get a happier workout on Friday.
Since I did Recovery/Cardio Abs last Thursday night and that resulted in Friday becoming an off day, I decided not to try pushing it Thursday night so that I could get a happier workout on Friday.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 79: There Are Not Many Good Bad Puns For “Plyometrics”
3-24-10: Wow. I was close on the warm-up today. Real close. First break at the 8m 20s mark. This included the sprinting, the hyper jumping jacks, and 2/3 of the super-Heisman. Even weirder is that I felt like I had a chance today. During the second iteration I was not mentally begging for death or cursing Shaun T. I was thinking that the second round wasn’t going to get me this time. I missed less than half a minute overall. Definitely a good day, and I can only conclude that the additional food had a positive impact.
I even had some energy left today for the workout. Not too shabby. Some of the squat exercises I had to stop due more to muscle pain than cardio weakness. This is definitely improvement as usually I’m stopping for both reasons…at the same time…all the time.
Nothing much else to report. I was lucky to be able to get up early enough to do it as I stayed up quite late beating a video game last night (no choice…I could tell I was getting close…it was demanding that I beat it…hmm…much like Shaun T demands I continue the Insanity program. …yes, if you want me to do something, your best bet is to put it into some sort of video format). I now feel I have a good chance of actually doing the recovery workout tomorrow morning. What could possibly go wrong?
I even had some energy left today for the workout. Not too shabby. Some of the squat exercises I had to stop due more to muscle pain than cardio weakness. This is definitely improvement as usually I’m stopping for both reasons…at the same time…all the time.
Nothing much else to report. I was lucky to be able to get up early enough to do it as I stayed up quite late beating a video game last night (no choice…I could tell I was getting close…it was demanding that I beat it…hmm…much like Shaun T demands I continue the Insanity program. …yes, if you want me to do something, your best bet is to put it into some sort of video format). I now feel I have a good chance of actually doing the recovery workout tomorrow morning. What could possibly go wrong?
Insanity Workout Day 78: The Path To Most Resistance (and Power)
3-23-10: Starting yesterday and continuing today (and most likely the future) I have upped the caloric intake in my diet. I now have about six or seven meals (or snacks) throughout the day. I feel I was not getting enough and needed more to have energy for recovery and the workouts.
Today, the warm-up was not that bad at all. The last round of vertical jumps were still killer, but I felt like I did fairly well on the evil warm-up.
I had my moments in the workouts and had plenty of little girl whines as well. I feel like every other day the pinky annoys me during the plank work. Some days I have it wrapped just right. Other days, like today, I feel the splint moving out of position so I have to continually readjust. It’s alright though. Got up at a decent time, felt good about the workout and beat Bionic Commando today (a much better game than I expected, though a little short). What more could Shaun T ask?
Today, the warm-up was not that bad at all. The last round of vertical jumps were still killer, but I felt like I did fairly well on the evil warm-up.
I had my moments in the workouts and had plenty of little girl whines as well. I feel like every other day the pinky annoys me during the plank work. Some days I have it wrapped just right. Other days, like today, I feel the splint moving out of position so I have to continually readjust. It’s alright though. Got up at a decent time, felt good about the workout and beat Bionic Commando today (a much better game than I expected, though a little short). What more could Shaun T ask?
Insanity Workout Day 77: Monday Isn’t My Recovery Day...Honest!
3-22-10: It seems so easy to skip recovery since it is a miserable miserable workout. Another problem is that I seem to have it in my head that since it is a “recovery” workout that it is much shorter than the other workouts. This is not the case. It is six minutes shorter than Pure Cardio at 33 minutes.
But, really the problem was that I just stayed up too late Sunday night (Monday morning). Since I do not want to get in the habit of skipping the recovery workout every week again, I’m going to try to do it this Thursday. This would switch my day off and recovery for the week. Shaun T is evil. But Shaun T is just and believes in balance (no seriously, there are a bunch of balancing exercises in Recovery), so I think I’ll be okay.
But, really the problem was that I just stayed up too late Sunday night (Monday morning). Since I do not want to get in the habit of skipping the recovery workout every week again, I’m going to try to do it this Thursday. This would switch my day off and recovery for the week. Shaun T is evil. But Shaun T is just and believes in balance (no seriously, there are a bunch of balancing exercises in Recovery), so I think I’ll be okay.
Insanity Workout Day 76: Cardio Pure-gatory (And ABS!!!)
3-21-10: Weekends continue to be lazy days for me. Oh. I still do the workouts, but I find little excuses to delay myself.
“Hey! I should workout after my second meal which will be more useful than the first meal shake I have.”
“Hey! I should finish watching to relax a bit before the workout.”
“Hey! I might as well play a little bit of Bionic Commando (Xbox 360 version) before working out seeing as it is almost time for meal 3!”
“Wow! I can’t believe I’ve been playing this game for four hours. I should workout now or I’m not going to have energy for tomorrow’s “recovery” workout.”
And, thus, results in my 4:00 PM start time. I think I have to just go right after the first meal shake no matter what. Too many distractions. Or, I’m too easily distracted.
Well, the warm-up was not terrible. Still not getting all the way through, but still pushing through hard. The workout was, again, miserable. On a minimal and rare bright note, some of the bazillion squat variations did not hurt as much this time. Some strength gain, though minimal, was noticed. Still plenty of collapses in painful heaps, but I feel I only stayed in the cocooned position for 17% less time than usual.
Cardio Abs were…there again. Definitely can feel it in the belly, so it’s not just a clever name. I do like this workout and plan to possibly add a second viewing during the week at some point.
The pinky is interesting. I wonder if it is healing at all or if I’m undoing everything by doing the workout. The sane thing to do would be to contact the doctor to discuss the kinds of activity and pressure that the pinky can handle. But…THIS IS INSANITY!!!!!!
“Hey! I should workout after my second meal which will be more useful than the first meal shake I have.”
“Hey! I should finish watching
“Hey! I might as well play a little bit of Bionic Commando (Xbox 360 version) before working out seeing as it is almost time for meal 3!”
“Wow! I can’t believe I’ve been playing this game for four hours. I should workout now or I’m not going to have energy for tomorrow’s “recovery” workout.”
And, thus, results in my 4:00 PM start time. I think I have to just go right after the first meal shake no matter what. Too many distractions. Or, I’m too easily distracted.
Well, the warm-up was not terrible. Still not getting all the way through, but still pushing through hard. The workout was, again, miserable. On a minimal and rare bright note, some of the bazillion squat variations did not hurt as much this time. Some strength gain, though minimal, was noticed. Still plenty of collapses in painful heaps, but I feel I only stayed in the cocooned position for 17% less time than usual.
Cardio Abs were…there again. Definitely can feel it in the belly, so it’s not just a clever name. I do like this workout and plan to possibly add a second viewing during the week at some point.
The pinky is interesting. I wonder if it is healing at all or if I’m undoing everything by doing the workout. The sane thing to do would be to contact the doctor to discuss the kinds of activity and pressure that the pinky can handle. But…THIS IS INSANITY!!!!!!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 75: The Good, The Bad, and the Plyometrics
3-20-10: Wow. Still sore from the Recovery workout. But, not sore enough to prevent a good ole-fashioned run at Plyometrics! The battle was fought and we’ll call it a draw. I mean, the DVD nor myself died, so I guess there was no true winner.
That’s not to say that there were not attempts on my life during the workout. Squats took a pretty good shot. Hell, so did the Ski Abs. Only my ability to turn the player off when it was done and run away saved me.
It was a good warm-up once again. I find myself going much faster during the third iteration, even if that means I need to take breaks. I feel that I sprint and butt kick faster than anyone on the DVD. I also am far more conscious of lifting my knees above my hips during the high knees…never sacrifice form. If I can just transition from the sprinting to the jumping jacks and the jumping jacks to the Heisman a little better. I feel like I use up my energy meter on the sprinting, so that when jumping jacks start, my body is demanding a break. It will come. It will come.
I feel my meal schedules have been a bit off during the weekends of late. Either running out for bigger meals here and there, or waking up so late that my first meal starts at noon, making the process of fitting four more meals in difficult. In the end, I feel I am missing calories. I also feel that this reflects in my overall energy level and the workout process. I must start eating more and more consistently during my days away from work.
That’s not to say that there were not attempts on my life during the workout. Squats took a pretty good shot. Hell, so did the Ski Abs. Only my ability to turn the player off when it was done and run away saved me.
It was a good warm-up once again. I find myself going much faster during the third iteration, even if that means I need to take breaks. I feel that I sprint and butt kick faster than anyone on the DVD. I also am far more conscious of lifting my knees above my hips during the high knees…never sacrifice form. If I can just transition from the sprinting to the jumping jacks and the jumping jacks to the Heisman a little better. I feel like I use up my energy meter on the sprinting, so that when jumping jacks start, my body is demanding a break. It will come. It will come.
I feel my meal schedules have been a bit off during the weekends of late. Either running out for bigger meals here and there, or waking up so late that my first meal starts at noon, making the process of fitting four more meals in difficult. In the end, I feel I am missing calories. I also feel that this reflects in my overall energy level and the workout process. I must start eating more and more consistently during my days away from work.
Insanity Workout Day 74: I Needed a Recovery Day to Recovery From The Recovery Workout
3-19-10: Yes, it would have been too painful today to try working out. I was sore. Very sore. My legs hated me. Shaun T confuses me. Anyway, today was supposed to be the fitness test, so at least I’m not missing one of the bigger cardio workouts.
My weight is down a couple of pounds to about 218. This puts me at 17 down overall and 3 shy of my three month goal of which I have a couple of weeks remaining. From that standpoint, everything is good. Pants and clothes are fitting looser. There is going to be this uncomfortable time period from about now to the time I get to a stable shape where I am going to be wearing hellishly loose clothing. Ah well. Take the good with the bad.
So far so good. This is all with a couple of cheat eating days a week as well. I do love my pizza. I do love my Mom’s brownies (I went over there today and limited myself to two brownies. The addiction had me thinking of them the entire time I was there however.)
Well, I suppose tomorrow will be Plyometrics! Yay!
My weight is down a couple of pounds to about 218. This puts me at 17 down overall and 3 shy of my three month goal of which I have a couple of weeks remaining. From that standpoint, everything is good. Pants and clothes are fitting looser. There is going to be this uncomfortable time period from about now to the time I get to a stable shape where I am going to be wearing hellishly loose clothing. Ah well. Take the good with the bad.
So far so good. This is all with a couple of cheat eating days a week as well. I do love my pizza. I do love my Mom’s brownies (I went over there today and limited myself to two brownies. The addiction had me thinking of them the entire time I was there however.)
Well, I suppose tomorrow will be Plyometrics! Yay!
Insanity Workout Day 73: Cardio Recovery/Abs A New Combination and Happily Painful
3-18-10: So, Cardio Abs weren’t awful. It was not as fun as say not doing them. But certainly I had juice left for the world of Recovery.
Cardio Recovery was awful. I’m sure I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, and I’ll say it in the future: This can not be a recovery workout. I feel worse after this one than after all of the other workouts combined. Cardio Recovery is like getting salad for dessert or bran flakes instead of Doritos. The mental anguish of this disparity is huge.
Again, it is mainly the position holds that cause this workout to be pure evil. Do sixteen slow squats. Okay. Did it. Yay me! Okay…now hold yourself in the squat position. Ok. Now try to go lower into the squat and try to bring your thighs together. Ouch. Now let’s do 16 pulses. No…please…no more…Shaun T….please…have mercy. Now, let’s do the same thing with lunges. Please…think of my legs! Now let’s do the squats again...oh why…you are an angry and vengeful fitness guru.
Based on its name, this is the workout that he really is aiming at people hating him for. There can be no other explanation.
On a side note, throwing 48 minutes of workout on my “Day off” day might not have been the best idea. Tomorrow is going to be a tricky fish.
Cardio Recovery was awful. I’m sure I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, and I’ll say it in the future: This can not be a recovery workout. I feel worse after this one than after all of the other workouts combined. Cardio Recovery is like getting salad for dessert or bran flakes instead of Doritos. The mental anguish of this disparity is huge.
Again, it is mainly the position holds that cause this workout to be pure evil. Do sixteen slow squats. Okay. Did it. Yay me! Okay…now hold yourself in the squat position. Ok. Now try to go lower into the squat and try to bring your thighs together. Ouch. Now let’s do 16 pulses. No…please…no more…Shaun T….please…have mercy. Now, let’s do the same thing with lunges. Please…think of my legs! Now let’s do the squats again...oh why…you are an angry and vengeful fitness guru.
Based on its name, this is the workout that he really is aiming at people hating him for. There can be no other explanation.
On a side note, throwing 48 minutes of workout on my “Day off” day might not have been the best idea. Tomorrow is going to be a tricky fish.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 72: I Showed Shaun T My Pinky, I Told Him It Hurt, He Screamed PLYOMETRICS In Response. This Seems To Be His Answer To Everythin
3-17-10: Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone! I woke up at an excellent time this morning and was able to complete a workout before work. FANtastic. I mean, this happened yesterday too, but today was the second day in a row and I got up a lot earlier. Getting back into good habits.
I do not believe Shaun T is Irish. Or, if he is, he celebrates by causing pain. I guess we all celebrate differently. I asked him if he believed in Leprechauns. He responded by saying that tomorrow, which should be a day off, will instead be filled with Cardio Abs (in response to my insolence for missing it previously in the week), and Cardio Recovery (in response to my insolence for missing this a few weeks in a row now). I have a meeting at 8:00 AM tomorrow. I suppose Shaun T comes first and I’ll have to keep in mind never to mention Leprechauns to him again.
The workout today was all right. Definitely felt a little tired from yesterday, but also did quite well. The actual workout was not terrible. Oddly, the worst part came during the second iteration of the second circuit where I was supposed to be doing the “basketball” exercise, but instead felt like watching.
I went to the Doctor today and he gave me a much better splint (with several replacements) for the Mallet finger. The good news is that it is not nearly as annoying or bulky as the first splint was. The bad news is that his prognosis is 6-8 weeks, then another 3 weeks of nighttime splint wearing to be sure. No breaks and no surgery, so that is good and the new splint has much better mobility. For instance, I can use my pinky to type now, which I could not with the other one. Definitely less of a hindrance. Thankfully, it is my left hand…so…say…playing Frisbee/throwing the football (and catching it one handed)/Playing most variations of “destructo”/going on Meijer runs can still be handled safely.
I do not believe Shaun T is Irish. Or, if he is, he celebrates by causing pain. I guess we all celebrate differently. I asked him if he believed in Leprechauns. He responded by saying that tomorrow, which should be a day off, will instead be filled with Cardio Abs (in response to my insolence for missing it previously in the week), and Cardio Recovery (in response to my insolence for missing this a few weeks in a row now). I have a meeting at 8:00 AM tomorrow. I suppose Shaun T comes first and I’ll have to keep in mind never to mention Leprechauns to him again.
The workout today was all right. Definitely felt a little tired from yesterday, but also did quite well. The actual workout was not terrible. Oddly, the worst part came during the second iteration of the second circuit where I was supposed to be doing the “basketball” exercise, but instead felt like watching.
I went to the Doctor today and he gave me a much better splint (with several replacements) for the Mallet finger. The good news is that it is not nearly as annoying or bulky as the first splint was. The bad news is that his prognosis is 6-8 weeks, then another 3 weeks of nighttime splint wearing to be sure. No breaks and no surgery, so that is good and the new splint has much better mobility. For instance, I can use my pinky to type now, which I could not with the other one. Definitely less of a hindrance. Thankfully, it is my left hand…so…say…playing Frisbee/throwing the football (and catching it one handed)/Playing most variations of “destructo”/going on Meijer runs can still be handled safely.
Insanity Workout Day 71: Pure Cardio, No Abs…Will Shaun T. Notice?
3-16-10: Did I skip Cardio Abs due to exhaustion? Heck no! Let me be honest with you. I am ALWAYS exhausted after Pure Cardio. Today was no different in that respect. I simply needed to be at work at a certain time, and those 15 minutes would have made things risky.
To answer the question…yes, Shaun T noticed. And he was not pleased. In fact, he demanded a goat sacrifice to appease him or at least the promise that I would do a workout tomorrow. I chose the latter because I have been running low on goats.
The pinky was not terrible. Certainly annoying, but I think I am past that small little mental barrier. Flying through it all or not, the workout felt good. Despite still not making it through the warm-up (it is only day 71 after all), I still fell progress is being made. In all honesty, I feel I am at a point where I could make it through the warm-up, just not at 100% intensity. I see the people on the screen. They are not at 100% intensity. I will be better than they are. I will eat their souls.
I felt really sleepy for the last 6 or so exercises. I put my head down. Wait…maybe I wasn’t sleepy. Maybe I was passing out due to exhaustion. Whatever it was, I felt beat near the end. To tomorrow I go!
To answer the question…yes, Shaun T noticed. And he was not pleased. In fact, he demanded a goat sacrifice to appease him or at least the promise that I would do a workout tomorrow. I chose the latter because I have been running low on goats.
The pinky was not terrible. Certainly annoying, but I think I am past that small little mental barrier. Flying through it all or not, the workout felt good. Despite still not making it through the warm-up (it is only day 71 after all), I still fell progress is being made. In all honesty, I feel I am at a point where I could make it through the warm-up, just not at 100% intensity. I see the people on the screen. They are not at 100% intensity. I will be better than they are. I will eat their souls.
I felt really sleepy for the last 6 or so exercises. I put my head down. Wait…maybe I wasn’t sleepy. Maybe I was passing out due to exhaustion. Whatever it was, I felt beat near the end. To tomorrow I go!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 70: D.O.A. 2: Shaun T’s Revenge
3-15-10: I talked to Shaun T today about how I missed the workout today. He said I had two choices. I could either get back into a solid every day is Insanity routine, or he would give me an injury to which he would consider to be a legitimate excuse. This probably means massive head trauma and/or paralysis.
Yes, I will have to get back into it. I probably should not have stayed up till 1:00. I have noticed a fascinating development. When I try to get up after 2-5 hours of sleep, my body tends to resist. I am amazed by this discovery and intend to write a book about it.
I still have not gone two days without physical activity yet. This means that I have no choice but to workout tomorrow. What could possibly go wrong?
Yes, I will have to get back into it. I probably should not have stayed up till 1:00. I have noticed a fascinating development. When I try to get up after 2-5 hours of sleep, my body tends to resist. I am amazed by this discovery and intend to write a book about it.
I still have not gone two days without physical activity yet. This means that I have no choice but to workout tomorrow. What could possibly go wrong?
Insanity Workout Day 69: Shaun T v. The Pinky, Round 2: Power and Resistance
3-14-10: This was not a bad workout. Not a bad workout indeed. I did better through the evil warm-up and was not completely brutalized when doing the actual workout. Even the excessive plank work required could not deter my injured pinky from attacking. That being said, the splint pretty much came off by the end of the workout. Stupid splint. Stupid pinky. How can this little pinky be causing such problems?
No, I will not be advancing to month 2 until the pinky is better. Why? I already feel I am overdoing it (for a stupid freaking pinky) with the current routine. Hmm…I cannot see this ending well. I have already tried taking the splint off to see if it was better. It was not...but I am getting tired of wearing it. So, my injury timetable might be reduced a couple weeks due to annoyance. You see, science is…whatever we want it to be. I want it to heal faster. Therefore, the splint must be removed earlier. It is all logic.
No, I will not be advancing to month 2 until the pinky is better. Why? I already feel I am overdoing it (for a stupid freaking pinky) with the current routine. Hmm…I cannot see this ending well. I have already tried taking the splint off to see if it was better. It was not...but I am getting tired of wearing it. So, my injury timetable might be reduced a couple weeks due to annoyance. You see, science is…whatever we want it to be. I want it to heal faster. Therefore, the splint must be removed earlier. It is all logic.
Insanity Workout Day 68: D.O.A. (Day off again)
3-13-10: What can I say? I woke up today and did not feel like doing the workout with the pinky hindrance. Weak. Very weak, I know. I have a feeling that there will be more of these pesky days off in the future until I do not have to worry about the stupid splint. I will at least make sure not to take two consecutive days off. This, I command.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 67: Pure Pinky Cardio and Cardio Pinky Abs
3-12-10: Well, I wrapped my hand before the workout. Figured that I didn’t want to drip sweat all over the splinted finger that I would not be able to wash off. The workout was not great. The pinky seemed to create a random mental obstacle. I kept being reminded of the stupid pinky. The pinky did not like sudden movements. The pinky liked to hit the ceiling. The wrapped pinky did not like to help lift my thermos to drink water. The pinky was not a big fan of plank work, though nearing the end I found a good position where I could do plank work without angling my body awkwardly to avoid using the pinky. Next workout I feel I will be better prepared for that tomfoolery.
All that being said, that is the beauty of the Insanity workout. If I am unable to go 100% into an exercise, thankfully another exercise follows that I can push myself twice as hard at. So, even though it was not a great workout, none of these workouts ever feel bad. If this ridiculous injury limits the level of insanity for a little while, I’ll be okay.
I am still amazed that this could take six weeks to heal. I am seeing a doctor next Wednesday, so maybe this outlook will change. What a weird injury. I imagine my self-diagnosis will be that the finger will be healed on 4/1/10 right in time for Sarz’s birthday party. There are many sports that need to be played and a dinky little mallet finger injury isn’t going to stop me.
All that being said, that is the beauty of the Insanity workout. If I am unable to go 100% into an exercise, thankfully another exercise follows that I can push myself twice as hard at. So, even though it was not a great workout, none of these workouts ever feel bad. If this ridiculous injury limits the level of insanity for a little while, I’ll be okay.
I am still amazed that this could take six weeks to heal. I am seeing a doctor next Wednesday, so maybe this outlook will change. What a weird injury. I imagine my self-diagnosis will be that the finger will be healed on 4/1/10 right in time for Sarz’s birthday party. There are many sports that need to be played and a dinky little mallet finger injury isn’t going to stop me.
Insanity Workout Day 66: Day Off Due to Annoyance
3-11-10: Well, I have to say that this dinkiest of dinky injuries is fast becoming quite annoying. Typing is more difficult. I have to do the stupid bag over the hand thing for showers. In addition, due to having to stay up till after midnight cause of the emergency room, having an 8 AM meeting and having plans to see a movie after work, my plan to do a workout today was foiled. At least even Shaun T has this day typically scheduled as a day off.
I wonder how this is going to affect the insanity workout tomorrow.
I wonder how this is going to affect the insanity workout tomorrow.
Insanity Workout Day 65: I Can Beat You With My Pinky! How Mallet Finger Blindsided Me
3-10-2010: Injury obstacle A as described by www.webmd.com: “Commonly an athletic injury, mallet finger occurs when the outermost joint of the finger is injured. Basketball and baseball players routinely experience jammed fingers, but the injury can occur because of a crushing accident on the job or even because of a cut finger while working in the kitchen.
With mallet finger, the tendon on the back of the finger (not the palm side) is separated from the muscles it connects.
Three types of injuries commonly occur:
• The tendon is damaged, but no fractures (bone cracks or breaks) are present.
• The tendon ruptures with a small fracture caused by the force of the injury.
• The tendon ruptures with a large fracture.
If the finger is not broken or cut, or if only a small fracture is present, the doctor applies a splint to the end of the finger so it remains extended. With a splint, the outermost joint on the injured finger is not bendable, but the rest of your finger is bendable. This splint needs to be worn for at least 6 weeks, perhaps longer, to ensure that the tendon is given the best chance of healing.”
So, basketball was going great. I have become more comfortable playing center or manning up on the opposing team’s big man. Actually, in many ways it is much easier than playing guard. They don’t seem to move around as much. Annoy them by continually getting in front of them all the way down the court, then remember to box out and everything is happy wappy.
I noticed my finger was crooked on the bench at some point, but did not think anything of it. After the game, I was considering going to play more basketball at the Troy Center, but instead decided to do the whole emergency room thing like a good boy. This is where I learned of this silly “mallet finger” thingy. So, my pinky is in a splint and I can’t get it wet. Ah well.
I did not do the Insanity workout in the morning. I feel the mallet finger was a curse put forth by Shaun T. That was one too many Wednesday morning workouts missed.
I also did not do a slam dunk test. However, I am grabbing a ridiculous amount of rebounds...good positioning? Yes. But, I’m also feeling good in the magical realm of jumping as well. Unfortunately, my dunk tests will probably be delayed by…well…possibly 6 weeks. Thankfully, I will continue doing insanity to be in excellent position to immediately start slamming as soon as the finger heals. Stupid pinky.
With mallet finger, the tendon on the back of the finger (not the palm side) is separated from the muscles it connects.
Three types of injuries commonly occur:
• The tendon is damaged, but no fractures (bone cracks or breaks) are present.
• The tendon ruptures with a small fracture caused by the force of the injury.
• The tendon ruptures with a large fracture.
If the finger is not broken or cut, or if only a small fracture is present, the doctor applies a splint to the end of the finger so it remains extended. With a splint, the outermost joint on the injured finger is not bendable, but the rest of your finger is bendable. This splint needs to be worn for at least 6 weeks, perhaps longer, to ensure that the tendon is given the best chance of healing.”
So, basketball was going great. I have become more comfortable playing center or manning up on the opposing team’s big man. Actually, in many ways it is much easier than playing guard. They don’t seem to move around as much. Annoy them by continually getting in front of them all the way down the court, then remember to box out and everything is happy wappy.
I noticed my finger was crooked on the bench at some point, but did not think anything of it. After the game, I was considering going to play more basketball at the Troy Center, but instead decided to do the whole emergency room thing like a good boy. This is where I learned of this silly “mallet finger” thingy. So, my pinky is in a splint and I can’t get it wet. Ah well.
I did not do the Insanity workout in the morning. I feel the mallet finger was a curse put forth by Shaun T. That was one too many Wednesday morning workouts missed.
I also did not do a slam dunk test. However, I am grabbing a ridiculous amount of rebounds...good positioning? Yes. But, I’m also feeling good in the magical realm of jumping as well. Unfortunately, my dunk tests will probably be delayed by…well…possibly 6 weeks. Thankfully, I will continue doing insanity to be in excellent position to immediately start slamming as soon as the finger heals. Stupid pinky.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 64: More! More! Okay, Act Now And We'll Also Include Resistance. That's Power and Resistance for $29.95.
3-9-10: Excellent. I love getting the workout done in the morning. If I fail to do so, it is disastrous (exhausted later, no chance for Wed morning workout).
Again, fatigue is setting in a little quicker than it had before. That being said, I am still doing well on about half the exercises of the actual workout.
Right now I am falling somewhere in the 65 range of push-up type exercises. My long-term goal for this particular workout is to get that to well over 100 (maybe 103 or 104).
Next time I do this workout I want to focus on floor sprints. This seems to be an exercise near the end that I run out of energy for or am mentally tired of pushing through. It is also the exercise that has Shaun T's classic lines "You can do it. Keep pushing. I know you can do it. But take a break if you need to." The problem with them is that they follow moving push-ups and there is no reprieve from the plank work. I somehow have to find just a little more mental fortitude to push on through.
Let's see. I haven't talked about food in a while. Eating habits have been quite good of late. Nutrition bars, protein shakes, soup, crackers, fish, chicken, roast beef, and cream of wheat have been the main selections for meals/snacks. I still have difficulties getting enough calories here and there. That being said, as long as I have enough energy in the day, I'm not overly concerned. I am also still consistently eating something before I workout. For the most part, it is usually 30 minutes before working out which seems to be working well.
Tomorrow is basketball. I have to remember to do a jump test. If I forget I will go on Thursday to play/test it out. I can only assume that I can slam by now. I have no idea what is taking so long.
Again, fatigue is setting in a little quicker than it had before. That being said, I am still doing well on about half the exercises of the actual workout.
Right now I am falling somewhere in the 65 range of push-up type exercises. My long-term goal for this particular workout is to get that to well over 100 (maybe 103 or 104).
Next time I do this workout I want to focus on floor sprints. This seems to be an exercise near the end that I run out of energy for or am mentally tired of pushing through. It is also the exercise that has Shaun T's classic lines "You can do it. Keep pushing. I know you can do it. But take a break if you need to." The problem with them is that they follow moving push-ups and there is no reprieve from the plank work. I somehow have to find just a little more mental fortitude to push on through.
Let's see. I haven't talked about food in a while. Eating habits have been quite good of late. Nutrition bars, protein shakes, soup, crackers, fish, chicken, roast beef, and cream of wheat have been the main selections for meals/snacks. I still have difficulties getting enough calories here and there. That being said, as long as I have enough energy in the day, I'm not overly concerned. I am also still consistently eating something before I workout. For the most part, it is usually 30 minutes before working out which seems to be working well.
Tomorrow is basketball. I have to remember to do a jump test. If I forget I will go on Thursday to play/test it out. I can only assume that I can slam by now. I have no idea what is taking so long.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 63: Cardio Rec…Day Off
3-8-10: This is getting to be a bit of a bummer. I do not mind taking the days off, but it is unfortunate that I keep missing the recovery day. I feel that Shaun T has his own very special sadistic purposes for his "recovery" day (that he calls it "recovery" is a form of psychological torture.).
It just keeps happening where Monday mornings become difficult. Today, it was due to the 3:00 AM bedtime from the night before. I did not even try to set the alarm for 5:30...I lost the battle before I even went to bed. I will have to redouble my efforts for whichever evil workout is scheduled for tomorrow.
It just keeps happening where Monday mornings become difficult. Today, it was due to the 3:00 AM bedtime from the night before. I did not even try to set the alarm for 5:30...I lost the battle before I even went to bed. I will have to redouble my efforts for whichever evil workout is scheduled for tomorrow.
Insanity Workout Day 62: If You Can't Stand the Heat, Try Pure Cario
3-7-10: Fascinating. I found myself sucking wind once again today, and sweating profusely much earlier in the workout than normal. Heck, I was saturated before the actual workout even began. I think it has something to do with the change of seasons. I believe it is a couple of degrees warmer in the basement than it has been previously. This fascinates me. I did not anticipate a minor change in temperature causing such a wrinkle in my workout routine. I assume just something I will have to adapt to. But, still, very interesting. They should do a study about this for the planet as well.
I, again, managed to force myself through some of the drills, but by the end, it was hard to find that 15th effort. You see, Shaun T is not satisfied with 2nd efforts. He wants you at the point of breaking. I imagine it varies from person to person. For me it is the 15th effort that does it.
Cardio Abs as a followup is amusing as well. There just isn't any energy left of Cardio Abs. It is amazing how much of it I am actually making it through. Especially that last minute of plank work. I do not understand how my body has anything left for more plank work. Still, good times.
I, again, managed to force myself through some of the drills, but by the end, it was hard to find that 15th effort. You see, Shaun T is not satisfied with 2nd efforts. He wants you at the point of breaking. I imagine it varies from person to person. For me it is the 15th effort that does it.
Cardio Abs as a followup is amusing as well. There just isn't any energy left of Cardio Abs. It is amazing how much of it I am actually making it through. Especially that last minute of plank work. I do not understand how my body has anything left for more plank work. Still, good times.
Insanity Workout Day 61: Plyometrics IV: A New Hope
3-6-10: A quick footnote on the Fit Test. While doing the test, I did not feel like I had done a great job. However, when inputting the numbers, there was actually substantial improvement. In fact, there were only two exercises I decreased and not by much. The first and last exercises showed substantial improvement.
Second, the new weigh-in has me at 220, so I am officially down 15 pounds since the beginning of the year. Everything is going according to plan so far.
So...there was also a workout today...Plyometrics. This was not as good as the last Plyometrics workout. For some reason, I found myself gasping for air a lot more than usual. I definitely got some good cardio in, but I failed to take another step forward in my goal (which is becoming long-term) to make it to "month 2". Take the good with the bad I suppose. I am feeling more and more comfortable doing some exercises over others. They still all burn me out pretty good, but there is definitely an odd level of comfort for a few of them. Definitely felt good to get back on track with a solid Saturday workout.
Second, the new weigh-in has me at 220, so I am officially down 15 pounds since the beginning of the year. Everything is going according to plan so far.
So...there was also a workout today...Plyometrics. This was not as good as the last Plyometrics workout. For some reason, I found myself gasping for air a lot more than usual. I definitely got some good cardio in, but I failed to take another step forward in my goal (which is becoming long-term) to make it to "month 2". Take the good with the bad I suppose. I am feeling more and more comfortable doing some exercises over others. They still all burn me out pretty good, but there is definitely an odd level of comfort for a few of them. Definitely felt good to get back on track with a solid Saturday workout.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 60: Day 60? Fitness Test! End of 60 Day Program!! Wait. No. Will Repeat the Last Two Weeks of Month One Again
3-5-10: So, this was the proposed end of the Insanity program. I find myself renewed even though I am starting two weeks back again for month 1. This is the start of the program for me. I shall redouble my efforts and dig deeper. I have a feeling that this will be the last repeat of the two weeks before moving on. I also have a feeling that I have taken my last day off. While tired I am some days, I am usually not sore anymore. Heck, why not do a workout in the morning AND afternoon. Yes, this next two weeks should be fun...and funny when I start to whine about it.
The Fitness test today was bizarre. I shot ahead in certain exercises and fell behind in others. I am not sure that I understand the inconsistencies this time. I feel it is related to my efforts in the first exercise. After the switch kicks, I never seem to fully recover for the other exercises despite the breaks. For some of the exercises I was able to push through. For others I wasn't. At any rate, since I am in "month 1" my performance is certainly in line with the monkeys on the video.
Month one begins tomorrow! To the death!!!
The Fitness test today was bizarre. I shot ahead in certain exercises and fell behind in others. I am not sure that I understand the inconsistencies this time. I feel it is related to my efforts in the first exercise. After the switch kicks, I never seem to fully recover for the other exercises despite the breaks. For some of the exercises I was able to push through. For others I wasn't. At any rate, since I am in "month 1" my performance is certainly in line with the monkeys on the video.
Month one begins tomorrow! To the death!!!
Insanity Workout Day 59: Umm...Day Off?
3-4-10: Curses...had intentions to actually do a workout today, but failed. Oh, the failure hurts. The pain. The failure! I blame the meeting at work set up for 8:00 am. There was no wiggle room in the morning. Unfortunately, Shaun T accepts no excuses. If I was concerned about the meeting, then why wasn't I in the basement at 6:00 am? Heck, why didn't I go downstairs at 4:00 am and do two workouts? Oh no...Shaun T laughs and mocks my excuses. Shaun T has no mercy for puny humans with excuses.
I did get some quality tv and video game playing in however. Shaun T was not amused.
I did get some quality tv and video game playing in however. Shaun T was not amused.
Insanity Workout Day 58: To The Basketball I Go
3-3-10: Today was a nothing day. There is nothing to talk about. Wait. I did do something. I will talk about this now. I played basketball, which was fun. Plenty of rebounds as I find myself in the unusual position of having to play center due to my friend Rich's injury. It was quite weird. Playing center in a zone is even weirder. I would have to say that I was not very intimidating as a shotblocker. That being said, I did well enough annoying people from getting into position to limit the interior destruction.
Well...what else can I say about today? No Insanity. No Shaun T. I hate him and I miss him.
Well...what else can I say about today? No Insanity. No Shaun T. I hate him and I miss him.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 57: Do or Do Not, There is No Ply (Plyometrics)
3-2-10: Excellent progress on the warm-up today. I made it over the eight minute mark before breaking and even that break was short. Really, the main part I lost time was the last exercise of the third iteration (mummy kicks). Still, this was the warm-up needed to demonstrate progress internally to finally see myself getting over the warm-up hump.
I was worried about the workout. It typically works out that the more effort given and the farther I get through in the warm-up, the less energy I have for the remainder. Not today however. Today, I was able to push through further in the workout than usual. I was able to make it through certain exercises without a break. I got a little hung up with the power squats and the ski downs. Later I would have minimal energy for the ski abs and…that exercise that follows that one. Those two were probably the weakest of the exercises.
Overall, a day of noticeable progress. This is almost TOO easy.
I was worried about the workout. It typically works out that the more effort given and the farther I get through in the warm-up, the less energy I have for the remainder. Not today however. Today, I was able to push through further in the workout than usual. I was able to make it through certain exercises without a break. I got a little hung up with the power squats and the ski downs. Later I would have minimal energy for the ski abs and…that exercise that follows that one. Those two were probably the weakest of the exercises.
Overall, a day of noticeable progress. This is almost TOO easy.
Insanity Workout Day 56: Uh-Oh, Another Monday Off
3-1-10: For the second week in a row, I could not get myself to do a workout on Monday. I feel my morning routine is a little off. I have let myself form a bad habit of getting up an hour later (at least) than when I first started the Insanity program. It is imperative that I get back on track.
I contemplated doing the workout when I got home, but, again, it was almost 8:00 and I needed to relax by this point. I feel like Shaun T just warned me about these days off. To appease his foul nature, I will make sure to do a decent workout tomorrow and force myself to do a recovery workout on Wednesday (basketball day).
I contemplated doing the workout when I got home, but, again, it was almost 8:00 and I needed to relax by this point. I feel like Shaun T just warned me about these days off. To appease his foul nature, I will make sure to do a decent workout tomorrow and force myself to do a recovery workout on Wednesday (basketball day).
Insanity Workout Day 55: Viva la Resistance…and Power
2-28-10: Today felt good. Saturday had been an exhausting day and now I had a nice day to myself to relax, meditate, and go completely INSANE!
I had my pre-workout shake (supplemented with some leftover cookies, because we all know that cookies give you POWER!). Then it was to the basement. The warm-up still stifled me, but I’m definitely feeling better going through it these days. A few breaks during, and ending a bit quicker than Shaun T suggested, but overall, not too bad.
The workout again had its moments. I think I did over 60 pushups (or variations thereof) in this little routine. I was broken during many of the other elements, but my pieces crossed the finish line.
The look in Shaun T’s eyes told me all I needed to know “Dave! That is what you get for missing yesterday! Miss again, and I will break you into pieces again!”
I then finished the remaining cookies and had Doritos for meal 4 of the day. Screw willpower. It was delicious!
I had my pre-workout shake (supplemented with some leftover cookies, because we all know that cookies give you POWER!). Then it was to the basement. The warm-up still stifled me, but I’m definitely feeling better going through it these days. A few breaks during, and ending a bit quicker than Shaun T suggested, but overall, not too bad.
The workout again had its moments. I think I did over 60 pushups (or variations thereof) in this little routine. I was broken during many of the other elements, but my pieces crossed the finish line.
The look in Shaun T’s eyes told me all I needed to know “Dave! That is what you get for missing yesterday! Miss again, and I will break you into pieces again!”
I then finished the remaining cookies and had Doritos for meal 4 of the day. Screw willpower. It was delicious!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 54: Oh Man…Shaun T Is Going To Be FURIOUS!
2-27-10: Pizza. More Pizza. Cookies. More cookies. Doritos. One can of Coke. More Doritos. And a few more cookies. No workout.
No, my calves and quads were not sore today because of a workout, they were sore due to Shaun T’s menacing glare coming from the basement through the floor.
My excuses for missing the workout are reasonable. I woke up in Kalamazoo, drove home, shoveled the driveway, cleaned the kitchen, took a shower, and people started showing up for a four movie marathon (Blue Chips, Johnny Dangerously, Necessary Roughness, Timeline).
I could have done the workout at 10PM, but I saw where that would have gone. A workout that late would mean there would be little chance of me doing it tomorrow morning. A workout tomorrow night might mean missing the Recovery workout again on Monday. I did not want to miss that one two times in a row. I will just have to give a solid effort tomorrow to make up for the missed workout.
The food…well…I suppose my one saving grace is that I didn’t add additional calories in the form of nutritious meals. It is possible my calorie intake wasn’t ridiculously over what I should be having. Fat intake? Well…that’s another story altogether. Let’s try not to think about that. This was just one of those fun days that I will never truly give up. Just so long as I do not do this ever day (or have chips for breakfast, lunch, and dinner the rest of the week). Having evil food in the house will be another test for David.
Wish me luck. I fear Mr. T is growing tired of my insolence. It is only a matter of time before I am chained in the basement being force fed Tofu and Strawberries. God help me.
No, my calves and quads were not sore today because of a workout, they were sore due to Shaun T’s menacing glare coming from the basement through the floor.
My excuses for missing the workout are reasonable. I woke up in Kalamazoo, drove home, shoveled the driveway, cleaned the kitchen, took a shower, and people started showing up for a four movie marathon (Blue Chips, Johnny Dangerously, Necessary Roughness, Timeline).
I could have done the workout at 10PM, but I saw where that would have gone. A workout that late would mean there would be little chance of me doing it tomorrow morning. A workout tomorrow night might mean missing the Recovery workout again on Monday. I did not want to miss that one two times in a row. I will just have to give a solid effort tomorrow to make up for the missed workout.
The food…well…I suppose my one saving grace is that I didn’t add additional calories in the form of nutritious meals. It is possible my calorie intake wasn’t ridiculously over what I should be having. Fat intake? Well…that’s another story altogether. Let’s try not to think about that. This was just one of those fun days that I will never truly give up. Just so long as I do not do this ever day (or have chips for breakfast, lunch, and dinner the rest of the week). Having evil food in the house will be another test for David.
Wish me luck. I fear Mr. T is growing tired of my insolence. It is only a matter of time before I am chained in the basement being force fed Tofu and Strawberries. God help me.
Insanity Workout Day 53: How Pure Is Pure Cardio If Done in Kalamazoo?
2-26-10: It is interesting doing these workouts in different locations. Normally I do them in my basement. This is nice because of the torrents of sweat I excrete. So, to offset this, I try to wear sweatpants and a sweatshirt to help absorb sweat (not just clever names). I really do prefer doing the workouts at home though.
Still, it is impossible to skip, even on the road. Shaun T will find you. Be forewarned that if you sign up to be in his special club, you are in it for life. There is no place to run. There is no place to hide. There is only Shaun T and his never-ending pursuit to make you DIG DEEPER…but only if you are able to.
This was not my best workout. The location made things a little awkward with the jumping, but not horribly so. Really, the location ended up being okay…just different from home and that caused mental roadblocks.
While not being my best workout, I do feel pretty good about it. Being dedicated enough to a workout program to take it on a mini-vacation is nearly unbelievable to me. In that respects, this was one of my best workouts.
There is nothing really to report about the actual workout. I did not do as well on the warm-up. The actual workout had some good moments in it, but overall there were far too many breaks.
My biggest worry is going to be tomorrow. Food intake and a possible need to skip a workout could cause massive hysteria and vengeance from Shaun T. I already sense his evil presence...a dark dream foreshadowing things to come.
Still, it is impossible to skip, even on the road. Shaun T will find you. Be forewarned that if you sign up to be in his special club, you are in it for life. There is no place to run. There is no place to hide. There is only Shaun T and his never-ending pursuit to make you DIG DEEPER…but only if you are able to.
This was not my best workout. The location made things a little awkward with the jumping, but not horribly so. Really, the location ended up being okay…just different from home and that caused mental roadblocks.
While not being my best workout, I do feel pretty good about it. Being dedicated enough to a workout program to take it on a mini-vacation is nearly unbelievable to me. In that respects, this was one of my best workouts.
There is nothing really to report about the actual workout. I did not do as well on the warm-up. The actual workout had some good moments in it, but overall there were far too many breaks.
My biggest worry is going to be tomorrow. Food intake and a possible need to skip a workout could cause massive hysteria and vengeance from Shaun T. I already sense his evil presence...a dark dream foreshadowing things to come.
Insanity Workout Day 52: I OWN Plyometrics! And Other Painful DVDs. I Bought A Whole Set
2-25-10: A crazy couple of days coming up. This workout needed to be done in the morning because I was going to Kalamazoo after work.
Since I am a careful planner, I also had to pack in the morning. With all that being said, I still managed to get to work at a somewhat decent time (not an embarrassingly bad time anyway).
The workout was all right. I made it to the third iteration of the warm-up before dying. I took precious few seconds off this time. Probably the best I’ve done at the warm-up. Somewhere near the end of the jumping jacks and the end of the Heisman I needed a little break.
I am taking my Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs DVD to Kalamazoo with me to do tomorrow…no matter what! Well…unless we are doing something really fun and I do not have time for it.
Since I am a careful planner, I also had to pack in the morning. With all that being said, I still managed to get to work at a somewhat decent time (not an embarrassingly bad time anyway).
The workout was all right. I made it to the third iteration of the warm-up before dying. I took precious few seconds off this time. Probably the best I’ve done at the warm-up. Somewhere near the end of the jumping jacks and the end of the Heisman I needed a little break.
I am taking my Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs DVD to Kalamazoo with me to do tomorrow…no matter what! Well…unless we are doing something really fun and I do not have time for it.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 51: No Basketball, No Workout, No Problem?
2-24-10: There was a great disturbance in the force today. I forgot to take my basketball clothes to work, which meant I missed basketball tonight. That’s all right though. I would just go home and do the Insanity workout instead.
Or would I?
Feeling exhausted and getting home at about 7:30, I decided to randomly make today a day off this week, but start the workout week tomorrow instead. I can only home my casual disregard of the workout today will be forgiven by Shaun T. I hope my sacrificial offering of a day off will appease his madness.
Or would I?
Feeling exhausted and getting home at about 7:30, I decided to randomly make today a day off this week, but start the workout week tomorrow instead. I can only home my casual disregard of the workout today will be forgiven by Shaun T. I hope my sacrificial offering of a day off will appease his madness.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 50: Mighty Morphing Power and Resistance
2-23-10: Getting up has gotten to be difficult. I no longer bolt out of bed with an adrenaline rush in the morning, excited to do another workout with the Amazing Shaun T. This week is going to be additionally tricky as I have post-work plans for the next three days. This means that not only do the workouts have to be done, they have to be done in time to make it to work on time, otherwise the post-work schedule is doomed. DOOMED I tell you.
Again, the Power and Resistance workout has a different warm-up than Plyometrics and Pure Cardio. I need to be able to better track progress on this, so you lucky readers will now get a more detailed explanation on the warm-up experience. Actually, I have decided to give a detailed explanation of the whole workout. Why not?
I made it through the first iteration without a problem. This included Shaun T’s evil power jacks and evil vertical jumps. The second iteration was not perfect. I gave a decent effort for the power jacks, but my legs were still recovering from the vertical jumps (the only thing in between is 30 seconds of jogging), so I missed 10 seconds. Then came the log jumping. In recent workouts, I have made it a point to keep pace with Shaun T/his cronies no matter what. My pace makes this drill 80% uncomfortable. Their pace makes it 100% uncomfortable. I lost another 10 seconds. The 1-2-3 Heisman I kept up with as well as the butt-kicks and high knees. I broke somewhere in the second round of the vertical jumps. I’ll give myself a 15 second loss on those. The evil jumping also wiped me from being able to complete the 30 second sprint. I did 20 seconds and liked it. Power Jacks…deduct another 15 seconds. 10 seconds off the log jumps. 5 seconds off the 1-2-3 Heisman. Another 15-20 seconds off of the vertical jumps. 90-95 total seconds lost. I feel this was a successful warm-up (I am not dead).
The actual workout was murderous. Since this workout is not done as much as the others, I forget sometimes that Shaun T is truly insane. So, it starts with air squats (I’ve described them before, but I may have forgotten to mention that not only do you squat in the air, you squat on the ground as well), followed by belt kicks. If this were the first squatting exercise in the Power and Resistance fiasco, it would be all right. As part of this program it is painful. Then comes the mini-suicides (no travel in between), followed by V-pushups (make your body an upside-down V, hands on the ground with the fingers facing each other. Do pushups with the elbows going outwards. Works shoulders more). I was stopped by the mini-suicides in the first iteration. Too much dropping down. Legs hated me too much. The other two iterations were worse. If I was able to keep up with one, I needed a break for another one. I did all right on the V-pushups (24 total about).
Then we get into this crazy crab position for the tricep dips. At some point you are to raise one leg into the air and continue performing them. This is the most awkward feeling drill of any drill of any of the workouts. Then there is a more normal tricep exercise where pushups are done in a squat position while on your toes.
Again, the Power and Resistance workout has a different warm-up than Plyometrics and Pure Cardio. I need to be able to better track progress on this, so you lucky readers will now get a more detailed explanation on the warm-up experience. Actually, I have decided to give a detailed explanation of the whole workout. Why not?
I made it through the first iteration without a problem. This included Shaun T’s evil power jacks and evil vertical jumps. The second iteration was not perfect. I gave a decent effort for the power jacks, but my legs were still recovering from the vertical jumps (the only thing in between is 30 seconds of jogging), so I missed 10 seconds. Then came the log jumping. In recent workouts, I have made it a point to keep pace with Shaun T/his cronies no matter what. My pace makes this drill 80% uncomfortable. Their pace makes it 100% uncomfortable. I lost another 10 seconds. The 1-2-3 Heisman I kept up with as well as the butt-kicks and high knees. I broke somewhere in the second round of the vertical jumps. I’ll give myself a 15 second loss on those. The evil jumping also wiped me from being able to complete the 30 second sprint. I did 20 seconds and liked it. Power Jacks…deduct another 15 seconds. 10 seconds off the log jumps. 5 seconds off the 1-2-3 Heisman. Another 15-20 seconds off of the vertical jumps. 90-95 total seconds lost. I feel this was a successful warm-up (I am not dead).
The actual workout was murderous. Since this workout is not done as much as the others, I forget sometimes that Shaun T is truly insane. So, it starts with air squats (I’ve described them before, but I may have forgotten to mention that not only do you squat in the air, you squat on the ground as well), followed by belt kicks. If this were the first squatting exercise in the Power and Resistance fiasco, it would be all right. As part of this program it is painful. Then comes the mini-suicides (no travel in between), followed by V-pushups (make your body an upside-down V, hands on the ground with the fingers facing each other. Do pushups with the elbows going outwards. Works shoulders more). I was stopped by the mini-suicides in the first iteration. Too much dropping down. Legs hated me too much. The other two iterations were worse. If I was able to keep up with one, I needed a break for another one. I did all right on the V-pushups (24 total about).
Then we get into this crazy crab position for the tricep dips. At some point you are to raise one leg into the air and continue performing them. This is the most awkward feeling drill of any drill of any of the workouts. Then there is a more normal tricep exercise where pushups are done in a squat position while on your toes.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 49: Snow Time to Recover
2-22-10: Snow has been an interesting element in my life. I’ve always enjoyed the snow. Nice to look at and good to play in. Plus, there is always that chance that school could be cancelled, and frankly, a smaller chance that work could be cancelled. In the good ole days of high school, whenever inclement weather was scheduled that would result in a chance of there being a snow day, I automatically assumed the snow day and stayed up until some ridiculous hour. The days that actually turned into snow days were beautiful. The days that weren’t were okie dokie too. Sure, I was extraordinarily tired, but at least I had a productive night of, most likely, movie watching or video game playing.
Now, I suppose I am all grown up and doing the work thing. When I heard there was a chance for inclement weather, I stayed up way too late watching a movie (Man on Fire for those interested). I then woke up way too late, sporadically calling the inclement weather hotline for work. Then I reluctantly went to work. Arriving rather late combined with this being a day I had to work an extra 2 hours, I did not get home until 8:15. Still time for Recovery, but starting to look doubtful. I would need to focus on shoveling quickly to get inside and immediately do the Recovery workout.
I then played in the snow. There was a ton of snow and it seemed like excellent packing snow, so I figured why shovel the driveway when I can make a snowman and clear the driveway at the same time. Unfortunately, after an hour of Shaun T Insanity persistence, I believe the snow was actually TOO packed together. I used every section of driveway and front yard and it still was a dinky little ball. Plus, there were hoards of clumps of snow that were not picked up still on the driveway. Complete failure.
Or was it?
Placing the ball I had made on a small hill of snow in the front yard and shoveling as much snow as possible from the driveway to the hill, I was able to make a fair sized blob-ish thing. I then made eyes, a nose, and a huge grin in it. So, screw the snowman. Enter the Snowblob.
I made it inside after 10:00 PM and decided it was probably not a great idea to do the workout. My only hope is that Shaun T’s secret fear is Snowblobs.
Now, I suppose I am all grown up and doing the work thing. When I heard there was a chance for inclement weather, I stayed up way too late watching a movie (Man on Fire for those interested). I then woke up way too late, sporadically calling the inclement weather hotline for work. Then I reluctantly went to work. Arriving rather late combined with this being a day I had to work an extra 2 hours, I did not get home until 8:15. Still time for Recovery, but starting to look doubtful. I would need to focus on shoveling quickly to get inside and immediately do the Recovery workout.
I then played in the snow. There was a ton of snow and it seemed like excellent packing snow, so I figured why shovel the driveway when I can make a snowman and clear the driveway at the same time. Unfortunately, after an hour of Shaun T Insanity persistence, I believe the snow was actually TOO packed together. I used every section of driveway and front yard and it still was a dinky little ball. Plus, there were hoards of clumps of snow that were not picked up still on the driveway. Complete failure.
Or was it?
Placing the ball I had made on a small hill of snow in the front yard and shoveling as much snow as possible from the driveway to the hill, I was able to make a fair sized blob-ish thing. I then made eyes, a nose, and a huge grin in it. So, screw the snowman. Enter the Snowblob.
I made it inside after 10:00 PM and decided it was probably not a great idea to do the workout. My only hope is that Shaun T’s secret fear is Snowblobs.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 48: Pure Cardio’s Hurt Me Doc! Join the Nintendo Fan Club Today!
2-21-10: Hmm…the back was still not feeling great today. Really, only my upper right back was feeling fantastic. So, clearly, this means when doing the workout today I should focus all back energies to that section to prevent further pain to the other three sections. I am so smart.
Okay, I’m not quite that idiotic. I had quite the debate all day on whether or not I was going to do the workout today. Shaun T was not happy with the extra day off I took last week, and I certainly do not want to make that a pattern. So, really it was risking a more serious back injury or suffer Shaun T’s wrath.
The workout was better than expected. Maybe more breaks than usual, but there was also a bizarre moment where I thought that the Ski Downs were not too bad. Considering how annoyingly painful those have always been, this actually made the workout a win in my book. If you are keeping score at home, that is now 13 painful exercises and two not-super-painful exercises in the Pure Cardio routine (Suicide drills being the other).
Cardio Abs was all right. There are certain positions that are still blowing my mind. Sit on the floor, legs out. Lean back into a C-position (with your legs straight ahead, I would say an angle between 135 and 120 degrees for how far back you should be leaning). Then lift the legs up and back down, bring your legs in and back out. My angle is never quite right for this as I start to fall back every so often. This is probably for the best as the robots doing the exercises on the DVD seem to all need to take a few breaks when doing this one.
Well, should be all good tomorrow as it is Recovery. God help me.
Okay, I’m not quite that idiotic. I had quite the debate all day on whether or not I was going to do the workout today. Shaun T was not happy with the extra day off I took last week, and I certainly do not want to make that a pattern. So, really it was risking a more serious back injury or suffer Shaun T’s wrath.
The workout was better than expected. Maybe more breaks than usual, but there was also a bizarre moment where I thought that the Ski Downs were not too bad. Considering how annoyingly painful those have always been, this actually made the workout a win in my book. If you are keeping score at home, that is now 13 painful exercises and two not-super-painful exercises in the Pure Cardio routine (Suicide drills being the other).
Cardio Abs was all right. There are certain positions that are still blowing my mind. Sit on the floor, legs out. Lean back into a C-position (with your legs straight ahead, I would say an angle between 135 and 120 degrees for how far back you should be leaning). Then lift the legs up and back down, bring your legs in and back out. My angle is never quite right for this as I start to fall back every so often. This is probably for the best as the robots doing the exercises on the DVD seem to all need to take a few breaks when doing this one.
Well, should be all good tomorrow as it is Recovery. God help me.
Insanity Workout Day 47: Plyometrics Shmylometrics
2-20-10: Definitely sore from the fit test, I delayed the workout till about 2:00 PM. The workout…was there. It definitely wore me out and I was definitely sweating like an overly hydrated monkey playing basketball in a sauna.
While not beating the warm-up (still close), I do feel I was able to get farther along in certain aspects of the actual workout. Like the breaks he gave. I feel like I was able to take them all successfully. But seriously, while not making it through entirely, I did not end up in a huddled crying lumpy mass in the center of the basement floor. It was more a cringy zombie walk to the shower.
Thankfully, due to the intense sweating, it starts to get damned cold staying still. Getting to the shower is also a remedy to avoid in-house hypothermia.
Later in the day, my lower back was hurting a bit, with the upper left half of the back still tweaked. The soreness is spreading. Clearly I need to push harder tomorrow.
While not beating the warm-up (still close), I do feel I was able to get farther along in certain aspects of the actual workout. Like the breaks he gave. I feel like I was able to take them all successfully. But seriously, while not making it through entirely, I did not end up in a huddled crying lumpy mass in the center of the basement floor. It was more a cringy zombie walk to the shower.
Thankfully, due to the intense sweating, it starts to get damned cold staying still. Getting to the shower is also a remedy to avoid in-house hypothermia.
Later in the day, my lower back was hurting a bit, with the upper left half of the back still tweaked. The soreness is spreading. Clearly I need to push harder tomorrow.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 46: Fitness Test IV, The Quest For Peace
2-19-10: Quick side note. If there is ever anything that you were hoping to accomplish, I recommend writing about it online every day for sufficient motivation. It almost makes things too easy.
Well, I am not insane enough yet to attempt the month two workouts, so I will be repeating the last two weeks again. This is not terrible news and was an expected delay. My original thought was to get through the two month program in three months, so, thankfully, I am still right where I need to be.
On to the results. Substantial improvement on three of the exercises, minor improvement on three exercises and minor disprovement on two exercises. No cause for alarm on the two where there were decreases. This most likely came about due to the heavy improvement on two of the exercises preceding them. Not worried one bit. On an overall repetition scale I improved from 275 total reps last test to 304 this test. The only surprise one for me were the push-up jacks, the only real push-up drills which I only improved by one on. I felt like I was getting much more comfortable doing the push-ups in the drills. I imagine next time this will show more substantial improvement.
As far as weight, I did not lose any these past two weeks. Again, no cause for alarm. My pants are starting to fit much better, my gut is getting smaller and I was much more sore this week than prior weeks, suggesting that I was able to dig deeper on a lot of the exercises and increase muscle. I was expecting this earlier in the Insanity Workout world, but am getting it now. Shaun T can be very unpredictable.
Also, I decided to try this even with the small tweak in the shoulderblade. My thought was that if I felt any pain coming from that area I would just stop the routine. Thankfully, the pain never came. That evil is nearly gone.
Well, I am not insane enough yet to attempt the month two workouts, so I will be repeating the last two weeks again. This is not terrible news and was an expected delay. My original thought was to get through the two month program in three months, so, thankfully, I am still right where I need to be.
On to the results. Substantial improvement on three of the exercises, minor improvement on three exercises and minor disprovement on two exercises. No cause for alarm on the two where there were decreases. This most likely came about due to the heavy improvement on two of the exercises preceding them. Not worried one bit. On an overall repetition scale I improved from 275 total reps last test to 304 this test. The only surprise one for me were the push-up jacks, the only real push-up drills which I only improved by one on. I felt like I was getting much more comfortable doing the push-ups in the drills. I imagine next time this will show more substantial improvement.
As far as weight, I did not lose any these past two weeks. Again, no cause for alarm. My pants are starting to fit much better, my gut is getting smaller and I was much more sore this week than prior weeks, suggesting that I was able to dig deeper on a lot of the exercises and increase muscle. I was expecting this earlier in the Insanity Workout world, but am getting it now. Shaun T can be very unpredictable.
Also, I decided to try this even with the small tweak in the shoulderblade. My thought was that if I felt any pain coming from that area I would just stop the routine. Thankfully, the pain never came. That evil is nearly gone.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 45: Trying to Get Back on Track
2-18-10: The back was actually in a decent amount of pain last night. Kind of beneath my left shoulder-blade area, it hurt to look to the left or right. Sleeping was difficult. Ibuprofen helped.
Thankfully as the workday went on, the pain started to subside. By the end of the workday, the pain…is…well…magically disappearing.
Any residual pain will certainly be cleared up by the magic of the Insanity Workout tomorrow morning. YEEEHA!
Thankfully as the workday went on, the pain started to subside. By the end of the workday, the pain…is…well…magically disappearing.
Any residual pain will certainly be cleared up by the magic of the Insanity Workout tomorrow morning. YEEEHA!
Insanity Workout Day 44: PAUSE THE INSANITY!
2-17-10: Today getting up was very difficult. I feel my quads could now deflect tank shells, though I have yet to test this theory. Wait…no…it felt like my quads were hit by tank shells. Yes, that is more accurate.
I snuck out of the house this morning…very quietly. I do not think Shaun T noticed. It is a tricky fish, because Shaun T never sleeps. I had to silently move around like a ninja draped in towels doused in freezing water to avoid his bionically enhanced thermal vision. He will not be pleased when I get home.
Basketball was okie dokie tonight. Honestly, too many players and not enough minutes. I went to the Troy Community Center after to play for another hour. Good times. At around 10:00 I was about to leave when I remembered I had to do a vertical jump test. I am sad to report that there was no improvement from two weeks ago. It could have been the exhausted body and trying to do it at the end of the two hours of basketball, but no excuses. As Shaun T would say, I must dig deeper. In two weeks there will be some improvement.
I also mildly tweaked my back. Thankfully, one thing I know about exercising is the one thing you can safely ignore are back injuries. Hmmm…hopefully this will magically recover tomorrow on my day off.
I snuck out of the house this morning…very quietly. I do not think Shaun T noticed. It is a tricky fish, because Shaun T never sleeps. I had to silently move around like a ninja draped in towels doused in freezing water to avoid his bionically enhanced thermal vision. He will not be pleased when I get home.
Basketball was okie dokie tonight. Honestly, too many players and not enough minutes. I went to the Troy Community Center after to play for another hour. Good times. At around 10:00 I was about to leave when I remembered I had to do a vertical jump test. I am sad to report that there was no improvement from two weeks ago. It could have been the exhausted body and trying to do it at the end of the two hours of basketball, but no excuses. As Shaun T would say, I must dig deeper. In two weeks there will be some improvement.
I also mildly tweaked my back. Thankfully, one thing I know about exercising is the one thing you can safely ignore are back injuries. Hmmm…hopefully this will magically recover tomorrow on my day off.
Insanity Workout Day 43: How Shaun T Beat Me – Dave’s Story of Pure Cardio
2-16-10: I woke up a broken man this morning. Sore, exhausted, and not wanting to get out of bed, let alone get beat up by Shaun T again. The program finally got me. Shaun T finally won. I was going to need to take a break day.
Or would I?
Certainly that “recovery” day yesterday would help me by the afternoon, right? My body feeling better after work and the adrenaline pumping due to another intense day of accounting, I knew that I had Shaun T right where I wanted him.
Somewhere in the warm-up I decided that I had made a terrible mistake. But, as a great karate master once told me, “Mercy is for the weak. The enemy deserves no mercy.” True in this instance and a good motto for life. I would push on.
I’m not sure if I was hallucinating or not, but I swear Shaun T was laughing at me when I started doing the workout portion. This angered me. This allowed me to push…oh…I don’t know…for another 5-7 seconds? The breaks felt good.
Collapsing in a heap when the final stretching was done, it only seemed logical to do the Cardio Abs workout as well. This is what Shaun T had intended. And I wasn’t dead (officially) yet.
Again, Cardio Abs was painful in its own special way. Breaking me more with pain as opposed to cardio, but breaking me with cardio as well just to be sure.
I believe tomorrow morning will be the first non-scheduled day off. Shaun T is going to be so angry with me…
Or would I?
Certainly that “recovery” day yesterday would help me by the afternoon, right? My body feeling better after work and the adrenaline pumping due to another intense day of accounting, I knew that I had Shaun T right where I wanted him.
Somewhere in the warm-up I decided that I had made a terrible mistake. But, as a great karate master once told me, “Mercy is for the weak. The enemy deserves no mercy.” True in this instance and a good motto for life. I would push on.
I’m not sure if I was hallucinating or not, but I swear Shaun T was laughing at me when I started doing the workout portion. This angered me. This allowed me to push…oh…I don’t know…for another 5-7 seconds? The breaks felt good.
Collapsing in a heap when the final stretching was done, it only seemed logical to do the Cardio Abs workout as well. This is what Shaun T had intended. And I wasn’t dead (officially) yet.
Again, Cardio Abs was painful in its own special way. Breaking me more with pain as opposed to cardio, but breaking me with cardio as well just to be sure.
I believe tomorrow morning will be the first non-scheduled day off. Shaun T is going to be so angry with me…
Monday, February 15, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 42: Please…Please…I Don’t WANNA Recover
2-15-10: Today was President’s Day, which of course I had off. Every year I spend this day reading a different biography on one of our great Presidents. Wouldn’t it be weird if I was like that?
What I will say is, Thank God I had the day off. My body resisted getting out of bed until 11:00. This was eleven hours of sleep. My body then told me that today would make an excellent candidate for actually taking a break to let me body recover. My body had a good point, but then the evil chanting of Shaun T resonated within my brain. Then his cruel and unusual logic started demanding a sacrifice (my body). “But Dave, today is the Recovery workout. Didn’t you just say you wanted your body to recover? Maybe the best way for your body to recover is to, I don’t know, do the workout designed to recover you??? Do not make my angry David. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.” To the basement I went.
I do not know how the people on the video are not screaming in pain. They clearly are not doing the “recovery” exercises right. I appreciate truth in exercise films. In the case of this workout in particular, I envision the gym they are working out in to be in the midst of fire and flames, with the participants screaming in agony and pain as they are slowly and brutally tortured by Shaun T (which is almost an anagram for Satan (Satun…H). In this much shorter 25 minutes of hell, I still was drenched in the same level of sweat as the other workouts and my legs certainly hated me a lot more.
Amazingly, writing this at night, I do fell…good. I am suspicious of this good. I will know for sure tomorrow.
Finally, one of my friends and dedicated readers to this blog provided the scientific reasoning why eating right before the Insanity workout is not a bad thing. I was going to paraphrase, but he wrote it quite well, so I’m just going to quote him (and you will not trick me into eating bananas…you crafty S.o.B):
“While it is true that you mobilize more fat stores if you work out first thing in the morning before eating, this is generally done for aerobic exercise at say 60-70% of maximum heart rate. The type of exercise that you are doing has a definite anerobic part to it. That is, the intensity is so high that your body is using energy stores that do not use oxygen. Think of it like this, sprinting is anerobic, close to maximal intensity and you can only maintain this intensity for a short period before energy stores run out. Whereas with jogging you can maintain that pace for a while because the body is deriving its energy from the oxygen pathway. So, you can see that sometimes when Shaun T is asking for more, you are using up your glycogen (anerobic). Since your goal is not to just burn as many calories as possible, but to build muscle and get in shape, then eating before you workout might make the workout more beneficial for your goals.”
What I will say is, Thank God I had the day off. My body resisted getting out of bed until 11:00. This was eleven hours of sleep. My body then told me that today would make an excellent candidate for actually taking a break to let me body recover. My body had a good point, but then the evil chanting of Shaun T resonated within my brain. Then his cruel and unusual logic started demanding a sacrifice (my body). “But Dave, today is the Recovery workout. Didn’t you just say you wanted your body to recover? Maybe the best way for your body to recover is to, I don’t know, do the workout designed to recover you??? Do not make my angry David. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.” To the basement I went.
I do not know how the people on the video are not screaming in pain. They clearly are not doing the “recovery” exercises right. I appreciate truth in exercise films. In the case of this workout in particular, I envision the gym they are working out in to be in the midst of fire and flames, with the participants screaming in agony and pain as they are slowly and brutally tortured by Shaun T (which is almost an anagram for Satan (Satun…H). In this much shorter 25 minutes of hell, I still was drenched in the same level of sweat as the other workouts and my legs certainly hated me a lot more.
Amazingly, writing this at night, I do fell…good. I am suspicious of this good. I will know for sure tomorrow.
Finally, one of my friends and dedicated readers to this blog provided the scientific reasoning why eating right before the Insanity workout is not a bad thing. I was going to paraphrase, but he wrote it quite well, so I’m just going to quote him (and you will not trick me into eating bananas…you crafty S.o.B):
“While it is true that you mobilize more fat stores if you work out first thing in the morning before eating, this is generally done for aerobic exercise at say 60-70% of maximum heart rate. The type of exercise that you are doing has a definite anerobic part to it. That is, the intensity is so high that your body is using energy stores that do not use oxygen. Think of it like this, sprinting is anerobic, close to maximal intensity and you can only maintain this intensity for a short period before energy stores run out. Whereas with jogging you can maintain that pace for a while because the body is deriving its energy from the oxygen pathway. So, you can see that sometimes when Shaun T is asking for more, you are using up your glycogen (anerobic). Since your goal is not to just burn as many calories as possible, but to build muscle and get in shape, then eating before you workout might make the workout more beneficial for your goals.”
Insanity Workout Day 41: And a Special Valentine’s Day Gift From Shaun T…Pain…I Saw This Coming (Plyometric Cardio Circuit Round 11)
2-14-10: Well, yesterday I was well-rested for my morning workout. Today, I was not. Since I stayed up till 4:00 with my brother playing a wonderful little board game called Agricola (All of the excitement of being a farmer in the comfort of your own home. Hmm…no it really is a lot of fun). Since it was a hang out with the family day, I still needed to get up somewhat early to do the workout before running out with them for lunch.
Thus, I was sleepy when doing the workout. Though, not horribly sore, nor muscle fatigued. Actually felt good and pushed hard in many areas of the wonderful Plyometrics routine today. Still close on the warm-up. If I just held back a little bit on a few of the exercises in the third iteration, I could do it. But this is not the Shaun T way. I know that I would be cheating if I did it that way. And, more importantly, Shaun T would know. And Shaun T would not look kindly upon it. Still, really close. A few seconds of jumping jacks, a few seconds of the Heisman, and maybe 10 seconds of the Mummy Kicks. And the 1-2-3 Heisman was not as fast as it needs to be.
I also pushed a little harder than normal at the actual workout. The Ski Downs still get me, but even those aren’t quite as bad. The Ski Abs and the subsequent drill are my new objectives. It is nearing the end of the workout so doing a lot of plank position crazy leg jumping to the left, right and sprints is brutal. That being said, definitely felt improvement this time around and definitely a good workout.
Thus, I was sleepy when doing the workout. Though, not horribly sore, nor muscle fatigued. Actually felt good and pushed hard in many areas of the wonderful Plyometrics routine today. Still close on the warm-up. If I just held back a little bit on a few of the exercises in the third iteration, I could do it. But this is not the Shaun T way. I know that I would be cheating if I did it that way. And, more importantly, Shaun T would know. And Shaun T would not look kindly upon it. Still, really close. A few seconds of jumping jacks, a few seconds of the Heisman, and maybe 10 seconds of the Mummy Kicks. And the 1-2-3 Heisman was not as fast as it needs to be.
I also pushed a little harder than normal at the actual workout. The Ski Downs still get me, but even those aren’t quite as bad. The Ski Abs and the subsequent drill are my new objectives. It is nearing the end of the workout so doing a lot of plank position crazy leg jumping to the left, right and sprints is brutal. That being said, definitely felt improvement this time around and definitely a good workout.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 40: Today Was a Good Day to Die, the Magic of Power and Resistance
2-13-10: My brother was in town, but thankfully he was exhausted on Friday, so we went to bed reasonably early, which meant I could get up in time to do the Power and Resistance workout in the morning before doing family things.
I had my favorite shake breakfast before the workout. This is the third workout in a row that I've eaten something small right before. It is hard to say how it is affecting the workout, but I can say with some certainty that it is not hurting me, so I think I will continue.
I also had a special recovery formula that Vince gave me a sample of, provided by the same website (beachbody.com) that I purchased the Insanity DVDs from. Knowing Shaun T, I assume this formula to be pure concentrated evil and will slightly refresh my body at the cost of my soul. I tried it yesterday after the workout and today after the workout. I did not really notice any difference, but then, it is sometimes difficult to gauge my feelings when switching between one of the other workouts and power and resistance because of their little differences.
The warm-up was better. I made it to the third iteration, but, of course, the speed power jacks got me. And those cursed vertical jumps. The workout itself made me hurt. I don't want to do jumping squats anymore. Lots of crazy push-up things in the power and resistance workout. This is good. The pain in the arms makes me notice the pain in the legs less. There's only so much pain the receptors in my brain can handle at one time. Ha! Take that Shaun T! Though...I'm sure I will now feel this the rest of the day with anything I do. Whereas usually it is walking that is painful, now writing (typing), and swinging the arms, and shooting Imperial Troopers will hurt as well.
Still, yeeha! I'm DOING it!
I had my favorite shake breakfast before the workout. This is the third workout in a row that I've eaten something small right before. It is hard to say how it is affecting the workout, but I can say with some certainty that it is not hurting me, so I think I will continue.
I also had a special recovery formula that Vince gave me a sample of, provided by the same website (beachbody.com) that I purchased the Insanity DVDs from. Knowing Shaun T, I assume this formula to be pure concentrated evil and will slightly refresh my body at the cost of my soul. I tried it yesterday after the workout and today after the workout. I did not really notice any difference, but then, it is sometimes difficult to gauge my feelings when switching between one of the other workouts and power and resistance because of their little differences.
The warm-up was better. I made it to the third iteration, but, of course, the speed power jacks got me. And those cursed vertical jumps. The workout itself made me hurt. I don't want to do jumping squats anymore. Lots of crazy push-up things in the power and resistance workout. This is good. The pain in the arms makes me notice the pain in the legs less. There's only so much pain the receptors in my brain can handle at one time. Ha! Take that Shaun T! Though...I'm sure I will now feel this the rest of the day with anything I do. Whereas usually it is walking that is painful, now writing (typing), and swinging the arms, and shooting Imperial Troopers will hurt as well.
Still, yeeha! I'm DOING it!
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