Insanity Workout Day 17: The Un-Fitness Test

1-21-10: Oh goodie! The second fitness test. The fitness test starts with a brief warmup followed by a brief stretch. Then eight exercises are performed, one minute each, with the end goal to see how many of each exercise was performed. Ideally I would beat my scores from a couple weeks ago. I did make fair improvement on most of them (only one result was the same as last time). However, I am less interested in my results from the first test to the second test. And here's why: Form. The first time doing these exercises, they were done with a secondary effort towards form. "Hold the core tight?" Well...sometimes, but not really. Proper form happily makes all of the exercises more difficult.

Another oddity is the pacing. Should I do all of the exercises as fast as I can? This might seem like an obvious "yes", but I have a slight problem with it. Many of the exercises become quite difficult, a tribute to the power necessary, when doing them slower. Plus, form is lost with an increase in speed. I still recognize the need for speed, but I want to keep my mind on the power as well as the Insanity Workout, and its unholy ruler, Shaun T, demand an increase in power. All of the cardio madness depends on it.

Fitness test day is a good reminder to go over goals, and why I'm doing this. There are many reasons actually, one of which Vince sort of mentions in his post. He mentions that I'm trying to return to my high school b-ball rec league form. This is not entirely true though. I am trying to greatly EXCEED my high school condition. The effort in high school was random at best and potential was never reached. Now, in some odd way, my biological clock is ticking...no...I don't want to get pregnant, but I do feel the pressures to see what kind of shape I can achieve with this body. At 31, going on 32, it is already a little too late to see what max potential could have been. Still, I contend that by the end of this, I will be in much better condition than I ever was in high school, in all areas (faster, stronger, more agile).

Other reasons may include a pestering need to better myself. This could be in many different areas. However, I've never seriously attempted this for my physical being. In the end, it means being a healthier person. Very early, but so far, not as difficult as I thought it would be so long as I am serious about it. And the idea is for this to be a permanent change. Not some temporary program, and not some temporary diet/meal plan. The idea is to become this person permanently.

Finally, and most importantly, I want to be able to slam dunk...okay...maybe that really isn't one of the goals, but definitely something I am mildly intrigued by. By the end of the year, I plan to drop 40 pounds. This puts me at a weight lower than I was in high school, but still a few pounds over what is recommended for my height. At first this might seem like an extreme goal, but in the end it seems reasonable to me. Consistent workout, increased metabolism, and more restraint on gorging, the plan is 20 pounds the first three months, 10 pounds the next three, 6 pounds the next three, and 4 pounds the last three. This falls into the theory that the later weight will be harder to get off. Side footnote, with the Halloween movie marathon in quarter 4, things will become difficult. Massive quantities of junk food. Craziness. Anyway, my point being that I am a couple inches short of touching the rim now. If I drop 20% of my body weight, while drastically increasing my leg muscles...well...sons of a beotch, the ability to slam could actually become a side benefit, which would amuse the hell out of me. The speed increase also intrigues me. I am very much intrigued.

There are other reasons too for sure, but that's good enough for now.