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?
Showing posts with label cardio abs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cardio abs. Show all posts
Friday, May 14, 2010
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, 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!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
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.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
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 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.
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.
Monday, March 8, 2010
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.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
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…
Friday, February 12, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 39: Diluted Cardio, Pure Cardio on the Rocks
2-12-10: Paying closer attention to the exercises, I get why the Frog Jumps seem to be so ridiculously impossible. This is the third exercise, in a span of 7-8 minutes, that heavily relies on squats. There are the stance jacks (power jacks with a twist (touch your left hand to the ground by your right foot while in the squat position, jump up and then move ahead with the other arm)), power jacks, and then the Frog Jumps. If the legs didn’t hurt enough, the Level 2 drills (8 pushups, run in plank position for 8 seconds, jump forward, jump up, drop down into plank position, repeat) make sure that any thoughts of…well…breathing go right out the window. Yes, when Frog Jumps start, the legs hurt and it is hard to breathe. Other than that I’m good to go.
I was close on the warm-up this morning. Aside from 10 seconds off of the jumping jacks, 10 seconds off the mummy kicks, and not going fast enough in the third iteration of the Heisman and 1-2-3 Heisman, I made it through. Tomorrow comes the Power and Resistance, which means the warm-up slightly changes. I just need to make it through the damned Power Jacks tomorrow. I do feel on pace to make it through the warm-up by the end of this workout week (I think this means I might push month 2 back a couple more weeks. Makes no sense to start it if I haven’t mastered month 1 yet). This morning felt good.
The usual suspects got me again in the actual workout. Other than the Frog Jumps, the Ski Downs, the Pedal, and the 12 other exercises in the workout, I was fine.
Cardio Abs were…there. I am not dead, so I must have made it through that workout as well. This is not a terribly difficult workout. Don’t get me wrong. I still need breaks, but I do not feel like every exercise is the end of the world. It is a nice supplement to the Pure Cardio madness that precedes it.
Today for lunch I had a microwavable bowl of soup. While, this seems random, and it doesn’t really connect well, I did find something sort of odd about it. After removing the metal top, there was still a metal ring where the lid had been connected. The instructions said that this remaining metal was fine to put into the microwave. Wait. What? So…there is microwavable metal? Is this more expensive to make? Shouldn’t things like Aluminum Foil be made out of this wacky metal substance? That’s all I’ve got.
I was close on the warm-up this morning. Aside from 10 seconds off of the jumping jacks, 10 seconds off the mummy kicks, and not going fast enough in the third iteration of the Heisman and 1-2-3 Heisman, I made it through. Tomorrow comes the Power and Resistance, which means the warm-up slightly changes. I just need to make it through the damned Power Jacks tomorrow. I do feel on pace to make it through the warm-up by the end of this workout week (I think this means I might push month 2 back a couple more weeks. Makes no sense to start it if I haven’t mastered month 1 yet). This morning felt good.
The usual suspects got me again in the actual workout. Other than the Frog Jumps, the Ski Downs, the Pedal, and the 12 other exercises in the workout, I was fine.
Cardio Abs were…there. I am not dead, so I must have made it through that workout as well. This is not a terribly difficult workout. Don’t get me wrong. I still need breaks, but I do not feel like every exercise is the end of the world. It is a nice supplement to the Pure Cardio madness that precedes it.
Today for lunch I had a microwavable bowl of soup. While, this seems random, and it doesn’t really connect well, I did find something sort of odd about it. After removing the metal top, there was still a metal ring where the lid had been connected. The instructions said that this remaining metal was fine to put into the microwave. Wait. What? So…there is microwavable metal? Is this more expensive to make? Shouldn’t things like Aluminum Foil be made out of this wacky metal substance? That’s all I’ve got.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 34: Pure Concentrated Evil (Cardio) and Evil (Cardio) Abs
2-7-10: I woke up bright and early this fine Superbowl Sunday morning. At around 9:00 I had started the warm-up and did a good job through it. Not perfect, of course, but I am entering that realm of break-less completion. I could smell it today. It smelled a lot like disgusting sweat and evil. Weird.
I made it through stretching today without breaks. Probably the least impressive of the three areas of the workout DVD to make it through, but progress nonetheless.
Then the workout. Starting with the suicides, I started well. Everything else had varying degrees of success and failure. Frog jumps were a failure. Level 2 drills were success-ish. Most of the one minute drills were again done for about half the time. Shaun T was not as mocking today, but he did peer into my soul today. Almost as if he knew I was preparing to break his nutritional plan. Oh, how he burns the soul!
Again, Cardio Abs was done right after Pure Cardio. Making sure the core is tight as to not hurt the back, makes for an intensely painful experience for the abs and obliques. Still, that wonderfully intense pain means it was working! Yay! No sit-ups and no crunches. Just Shaun T’s own special recipe of pain.
And the best drill to do, especially if you are doing this with other people, is the drill he saves for the end, which I call the F the ground drill. Line up in a plank position and give 8 pulses with the hips, go into low plank and give 8 pulses with the hips. Repeat four times. If I start thinking about Shaun T when I’m having sex I may have to start rethinking the Insanity workout. Until then, upwards and onwards.
I did not have pizza today. I did have meatballs, mosticelli, Doritos, Sun Chips, brownies, cookies, and chip dip. No pop however. Still, this was definitely one of those fun cheat days where I just pray Shaun T never finds out about. Now, the challenge becomes the large quantities of uneaten junk food residing at my house. This has just become the biggest challenge of the Insanity workout program.
I made it through stretching today without breaks. Probably the least impressive of the three areas of the workout DVD to make it through, but progress nonetheless.
Then the workout. Starting with the suicides, I started well. Everything else had varying degrees of success and failure. Frog jumps were a failure. Level 2 drills were success-ish. Most of the one minute drills were again done for about half the time. Shaun T was not as mocking today, but he did peer into my soul today. Almost as if he knew I was preparing to break his nutritional plan. Oh, how he burns the soul!
Again, Cardio Abs was done right after Pure Cardio. Making sure the core is tight as to not hurt the back, makes for an intensely painful experience for the abs and obliques. Still, that wonderfully intense pain means it was working! Yay! No sit-ups and no crunches. Just Shaun T’s own special recipe of pain.
And the best drill to do, especially if you are doing this with other people, is the drill he saves for the end, which I call the F the ground drill. Line up in a plank position and give 8 pulses with the hips, go into low plank and give 8 pulses with the hips. Repeat four times. If I start thinking about Shaun T when I’m having sex I may have to start rethinking the Insanity workout. Until then, upwards and onwards.
I did not have pizza today. I did have meatballs, mosticelli, Doritos, Sun Chips, brownies, cookies, and chip dip. No pop however. Still, this was definitely one of those fun cheat days where I just pray Shaun T never finds out about. Now, the challenge becomes the large quantities of uneaten junk food residing at my house. This has just become the biggest challenge of the Insanity workout program.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 27: Pure Cardio, Cardio Abs and Friend
1-31-10: Today I ventured out to Ypsilanti to do the day's workout with Vince. Trying to do the workout once a week with a friend is a good way to stay motivated. During the week I want to get better to put on a better show in the group setting. In the group setting I try to push a little harder. Amusingly enough I think I pushed a little too hard during the first iteration of the warm-up. This left me needing a break before the third iteration and a few more breaks than usual in the third iteration. Definitely started stronger though.
I did stretch better today. By myself it is the part I am most likely to take an unnecessary break...because I dislike stretching. It makes me angry. The group setting actually forced me to push through more so than usual.
The Pure Cardio workout was not my best workout, but it wasn't the worst either. I took breaks, but many were shorter than usual, encouraged to get back in the game. Vince, on the other hand, is a crazy man. His first break came during the frog jumps, which is about five minutes to the end of the workout, and about the time I take my 27th break. It sucks that something called Frog Jumps can be so difficult. It sounds like a stupid kiddie exercise...but it is a pure evil jump forward from squat jump back into squat rotation of doom. Still, a good day of Pure Cardio all in all.
I did better in Cardio Abs, but still not at the level needed to be. This may be the most important part to keep the core tight, otherwise it is working the back, probably in a bad way. Rule of thumb, if you feel it in the back, you are doing something wrong. If you feel it in the tummy, then it probably hurts and you'll want your mommy. And you will be doing it right. Good day of working out.
I did stretch better today. By myself it is the part I am most likely to take an unnecessary break...because I dislike stretching. It makes me angry. The group setting actually forced me to push through more so than usual.
The Pure Cardio workout was not my best workout, but it wasn't the worst either. I took breaks, but many were shorter than usual, encouraged to get back in the game. Vince, on the other hand, is a crazy man. His first break came during the frog jumps, which is about five minutes to the end of the workout, and about the time I take my 27th break. It sucks that something called Frog Jumps can be so difficult. It sounds like a stupid kiddie exercise...but it is a pure evil jump forward from squat jump back into squat rotation of doom. Still, a good day of Pure Cardio all in all.
I did better in Cardio Abs, but still not at the level needed to be. This may be the most important part to keep the core tight, otherwise it is working the back, probably in a bad way. Rule of thumb, if you feel it in the back, you are doing something wrong. If you feel it in the tummy, then it probably hurts and you'll want your mommy. And you will be doing it right. Good day of working out.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 24: Pure Cardio Makes My Head Hurt, But At Least Ski Downs Following Mountain Climbers Makes Sense
1-28-10: I may have to make another small modification to the schedule. The day off is supposed to prepare me for the next week of hell. Only, I have been playing basketball the night before the start of the next day’s workout. Meaning that I typically have 24 hours in between workouts, except for after my “day off” in which I only get 10. I think my day off needs to be on Thursday, which would maintain a 12 hour spacing in between my last workout of the Insanity week and my basketball game, but would allow a day of rest to come after that hellish day. I think I could really use that day off to recover. This would also move Recovery day to Monday, which is also better as it is a shorter workout, meaning I should be able to start the work week off right.
I made it through the second iteration of the warm-up today. And the second time was at an increased speed. Excellent. I also made it through most of the initial sprinting of the third iteration of the warm-up before breaking. Still not where I need to be, but definitely some good personal improvement.
Rethinking most of the stretches, really there is only one that I hate. Sure, my form is suspect for the deep lunge, the one that kills me is the stretch that Shaun T tries to trick us with. He wants us to think it is a stretch, but it really isn’t. He thinks he can just throw a cardio exercise in the middle of the stretching and I’m not going to notice? Oh! I noticed Shaun T! The exercise comes right after the hip flexor stretch (my actual stretching nemesis). The idea is to balance on one leg, with your other leg parallel to the ground and your arms providing additional balance on the floor. The “stretch”, or so he calls it, requires moving the back leg in and out. This isn’t stretching. This is another “he hate me” drill.
The actual workout for Pure Cardio is terrifying. Still, I at least can make an imaginary story for part of it. This being where the mountain climber exercise starts. This is essentially high knees while alternating grasps at the ceiling with your arms. To the casual observer, it appears that you are climbing…well…nothing…you actually would look quite insane. Since this is the Insanity workout, you are clearly in the right state of mind then to imagine climbing up a mountain. I am good at climbing the mountain. Depending on the prior exercise, high knees are not the worst thing in the world. Then in a completely backwards twist, the ski downs start and so does the pain. In my mind I think this shouldn’t hurt. I’m skiing down the mountain I just climbed. Really I just have to let gravity do the work. But no, Shaun T has taken the fun out of skiing, making you feel like you are attempting to ski uphill, or down a hill with a disastrous coefficient of friction (that’s for my boy Sarz as he is most likely to actually read this.)
Cardio Abs again is like a distant memory even though it really didn’t happen all that long ago. I believe there is a severe lack of oxygen after Pure Cardio that prevents me from remembering Cardio Abs. Maybe I am blocking them from memory. Either way, what I can remember is an opening warm-up that isn’t awful by itself, just awful if it is following another workout. The floor exercises range from “not so bad” to “well, I did one, time for a break” to “Okay! I think I get what you are doing…oh…the drill is over?” Cardio Abs will make more sense when I perform Pure Cardio better. Pure Cardio will make more sense when that blasted warm-up is mastered.
I made it through the second iteration of the warm-up today. And the second time was at an increased speed. Excellent. I also made it through most of the initial sprinting of the third iteration of the warm-up before breaking. Still not where I need to be, but definitely some good personal improvement.
Rethinking most of the stretches, really there is only one that I hate. Sure, my form is suspect for the deep lunge, the one that kills me is the stretch that Shaun T tries to trick us with. He wants us to think it is a stretch, but it really isn’t. He thinks he can just throw a cardio exercise in the middle of the stretching and I’m not going to notice? Oh! I noticed Shaun T! The exercise comes right after the hip flexor stretch (my actual stretching nemesis). The idea is to balance on one leg, with your other leg parallel to the ground and your arms providing additional balance on the floor. The “stretch”, or so he calls it, requires moving the back leg in and out. This isn’t stretching. This is another “he hate me” drill.
The actual workout for Pure Cardio is terrifying. Still, I at least can make an imaginary story for part of it. This being where the mountain climber exercise starts. This is essentially high knees while alternating grasps at the ceiling with your arms. To the casual observer, it appears that you are climbing…well…nothing…you actually would look quite insane. Since this is the Insanity workout, you are clearly in the right state of mind then to imagine climbing up a mountain. I am good at climbing the mountain. Depending on the prior exercise, high knees are not the worst thing in the world. Then in a completely backwards twist, the ski downs start and so does the pain. In my mind I think this shouldn’t hurt. I’m skiing down the mountain I just climbed. Really I just have to let gravity do the work. But no, Shaun T has taken the fun out of skiing, making you feel like you are attempting to ski uphill, or down a hill with a disastrous coefficient of friction (that’s for my boy Sarz as he is most likely to actually read this.)
Cardio Abs again is like a distant memory even though it really didn’t happen all that long ago. I believe there is a severe lack of oxygen after Pure Cardio that prevents me from remembering Cardio Abs. Maybe I am blocking them from memory. Either way, what I can remember is an opening warm-up that isn’t awful by itself, just awful if it is following another workout. The floor exercises range from “not so bad” to “well, I did one, time for a break” to “Okay! I think I get what you are doing…oh…the drill is over?” Cardio Abs will make more sense when I perform Pure Cardio better. Pure Cardio will make more sense when that blasted warm-up is mastered.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 19: Pure Hell...err...Cardio and Cardio Hell...err...Abs
1-23-10: When doing Cardio Abs I find myself in a bit of a Catch-22. Since it follows a hellacious Pure Cardio workout, one in which I found myself swallowing some of my own sweat (I know...delicious right?), the energy and effort for this one becomes somewhat suspect. I did fairly well in the opening exercises, but then came the floor exercises. I gave it a good go, but I felt myself slipping out of form and releasing the core far too often. Unfortunate, since it is probably most important to keep the core tight during Cardio Abs. Ah well. Another thing I noticed was the impact floor exercises had on me this time. An exercise would conclude and Shaun T would offer us a thirty second water break. I usually guzzle large quantities of water when doing any kind of standing exercise. Now, in a seated position, I felt the energy it would take to get up and walk the seven feet to get water became too much. I wanted water. Water would have tasted good, but the need for water seemed to keep losing out to the need to not move for as long as possible.
Another funny thing about these DVDs is that Shaun T keeps reminding us to breathe. Now, of course he is trying to get the timing of the breathing down for us, when to inhale/exhale and whatnot. Still, thank God he tells us to breathe. I make sure to get one extra breath in between my panting, wheezing and gasps.
I still averaged about half of each exercise for Pure Cardio. I need to improve on this, but I don't want to die. A conundrum this is. Oddly, if nothing else, the scissor kicks seemed easier to me this time. This exercise starts with your right arm forward, left arm back, left leg forward, and right leg back. It consists of jumping from this position to the opposite position and back and back and back and back and back. My problem before was I was splitting the legs to much when I was switching them. Not only does this expend more energy, it also got frustrating because it was difficult to land with both feet completely planted on the ground. With the slight adjustment, oddly, this exercise is almost a "break". Very painful still, but Shaun T puts you through much worse in the Insanity program.
Another funny thing about these DVDs is that Shaun T keeps reminding us to breathe. Now, of course he is trying to get the timing of the breathing down for us, when to inhale/exhale and whatnot. Still, thank God he tells us to breathe. I make sure to get one extra breath in between my panting, wheezing and gasps.
I still averaged about half of each exercise for Pure Cardio. I need to improve on this, but I don't want to die. A conundrum this is. Oddly, if nothing else, the scissor kicks seemed easier to me this time. This exercise starts with your right arm forward, left arm back, left leg forward, and right leg back. It consists of jumping from this position to the opposite position and back and back and back and back and back. My problem before was I was splitting the legs to much when I was switching them. Not only does this expend more energy, it also got frustrating because it was difficult to land with both feet completely planted on the ground. With the slight adjustment, oddly, this exercise is almost a "break". Very painful still, but Shaun T puts you through much worse in the Insanity program.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 15: Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs and I Want My Mommy
1-19-10: So, did I close the week out strong you ask? You are jumping way ahead. The week ends with a day off, which I excel at, and I wasn't there yet. Today was the first day that Cardio Abs are thrown into the mix. It is a little 15-20 minute add-on workout after Pure Cardio is completed. Because, as you are all aware, I have become such a freaking master at all of these workouts, the most logical thing would be to add more daily workout time. Yikes.
Pure Cardio...well...it beat me up pretty bad again. I believe I have successfully turned the actual workout of 15 minutes into 7.5 minutes. I pretty much did 30 seconds of each exercise mixed with a 30 second break. While ridiculous, this will actually be a decent way to monitor my progress from pure cardio to pure cardio. Next time I will try making it 35-40 seconds of each exercise. I need to pick it up though. In theory, two weeks from now I am supposed to begin the month 2 workouts. Hopefully I can progress enough these final two weeks to be able to accomplish this. A tricky fish indeed.
I do like how Pure Cardio starts with the "Suicides". It is a perfect name of an exercise to start the actual workout. It is like he is actually telling you what his intent is: "By doing this, you are killing yourself." Oddly, this is one exercise I actually kind of like. Well...no...I hate this one less really. Difficult one to explain. Imagine going to your right to pick something up. When you drop down, your right knee is about 90 degrees and your left leg is behind, bent slightly. Then you realize that you made a terrible mistake. The thing you wanted to pick up is actually to your left, so you spring up, shuffle to the left a little, and drop down to the left. Repeat, repeat, repeat. I am so dumb. Why can't I remember which side I put that thing I wanted to pick up on.
A word on Cardio Abs. Not bad. Well...not fun or anything, but compared to his other evil workouts, this is not awful. Don't get me wrong, I still could not get through every exercise, but I feel I kept my heartrate under 740 beats a minute. Still, it is really a haze in my memory right now. Pure Cardio had already sapped my lifeforce enough as to where cognitive functions, partiuclarly memory ceased to be working properly.
Pure Cardio...well...it beat me up pretty bad again. I believe I have successfully turned the actual workout of 15 minutes into 7.5 minutes. I pretty much did 30 seconds of each exercise mixed with a 30 second break. While ridiculous, this will actually be a decent way to monitor my progress from pure cardio to pure cardio. Next time I will try making it 35-40 seconds of each exercise. I need to pick it up though. In theory, two weeks from now I am supposed to begin the month 2 workouts. Hopefully I can progress enough these final two weeks to be able to accomplish this. A tricky fish indeed.
I do like how Pure Cardio starts with the "Suicides". It is a perfect name of an exercise to start the actual workout. It is like he is actually telling you what his intent is: "By doing this, you are killing yourself." Oddly, this is one exercise I actually kind of like. Well...no...I hate this one less really. Difficult one to explain. Imagine going to your right to pick something up. When you drop down, your right knee is about 90 degrees and your left leg is behind, bent slightly. Then you realize that you made a terrible mistake. The thing you wanted to pick up is actually to your left, so you spring up, shuffle to the left a little, and drop down to the left. Repeat, repeat, repeat. I am so dumb. Why can't I remember which side I put that thing I wanted to pick up on.
A word on Cardio Abs. Not bad. Well...not fun or anything, but compared to his other evil workouts, this is not awful. Don't get me wrong, I still could not get through every exercise, but I feel I kept my heartrate under 740 beats a minute. Still, it is really a haze in my memory right now. Pure Cardio had already sapped my lifeforce enough as to where cognitive functions, partiuclarly memory ceased to be working properly.
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