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.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
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!
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.
Insanity Workout Day 38: Nothing to Discuss About Doing Nothing
2-11-10: Today was a day off and I have little to report. My body appreciated having a little rest time, but I was not dead in the morning. The big news came after work when I found that there were only three brownies left (someone must have broke in to eat some). These combined with some Cheetos and Doritos finished (for a while anyway…hopefully) a string of bad dinners. Super delicious bad dinners, but bad dinners all the same. I do plan on having a more liberal stance on Shaun T’s meal plan, but I was planning for that to be when I encountered the official month 2 of the workout. A little ahead of schedule for that.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Insanity Workout Day 37: David v. Plyometrics v. Mom’s Brownies
2-10-10: Over the past several years, I’ve started making my own brownies on occasion. I’d have to say they are quite good and somewhat addicting. My Mom is still the master, however, and the only reason I can fathom is that she must put crack cocaine (the stuff) into her brownie mix. I mentioned a couple of posts ago that the Superbowl leftovers were going to be the biggest challenge of the Insanity program. With the brownies leading the way, I can say that I have never been more right. Yesterday, when I got home I had a couple of Sun Chips, which, as far as evil chips go, aren’t the worst junk food you can eat. Then I had a brownie. Then I had a couple of Doritos. Then I had a brownie. Then I sat and thought for a bit. I was nearly approaching the point of no return. Could I resist and have some semblance of a normal meal, or would I fall victim to the violent hooks and uppercuts that the brownies were throwing. Then I had a brownie (body blow). Then I had a brownie (cut bleeding profusely above eye). Then I had a brownie…and it’s all over! Dave doesn’t know WHERE he is at! The ref is trying to stop the fight, but the brownies want another piece of Dave. Dave stumbles back to the corner…where Cheetos hit him over the head with a chair while the brownies were cunningly distracting the ref. Totally unnecessary.
Yeah. I got owned, and I’d have to say in round one. I do like my junk food. That being said, since I had 5 brownies yesterday and another 4 today and I started with over 20 and there are about 7 left (I know the math doesn’t work…leave me alone!), I at least won’t be tempted for too much longer. By demolishing these brownies so quickly, I will only have broken Shaun T’s little meal plan for 3 or 4 days. All too easy. So, if you ever need to get me off this program in a hurry, brownies. That’s the key. So, I think I’ve proven to myself (yet again) that I have little self-control when it comes to delicious snacks residing in my house. All this talk about brownies, makes me want to go eat a brownie. Crack cocaine man.
I did okie dokie at the workout this morning. Of the 10.5 minute warm-up, I participated in at least 9.5 minutes of it, including the hyper third iteration. Oddly, of all things, it is the mummy kicks that are getting me. Not an overly difficult exercise, but a break is needed after high knees and that means cutting mummy kicks a little short. Mummy kicks require moving the legs in a scissor-ish motion. Put the right foot forward while staying on your left foot’s toes, then bounce off the left foot’s toes so that the left foot is forward and the right foot is back (still on toes). Keep repeating. While this is going on, keep the arms straight ahead, above the shoulders, and bring them together in front of you. First put the right arm above the left arm, then separate, then the left arm above the right arm and separate. Keep repeating. Put it altogether and you look like a somewhat idiotic mummy.
The stretching wasn’t terrible, and the workout had its moments, but nothing terribly exciting to report.
Basketball was cancelled today, so I did my Insanity Snow-Shoveling exercises. I could only hear Shaun T screaming “Stop lifting with your back! Lift with the Core! THE COOOOOOOOORRRRRREEEEE!!!!” I definitely deserve a brownie for that.
Yeah. I got owned, and I’d have to say in round one. I do like my junk food. That being said, since I had 5 brownies yesterday and another 4 today and I started with over 20 and there are about 7 left (I know the math doesn’t work…leave me alone!), I at least won’t be tempted for too much longer. By demolishing these brownies so quickly, I will only have broken Shaun T’s little meal plan for 3 or 4 days. All too easy. So, if you ever need to get me off this program in a hurry, brownies. That’s the key. So, I think I’ve proven to myself (yet again) that I have little self-control when it comes to delicious snacks residing in my house. All this talk about brownies, makes me want to go eat a brownie. Crack cocaine man.
I did okie dokie at the workout this morning. Of the 10.5 minute warm-up, I participated in at least 9.5 minutes of it, including the hyper third iteration. Oddly, of all things, it is the mummy kicks that are getting me. Not an overly difficult exercise, but a break is needed after high knees and that means cutting mummy kicks a little short. Mummy kicks require moving the legs in a scissor-ish motion. Put the right foot forward while staying on your left foot’s toes, then bounce off the left foot’s toes so that the left foot is forward and the right foot is back (still on toes). Keep repeating. While this is going on, keep the arms straight ahead, above the shoulders, and bring them together in front of you. First put the right arm above the left arm, then separate, then the left arm above the right arm and separate. Keep repeating. Put it altogether and you look like a somewhat idiotic mummy.
The stretching wasn’t terrible, and the workout had its moments, but nothing terribly exciting to report.
Basketball was cancelled today, so I did my Insanity Snow-Shoveling exercises. I could only hear Shaun T screaming “Stop lifting with your back! Lift with the Core! THE COOOOOOOOORRRRRREEEEE!!!!” I definitely deserve a brownie for that.
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