Huge improvements over Day 1. Lesser improvements between the subsequent tests. I set the bar rather high on the second test – it’s been tough to top! My biggest gains have been in the lower body exercises which make perfect sense to me because I knew going in that my lower body was the weakest/least in-shape.

I’m entering the final week for this first round. I’m excited to finish, take measurements and weigh-in again. Not so excited about having to put up pictures but maybe I will be pleasantly surprised!

But with a few exceptions lately (more in month 2 than in month 1), I have stayed on schedule. Twice now I’ve decided been forced to take an extra day of rest and push the schedule back one day. Some nights I manage to get my workout in as soon as I get home while my girls are napping. Other times its more like 10 or 11 at night. With the Max workouts being 10 – 15 minutes, on average, longer than the month 1 workouts I’ve often found myself cooling down and showering at midnight or later. This is far from ideal but those nights in particular I’m very glad that I found the motivation to still get that workout in.

And I have to say, at this point in the program it is starting to pay off:
- I’ve lost a full 2 inches off my waist since starting Insanity
- dropped 3 – 4 pant sizes
- fit back into 2 old pair of pants I had “outgrown”
- starting to have people ask questions like “Have you lost weight?”

Speaking of weight, last check (around the halfway point) I had only lost maybe a 1 – 2 pounds but I’m satisfied with that number because I’ve put on a lot of muscle especially in my legs. I think weight loss will really occur as I finish out this 2nd month and the weeks to follow, and of course if I decide to go for round 2.

Now, I know in my last post I promised results from Fit Test #3, pictures, and in-depth reviews of the Max workouts. However, I have yet to delivery any of those obviously. Yesterday’s workout included the 4th Fit Test so now I’m really behind. I do hope to get both results up soon. As far as pictures go, I’m just going to wait until Round 1 is finished completely.

In regard to the reviews of the Max workouts, I’m not going to elaborate much beyond what I’ve already said, “They’re super tough”! They’re long, extremely challenging and painful at times. Rather than rehash each workout in great detail, I’m going to link another site that has already done a great job of detailing each Max workout. The website is Extremely Fit and in addition to the Insanity reviews they have some great information on some of the other Beachbody programs. Here are the links for each workout:

Max Interval Circuit
Max Cardio Conditioning
Max Interval Plyo

Extremely Fit did not review Max Recovery so I’m going to refer to Wellspere.com ‘s review of it:

Max Recovery

The Fit Test doesn’t get any easier. You simply are able to accomplish more in the allotted time. My results were similar to the 2nd Fit Test, in that I really improved in some areas and made more minimal gains in others. I’ll post my results soon.

The 3rd Fit Test is performed on Day 36, which is also day 1 of the first week of Max workouts. The schedule has you doing both the Fit Test and Max Interval Circuit which, combined, equals about an hour and 25 minutes of workout. A smart person would probably do one in the morning and one later in the day. Not me. I did them back to back which was brutal but I burned just over 1,880 calories so I’m happy. I rewarded myself with a bit of Cicero’s pizza later on in the night.

I’ve done 3 Max workouts at this point. They are every bit as hard, if not harder, as I thought they would be. It’s a bit daunting hitting play on that first one and seeing the clock begin counting down from 60 minutes. Shaun T. Immediately says “I’m going to kick your butt today.” The man does not lie, not one bit. Brand new warm-up, mostly new moves, and longer workouts really bring up the intensity. There are a few what I would call exotic moves, things maybe you saw on the infomercial that look really challenging or painful, such as side push-ups, diamond jumps & balance push-ups. You also get into Level 3 drills and Full Body drills. More on those soon.

I feel like I have a bit of perspective now on the program and it seems like the first month is really geared towards getting you in shape and prepared for the second month. When you first start the program, you are really encouraged to use the fitness test to gauge where you are at physically and help determine if you are up to the Insanity challenge. But, now I understand that what the average person considers “in shape” is really out of shape as far as Insanity goes. So, month 1 is geared towards getting you in “Insane Shape,” if you will, so that you can handle month 2 effectively, push yourself and get the crazy results you see on TV.

For now, it’s all Core Cardio and Balance. 6 days straight of lower intensity exercises with plenty of stretching and deep muscle work. Shaun T. makes it clear in the beginning that this is not the time to go all out, “If you’re worn out at the end of this workout, you’re going too hard…”  What may be even better than getting to take it a easier is having a new (mostly) batch of exercises to do. During the first four weeks you’re rotating between only 4 different workouts so it’s just starting to get monotonous by the time you reach Recovery week, in my opinion.

Rough spots:
Hip Flexor burners: stand with feet together, arms out, elbows bent (like you’re blocking your face), start raising one of your legs till your knee’s above your hip, back down, tap the floor, repeat. Sounds easy does it? Do a couple more and get back to me. 30 seconds later, hold it so your knee’s above your hip, start pulsing that knee a little higher for 30 seconds (screaming yet?). Now, hold that leg still and start extending your heel for 30 seconds. Now go straight to the other leg.

Shoulder Burners or “The Battle against the Amalekites” exercise (biblical reference, see Exodus 17): Squat down in that Plié position (squat position with feet angled outwards), hold your arms straight out from your sides, start pulsing them up and down, then all the way up to touch your fingertips together and back, then out in front and back, then backwards circular motion, forwards circular motion. Each variation is approximately 20 – 30 seconds as far as I can tell. If it sounds easy, you’re wrong. Basically if your shoulders aren’t burning, your thigh/quads are. More than likely they both are!

The above 2 exercises are the last two of the workout. Up until then things stay pretty fun. There are quite a few combo exercises wish I find more enjoyable for some reason:
8 High Knees/8 Power Jacks
8 Fast Feet/8 Hooks
8 Switch Kicks/8 Hop Squats
8 Elbows/4 Suicide Drills
8 Jabs/Jumps & Turn/8 Jabs

All exercises are a minute long. Calories burned has been in the 720 – 730 range for me.

Next post will most likely be after I complete the 3rd Fit Test on Saturday. Also coming: Day 1 and Day 36 pictures.

Another particularly difficult spot is for me, believe it or not, in the Cardio Recovery workout. At least two different times Shaun T. has you hold a position, in a squat and a lunge, for upwards of 30 – 45 seconds, the latter coming after you’ve already done some pulses. I guess my legs still are not in the best shape yet because I can’t handle it. The pain gets too bad and I have to pull out of it. None of the guys or gals on the video seem to have any trouble with it which makes me feel like a weakling!

Tomorrow will be the last workout in the first month, then its 1 week of Core Cardio & Balance before jumping into the second more difficult month of “Max” workouts. I’m not sure what to expect with either but I’m excited to be nearing the halfway point.

I found myself, mid week 3, just getting home at 10 o’clock at night completely worn out and considering “altering” (not skipping) the schedule. I did it. I did not work out on what should have been day 5 of the week. I couldn’t do it, just too worn out and in need of sleep. So… I took my rest day mid-week instead of at the end of the week. No big deal though right?

I think it actually did me some good. I was really dragging this week due to busyness and lack of rest (the sleeping kind). After my day off I hit it hard again last night with Cardio Power & Resistance. I had a great workout powering through those killer moving pushups, v-pushups and vertical jumps. Total calories burned eclipsed 870. And today I feel even better. One of the many benefits of working out so hard is the good sleep it brings with it!

Carories Burned:
Plyometric Cardio Circuit: 864 calories
Pure Cardio+Cardio Abs: 1007 calories!

I did not expect to break the 1000 calorie mark but they do advertise you can burn up to 1000 calories an hour. However, Pure Cardio+Cardio Abs clocks in at just over 50 minutes so…. I was kicking my own butt as hard as I thought I was!

A coworker generously gifted me an extra heart rate monitor he had lying around so now I’m able to track my heart rate and calories burned. The fit test is only 25 minutes but still burned over 500 calories (512 to be exact).

Edit: I count every two switch kicks as one. Thought I remembered him saying that from the first fit test but didn’t hear this time. So my numbers were actually 100 and 112.

Nutrition is important
No, you don’t have to stick to the exact Insanity nutrition plan. What you do need to do is remember that food is fuel, first and foremost. You’ve got to supply your body with plenty of lean protein, good (non-saturated) fats, and good carbs. So many of the things a typical person eats are not good fuel, not only are they bad fuel they contain huge amounts of empty carbs, calories and sugar. I’ve focused on avoiding sugar, soda & breads. When you give your body good fuel, it digests it quickly and you feel light and energized, not stuffed and lackadaisical.

Timing of your meals
Like I said, I have not stuck to just the meals on the Insanity Nutrition plan but I’ve adopted most of the principles of the plan. One of the principles it really stresses is eating 5 smaller (500 calorie in my case) meals. This principle, in conjunction with the high-intensity workouts, really helps to kick your metabolism into high-gear and start melting away the flab. However, eating 5 meals a day means that you’re eating every couple hours. I’ve found that I really have to time my meals right in light of when I will be working out, otherwise I still have a belly full of food and this can really kill your workout.

Go at your own pace
If you are doing the program you are thinking “Hey, that’s what they say too”! Right, so do it. Fact is, it can be tempting to keep exactly on pace with the speed of their reps. However, if you’re not there yet and you’re trying to keep up with them on the warm-up you are not going to have anything left 30 minutes later when Shaun T.’s telling you to Dig Deeper. After you have done a few workouts, you should start to have a good idea of what you are capable of, how fast you should go on the first round of the warm-up, etc.

Don’t expect instant results
I’m preaching to myself here. You didn’t get all that flab overnight or in 2 weeks for that matter so don’t expect it to disappear that fast, even though you are doing Insanity. This is a 60 day program, not a 2 week program so be patient, work hard, and it will happen. Since I started, I’ve actually gained about 7 lbs and I don’t feel like I look all that different. “Patience young grasshopper.”

Next blog will be post-Fit Test #2 which is the most accurate picture of progress I’ve made. I’ll post those results. Speaking of pictures, I may go ahead and put up my before and 15-day picture. We’ll see….

After each workout I think, “OK, that’s the hardest one yet” but by now you’ve done each of the first 4 a couple times each. And let’s be honest, they’re all pretty ridiculous. However (and there’s always a however in life…), I was particularly brought near death this week by 2nd circuit of Cardio Power & Resistance. You go through three rounds of Hurdle Jumps, Globe Jumps, Moving Push-ups, and Floor Sprints. The latter two simply brutalize your core. I’ve yet to make it through a full set of Moving Push-ups. Survival is the objective. Then you think your done. Nope. Shaun T.’s final deathblow is 8 Hop Squats followed immediately by 8 Push-ups, three times in a row, no rest. Insanity.

Day 13 brings on the first double-workout. You plow through 40 minutes of Pure Cardio and then hit play again for the second half of the DVD called Cardio Abs. Shaun T.’s is amazing folks. He destroys your abs without a single crunch or sit-up. As a matter of fact, he mentions this at the beginning and initially this sounds like a good thing. Talk to me when you’re done.

The workouts are not getting any easier to do, however, what I’m finding and therefore considering progress, is that I’m continuing to take fewer short breaks outside of the 30 second breaks Shaun T. gives you. Not only that, but I’m also forcing myself to do as Shaun T. recommends and grab one good deep exhale & inhale to get some fresh air in your lungs and then jump right back in. This really helps, its amazing what getting a fresh batch of air can do to your stamina! Couple that with the realization that when you feel like you can’t push anymore, it’s really all in your head. If you can conquer mind yelling at you telling you it hurts too bad, you can really work a lot harder and longer. That’s my $.02.

Today I rest.