To Insanity and Beyond

Given the way my workout went today I’d have to say that I don’t think I was mentally prepared for today. Today’s workout kicked my butt something awful.

I worked out a little later in the morning today – something I have taken to doing on Saturday to give myself more rest and allow for a better workout to end my week – and while I usually have a bruising workout that leaves me feeling incredibly accomplished today I was the one that was feeling bruised.

I have no idea why but I struggled through the entire workout today and, though I finished it pretty the same way I have been finishing it lately, I was more worn out at the end of it than I have ever been. I wish I can say it was because I had worked so hard during the workout, but I honestly can’t say that.

Regardless, I still managed to lose some weight this week, which, at the end of the day, is the entire reason for me doing this program. So in the end it wasn’t a complete failure, though I wish I could have gone out of the first four weeks a little stronger.

Ski Abs and In N Out Abs, why do you hate me so?

I have pretty muched owned Plyometric Cardio Circuit for this entire round of Insanity. Pretty much because except for Ski Abs and In N Out Abs I have not really needed to take a rest during any part of this workout. But I have not seemed to be able to overcome the insanity of Ski Abs. This exercise is one that works out almost your entire body. It definitely targets your abs and obliques, but it doesn’t stop there.

It works your shoulders, your chest, your quads, your glutes and to a lesser extent, your back. I’m really not sure which of these areas I am weakest in, but since I know I am not strong in all of them I’m certain that a few of these areas are failing me when it comes time to get Ski Abs done. And since In N Out Abs are almost the same workout, save for the in and out motion of the “leg pull up” as opposed to the side to side AND in and out motion of the “leg pull up” in Ski Abs, it pretty much goes without saying that whatever challenges me about Ski Abs will likewise challenge me about In N Out Abs.

So today was like all the rest up to now: I breezed through the warm ups, nailed the first circuit and kicked butt on the first two exercises of the second circuit. But come time to hit the floor for Ski Abs, I die out. And I’m not seeing any sign of improvement in my stamina or ability to overcome the challenge of this exercise.

All of this is to day that I have one more day to try to finish this workout entirely without rest. And as much as I want it, being realistic with myself means I have to come to grips with the notion that I might not be able to hit that goal. We’ll see in a couple of days when I hit this one again. Until then, I will be trying to identify which parts of my body I need to target so I don’t get schooled in my floor abdominal work anymore.

What a strange day it was today, working out. I actually felt energized before my workout today, which was nice because I knew it would be hard to work out today. It was hot, I had already done a little bit of yard work and I was still a little full from lunch that I ate just a couple hours earlier. But once I got going it was a fun and exhilarating experience.

The warm ups were once again a breeze. Likewise, the first circuit was pretty easy today. Easier than most times that I have done it. But the second circuit was a different story.

I struggled today more than I have the last few times I’ve done this program. I’m really not sure why I got worked over the way I did but the second circuit was really rough on me. I normally I die out on Ski Abs but today I started fading during Level 1 Drills. So the last three routines of each round of the second circuit destroyed me.

One nice thing about me now though is that I am recovering a lot quicker. My heart rate was back to normal very fast and by the time the program was over I was ready for more. So I did more.

I have started doing a push up circuit of my own at the end of some of my workouts. I do two sets of eight reps of three different types of push ups: Diamond Push Ups, Regular Push Ups and Wide Arm Push Ups. I do them like any normal Insanity circuit, pushing through the first three reps then taking a short rest then running them back again. This breaks down to 48 push ups at the end of my normal Insanity program. I’m hoping to ramp this up over time so I can, at some point, push out 200 push ups after a workout. We’ll see how that goes.

Until Monday, keep pushing and keep digging deep. Victory and success is yours for the taking. Go take it, and take it by force.

Today was a rough day for me when it came to exercise. I woke up too late to work out in the morning so I had to hold off until after work to get my workout in. And as the day wore on I felt more and more tired which I wish I could figure out because I was never feeling this tired at the end of the day when I was working out in the morning. My motivation was incredibly low and I was on the verge of not doing the workout today when I decided to see what I could do and give it a shot.

I’m so glad that I did. Even though I was not at all motivated to workout I was curious just how much I could do. So I put the DVD in, pressed play and started to push through from the very beginning. It was challenging, to say the least, but it was refreshing. I was able to really work through the warm up, which is now becoming incredibly easy to do, and was off to the stretches.

The first circuit came around and I kicked it’s butt. I was amazed at how much I was able to do when I didn’t want to do anything. The second circuit was a lot more challenging, but wasn’t anything over and above what I am used to. Ski Abs and In-n-Out Abs killed me, as they usually do, but not as bad at they usually do. Everything else was a little easier today than the last time I did them.

Overall, I worked up a great sweat, had a great workout and felt very accomplished at the end of the workout. I was tired, but not overly exhausted. It was an amazing feeling. And the best part of today was that even though I didn’t want to workout, I did it anyway.

If you are on a fitness program right now, or are planning on starting one, remember that just because you don’t feel like working doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. Pushing yourself is part of the program, and the greatest accomplishment you will experience is just getting up and getting moving. Trust me, the results of that will be phenomenal.

I may have to rethink my position on working out in the mornings. Today was an enormous struggle for me to find my motivation to get started. It has been like that the last few days. I wake up, I get out into the living room and have to fight with myself to get the DVD into the player and get the TV turned on. I may end up moving back to afternoons next week just to see if it improves my workouts any. Either that, or sleep more so that my mornings don’t seem to end so abruptly.

Much like yesterday, when I finally drew enough motivation to get started I was off to the races. I blasted through the warm ups yet again and I am now really hungry to find something that will push me further than the warm up is doing now. It seems like it is becoming so much easier to do that it is losing effectiveness now. I’m not sure how I want to go about fixing that other than to push myself a lot harder up front to cause more of a push toward the end of it. Whatever I choose to do, I need to come up with something fast. As it stands now I just don’t feel like I am getting the warm up that I used to get doing the warm up exercises.

The actual circuits were a little more interesting for me this morning though. Being tired from a lack of sleep makes pushing through later in the workout very hard. Today was evidence of that. As I worked through the first circuit I found myself feeling very tired at the end of each routine. And while I was able to complete the first circuit without resting again, when that first one was over I knew it was going to be a tough road to hoe moving forward. And it was.

The second circuit killed me early on. Basketball drills were easy enough. But Level 1 Drills really hit me hard today and I actually had to rest during them a couple of times. And since I had nothing left by Level 1 Drills, Ski Abs and In-n-Out Abs destroyed me. It was an awesome sight to behold, I’m sure… my big butt up in the air in a child’s pose almost as soon as my hands hit the ground. Which is also a sign to me that my shoulders need a lot of work. I thought for a long time that my quadriceps were causing my weakness in the plank position. But looking closer at it today I realized that my quadriceps are actually pretty strong now. My shoulders however, not so much.

So there I have it. I got completely wiped out, worked up a decent sweat and found out that my shoulders are a huge let down for me. I guess that isn’t so bad though. At least now I have something new to target for development.

Today I had another amazing Plyometric Cardio Circuit workout. Something new that happened today was that I was able to complete the warm ups and still talk normally for the first time ever. While I have become fit enough to complete the warm up, and I have been able more recently to complete the warm up and still manage some amount of composure, today was totally new in that I was able to actually carry a short conversation intelligibly immediately following the warm up.

As happened on Tuesday I was able to complete all of the first circuit exercises without stopping or resting outside of the normal rest times. I actually felt better today doing the exercises than I did the other day, which is also an accomplishment for me. I am really liking the freedom I feel to cut loose during the exercises without worry of burning out too early.

I was challenged greatly toward the end like I was on Tuesday, but I pushed through and ended up stronger for it. Once again Ski Abs and In N Out Abs did me in something awful and by the first set of these I was sucking carpet. I did the best I could throughout the program this morning, but the last half of each set of the second circuit destroyed me today. It’s all good though, I still felt way stronger today than I have yet in Insanity, so I can’t complain. Not to mention that half the team members on the DVD were also sucking floor just like me.

I am beginning to realize just how shallow my own limitations are and how far past them I can push. As much as it hurts, it has yet to kill me pushing myself past the pain I feel in each exercise. I’ve yet to die from sweat pouring into my eyes as I jump. I have managed to survive doing hard work and pushing myself.

As I run through each exercise now I can see clearly that I am so much more able to push myself, even beyond the thresholds that limited me just a few short weeks ago. Everything in me wants to see how far I can go before I collapse. There is just something so exciting and exhilarating about testing my own boundaries and experiencing my own success. I wish I could find the words to describe it.

As I started my second round of Insanity I really didn’t know what to expect. Would it be as bad as I remembered it being from the first time around? Would I be able to last longer? Perform stronger? A few minutes into Plyometric Cardio Circuit I had my answer.

I don’t want to come off as cocky or arrogant, but the second time around is a world easier than the first time. I blasted my way through the warm ups working up a major sweat. I was able to push harder through these warm ups than I ever was able to the first time around. It was an amazing feeling and really built a lot of confidence in me.

The first circuit in Plyometric Cardio Circuit consists of three sets of a series of leg burning routines starting with suicide drills. After that it moves into power squats, mountain climbers and ski downs. Each exercise is a 45-second rep and after about three minutes, you get a 30-second rest. Immediately after the third set there is a challenge set of exercises that include switch feet for 30 seconds followed by a minute of football drills. I’m very happy to be able to say that I was able to complete all three circuits without a need for rest. I have never been able to do that before.

The second circuit consists of another three sets of extremely muscle burning exercises that, the first time I did these, just about killed me. They are basketball drills, level 1 drills, ski abs and in-n-out abs. Level 1 drills are about a minute and a half. The other three exercises are all about 45 seconds long. Again, like the first circuit, this circuit ends with a two minute challenge set that includes jabs for 30 seconds, cross jacks for 30 seconds, upper cuts for 30 seconds and open hand attacks for 30 seconds. I wish I could say I was able to not rest during these, but once again my quadriceps showed me just how much work they need and I was face to the floor on the first set of ski abs. I was challenged greatly from middle of the first circuit until the challenge set, which I was able to complete without rest.

The rest of the program is stretching and cool down, which I thoroughly enjoyed. This was one heck of a work out for me today. I was able to push harder than ever before in any Insanity program, I worked up a bigger sweat than ever before and I felt refreshed and revitalized at the end of my work out.

Something to note… I have started working out in the evenings now to see if I can take advantage of my diet during the day to give me energy for the evening. I’m not sure I’m sold on this yet, but I still want to test it.