Day 15 - Retest

Day 15 of the Insanity challenge is a "Fit Test" session to determine if you have made any progress in the last 2 weeks. Before getting to the results, let's just say "WOW!" I knew that I was changing my fitness level, but I didn't really understand the difference. On Saturday night before my OFF day, I did a weekly weigh - 189 lbs. That weight means that I am down 4 lbs from the start, AND I am certain that it is an actual loss of at least a couple of lbs rather than the 1-2 lbs variation that I usually see.

Here are the results from today's Fit Test workout along with the results from Day 1 for comparison:

Exercise	Day 1 Reps	Day 15 Reps
Switch Kicks	35	38
Power Jacks	26	40
Power Knees	53	73
Power Jumps	22	25
Globe Jumps	6	8
Suicide Jumps	8	13
Push-Up Jacks	11	17
Low Plank Oblique	22	30

Since I did this workout on the 2nd floor of a building of the Hyatt Regency Monterey, I was hesitant to go all out on the Power Jumps and Globe Jumps. After the workout, I toured the hotel below and found that the rooms below me are storage and utility rooms. So, I will not worry about disturbing anyone below me during the rest of the week.

As I mentioned on Day 1, the Switch Kick number was an estimate. I am pretty sure that I over-estimated by quite a few because I know that I did much better today. The numbers in the table give me some sense of accomplishment and fortifies my resolve to keep going. Tomorrow (Day 16) is a "Plyometric Cardio Circuit" session.

Day 13 - Pure Cardio With a Side Of Stomach Pain

I just completed Day 13 of the Insanity Challenge. It was my least favorite session, "Pure Cardio," with the "Cardio Abs" done after that. I don't think that I got as much out of the abs routines as I would have without the initial session. At the end of that session, I was again flat out on the floor wiped out.

I got a text from my college friend and current pastor at the Grove Church (cloften) earlier this evening, "Sometimes as a fitness professional I wonder why I do the things that I do." That is a Shaun T quote from the "Pure Cardio" disc. The next text told me that he had burned 1050 calories during a session similar to mine. If my caloric output was similar, I can have that ChocoTaco that's waiting in the freezer for me.

Now that I finished that workout and since tomorrow is OFF, I am 2/9 or 22.22222...% of the way through the challenge. I won't post tomorrow because of travel, but Monday is a repeat of Day #1. I will see if I have improved since 2 weeks ago.  

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Today, we celebrated my little Cupcake's 1st birthday with a party. She demolished her individual cupcake. I think she is going to have a sweet tooth like her big sister. The party was more for Sophie than Eliza. EK really liked both of the toys that she got to open. On the other hand, Kristy and I were ready to hit the sauce pretty hard after the kids went home. I think that they were probably more exhausting than that workout.

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We lose an hour tonight. I HATE switching back and forth from daylight savings time. We should just pick one (I don't care which), and then freaking leave it alone.

Day 12 - CPR

Well, that workout really sucked. Day 12 of the Insanity challenge is a "Cardio Power & Resistance (CPR)" session. I have described this workout before (here), but today it seemed like my body just didn't respond when I asked it to go. Instead, I kept thinking, "I hope Kristy remembers her CPR training because she's going to need it in about 20 seconds." I made through another day and I am ready for this week to end.

Tomorrow is the final workout of Week #2 - "Pure Cardio" with the addition of "Cardio Abs" for the first time. Sunday is a rest day which is great because I will be on the road to Monterey, California for the Hardened Electronic And Radiation Technology (HEART) Conference. It will be a real challenge to push myself to stay with the Insanity program while in a hotel. At conferences, there is always someone that wants to go to lunch or dinner, and the meals go on and on and on. It is difficult to break away from all the socialization (that should get a chuckle from those that really know me) to go sweat and beg for the workout to end.

Have a great weekend!

Day 11 - Recovery?

Day 11 of the Insanity challenge is a "Cardio Recovery" session. This is only the 2nd of these sessions, but I can honestly tell you that it is a very nice change of pace. There are some strength and balance exercises in this session, but it seems more like a work out the sore places kind of stretch day. I think it is probably included so that the "OFF" word doesn't show up too many times on the 60-day calendar. It is geared to getting you in the habit of a daily workout regardless of how intense the workout is.

I don't know if I have recovered because my left knee feels pretty sore most of the day. My body feels alright for the stress I have been putting it through. I was expecting a lot more delayed onset muscle soreness than I have experienced so far. I will probably regret putting that in writing in a couple of weeks.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day - I have work. Eliza and I are going to a baseball game. Sophie has a "50's themed elementary school dance, and Day 12 of the Insanity challenge is another "Cardio Power & Resistance" session.

Day 10 - What Is That Last Exercise?

I just finished Day 10 of Insanity which is a "Plyometric Cardio Circuit" session. By finished, I mean that I was lying on the floor in the fetal position asking, "What drill are we doing now." Now that Day 10 is over, I am just over 15% through the 9 week Insanity Challenge. Looking at the "60-Day Workout Calendar" (which actually has 63 days on it), I see that there are workouts scheduled for all but 8 days. I guess even Shaun T believes in a Sabbath rest.

Here is the key feature of today's workout. Kristy entered the room at the end of the warm-up, saw that I was dripping with sweat, and assumed the workout was almost over. That's when I got to tell her that the warm-up was just ending. She looked mortified or scared for me or something and left the room.

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In other news, today was Eliza Kate's 1st birthday. It is hard to believe that it has been a year. Kristy is the real writer in the family, and she tells little Cupcake's story very well on her blog today (Tales from the Krit). Happy Birthday, EK!

Day 9 - Why Am I Doing This Again?

Alright. Day 9 of Insanity is in the books. Thankfully, I will have 3 other workouts before I see the "Pure Cardio" workout again. It's not that the other workouts are a walk in the park. I just prefer them to this pure unending cardio hell. I found myself asking the question, "Why? Why? Why am I doing this again?"  The answer is basically that I paid for this @!%#!

I have this significant problem. The problem that I have is that the Insanity workout series wasn't cheap, but I am. After shelling out the dough to get the workouts, I feel pretty much obligated to make my way through them. So, I guess I keep going and find out if the T-shirt is waiting for me at the end of this mess. A free t-shirt would add to my invested value (I told you that I was cheap).

Eventually, if I ever get to the point where the warm-up doesn't seem like a full blown workout, I will see a benefit to this. Rumor has it that the first 3 weeks are really just laying a cardio and strength foundation to build upon. I guess if I make it through those weeks, then we will see. Tomorrow, Day 10, is a "Plyometric Cardio Circuit" session.

Day 7 and Day 8 Summaries - A Twofer

Day 7

• Jerry: "So, has the summer of George begun? Or are you still decomposing?
• George: "Decompressing!"

Day 7 in the Insanity workout motivation/goal poster says "OFF." I looked at that and decided that I could do that routine pretty well. Actually, I am a professional at OFF when it comes to working out. That's kind of the reason that I am suffering so much. I have been so good at OFF that my body almost forgot that there was an ON.

Anyway, I took Soph to the Grove Church in the morning. It was pretty much standing room only at the 10 o'clock service. We probably should look into the 8:30 service. All in all, it was a restful day except for the runaway kite episode. Let's just summarize by saying that I met a neighbor by asking him if I could climb up on his roof. That is probably not the best way to meet people in the neighborhood.

The Sunday night weigh-in resulted in a 192 on the electronic scale. That means that I haven't really lost anything yet. I am going to try not to be discouraged by that after working my tail off last week. I decided to let Eliza determine whether I would work out morning or evening. She woke up for feeding at a time that meant I was going to postpone the workout until Monday evening.

Day 8

Day 8 of Insanity takes us to the "Cardio Power & Resistance" routine again. I am handling the workload a little better, but my feet feel as if I am wearing cement sneakers. When I was playing basketball, we would call this "dead legs." It happens when your body isn't getting enough time to recover between workouts or games. I am pushing through in the hopes that I will eventually get to the point of normalcy with my knees and ankles.

I started the workout at 6 pm which was a mistake. I will wait until the kiddos are in bed from now on. Sophie is going to struggle as a coach until she can encourage someone to keep going. Instead, I got this from her, "Dad, it looks like you are struggling. Why don't you just quit?" The problem with her question is that I really wanted to quit, but I couldn't explain it to her why I kept going. That was our discussion during our nightly prayer and tuck-in time.

I am still on the Insanity train. Tomorrow, Shaun T is asking for the workout that haunts my dreams, "Pure Cardio." I will try not to think about until about 9 pm tomorrow.

Day 6 - The Remix

Well, I think I finally made it to a point where I can't find appropriate Seinfeld material for my Insanity workout. That is saying something. Day 6 of Insanity brings us back around to the first real workout, "Plyometric Cardio Circuit." The workout went about the same as Day 2. I made it farther into the warm-up before having to back off on the intensity.

During the last 2 circuits (lots of arms and core), I still found myself, to paraphrase my old friend Nick Callaway, -- Down on my knees, begging Mama for buttermilk. I never understood that expression, but I think it conveys how much I wanted the video to end. My arms and back are still twitching from the workout. I hope that ends before the day is over.

I know that these workouts have a lot of after-burn to them because 2 to 3 hours later I am still pumping out heat and sweating. I know that I burned all the glycogen out of my legs (and likely my arms too) during the workout, so the excess heat is probably related to replenishing those stores. I don't know enough about exercise physiology to really be sure though.

If I make it through the rest day tomorrow, then I will completed the first week. I may start doing the workouts in the evening for week 2. I am completely exhausted before we get the kiddos in bed because I have been getting up so early. It is almost like we have a new born again. My post tomorrow will probably just be a weigh-in. Have a good weekend!

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Postscript: The Insanity workout goes much smoother without having a 7-year-old heckling that this isn't so hard while jogging in place. I think I got plenty of Sophie's peanut gallery commentary.

"I am speechless. I am without speech" - Day 5

• Kramer: "Jerry, I'm fried!"
• Jerry: "Technically, you're sauteed"

I don't know whether the title or the conversation above is more accurate. Day 5 of Insanity is a "Pure Cardio" workout. It started innocently enough with a pretty standard warm-up and stretch. I can feel I am already in a little better condition because I only had to stop completely once during the warm-up. It is good that I stopped because my heart rate was about 165 bpm (90% max). In the last minute of the stretches, the heart rate was down in the low 130's, so that wasn't bad. During the last minute, Shaun T started talking about how "scared" he was about the workout coming up. I started thinking, "Well, that's not going to be good for anyone."

The main body of the workout consist of 15 drills performed for 1 minute each with no breaks built in to the video. The other videos have you going hard for 2-3 minutes, and then you get a break. Not so on this one, my friend.  Here is my workout summary:

• Suicide drills
• Ok, these remind of basketball defense drills.
• My heart rate climbed above 160 and stayed there for the next 15 minutes (even during the recoveries).
• Switch kicks
• This exercise is hard for me. It is the coordination of landing and kicking that makes it difficult. I guess we are working on becoming the next karate kid.
• Wide football sprints
• This is quick feet with a coach giving the direction to move followed by sprinting in place.
• I had my first stop to check my heart rate here -- 172 bpm (94% max).
• Stance jacks
• This is a cross between a squat and a jumping jack.
• I spent most of my time from here on out avoiding the heart rate red line because I am having to relearn my limits.  I am not 16, 26, or even 36 anymore.
• Pedal
• I don't even know how to describe this one.
• Hooks & jump rope
• We are training to be boxers in this exercise.
• I had to take about half this exercise off to recover.
• Power jacks
•  Shaun T said at this point, "It's ok to take a break and gets some water. Check your heart rate monitor."
• Level 2 drills
• A combination of push-ups, floor sprints, and vertical jumps
• "This is about the time Shaun T needs to take a break." - Shaun T speaking in the 3rd person.
• Frog jumps
• This is just what it sounds like.
• Power knees
• At this point, people on the video are falling off to take breaks.
• Shaun T has to remove his shirt.
• Mountain climbers
• This is high knees with an added twist.
• I was ready to flat out quit here, but I kept going.
• I ended up getting a little bit of a "2nd wind."
• Ski down
• This is jumping side-to-side while using arms for power.
• That 2nd wind was a mirage, and no 3rd wind ever showed up.
• Shaun T sends one of the guys off to the side to cool down because he knows he is about to pass out.
• Scissor runs
• This exercise is another tough coordination move for me.
• Shaun T calls this a "slight recovery" exercise.  I am going to call BS on this one.
• Suicide jumps
• These are a combination push-up, core work, and vertical jump.
• Everyone on the video including Shaun T is about to pass out. They were most definitively as deeply fried as I was at this point.
• Push-up jacks
• You are trying to do a push-up while hopping off the feet to do a jumping jack at the same time.
• I spent most of my time lying on the floor begging for the workout to be over.

It finally ended with my heart rate at 174 bpm (~95% max). We got a 1 minute water break before a long cool down. My heart rate was around 140 bpm (70% max) when the cool down ended. It took 40 minutes after the workout to get it under 100 bpm.

I am happy about 3 things right now: (1) That I didn't do this workout yesterday (I would have quit the whole thing - no joke); (2) Today's workout is over; and (3) Only 1 more workout day in this first week of Insanity. Tomorrow, we do the first repeat of a video. The "Plyometric Cardio Circuit" from Day 2 returns, and after what I just went through, I think I prefer it to today's workout. Imagine that -- preferring a workout that I HATED 3 days ago.

"I Feel Reborn. I'm Like a Phoenix Rising from Arizona" - Day 4

• Frank Costanza: "I have been performing feats of strength all morning."

The Day 4 routine (Cardio Recovery) of Insanity is not a break but it almost feels like one as you are really working on core strength and overall flexibility rather than hammering your cardiovascular system. The video is the shortest one so far -- just 33 minutes. Most of the video is stretching and the heart rate never really climbs. I did break a little sweat from the core work, but nothing like the pools dripping under me from the last 3 days.

This recovery session comes at a good time because I am afraid another dose of high intensity cardio and power would cause most people (including me) to quit before the first week was over. I really needed the stretching to make those tight and sore muscles loosen up without generating any more lactic acid.

The stretches really do require a lot of balance to keep from falling. I had to try getting into the proper positions several times as I lost my balance. Last night as I previewed the session, Kristy told me that she wanted to watch me do the "Plie Yoga Stretch." I promise you that it wasn't pretty, but I can take it if she can. By the way, she wasn't watching me at 5:45, so I think that was a bluff.

Anyway, I feel ready to go again tomorrow with "Pure Cardio." It seems that recovery is going to be short and sweet.