Day 19 - No Injury

Well, this time I made it through Day 19 without an injury during the "Cardio Power & Resistance" session. When I finish the "Plyometric Cardio Circuit" tomorrow, I will be 1/3 of the way through the Insanity Challenge.

- - - Notes from Day 19 - - -

• I need to start the workout before 10:30 pm. It will take forever to cool off enough for sleep.
• There is a whole lot of jumping on this particular DVD.
• Kristy claims that I made a funny noise. It must have been my thoughts because I couldn't have said anything -- I didn't have enough breathe.
• I am starting to think that if you aren't REALLY sweating and hurting a little, then you probably aren't doing enough to lose weight.
• I also think that doing ANY workout for 55 out of 63 days will cause you to be in much better shape, but Insanity is good for those who have an athletic/competitive background.

Day 18 - Curing Soreness

Day 18 of the Insanity Challenge is a "Cardio Recovery" session. After the Pure Cardio and ab work yesterday, I had a lot of delayed onset muscle soreness. The session tonight got my blood pumping enough to make me feel a little better. Tomorrow is a "Cardio Power & Resistance" session. I am hoping to be fully recovered from my soreness.

- - - Notes on Day 18 - - -

• I don't find myself flat on the floor begging for mercy at the end of the Cardio Recovery. I was definitely there last night.
• Based on the sessions, it is clear that my overall muscle strength level has not declined near as much as the cardio health over the years. I was more consistent with strength work compared to any other type of exercise.

~ ~ ~

On a funny note, the first email in the hopper this morning was that I had a "Message on Facebook that was urgent." It turns out that the urgent message was about the logos and color schemes of the hats of the Hendrix Warrior baseball team from 1993-1996. I guess the definition of urgent varies from North Carolina to Arkansas - right, Jaybird?

Day 17 - Pure Hatred, Uhh, I Mean Cardio

Day 17 of the Insanity Challenge is the day that I felt the initial tweak in my calf 2 weeks ago. It has come and gone again with nothing happening this time. So, I don't think I can blame the DVD anymore.

- - - Notes on Day 17 - - -

• I still want to punch Shaun T every time he says, "I am not trying to hurt you, just trying to make you better."
• If you ever hear me say, "I think I am going to relax and do a Pure Cardio session," then I have either lost my mind or started doing some sort of illicit drugs (or both).
• I think Josh has a point when he commented that "Stupidity" might be a better name for the workout series, but it probably wouldn't sell as many copies.
• I always look forward to the "Cardio Recovery" session that is coming up tomorrow.

Have a good evening!

Day 16 - Toil & Plyometric Trouble

After yesterday's reset, I was feeling pretty good about my chances of cranking right back into the Insanity challenge without skipping a beat. It turns out that it was a false hope. While my cardio fitness stayed with me to a reasonable degree, the stamina that I thought I was gaining in Monterey faded quite a bit.

Day 16 of the challenge is a"Plyometric Cardio Circuit" session. After getting both girls in bed at a respectable parenting hour, I started up the DVD. Midway through the warm-up, I was again hoping that a IXII phone call would not be necessary (sorry, I couldn't help throwing in that Roman numeral pun that I heard last weekend on the drive to Hot Springs). My fitness level is greatly improved from Day 1, but I am still only able complete about 3.5 of the 6 circuits with any real gusto. That leaves a lot of room for improvement over the last 75% of the challenge.

[Once again, I can say...] Now that Day 16 is complete, I am officially over 25% through the 60 (63) day Insanity Challenge. Tomorrow is a "Pure Cardio" plus "Cardio Abs" day. It is my least favorite day as I have mentioned on other occasions. Which leads me to wonder, "does it get worse during a Max Cardio session?" I guess I can answer that in about 3 weeks.

Day 15 - Time Machine Test

If you are playing along with my Insanity challenge, you already know that I had to take a week (really 9 days) off to recover from a pretty substantial calf injury. As of Saturday, I was walking around with no pain and felt pretty much back to normal. In order to keep the integrity of the challenge, I decided to rewind back a week to account for the week away. It also works out that I start with a test to see where I fell back during the siesta. So, I am going to pretend that the last 2 weeks didn't exist from the challenge standpoint (except that you will see the "real" day 15 results in parentheses below).

Day 15 of the Insanity challenge is a "Fit Test" session to determine if you have made any progress in the last 2 weeks. Here are the results from today's Fit Test workout along with the results from Day 1 (and real Day 15) for comparison:

Exercise	Day 1 Reps	Day 15 Reps
Switch Kicks	35	38 (38)
Power Jacks	26	45 (40)
Power Knees	53	75 (73)
Power Jumps	22	27 (25)
Globe Jumps	6	7 (8)
Suicide Jumps	8	13 (13)
Push-Up Jacks	11	18 (17)
Low Plank Oblique	22	32 (30)

So, based on these results, the rewind plan looks legit. Once again, 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.

Injury Update - Rewind Plan

A few days ago I mentioned that I had a possible overuse injury in my right calf. As it turns out, it is a real injury instead of a possible injury. The treatment plan for this type of injury is basically rest from whatever caused the insult. If you been following along, you know that the Insanity Challenge has caused the insult. Actually, it is likely the 10 years of mostly inactivity, but who is really counting this stuff? (10 years of sloth versus 3 weeks of high intensity exercise -- it must be the 3 weeks, right?)

So, my tentative plan is to rest from Insanity for this week (it would have been Week #4 of the challenge) and rewind back to the start of Week #3. I am going to try stretching the calf muscle, walking quite a bit, and maybe some time on the stationary bike to maintain my cardio fitness level. I am hoping that this doesn't disqualify me from the free T-shirt.

This plan lets me redo the Fit Test to see the damage done by the week of rest and get back into the swing of things from where I left off. I was very happy that I was able to maintain my workout on the road. That has always been a real challenge for me. I would have continued on Saturday if I didn't have that weird swelling in my lower leg. Also, the pain in that calf muscle makes it quite clear that any more Insanity would be a bad idea right now. I would rather take a short break than to tear the muscle and force a really long break. Sometimes the no pain, no gain cliche is just wrong -- This is one of those times.

Day 19 - Injured

Well, stretching and ibuprofen did the job to get me to the workout, but the butt kicks during the workout reinforced that I did have a problem with my right calf. I slogged my way through the Day 19 - Cardio Power & Resistance session, but I ended up limping around at the conference committee close-out dinner. I have made so much progress since that first week that I am reluctant to stop, but I am worried that if I continue that the calf muscle will tear. (Is that a compound sentence or a run-on?)

There was plenty of sweat during the session, but I am managing my heart rate and effort pretty well. Tomorrow is a long travel day (Monterey -> LAX -> DFW -> XNA -> Fayetteville), but I am scheduled for a Plyometric Cardio Circuit session. Depending on the state of my calf, I may swap the Sunday OFF for this workout.  Have a great weekend!

Day 18 - Ibuprofen & Cardio Recovery

Today, I skipped hanging out with all the scientists and engineers to take my box lunch in my room AFTER I did the "Cardio Recovery" session of Insanity series during the lunch break. My calf muscle is still a little sore, but the gentle stretching, ibuprofen, and recovery exercises helped out a great deal. I am hoping to be at least at 95% for my "Cardio Power & Resistance" session on Day 19.

I have been thinking about doing a study of the total weight differential between the beginning and end of a conference. I am certain that the weight gain on snacks and meals is astronomical. I have more trouble on conference weeks than over the holidays.

The reason I participate on conference committees was reinforced tonight when I spent quite a bit of time talking with Mark Derzon (from Sandia). We talked about lots of things that will likely make my career at Sandia National Labs even more productive than it has been the last 10 years. He also offered to either mentor me (or find someone to mentor me) in writing proposals for the Laboratory-Directed Research & Development program.

Anyway, I have stayed with my Insanity challenge while on the road while making the right connections and getting my committee responsibilities completed -- that's a pretty good week. I am really missing my girls, and I am ready to be home. I get to jet out of here Saturday at 6 am.

Day 17 - Overuse Injury?

I continued my Insanity Challenge road trip with a "Pure Cardio" plus "Cardio Abs" session on this Day 17 morning. As I finished the Pure Cardio segment, I felt a tweak in my right calf muscle. I know it is not torn  because I can still walk without pain, but it seemed to be something between a cramp and a strain. I was able to finish that section and cool down.

The warm-up for Cardio Abs has some pretty decent jump sets in it. The calf muscle refused to play along with that game, but I did the rest of the ab workout. The muscle problem has me a little worried about it being an overuse injury. I am hoping that the full day between the next workout plus the fact that it is a "Cardio Recovery" session tomorrow will give me the opportunity to rest the calf muscle. I will also try to find some milk to get extra calcium in case it is a cramp.

The good thing about this issue is that I am complaining about it rather than the hellish workout that it is Pure Cardio. "I am not trying to hurt you, just trying to make you better" - Shaun T. Every time I hear him say that on the video, I want to punch him. I am just glad that I don't see that workout again until next week.

Day 16 - Plyometric Road Game

I decided to switch back to morning workouts for Week #3 of the Insanity Challenge because the HEART Conference has evening events all during the week (Monday - Registration/Reception, Tuesday - Conference Social, Wednesday - Industrial Exhibits, and Thursday - Open Meeting). That means finding the time and energy to workout afterwards would be difficult.

In any case, after a 5:00 am wake-up call and a Day 16 "Plyometric Cardio Circuit" session, I am now dripping sweat all over the desk area of my room. Yesterday's Fit Test results gave me motivation to continue, but the phone ringing at the time in the morning really makes me want to just go back to sleep. I am completing more and more of the workouts (fewer unplanned breaks), but I feel I am held back a little because of the hotel location. I have lost my home field advantage. I am not completely sure that I am not disturbing my neighbors. They didn't bang on the wall, but I don't know how far those rumbling landings of the jumps carry.

Now that Day 16 is complete, I am officially over 25% through the 60 (63) day Insanity Challenge. Tomorrow is a "Pure Cardio" plus "Cardio Abs" day. It is my least favorite day as I have mentioned on other occasions. I have about an hour to get ready for the conference. I hope that is enough time to shut down the crazy HEAT PUMP of my body. There is nothing more fun than sweating through a nice suit with 350 of your colleagues looking on.