Day 7: Cardio Power & Resistance

I honestly felt like skipping Insanity today.  Time changed last night and it has left me dragging around all day.  I did my morning Happy Yoga video and I was this close to calling that enough for today.  But I know myself, I know my goals, and I know that if I procrastinate one day, I'll have an excuse for the next day, and the next, and the next.  I know this about myself.  This is actually the reason I picked up Insanity again.  Nasty weather was keeping me from being able to run (and still is..darn rain..), and I felt absolutely helpless about reaching my fitness goals.  I felt like the universe was against me, but I was determined to fight back and show the universe who's boss!

So I plugged in the video.  "Come on y'all!  'S-go!"  Shawn yells.  Oh boy, this is going to be a rough one, especially after my long weekend.  After the usual warm up and stretching routine, we got down to business.

• Power Jumps - I'm developing a love/hate relationship with these.  If I go slow and position my feet just right, I can get a few of these with "proper" form.
• Belt Kicks - Love them!  And I'm able to keep up with the group for once!
• Hit the Floor - Today, these gave me a challenge.  I didn't get very many of them done for some reason.
• V Push Ups - I figured out a rythem that works for me.  I would do 5 push-ups and then take a quick break.  I got about 3 reps of 5 done in each of the three rounds.
• Triceps Dips/ One-Legged Triceps Dips - I used the same method here as I did with V push-ups - 5 fast dips, short break.  Again, I got about 3 reps, except for the one-legged dips, I only got two reps on each side.
• Triceps Ball Push Ups - I think I figured out how to do these.  After all the triceps work from the last exercises, I only got two reps of 5.  My arms felt like floppy noodles!

After a short break came the second sets of exercises.  I was pretty worn out by the first sets, so I was very sluggish during these three rounds.

• Hurdle Jumps - I could not for the life of me keep up with the group!  Not to mention my feet were too heavy to get more than a few centimeters off of the ground.
• Globe Jumps - I don't know how many sets I got done each round.  I was moving very slowly, but I focused on my form instead of speed.
• Moving Push Ups - I can't do the moving part just yet, so I used my same technique as the first sets of exercises to do 5 really fast push ups and take a quick break.  I wasn't even on my knees!
• Floor Sprints - I have to really focus to keep my butt down.  I find that if I put my feet out just a little further than I feel is necessary, that it's easier to keep proper form.  I really pushed myself in the end and was sprinting so fast that I left a little lump in my carpet where my feet were hitting the ground.  Oops..
• 8 Hop Squats/8 Push Ups - Hop squats weren't too bad, it was the push-ups that really killed me.  I was exhausted by this point and was using my legs to help push myself up.  I guess I got in a bit of a calf workout as well!

Time to go get my protein shake!  I mix the vanilla flavored Muscle Pharm Combat in with 12 ounces of unsweetened vanilla almond milk.  Really tasty and filling, and only 175 calories!

No running tomorrow because of the weather and my family is making a trip out of town for a mini vacation, so I'll see you guys Wednesday!

Day 6: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Today was back to Plyometric Cardio Circuit.  Apparently my shins have something against this video because, out of nowhere, they started aching again right before I put the disc in the DVD player..  Like the first time, I had to take it easy on the jumping.

Phase 1:  Warm Up
Same warm up as last time (jogging in place, jumping jacks, Heismans, Mummy Kicks, etc), but I jogged in place and sprinted through half of it while my shins warmed up and loosened - no jumping jacks, high knees, or butt kicks.

Phase 2:  Stretching
Same thing as just about every video.  I have a feeling I'll be able to do this stretching routine in my sleep by the end of Insanity (which will be around June 30th since I'm only doing three workouts a week instead of six).

Phase 3:  Workout Set 1
I pushed myself a bit harder this time around since my shins didn't hurt so bad this time and because I felt like my body was better prepared for the abuse.

• Suicide Drills - These were harder this time as I pushed myself to go faster.
• Powder Squats - I did okay with these.  The first round, I wasn't able to do the "power" part, so I just did regular squats.  By the third round, though, my shins had loosened up enough that I was able to jump.  My thighs were protesting by that time though!
• Mountain Climbers - For some reason, I couldn't get the right rhythm going today and felt awkward.
• Ski Jumps - Shawn tells several of his co-hosts to keep their feet together, however, I find that I get more of a leg workout with my feet about 6 inches apart.  This forces my thighs to work harder to push me up, because they don't have each other for support.
• Switch Feet - I still hate these and my shins refused to let me do them
• Football Sprints - I was able to do these today.  My feet refused to move very fast, however.

Phase 4:  Workout Set 2

• Basketball Jumps - My legs were already wobbly from the first round of exercises, but I pushed through and did these.  By now, my shins had loosened up quite a bit.
• Level 1 Drills - I congratulate myself for these.  I did push-ups as best as I could and didn't even go to my knees once (though I did skip a few rounds of the push-ups).  I forced myself to slow down when "running it out" and focus on keeping my butt down in the proper plank position.  Boy, did that kill my arms and abs!  After the third round, I was doing good just to be able to hold myself up.
• Ski Abs - These were killer when I focused on proper technique instead of speed.  I challenged myself to do one full round (right, back, left, back) before I could take put my knees down.  Third time round, I was barely able to do two sets.
• Jabs - I focused on speed and these killed my obliques.
• Cross Jacks - These hurt my shins, so I just skipped them.
• Uppercuts - Again, a killer oblique workout when you focus on speed and power.  I envisioned Shawn's hand as a target.
• Attack - Just like jabs and uppercuts, these work your obliques.  They're just like palm strikes in my martial arts training.  I focused on speed and power, targeting a spot on my wall.  By the time I finished, I actually had a small stitch in my side!

Phase 5:  Cool Down

Oh, thank God!  I barely even remember this I was so tired!

Tomorrow is my day to weigh in and take measurements.  Hopefully there will still be some improvement!  I'm not so concerned about the number on the scale, because I know I'm gaining muscle (and muscle weighs more than fat), but hopefully my measurements have continued to decrease!  I've also been seeing my HR slowly decrease as I'm doing Insanity.  Today I barely got over 165 bpm.  See you tomorrow!

Day 3: Cardio Power & Resistance

Holy wow did this video kick my butt!  Yesterday, I wasn't as sore as I expected to be from Wednesday's workout - it hit me today.  But I sweated it out with Thousand Foot Krutch blasting in the background.  After yesterday's rest day (the weather didn't cooperate for a running day), my shins were feeling much better.  They gave me a few slight twinges, but nothing a few seconds break or modifying an exercise didn't solve.

Phase 1:  Warm Up
As with every warm-up in Insanity, you could just do this 10 minute circuit two or three times and have accomplished a great workout for the day.  But this isn't just a workout video - this is Insanity!  Today's workout consisted of jogging in place, Power Jacks, Log Jumps, 123-123 Heisman, Butt Kicks, High Knees, and Vertical Jumps.

Phase 2:  Stretching
Pretty much the same routine as almost every Insanity stretching session.  It's nice, but I'm thinking I may do a yoga session before I push play to get a better stretch.

Phase 3:  Workout Set 1

• Power Jumps - These are such a challenge for me!
• Belt Kicks - The martial artist in me absolutely loves these!  Instead of keeping my hands on my "belt" as Shawn does, I put my hands up as if I was sparring.  It just felt more natural to me that way.  Maybe after I finish Insanity I'll try out Les Mill's Combat from Beach Body.  It's a martial arts based workout.
• Hit the Floor - It took me a few minutes to figure out the proper form on these, but once I did it was an incredible ab workout.
• V Push Ups - Holy crap, these are hard!  I can't even do a regular push up, so for the first round, I modified these to be on my knees.  By the last rep, I pushed myself and tried to do them as shown.  I got about 10 in the 30 second interval.
• Triceps Dips/ One-Legged Triceps Dips - Shawn added this after the third rep.  I was able to do these until Shawn said pick up a leg.  By then, my arms were on fire!  I think I got about five dips for each leg.
• Triceps Ball Push Ups - This exercise was also added after the third rep.  They confuse the crap out of me.  I can't seem to figure out the proper form, so I don't feel like I'm getting the workout I'm supposed to.

My youngest thought that I was supposed to be holding her while I did this set.  She finally gave up and started following me and the video as best as an 18 month old can.  It was too cute!

Phase 4:  Workout Set 2

• Hurdle Jumps - These were pretty fun actually.
• Globe Jumps - Globe Jumps aren't my favorite.  Each rep consists of 4 jumps (left, back, right, front) and it will wear you out fast!
• Moving Push Ups - Wasn't able to do these.  I tried doing a modified push up on my knees in the same manner, but I could ever get my hands and feet in the right places at the right time.  I finally just started doing regular push ups.
• Floor Sprints - These don't seem hard, but trying to keep your butt down while sprinting in a plank position is extremely difficult.
• 8 Hop Squats/8 Push Ups - These were added after the third rep.  The hop squats weren't hard, but the push ups slowed me down.  I the people in the video get 4 reps, I believe I only got 2.

By the end of this, I was yelling at my TV.  My kids checked on me a few times to see if I was okay.  During this set, I also had to take a few breaks because my heart rate got up over 200 bpm.  According to heart.org, for my age, my target heart rate should be between 100 and 170 bpm with a max of 200.  I've found that exercises on the floor cause my HR to jump up higher than exercises where I'm standing up.

Phase 5:  Cool Down

Thank God it's finally over!

I probably won't be running Saturday as I have a birthday party for my cousin to attend.  I will, however, update my measurements tomorrow as Saturday is the day Noom asks me to weigh in anyway.  From now on, my measurement updates will be posted on Saturday mornings.