15 Day Fit Test

When I first started Insanity, I had to complete a fit test on Day 1.  I thought I did HORRIBLE on that first day but given my lack of intense exercise prior to starting, I could understand why.  Every two weeks, I'll complete a fit test as another way to measure my progress (other than just by weight or measurements.)  So...with that said....my Day 1 and Day 15 fit test results are as follows:

*Drum roll please*

1. Switch Kicks: Day 1- 40 reps.  Day 15- 45 reps.
2. Power Jacks:   Day 1- 35.         Day 15- 52.
3. Power Knees:  Day 1- 60.         Day 15- 77.
4. Power Jumps (these are a beast!!!): Day 1- 15.  Day 15- 25.
5. Globe Jumps:   Day 1- 6 reps.  Day 15- 8 reps.
6. Suicide Jumps: Day 1- 11.       Day 15- 12.
7. Push-up Jacks: Day 1- 8.          Day 15- 16.
8. Low Plank Oblique: Day 1- 40.  Day 15- 55.

  As one can see, I made progress in most areas... not significant progress like they pointed out in the video but I will definitely take what I can.  And after doing 25 power jumps, there was no way I was going to increase my globe or suicide jumps!!!  I'm sure by Day 36, I'll increase my numbers again. :)  Hope everyone who's doing it has seen an increase in numbers as well and best of luck to my brother-in-law Brad and nephew Elijah who will be starting Insanity in the next week! 

KEEP PUSHING PLAY!!!

The End of Week 2

So I'm sitting here, drinking my after-workout chocolate protein smoothie (which is delicious, btw), and thinking about this past week.  Overall, these past few days seemed brutal...I was tired.  There was no energy to push play and overall, I felt defeated.  Last night, there was no motivation to work out but in remembering my goal in doing all of this (to become healthy), I was able to push through. Then I woke up this morning and did it again.  Support and motivation is definitely key in all of this.

Today, I completed my week 2 with a cardio abs this morning and then pure cardio this evening.  Sooo excited that I've made it half-way through the first month!  Next week may be harder....it may be easier.  But I just need to remember that I can do it at my own pace.  With the nutrition side of things, I've been using whey protein powder to make shakes and smoothies.  Surprisingly, it's pretty good (depending on what you put in :P)  Scoop of chocolate protein powder, cup of almond milk and some ice cubes?  TASTY!  Nutrition has been somewhat difficult too this week with having to fit the meals around my work schedule.  Some days, I haven't been able to eat the 5 meals or there's been a longer period than wanted between the meals.  After some meal planning this weekend, hopefully next week will be better. :)

Here's to Week 3 and Digging Deep!

Plyometrics....Schmylometrics.

Today was definitely a hard day for me, in that I REALLY had to motivate myself to push play and to keep pushing through the workout til the end.  Plyometrics again today and another round of the basketball drills. Oh, the basketball drills. But I'm glad I pushed play in that I made it through the warm-up with still a high amount of energy AND I managed to focus more on my core (by the end of the workout, my core definitely hurt!)  The icing on the cake is that I decided to weigh myself afterwards.  Three pounds lost!!!  Talk about some motivators when I needed them. :)  Tomorrow is the cardio recovery and then back to it!

PS-Cup of frozen fruit, 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 scoop of french vanilla protein powder, splash of orange juice and some Sweet-n-Low?  DELICIOUS! 

Week 2: Still going strong!

Day 1 and 2 of Week 2 complete!  The pure cardio was killer today...yet again but I kept pushing through.  My major accomplishment is that I didn't take breaks as many times I did before.  I was definitely a big blob of sweat afterwards though!  I've also noticed that I'm not as sore (yay!)  Later on this week, I'm suppose to do pure cardio along with the abs workout.  Plan of action: do one workout in morning and the other in the evening. Hopefully it works!

With having my off day on Friday, I went a little off the grid with my nutrition but still was able to make some healthy choices.  I went out to Chinese for lunch and focused on getting more veggies and less deep fried options; rather than my typical sweet and sour chicken.  Crab rangoon was a must though!  :P  Also went out that evening for supper and got a Subway sandwich....with chocolate cheesecake for dessert (shared with a friend.)  That's were nutrition went out the window!  So I had some slip-ups but overall, did better than expected last week.  I've realized too that I can still go out to eat and still meet the nutrional needs needed.  It just takes some prior planning on my part!  This upcoming week, I'm trying something different.  Finally broke down and bought a blender yesterday so I'm going to try to implement some fruit smoothies and shakes in my diet...with the help of protein powder.  I tried making blueberry pancakes this morning with some French Vanilla powder.  It wasn't too bad but will have to get use to.  Hopefully the smoothies and shakes are better!

Wish me luck as I continue pushing through Week 2!

Plyometrics...we meet again...

Let's just say, I totally rocked this round of Plyometrics...compared to the first time anyways. :P  The first time I was kind of like a drunken fish in the water but after going through the rest of the circuits, I've focused more on form and strengthening my core (which I'm still working on!)  This next week, I hope to focus more on the nutrition aspect of things: especially finding breakfast meals that I can actually eat on a regular basis (I am just not a huge egg or cottage cheese person in the morning.)

And more importantly...COMPLETED WEEK 1!  Soo excited to be saying that!  At the beginning of this week, it would be so easy to quit and just send it all back.  Because seriously, being sore all the time was no bueno.  But after having support from my workout buddies & coach and doing the cardio recovery on Tuesday, I felt a lot better about things.  Currently, I'm not sore (thank you, Gatorade and peanut butter and doing better with stretching) and I feel somewhat healthier.  However, I don't have much energy throughout the day and I'm wondering if it's my current nutrition plan.  Any suggestions?

Looking for Week 2 to being on Saturday but for tomorrow, I will be resting!  Be back Saturday...wish me luck!!!

And the Insanity begins again...

When Shaun T says he's nervous about a workout, I know that means there's some serious business about to go on.  Two words: Pure Cardio.  If I had to do that module at first, there would be no way I could get through it!  Heck, I had to continue pushing myself tonight...especially having to do suicides. I will definitely be feeling this workout tomorrow but it's worth it for the long-term result: aka-a healthier me!  The positive side of tonight is that I was able to make it through the entire warm-up routine without a break: mainly because I was going at my own pace.  I also concentrated more on my form tonight.  My goal for tomorrow night's workout is to keep my core tight.  Shaun T's recommendation (according to teambeachbody.com) is to laugh or smile.  I may not be laughing during the workout but I'll be tightening those abs!!!

Favorite quote of the night: This sh*# is bananas!  From Mr. Shaun T himself.  I may not like him during the workout but he's got some lines.

Half-way point for Week 1!

So after yesterday's lessons learned, I definitely needed today's cardio recovery...it was still technically a workout but more focused on breathing and taking it slow.  Did I still feel like a blob afterwards?  Definitely.  I enjoyed having the less intensity and being able to concentrate on what I was doing.  Accomplishment for today: during two of the stretches, balancing on one leg for the entire time.  WOOT!  I definitely found my inner "chi."  :)  Since today wasn't as intense and not much too blog about, I figured I would like to take some time to talk about the nutrition portion.

This is challenging for someone who loves food: cooking, baking, eating, buying....you name it.  I love it about food.  The major difficulity is cutting out a majority of sweets and starches.  So far, I feel like I've done fairly well in both areas: not eating crackers with chili, choosing unsweetened versus sweetened tea, and staying away from cupcakes (so tempting!!!)  The fun part about this is taking foods that I love (chili and sloppy joes) and making them in a way that's healthier and fits the nutrition guide (protein, fiber, etc.)  Who knew putting carrots in both those items would actually be good?!  But of course, adding carrots hasn't been the only modifications. :P

With Day 4 complete and three more days until I complete my first week, I'm motivated to keep digging deep!

Day 3: A Learning Experience

Since today was my third day of working out and first full day of the nutrition guide, I figured I would test the waters a little bit.  Which of course, lead me to some lessons learned:

Lesson 1: If you work out at 6-ish in the morning, make sure you eat beforehand.  Why I did it this way?  I have no idea but it was not the best decision.  Afterwards, I felt miserable and I ended up having to lay back down for another hour after taking a shower.  With that said, I will be doing my workouts in the evening from now on (if it's during the week.)  I will also make sure that I get in a meal before as well!

Lesson 2: Eat the five meals a day....and don't splurge on one meal because you've missed the one before.  After working out this morning about 7, I had a fruit smoothie and some peanut butter (because having eggs was just not going to work.)  Surprisingly, by about 10, I was hungry again so I had my second meal of yogurt, apples, honey and walnuts.  About 12:30-1, I was hungry yet again.  Yay modified chili recipe!  Next part is where I lapsed a little: became hungry around 4 (which I was in a session, of course) and then afterwards, I was invited to go out to eat.  I made some good decisions (fish tacos and unsweetened tea...which is killer for someone who loves sweetened tea.)  But I also made a not so good one: chips and queso.  Enough said.  Tomorrow, I plan to do better by eating first about 7 again and then eating meals about 3 hours apart.

Those were my lessons for today.  With that said, the workout was yet again intense but I noticed today I was more motivated to push through the workouts (including the warm-up!)  The next time I do the circuit, I want to focus more on my form...especially when I'm attempting to do the various types of push-ups.  The push-ups were easier to do today. Somewhat tough because I'm still sore from yesterday but easier.  I will conquer them!!!!   I was talking to one of my friends today about the workout and she asked if I noticed a difference.  My response was that I can't see a difference but I can definitely feel it: considering there are multiple muscle areas that are sore!  So that has to count for something.

Although I'm sore today, I will go for it again tomorrow and dig deep!  Wish me luck!

Days 1 & 2...the challenge begins!

As a quick disclaimer, this blog is not going to be about me baking cupcakes (for those who've read my Cupcake Therapy blog.)  It's really going to be about the exact opposite of cupcakes, which is working out.  Mainly completing the Beach Body Insanity workout...and let me tell you now, cupcakes just are not in that nutrition guide!  So with that said, last year I decided that I needed to lead a healthier lifestyle.  I got the gym membership. I started to go regularly by going to Zumba classes and using the treadmill and weight machines...which I started seeing a vaste improvement on my cardiovascular endurance.  Due to my work schedule changing, it became more of a hassle and stress to go to the classes (I was also getting bored with the treadmill.)  So I started to look for something different. 

Quite a few of my friends have or are currently completing P90X, but I knew I wanted a bigger challenge.  After much consideration and looking at the website I don't know how many times, I finally broke down and bought Insanity last week.  And after two days of completing it, I'm glad I did because I can definitely feel some results.  Let's just say if you're sore and drenched in sweat after doing a fit test, something has to be working...and it is not your typical workout!!

Today's workout consisted of the Plyometrics Cardio Circuit...which meant a lot of intense and consistent movement. For example: start standing, go to squat, go to plank position, do 4 push-ups, do the "running plank" as I like to call it, back to squat, back to standing, and repeat.  Am I sore right now?  Most definitely.  Did I take a nap afterwards?  Of course.  Will I being working out tomorrow?  OH YES.  There were multiple times I just had to take a quick breather during the workout and every time there was a break, I paused it for longer!  But I think the important thing is knowing limits.  The people in the workout video have probably been doing it longer than me and it definitely helped seeing people on the video taking a quick breather too.  I was proud that I continued pushing myself and when the workout was done, I was surprised it went so quickly!  If this is how I feel today, I'm looking forward to how I'm going to feel after 60-days!!!