"Pure Cardio" more like "Pure Insanity."
This workout was by and far the most difficult. Much like "Plyometrics" and "Cardio Circuit" its a 40 minute workout with a 10 minute warmup. However for some reason this warmup was more of a wear down, and really set the mood for the rest of the workout. I was tired and winded within the first 6 minutes. After the warmup was a much needed stretch, and then a water break. Then straight into intense cardio moves like football sprints, suicides, and some various jump squats. Unlike "Plyometrics" and "Cardio Circuit" the exercises are not split up by intermediate breaks. It ends up being about 25 minutes straight of cardio sprints, jumps, pushups and boxing jabs. Then a final stretch at the end.
I honestly feel like I spent more time trying to catch my breath or encourage my body to keep going then I actually spent working out. I was sweating and know my heart rate was elevated, but I'm worried I didn't work hard enough - yet again. And yes my sore muscles from the first 4 days probably didn't help the situation, but honestly I felt my heartbeat getting way to high and think if I was wearing a heartbeat monitor it would have told me to stop too. Perhaps I should get one, so that I can make sure that I am not working too hard and keeping my heart rate in the right zone.
I thought this workout was odd because you watch the videos and you are struggling to keep up, and these extremely fit people working out all around him have to keep taking breaks to drink or rest because they are worn out. I also spoke to a few of my soccer teammates who have done the workouts and they have all admitted that they gave the program up after the first couple of weeks or the first month because it was too intense and they simply could not continue. It makes me feel a bit better about my own performance through out these videos, even though I am no where near as fit as them, but it also makes me really determined to finish it.
Today is "Plyometrics" again. We will see if it is any easier the second time around.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Insanity - Day 4
So Day 4 is "Cardio Recovery". Although the name sounded like a nice relaxing workout I was skeptical that the same workout that brought me Day 2 and Day 3 could possibly understand what a recovery workout was like.
I was however wrong. After 3 days of jumping right into Insanity I was quite sore in many muscles, most notably my calves, shoulders and a bit in my hamstrings. This workout was about 33 minutes of breathing exercises, stretches, core resistance holds and other types of muscle holds. The workout was a rather slow and controlled pace, and a lot of the stretches break up the exercises so you don't feel exhausted or even need a break for water. After the workout I felt refreshed, and loose and ready to take on my "Pure Cardio" workout tomorrow. So I guess "Cardio Recovery" is an appropriate name for this workout, I will see if I still feel loose and rearing to go tomorrow.
Despite my euphoric feeling afterwards, during the routine I found myself struggling to follow along with a lot of the workout. At a point Shaun (the instructor) has you hold lunges and squats for minutes at a time. My muscles just couldn't hold me, they began to quiver and I had to stand up for a short moment to rest them before going back into the hold. Another place where I struggled were the balance exercises. I guess I just don't have very good body equilibrium because I could barely even hold myself steady with one knee up in the air. I expect that my balance should improve as my core muscles get stronger.
One issue I have with most of these workouts so far is Shaun will switch up into moves without really explaining how to do them. At these points I find it useful to watch one round, then rewind and then do the round with him. I guess I understand since you end up watching the same videos and doing the same workouts multiple times so eventually you will catch on, and not even need the reference. But for now I'm new and find it difficult to just jump into some of the moves he is expecting.
Lets see how this "Pure Cardio" goes.
P.S. I hope you all aren't getting bored with these posts but hopefully anyone wanting to do these workouts can be more prepared and encouraged by my experience. There is only one extra workout after "Pure Cardio" before the routines begin to repeat so I will probably post about it less frequently so I don't sound like a broken record.
I was however wrong. After 3 days of jumping right into Insanity I was quite sore in many muscles, most notably my calves, shoulders and a bit in my hamstrings. This workout was about 33 minutes of breathing exercises, stretches, core resistance holds and other types of muscle holds. The workout was a rather slow and controlled pace, and a lot of the stretches break up the exercises so you don't feel exhausted or even need a break for water. After the workout I felt refreshed, and loose and ready to take on my "Pure Cardio" workout tomorrow. So I guess "Cardio Recovery" is an appropriate name for this workout, I will see if I still feel loose and rearing to go tomorrow.
Despite my euphoric feeling afterwards, during the routine I found myself struggling to follow along with a lot of the workout. At a point Shaun (the instructor) has you hold lunges and squats for minutes at a time. My muscles just couldn't hold me, they began to quiver and I had to stand up for a short moment to rest them before going back into the hold. Another place where I struggled were the balance exercises. I guess I just don't have very good body equilibrium because I could barely even hold myself steady with one knee up in the air. I expect that my balance should improve as my core muscles get stronger.
One issue I have with most of these workouts so far is Shaun will switch up into moves without really explaining how to do them. At these points I find it useful to watch one round, then rewind and then do the round with him. I guess I understand since you end up watching the same videos and doing the same workouts multiple times so eventually you will catch on, and not even need the reference. But for now I'm new and find it difficult to just jump into some of the moves he is expecting.
Lets see how this "Pure Cardio" goes.
P.S. I hope you all aren't getting bored with these posts but hopefully anyone wanting to do these workouts can be more prepared and encouraged by my experience. There is only one extra workout after "Pure Cardio" before the routines begin to repeat so I will probably post about it less frequently so I don't sound like a broken record.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Insanity - Day 3
Day 3 workout is called "Cardio & Power Resistance".
Much like the format of the first workout it was a 40 minute workout that started with a quick 8 or so min cardio workout and warmup, then a nice 5 minute stretch and then about 20 or so minutes of all sorts of jumps, squats and push ups and then a 4 minute cool down.
All the kinesthetics in this workout make the "Power Resistance" an appropriate name for this workout. However, after doing it I am more convinced the "Power Resistance" comes from your brain.... "I know how much you would like to do that push up Ellie, but I simply won't let you do it." I think it would really help me to have a partner next to me, or someone (like a personal trainer) there to push me to keep going when my brain/body wants to stop. I feel like I have a skinny Ellie on one shoulder urging "Keep going, you can do it, you must push through" and a overweight unhealthy Ellie on the other shoulder saying "You did enough, that will do, you can stop now." I want to push that unhealthy Ellie off my shoulder and out of my head, that is one of my goals in doing these workouts.
During this workout I once again failed to keep up with the video once they started doing arm exercises, like push ups, and running push ups, and triceps dips. I can really see where my body needs improvement. I suppose this is to be expected, I mean I use my legs every day to walk, climb stairs, play soccer and carry my own body weight, but my arms are swiftly typing on a computer or grasped firmly on the wheel of my car... I think it would be nice to get some muscle to my arms, I keep noticing in my progress pics that they haven't really been going anywhere.
Like yesterday I was dripping sweat after my workout, I wasn't nearly as out of breath, but there was also less cardio this workout. I was a bit stiff going into the workout, but after a warm up and a stretch I hardly noticed. After the workout I was a bit shaky and weak feeling, but recovered quickly. Also, I really regretted working out so soon after dinner, my stomach was very unsettled and I felt I was going to yak at any moment while jumping and bouncing around.
Today is "Cardio Recovery" day. I'd like to think that sounds like a nice relaxing workout, but given the first two workouts I am not going to get my hopes up at all. I will let you know how my recovery goes.
Much like the format of the first workout it was a 40 minute workout that started with a quick 8 or so min cardio workout and warmup, then a nice 5 minute stretch and then about 20 or so minutes of all sorts of jumps, squats and push ups and then a 4 minute cool down.
All the kinesthetics in this workout make the "Power Resistance" an appropriate name for this workout. However, after doing it I am more convinced the "Power Resistance" comes from your brain.... "I know how much you would like to do that push up Ellie, but I simply won't let you do it." I think it would really help me to have a partner next to me, or someone (like a personal trainer) there to push me to keep going when my brain/body wants to stop. I feel like I have a skinny Ellie on one shoulder urging "Keep going, you can do it, you must push through" and a overweight unhealthy Ellie on the other shoulder saying "You did enough, that will do, you can stop now." I want to push that unhealthy Ellie off my shoulder and out of my head, that is one of my goals in doing these workouts.
During this workout I once again failed to keep up with the video once they started doing arm exercises, like push ups, and running push ups, and triceps dips. I can really see where my body needs improvement. I suppose this is to be expected, I mean I use my legs every day to walk, climb stairs, play soccer and carry my own body weight, but my arms are swiftly typing on a computer or grasped firmly on the wheel of my car... I think it would be nice to get some muscle to my arms, I keep noticing in my progress pics that they haven't really been going anywhere.
Like yesterday I was dripping sweat after my workout, I wasn't nearly as out of breath, but there was also less cardio this workout. I was a bit stiff going into the workout, but after a warm up and a stretch I hardly noticed. After the workout I was a bit shaky and weak feeling, but recovered quickly. Also, I really regretted working out so soon after dinner, my stomach was very unsettled and I felt I was going to yak at any moment while jumping and bouncing around.
Today is "Cardio Recovery" day. I'd like to think that sounds like a nice relaxing workout, but given the first two workouts I am not going to get my hopes up at all. I will let you know how my recovery goes.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Insanity - Day 2
Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow....... wow.
First of all let me say I take back what I was saying yesterday about being sore. After sitting at my desk working for 10 hours, my muscles were getting fairly stiff, nothing debilitating, but something closer to the burn I was expecting.
I finished my first *real* insanity work out yesterday and all I can say is wow. You know that burn I was complaining about not having? Well I feel it now, and am 100% sure I will be super sore come work out time today.
This workout was called "Plyometric Cardio Circuit." The workout was 42 minutes, it started with a nice 5 minute warm-up which quickly turned into a 10 minute cardio routine, then a short break followed by a refreshing 7 minute stretch. After the stretch we jumped right into the actual cardio circuit with 9 minutes of intense squats, jumps, mountain climbers, with short breaks in between sets. Then what was quite possibly the worst 9 minutes of my life (well not really but boy was it tough) which consisted of push ups, and jumps and planks, with breaks between sets.
I was literally crying during those 9 minutes. My body was super drained and as much as I wanted to push and make myself do the moves I just couldn't do it. I even ended up scraping my knee on the carpet and re-injuring a hurt toe trying to do this part of the workout. I was disappointed in myself because I really, really, REALLY wanted to do the exercises. I guess it gives me room to grow, but I can't help but feel bad about my performance during this part of the circuit. It took all I had to just keep moving, I just simply couldn't do the moves they wanted.
The workout wrapped up with a quick 2 minutes of boxing style jabs and uppercuts and then a final 3 minutes of cool-down stretching (which felt AMAZING).
I was dripping sweat after this workout, and so was my more-fit boyfriend. He also struggled on the last part so it makes me feel a bit better. I now understand why everyone says Insanity is so difficult, but I have nothing better to do while I am stranded in the hotel, and honestly I'm up for the challenge. I want to complete this just to say that I have, and to prove to myself that I can.
Today is "Cardio and Power Resistance" I will see how this workout compares to yesterday.
First of all let me say I take back what I was saying yesterday about being sore. After sitting at my desk working for 10 hours, my muscles were getting fairly stiff, nothing debilitating, but something closer to the burn I was expecting.
I finished my first *real* insanity work out yesterday and all I can say is wow. You know that burn I was complaining about not having? Well I feel it now, and am 100% sure I will be super sore come work out time today.
This workout was called "Plyometric Cardio Circuit." The workout was 42 minutes, it started with a nice 5 minute warm-up which quickly turned into a 10 minute cardio routine, then a short break followed by a refreshing 7 minute stretch. After the stretch we jumped right into the actual cardio circuit with 9 minutes of intense squats, jumps, mountain climbers, with short breaks in between sets. Then what was quite possibly the worst 9 minutes of my life (well not really but boy was it tough) which consisted of push ups, and jumps and planks, with breaks between sets.
I was literally crying during those 9 minutes. My body was super drained and as much as I wanted to push and make myself do the moves I just couldn't do it. I even ended up scraping my knee on the carpet and re-injuring a hurt toe trying to do this part of the workout. I was disappointed in myself because I really, really, REALLY wanted to do the exercises. I guess it gives me room to grow, but I can't help but feel bad about my performance during this part of the circuit. It took all I had to just keep moving, I just simply couldn't do the moves they wanted.
The workout wrapped up with a quick 2 minutes of boxing style jabs and uppercuts and then a final 3 minutes of cool-down stretching (which felt AMAZING).
I was dripping sweat after this workout, and so was my more-fit boyfriend. He also struggled on the last part so it makes me feel a bit better. I now understand why everyone says Insanity is so difficult, but I have nothing better to do while I am stranded in the hotel, and honestly I'm up for the challenge. I want to complete this just to say that I have, and to prove to myself that I can.
Today is "Cardio and Power Resistance" I will see how this workout compares to yesterday.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Insanity - Day 1
Yesterday was my Day 1 of the Insanity workouts.
I have been very interested in trying some of the "Beachbody" workouts. I normally fall asleep on the couch watching Mythbusters or some episode of Diners, Drive Ins and Dives and always wake up to the promises of wash board abs and a tight tone tummy and firm muscular arms. Who wouldn't be interested in that??? Even more convincing - I have a handful of friends who advertise the workouts and products on their facebooks and in person. It starts to get really difficult to dismiss the workouts and informercials as simply an advertisement when you see the results first hand.
So I decided I wanted to give it a shot. I mean, I have nothing to lose (except maybe the $$$ spent on the dvds), and even if the work outs don't work they way they say and are only a part of a great ad campagin - at least I motivated myself to try something new.
So I decided I would give it a shot. As an *early* 20lb loss gift my boyfriend purchased the "Insanity" system for me. It comes with a nutrition guide, 14 workouts, and a workout sheet. It also has a welcome package and a motivational video which I thought were nice, but the real meat are the workout and nutrition guide.
I love how simple they make it. "Eat the food in the guide, do the workouts in this order on these days." The nutrition guide is laid out really simply too, it gives you a list of 5 or 6 meals to choose for each of 5 meals a day. Despite how simply laid out the nutrition guide is, I won't be working the nutrition guide into this cycle of Insanity. The first reason is because the nutrition guide emphasizes 5 meals a day, and I am already having trouble while on site and away from home doing 3 healthy meals. Also, and more importantly I have been sticking to a "slow-carb" diet for the past 5 months and have been pleased with the results and more importantly have been able to sustain the diet for 5 months (I can't see my self sustaining 5 meals a day for the rest of my life). So as long as I continue to have the energy to do the work outs I think I will continue to use my own diet.
Now for the workout. The first day is a fit test, the schedule has you repeat this fit test every 2 weeks (for a total of 4 times) to track your progress throughout the system. The fit test is a 25 min workout with a 5 minute warm-up/stretch and then a power packed 15 min of jumps, squats and core exercises with breaks between and then finishes with a 5 minute cooldown stretch.
My results of the fit test were:
Switch Kicks : 59
Power Jacks : 44
Power Knees : 55
Power Jumps : 33
Globe Jumps : 9
Suicide Jumps : 12
Push Up Jacks : 11
Low Plank Obliques : 44
The workout wasn't easy, but I don't think it was impossible either. I felt disappointed with my results and think I can push myself a lot harder next time. A lot of my issue came from my lack of coordination, I was so focused on form and making my body move the way it was supposed to (it is highly important to focus on form for these workouts) that I forgot to count, or would mess up and not count the rep due to improper form.
Hopefully my coordination will improve along with my results. The push-up jacks were the hardest for me to do because my arms are very weak, and towards the end, even with breaks I was unable to push my body back up to starting position to complete a rep. During the entire routine I felt burns in my core and hamstrings, so I hope some of the other workouts spread the burn around, but I might not hate having 6-pack abs and thunder thighs.
I am not feeling sore at all, I feel a bit of tightness in my abs but I really didn't get the soreness that I expected, and HOPED to have. Sometimes I love that achy feeling since it reminds me how hard I worked. To be honest I am more sore in my shoulders from lugging my bags around the airport last Sunday then I am from the workout. Maybe that is a sign that I haven't worked hard enough? I will just have to be extra sure to push extra hard for the rest of the week. Maybe it will be a building soreness.
Onward to more workouts!!!
I have been very interested in trying some of the "Beachbody" workouts. I normally fall asleep on the couch watching Mythbusters or some episode of Diners, Drive Ins and Dives and always wake up to the promises of wash board abs and a tight tone tummy and firm muscular arms. Who wouldn't be interested in that??? Even more convincing - I have a handful of friends who advertise the workouts and products on their facebooks and in person. It starts to get really difficult to dismiss the workouts and informercials as simply an advertisement when you see the results first hand.
So I decided I wanted to give it a shot. I mean, I have nothing to lose (except maybe the $$$ spent on the dvds), and even if the work outs don't work they way they say and are only a part of a great ad campagin - at least I motivated myself to try something new.
So I decided I would give it a shot. As an *early* 20lb loss gift my boyfriend purchased the "Insanity" system for me. It comes with a nutrition guide, 14 workouts, and a workout sheet. It also has a welcome package and a motivational video which I thought were nice, but the real meat are the workout and nutrition guide.
I love how simple they make it. "Eat the food in the guide, do the workouts in this order on these days." The nutrition guide is laid out really simply too, it gives you a list of 5 or 6 meals to choose for each of 5 meals a day. Despite how simply laid out the nutrition guide is, I won't be working the nutrition guide into this cycle of Insanity. The first reason is because the nutrition guide emphasizes 5 meals a day, and I am already having trouble while on site and away from home doing 3 healthy meals. Also, and more importantly I have been sticking to a "slow-carb" diet for the past 5 months and have been pleased with the results and more importantly have been able to sustain the diet for 5 months (I can't see my self sustaining 5 meals a day for the rest of my life). So as long as I continue to have the energy to do the work outs I think I will continue to use my own diet.
Now for the workout. The first day is a fit test, the schedule has you repeat this fit test every 2 weeks (for a total of 4 times) to track your progress throughout the system. The fit test is a 25 min workout with a 5 minute warm-up/stretch and then a power packed 15 min of jumps, squats and core exercises with breaks between and then finishes with a 5 minute cooldown stretch.
My results of the fit test were:
Switch Kicks : 59
Power Jacks : 44
Power Knees : 55
Power Jumps : 33
Globe Jumps : 9
Suicide Jumps : 12
Push Up Jacks : 11
Low Plank Obliques : 44
The workout wasn't easy, but I don't think it was impossible either. I felt disappointed with my results and think I can push myself a lot harder next time. A lot of my issue came from my lack of coordination, I was so focused on form and making my body move the way it was supposed to (it is highly important to focus on form for these workouts) that I forgot to count, or would mess up and not count the rep due to improper form.
Hopefully my coordination will improve along with my results. The push-up jacks were the hardest for me to do because my arms are very weak, and towards the end, even with breaks I was unable to push my body back up to starting position to complete a rep. During the entire routine I felt burns in my core and hamstrings, so I hope some of the other workouts spread the burn around, but I might not hate having 6-pack abs and thunder thighs.
I am not feeling sore at all, I feel a bit of tightness in my abs but I really didn't get the soreness that I expected, and HOPED to have. Sometimes I love that achy feeling since it reminds me how hard I worked. To be honest I am more sore in my shoulders from lugging my bags around the airport last Sunday then I am from the workout. Maybe that is a sign that I haven't worked hard enough? I will just have to be extra sure to push extra hard for the rest of the week. Maybe it will be a building soreness.
Onward to more workouts!!!
Monday, June 6, 2011
Weigh In 6/6/11
I will not be weighing in today... because my scale and my wall, and my bikini are
2100 miles away!
2100 miles away!
So this probably isn't the sort of "Weigh In" post that you expect from me but sometimes life gets in the way of our hopes and dreams and goals and this is no exception. I sort of alluded to this week in my last "Weigh In" post when I mentioned some obstacles I would have to face this month.
Sometimes my job requires me to do "on site" work, which normally means about a week away from home in a hotel room eating out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and having no soccer or time for the gym. In the past I have gone on these one week site visits and come home 5 or 10 lbs heavier. 7 days of fast food and eating out *usually on the company* will do that - take my word for it. And this month, I am scheduled for an unusual 2 (or maybe even 3 depending on how things go) weeks on site clear across the country from home. How will I ever maintain, let alone lose weight while I am away from my routine, healthy meals, and exercise plans?
Over the past 5 months I have been doing so great, I have been teetering on the cusp of breaking my 20lb weight loss benchmark and blowing past my 150s and into the 140s (a place I probably haven't been since middle school). I really want to get there, and I have been so worried these past couple of weeks leading up to this trip I started to stress eat... a horrible lapse in judgment that I haven't given into in 5 months.
But here I am 2100 miles away from home hoping, trying and praying that I can make weightloss work, even if I am out of my element. I have already made some changes to the usual routine including requesting a fridge in my hotel room, and I went to the grocery store to get food stuffs for lunches, snacks, breakfasts and dinner. Sure it isn't as ritzy as writing off a crabcake dinner with a cocktail on the side and a slice of cheesecake to work, but when it comes down to it I would rather reach my goals that I have been working so hard towards then get a free meal any day.
And as a *early* 20lb weight loss gift my my boyfriend got me the "Insanity" workouts to do while I am away on travel. I have been seeing infomercials all over the TV and ads on websites and facebook and was really interested in trying it. He is even doing the work outs with me from home, so when I get back we can compare results and do them together.
I did my first workout tonight (a fit test). I will post the results in a different post since this one is getting super long. If you are interested in trying the workouts keep in touch, because I intend to leave updates on my progress along the way.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Memorial Day = Bikini Season?
So memorial day marks the unofficial beginning of summer. Covers come off of grills (yummy!), covers come off of pools, and cover-ups come off of millions of bikini-clad ladies world wide.
Will I be joining this endless barrage of women choosing to bear all (well most) for the public this summer?
Short answer: No.
At least not yet. While I, and I am sure many of you have all seen people frolicking on the beach or in the pool in a suit clearly too small for them, I refuse to be that person. I probably have nothing to worry about, but I am just not comfortable with the way I look in a bikini to choose to wear that out in public.
That's not to say that I will not be wearing a suit at all. Last year I didn't, I was so embarrassed I basically avoided any situation that would require me to wear a suit... This year I will stick to my trusty tankini, at least for now. As a confidence boosting exercise.
I am already leaps and bounds more confident about my body and the way I look, but there is nothing like feeling naked (unzipped) in front of strangers to make you want to shape up. Maybe I messed up last week, maybe I didn't (The scale read 151 this morning, which is technically the last day of the month, so maybe I did get an entire month with no gain, also 151 marks 20lbs down since January, but I'll wait until an official weigh-in to report all that) but I'm ready to kick this into high gear.
Maybe I will dawn my bikini in public this year after all.
P.S. I just wanted to thank Trisha for awarding the "Adorable Blogger Award" and Headspace for the "Stylish Blogger Award". I will have to make a post about them later!
Will I be joining this endless barrage of women choosing to bear all (well most) for the public this summer?
Short answer: No.
At least not yet. While I, and I am sure many of you have all seen people frolicking on the beach or in the pool in a suit clearly too small for them, I refuse to be that person. I probably have nothing to worry about, but I am just not comfortable with the way I look in a bikini to choose to wear that out in public.
That's not to say that I will not be wearing a suit at all. Last year I didn't, I was so embarrassed I basically avoided any situation that would require me to wear a suit... This year I will stick to my trusty tankini, at least for now. As a confidence boosting exercise.
I am already leaps and bounds more confident about my body and the way I look, but there is nothing like feeling naked (unzipped) in front of strangers to make you want to shape up. Maybe I messed up last week, maybe I didn't (The scale read 151 this morning, which is technically the last day of the month, so maybe I did get an entire month with no gain, also 151 marks 20lbs down since January, but I'll wait until an official weigh-in to report all that) but I'm ready to kick this into high gear.
Maybe I will dawn my bikini in public this year after all.
P.S. I just wanted to thank Trisha for awarding the "Adorable Blogger Award" and Headspace for the "Stylish Blogger Award". I will have to make a post about them later!
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