Bad Influence

One other thing I forgot to mention. Look at what my wife bought today. They are not exactly going to help with my training.

This is also going to be a test of my will power to resist the temptation.

Day 23 - Cardio Power & Resistance

Just finished my workout now, it's late (9.50 pm) as its been a busy evening and I started later than planned. Tonight's workout is one of my favourites, probably because there are no Level 2 drills in it. However, I'm feeling tired this evening so didn't do as well as I have previously done. Shame because when I woke up this morning I was really motivated and looking forward to Insanity today.

The tricep work in this workout is hard though. I find it hard to balance in the position you have to be in and when you do the work on one leg it is even more difficult. I don't find I can move that far in the exercise either, whereas the people on the DVD are bending their arms much more than I can. More practise is needed I think.

Tomorrow is not so busy so I'm planning to start earlier and so I should put in a better session.

Day 22 - Pure Cardio & Cardio Abs

I think this is the workout I like the least. The abs work on the 2nd part of the DVD I am finding really difficult. Shaun says there are no sit ups but I think I would prefer them. Today though for the first time I did manage to really feel the abs working as I did the exercises. I must be starting to get the technique right now.

The main workout (Pure Cardio) went well. I can get up to a good speed on the exercises during the final part of the workout. Today I was sweating so much during the workout I had to take my top off. It was a nice way to cool down, but I really hope the neighbours didn't see me as they would wonder what is going on.

Sore This Morning

My back is in bits right now. It got one hell of a workout last night. Got a busy day ahead so hope it improves later on.

At least theres no insanity today, although my 2 boys will probably drive me insane today!

Day 20 - Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Last workout of the week until my day off tomorrow. Today's went well. During the warm up I managed to get up to a really good speed for some of the exercises in the 3rd set. Jogging, Jumping Jacks, Heissman, 1-2-3 Heissman, Butt Kicks, High Knees are all easy to do now. It's just about increasing the speed and to keep the form.

Whilst doing the stretches I think it is really important one thing Shaun says : "Keep Breathing". The stretches hurt - the muscles are pulling, you're dripping sweat and knackered. It could be so easy to drop out of the stretch, so it helps to concentrate on your breathing as it takes your mind off the stretching.

This is the end of my 3rd week now and I'm really happy with my progress, although I am looking forward to tomorrows rest day.

Day 19 - Cardio Power & Resistance

Quite pleased because I managed the v push ups today when they've been really hurting previously.
But the tricep dips are still horrible.
I got a right sweat on after todays workout so it must be doing the job.
Overall though, I think this workout is now one of my favourites.

Day 18 - Stretching

I hate stretching, the only bit I like is when Shaun says ' lets stretch it up nice and slow', because that means it's the end of the stretches.
I'm still wondering how you manage to balance in some of the exercises because I'm still tipping over. The only ones I managed were the knee ones at the end of the workout.
It was nice to have a rest today though and back on it tomorrow.

The Pain

I woke up last night with really bad cramps in one of my legs. The pain was shooting through my leg and it must have taken 10 minutes for it to go.
When I woke up this morning my legs were so achey. They are still sore now so I'm glad it's just the cardio recovery tonight as that only involves stretching. I'll take it easy to start with so to help the muscles.

Day 17 - Pure Cardio & Cardio Abs

Yes its the double bad boy again tonight. My legs were really tight starting off, but the warm up eased them slightly. I couldn't do the stretches as good, but managed to power through the workout.
And while I remember - I HATE SUICIDE JUMPS!!

Onto the Cardio Abs and it hurts my abs so bloody much!! Managed better than last Friday when I last did this because I took my time to get the position right for the sitted abs workouts.

Sore Legs Today

My legs are so sore today after yesterdays workout. Really tight at the top on the backs of my legs.
I'm not going to miss today's session though so I'll just have to power through the pain!

New Socks Make it Better

Bought some new running socks yesterday. They are the nike dri-fit ones I normally buy but these are extra padded. They are really comfy and have stopped my feet from aching whilst doing the exercises.

Day 14 - Day Off

Today is my rest day. It's been a busy day so it would have been difficult to fit Insanity in today anyway, but strangely I am missing it a bit.

Fitness test tomorrow. A little apprehensive, but I reckon I will be able to improve over my initial results.

Day 13 - The Long One

I was dreading this one. It was the double workout - 40 minutes of Pure Cardio then another 20 of Cardio Abs.
I'd done the Pure Cardio previously and it was tough - it's the one with the 15 mins of non stop exercise, rather than the 5mins/30secs workout/rest I've got used to. I suppose that's good though because the more the workouts vary then your body does not get a chance to get used to it.

I did it late (at about 830pm), so I wasn't going to finish 'til late and it had been a long tiring day in work.  I thought my stretching was crap tonight, I couldn't get as low as I have the last few days. One thing that made me laugh though was Shaun T telling you to hold your hands as though you are holding potato chips as you run - I'd love a bag of bloody crisps as I'm doing it!

The Pure Cardio stuff went quite quickly and I didn't feel as bad afterwards as I expected. I then skipped the ad's on the DVD and went straight in to the Cardio Abs. This was a lot of floor work involving stretches and pulsing of the abs. It was tough, probably because all the exercises were new and I was not used to them. I think it's going to take a bit of practise on them in order to learn the technique. It's a new way of balancing too because you are using your arms and/or legs to support you and then you need to make your core do the work. Maybe I'll try doing just the Cardio Abs workout with some others to try and improve my technique.

Day 12 - Cardio Power and Resistance

It was time for workout number 3 again, Cardio Power & Resistance, last done on Sunday. I couldn't remember before the start what it was like, so just got stuck in.

It was s standard warm-up then a few minutes of stretches. I noticed today I was better at the stretches. I can get closer to touching the floor, probably because of tighter abs and more flexible leg muscles. The main workout  had belt kicks in it and I found these much better today. However, the V-push ups still bloody hurt. These are like a push up but your body is in a V position. Your hands are turned in to point each other, the push ups work the triceps and you can really feel them working.

The 40 minute workout went quite quickly. Just before the stretch cool down I took my heart rate and blood pressure. Heart rate was 123 and blood pressure 134/74, so much better than when I did the fitness test at the start of the programme.

Finished off with the shake and I thought I recovered much faster than I previously have. I must admit I am dreading tomorrow because it is the 60 minute Pure Cadio and Cardio Abs. Friday is my busy day too and don't get home until late, so I'm hoping I'm not too knackered and can put in a good effort.

The Day After Stretching

I'm feeling good after that Cardio Recovery session last night. It was lots of stretching and was worried whether I'd be feeling muscle soreness today, but I'm fine.

Ready for Day 12's workout tonight. That will be another 'Insanity Failure' to cross off the board once it's done.

Day 11 - Stretchyyyy

Ok it's stretch day again. No cardio stuff just a lot of stretching and yoga type stuff to make those muscles supple and help them for the cardio work.

Last week I was crap at this. Losing balance, not being able to hold the positions and really feeling muscle pain when stretching, so I really wanted to make an improvement today.
One thing I picked up on during the workout this time was Shaun saying to breath through the stretch. I did this and it seemed to take my mind of the pain of the stretch and the holding time of the stretch seemed to go faster.

One thing I was pleased with was that I managed to touch the floor in one of the stretches, that shows I am more flexible as I couldn't get near last week. My balance was better too, not tipping over for some of the positions you need to hold.

Last week I really felt the pain from the squat pulses. You would go in to a squat position and then hold it there, which was painful enough. Then you would move up and down slightly to pulse the muscles. I gave up on them last week but managed them this week. The only problem is though that they do tend to make you fart while pulsing!!

I felt good after the workout - its called Cardio Recovery but there is no cardio - so it'll be interesting to know if I'm sore tomorrow.

The Failure Board

Here's the latest update on the failure board.

I've gone past the predicted failures of Rob, Lee the Chin, Manley and Jason now. Once tonight is done that will be Mike off the list too.

Day 10 - Plyometric Cardio Circuit

This is the 3rd time I've done this workout now. I'm getting to know the order of the whole workout now and know what's coming next. That is useful so you can go straight in to the next exercise without pausing to see how you do the exercise.

One thing that made me laugh during the workout is when Shaun goes up to the girl on the right and says, "You didn't need a sports bra before doing Insanity." One hell of an observation.

Day 9 - Pure Cardio

I did this one last Thursday and it's a killer. 17 minutes of non stop exercise.
What's worse is that I'm taking my wife out for a Valentines meal tonight, so I've had to get up at 6am, have some breakfast and start the workout at 7am.
It really hurt and I reckon I could have done better on some of the exercises, but I was simply too tired. I took a good few breaks during the workout so I didn't maintain the intensity that I should have.

Anyway I did it. And collapsed in a heap on the floor at the end. This is tough but I've got to stick with it.

You know it's bad when after the workout Shaun says, "That shit is bananas yo!". Too right.

Day 8 - Cardio Power & Resistance

I can't do the belt kicks! I just couldn't get the rhythm and was all over the place. I hope it improves because I think they will really help with working out the core. 

The other thing I really don't like are the V-pushups. Oh my God they hurt. It's like a push up but with your bum stuck up in the air. Your fingers are pointing in and towards each other and they rip your triceps like hell.

Today was one of the first times I though I could quit. But afterwards on reflection I thought that I've got to put more effort in.

Early start tomorrow because I'll be out tomorrow evening when I normally do my workout.

Day 7 - Rest

Today is a day off from the Insanity madness.
I've made sure I've eaten healthy and not snacked. It's been a busy day running around with the boys, so I've probably burned off loads of calories doing that.

Need a big day tomorrow though because on Monday I'm taking my wife out for a Valentines meal.

Day 6 - Plyometric Cardio Circuit

This was a repeat of Mondays workout. I was familiar with a lot of the exercises so this went ok.

I was a little tired before starting because Friday is a very busy day for me. I'll be glad of the rest day tomorrow.

The Shake is Working

Well I must say that I do think that the Recovery XS shake from MyProtein is working.

Before I started doing Insanity I would do a 7km run on a Sunday and about a 4km run on a Wednesday. I'd always be sore the next day with muscle aches and very tight hamstrings.

I don't think Insanity compares to a 7km run in terms of stamina or length of exercise, but you are getting the intensity. Running is about 70 minutes over a week. Insanity is 5 x 30 minute intense sessions plus 1 session stretching. So I would still expect to have my muscles aching afterwards.

I would definitely say now that I am not suffering from as many aches and muscle fatigue using the recovery shake as I would be if I was not using it. I'm definitely going to keep on using it because I believe it is helping my muscles recover in time for the next work out.

Day 5 - Pure Cardio

When you hear the words ...

"Is anybody as nervous as me as what's about to come up?"

... you know it's gonna hurt.

It did. 15 minutes of non stop exercise. A different type of exercise every minute. I was gasping for breath, sweating like no other time and a knackered wreck at the end. That was intense.

Got the Shake Mix Correct

I tried using less milk in the shake and it makes the shake thicker and better tasting.

My shake recipe is now:

200 ml of milk

150 ml of water

1 ice cube

2 level scoops of powder

Shake like hell.

Making the Shake Taste Better

Yesterday I said that after tasting the Recovery XS shake I thought it was chalky in taste. I remembered reading the reviews of the shake on the MyProtein website, so I checked out if anyone had any tips.

The first thing I noticed was that people were using milk to mix it not water. Some were using milk and water, some with ice cubs so I tried my own mix of 300ml milk, 100ml water and an ice cube. Immediately it tasted much better and was not as chalky - I think it is the milk helping to suspend the powder better. I think it needs to be a bit thicker though. Instead of adding more powder I will cut down on the amount of milk I use next time.

Day 2 - The Workouts Begin

Yesterday was the fitness test and even though I was tired afterwards it was nothing compared to the proper workout.

Today was Plyometric Cardio Circuit. I'll have to look up what plyometric is because I don't know what it is - even spell checker is marking it as red because it does not recognise it. 

I must admit, I made a big mistake at the start of this. The DVD starts and Shaun starts talking about how important it is to do your warm up first. So I remembered we did a warm up for the fitness test yesterday and load the fitness test DVD and then do the 5 minute warm up on there. The I reload today's DVD and watch Shaun say again about how important it is to warm up first and then he goes in to a warm up on the DVD. So I end up doing 2 warm ups before the proper work out begins!

Anyway I did the 40 minute workout and was sweating like hell and so knackered at the end of it. You really had to concentrate because most of the exercises were new and not to do with the ones done as part of the fitness test. I'm going to say that I think it's going to work, because I really did get a sweat on and that is a good thing.

I hope I'm not feeling too rough tomorrow morning and manage Day 3 ok.

Tasting the Recovery XS Shake

I forgot to mention last night but I made my first shake after the fitness test.
I followed the instructions and made it with 400ml of water.
I ordered the shaker bottle which comes with a metal wire ball to help mix it. It did seem to mix it well, but I did find the taste chalky and powdery. I'll have to see what other people mix it with.
It will be interesting to see if it works.

Day 1 - The Fitness Test

I thought this would be an easy start to Insanity.

A warm up. 7 exercises. Do as many as you can in a minute. Record your score.

I was sweating like hell at the end of it!

Before I get to the details of the fitness test I'll say about the other tests that are done. There's a whole list of measurements to be done first, such as weight, body fat percent, resting heart rate, blood pressure, chest size, waist size, bicep size and a few more. I just took the ones that I could do since I had no way of doing cholesterol measurements.

I knew beforehand I was carrying a little too much weight, but felt healthy in myself otherwise I wouldn't be going to the gym 3 times a week and running about 10km every week. The whole point of me doing Insanity is to tone up, lose the belly and feel better about my body.

Anyway I did all the measurements and here are my stats for before I started the Insanity programme. 

This is my baseline and I hope to improve on every one of the measurements.
One thing I was a little worried about was that I thought my blood pressure was too high. It was last taken last year sometime and it was more like 130/60, so I think I need to keep an eye on that.

So on to the fitness test. The test involved the following exercises : Switch Kicks, Power Jacks, Power Knees, Power Jumps, Globe Jumps, Suicide Jumps, Push Up Jacks, Low Plank Oblique. I'd never heard of any of them. Before each exercise, Shaun takes about 90 secs to explain the technique of each one of them. They were all fairly straight forward and did not require time to learn them first.

The one's I really did not like were Globe Jumps and Suicide jumps. They hurt like hell and I had to stop mid way through the minute to grab some breath. Push up Jacks and Low Plank Oblique were probably the most technical exercises.

So, how did I do? Here are my results for the first fitness test.

Whilst the DVD is playing, Shaun asks the 2 people doing the tests what their starting figures were for their own fitness tests. One thing I was really pleased with was that my results were not far off what the guy doing the test scored. At least that shows me that I put in a good effort for the fitness test.

I'm hopeful I can improve on those scores when the next test is in 2 weeks time. I stopped and caught some breath for a few seconds for about 5 of the exercises, so if I can go straight through next time I am sure I can beat these scores.

On to the proper workouts tomorrow. Bring it on !

The Insanity Failure Board

One thing I forgot to mention yesterday is that my colleagues in work have all given their estimates on how long I will last on the Insanity programme. The worst estimate is that I will last 2 days, the best is to go for the full 60 day programme. I've called it the Insanity Failure Board and I'm determined to prove them all wrong. The only person with faith in me to complete it is Tony who reckons I have the determination to finish it.

He's right too.

Recovery Shake has Arrived

My Recovery XS shake from MyProtein has arrived today. I went for the chocolate flavour as I thought it would be also great to taste something nice after an intense workout. Also ordered their mixer bottle which contains a wire ball to help with the mixing.

First taste will be Sunday when Insanity begins.

The Best Recovery Shakes

Earlier today I mentioned about how the Insanity programme recommend taking a recovery shake after your workout. No doubt I'm going to be pretty knackered after each workout (you can see the buckets of sweat coming off the people doing the workout sessions on the DVD), so it's important to drink something that is going to replace the nutrients lost during sweating.

Insanity recommend using their own P90X Results & Recovery shake. Not only does it contain nutrient replacements, but a mix of carbohydrates and proteins that help in muscle recovery. From what I read it looked good, but at almost $50 and shipping it from the US by the weekend was not an option.

One thing the P90X shake talked about was the mix of 4 parts carb to 1 part protein in the shake. They say:

Studies show that with proper nutrition during the first hour following a workout you can increase your body's ability to recover by more than 100%. The key component to maximizing this "window of opportunity" is a formulation of approximately 4 parts carbohydrates to 1 part protein.

I'd already heard the thing about loading your body with carbs straight after a workout from personal trainers at my local gym. I try to go to the gym a few times a week and go for a run at least once a week. Usually after the run I do get muscle ache, but I was hoping that using a carb-protein based shake would help to reduce it.

I looked at a number of online health and supplement retailers to see if they offered an equivalent recovery shake, hopefully to get it delivered before the weekend. My requirements for the shake were:

• A ratio of at least 2 parts carbs to 1 part protein in the shake.
• Contain L-Glutamine (to help my squeaky knees).
• Be low fat.

I looked at the offering from Science in Sport (SiS). They do a REGO Recovery shake which goes for around £24 for 16 servings. This looked good and was developed with Chris Boardman the cyclist. The only thing that put my off was that it contained Aspartane and I like to avoid that as it can cause mouth ulcers.

Next was PowerBar Energize Performance Sports Drink Powder. This is £17.99 for 40 servings, so one of the most cost effective options. I decided against it though because it contained very little protein even though it did have L-Glutamine and no Aspartane.

Finally I came across a product made by MyProtein. They do a product called Recovery XS which has the optimum ration of protein to carbs. It was my lucky day too because it was on offer at £17.99 (from £20.99) and contained 20 servings. It contains an electrolyte blend to replace salts lost through exercise, L-Glutamine and something called Creapure that helps muscle recovery. I thought this was the best deal and it had good reviews on the website so I ordered it.

Here's my spreadsheet summary of the 4 different shakes:



I'll let you know what it tastes like and if I think it works.

The Schedule is Done

Ok, I'm ready for Insanity.

I've read all the docs that came with it and watched the first 2 workouts. Initial impressions are that it looks tough and intense, but is achievable. Insanity will start next Sunday 6th Feb 2010. That will give me the Saturday as the day off, since I am so busy that day.

I start with a fitness test on Sunday. This is more than achievable - 7 different exercises, see how many reps of each exercise you can do in a minute. This is the base line and you re-do the fitness tests every fortnight to check you are progressing.

One other thing from the reading material that came with the Insanity programme is they recommend eating a calorie controlled diet. I eat healthily anyway, so I'm not too worried about that part of it. However, they do emphasise taking their own shake after a workout to replace nutrients lost during the workout and help muscle recovery. I'm going to investigate what shakes are out there and get some.

I'm looking forward to it beginning on Sunday now, but soon be begging for it to stop once it has begun.

Here's the first month of the schedule.

What is Insanity

I could write hundreds of words on this, but I'm going to try and be concise.

• Insanity is a 60 day fitness programme whereby you copy the workouts that are on a DVD.
• It comes with a schedule of which workouts to do on which days. You have 1 day rest each week.
• It is primarily a cardio based workout that requires no equipment.
• You use only your own bodyweight to workout arms and upper body (when doing push ups and similar variations).
• It is based on interval training (which is repeated fast intense workouts, followed by slower periods of workouts), except that it uses Max Interval Training which uses long periods of intense workouts of around 5 mins and then short periods of rest for 30 seconds.
  See these chart examples:
  
  

• You have a fitness test every 2 weeks to check your progress.
• Workout last from 30 minutes in the first month to around an hour in the second month.
• All the exercises are do-able, but it will take a few sessions to get familiar with them.
   

I'm Gonna Do Insanity

I blame my 2 kids for getting me in to this.

I was up early yesterday morning with them and turned on the TV to see if any Peppa Pig was on. The Sky channel was still on the last one we watched last night and was showing one of those TV ads for a fitness programme. It wasn't your usual ab-buster, 5-minute-Abs or Davina based shit workout. This was for INSANITY by some guy called Shaun T.

I'm normally hesitant of listening to someone who doesn't use their full name, but he was doing a lot of jumping about and shouting and my 2 boys kind of found him funny at first. His fitness programme was 60 days of cardio workout concentrating on the core and a different slant on interval training. They had the usual array of people on the commercial showing their before and after pics and how it was the best fitness programme in the world ever.

I was hooked.

My boys and I watched the the whole commercial twice, with my eldest joining in with some of the exercises. All this at 6 am. The only downside was that it cost about £130 for the DVD's, but hell, if it got me fit in 60 days I'd be happy.

Later on that day I Googled "Insanity Review" to see what the experts thought. They liked it. One of the benefits is that you don't need any weights or equipment, you just use the weight of your own body and its about proper form of the exercises and speed. There were also lots of peoples personal reviews out there too. People who had done it and it had worked for them - they'd lost weight, gained strength, improved muscle definition and toned up.

So after a chat with the wife that night I decided to go for it and got the Insanity programme.
I'm hoping to keep a diary of it, mainly for myself so I can remember just how bad it was. If it acts as an example of it working for me then I will be more than happy.

...... and in the words of Shaun T. himself :


 DIG DEEPER !