Oh My Fucking God I'm Going To Die....

OMFGIGTD.....well...not REALLY....but after completing day 36 of insanity last night....I sure felt that way...

Overall I think My experience with insanity has been great....but jumping back into full steam workouts yesterday was fucking brutal. I had gotten used to the relaxing pace of the core cardio and ballance routine. While this is still certainly a challenging workout in some respects(shoulder burners, Fuuuuuuuucck) I got really into the slow pace of the exercises and also the repetition...the same routine every day (except for thanksgiving, which i skipped) ...I had just enough time to start to feel really mellow. The holiday weekend didn't help any either, as I got quite into sitting on my ass and watching cable tv at my moms house....

So, cut to last night...i was even really nervous about my fit test, because...honestly I just wasn't feeling as strong as I did around week 3 or 4, but despite this, I was pleasantly surprised with my 3rd fit test results...

Switch Kicks : 126 i made a big jump here! from 91 last time. I feel like I finally got my form right and I just went for it..

Power Jacks 45 ...exactly the same as my last test...

Power Knees 78 up from 70 last time...in previous fit tests I've had to shake it out and readjust my position for ballance which I didn't have to this time..

Power Jumps 28 .....exactly the same as last time...this exercise fucking KILLS me...

Globe Jumps 11 I got 12 last time, but I don't feel too bad about the drop off...

Suicide Jumps 18 Last time I got 20....It was this part of the workout where I was really feeling the lack in intensity of the past week.

Push Up Jacks 29 I got 4 more than last time, maybe those shoulder burners paid off..

Obliques 60 up 10 from 50 last time...this is also the area of my body where I see the biggest difference since starting insanity...

So, at the end of this I just laid down on my floor and watched 3 quarters of the max workout that was ahead of me....When he started doing those hops I was like "fuck no" and when I saw the full body drill I was seriously doubting my ability to do it....But I remembered the first week and how tough it all seemed. So i watched the moves to get an idea of the forms for 45 minutes and then dove back in...

and holy crap. It wasn't so bad starting off, the new warm up routine was actually kind of cool and I didn't have any trouble, so I thought , ok, my body remembers all this stuff....but after the stretch when things got going...yipes. I was finding that I really needed to take extra rest time by the 3rd sets, and it felt sort of discouraging because by week 4 I was feeling strong going through the moves, but this week I was feeling weak and wobbly. like plank punches? what? my arms were like rubber.

For the first time since the first couple days I weakly dragged myself to the bath and kind of just sat in the tub with the shower on...and didn't move....for...i don't know how long...until i started to feel like I could stand up again.

So today, I am trying to tell myself

"ok, at least I don't have to do a fit test...just 59 minutes and it will all be over..." And try to remember that it was the first 3 days that really killed me and how awesome the first recovery workout felt. Or how exercises that were initially really challenging started to become second nature by the end of the first month. It's kind of hard to imagine that I'll get to the point where I can breeze through some of these moves....but I guess i'll just have to focus...and power through...

here are some corny pics of me with my shirt off...

these are actually from week 3/4 , the laptop cam broke but I'll try and figure a way to show off my rippling hulktacular muscles for future fit test pics...

Day 36: The Reckoning

Today, day 36 is by far the worst day of the insanity workout. Not only do you have to do your third fit test, you also start the first day of four weeks of hour long MAX INSANITY workouts, annd on top of that, you are coming off a recovery week which which lacks a significant cardio workout. Today is the day you have to BRING IT, and if you make it through, like Cait (in Philly via Ohio), Allie, Stefan (via Puerto Rico!) and myself did today, you'll know that you have made it through the absolute worst day of your INSANE life. Don't be scared though. You can do it too. If you have the luxury of time, try to take a long break in between the Fit Test and the Max Interval Training. If you don't have this luxury, do as much of the Max Interval Training as you can and make sure you take your time learning the proper form for the new exercises that come up. Remember that you are essentially starting a brand new workout today and if you are exhausted, think about how you felt on day 1 and how much better you felt on day 28! Only 24 workouts left after you get over the hump, and while they are way more intense than the first month, your results will match that intensity.

Here are our week 6 fit test results:

Cait
	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3
Switch Kicks	100	80	95
Squat Jacks	40	50	50
Power Knees	82	100	99
Power Jumps	26	33	25
Globe Jumps	6	11	13
Suicide Jumps	13	19	15
Push Up Jacks	20	34	31
Low Plank Obliques	47	60	67
Jordan
	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3
Switch Kicks	98	136	117
Squat Jacks	52	56	55
Power Knees	64	97	79
Power Jumps	34	39	32
Globe Jumps	10	12	13.5
Suicide Jumps	15	16	14
Push Up Jacks	21	22	27
Low Plank Obliques	43	44	41
Allie
	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3
Switch Kicks	100	115	110
Squat Jacks	47	60	52
Power Knees	44	108	106
Power Jumps	32	45	30
Globe Jumps	10	12	3
Suicide Jumps	11	11	5
Push Up Jacks	25	30	30
Low Plank Obliques	43	44	75

Joe also joined us today for the fit test. It was the only one he has done so far as he has just joined us sporadically. Here are his one time numbers:

Joe Fox
	Week 1
Switch Kicks	95
Squat Jacks	51
Power Knees	90
Power Jumps	41
Globe Jumps	10
Suicide Jumps	12
Push Up Jacks	16
Low Plank Obliques	43

As you can see, my numbers didn't move to much and in a lot of cases went do in rep counts. That is fine with me though because I know I am doing all these exercises (minus the dreaded switch kicks, which my brain cannot comprehend) with the best form my body is capable of.

Today is also the day when I turn on Shaun T. With no Tanya to blame, I revert to blaming ST and that other nameless woman who won't stop smiling. Why do they have to be so mean?! Needless to say, only a few hours after the workout today, my body is DRAINED and after a month of hardly any soreness, a soreness is setting in unlike anything I have felt before. OUCH!


Our newest pictures:

Day 25: Protect yourself

Last week I was sick. I insisted on pushing through 2 days of insanity that I probably shouldn't have and in the process kind of jacked up one of my knees because I let my form go. I had a mellow weekend and rested really well to heal up a bit and I feel much better already, but the knee injury scared me enough to do something I never though I would do, BUY EXPENSIVE ass workout shoes.

Let me backtrack a bit. I've had the shoes I've been working out in for about 3 years. Pretty much every second of exercise in the past 3 years has been in those shoes. The grips are gone, I was falling all over the place when I play street hockey or dodgeball, but since the soles and canvas were still in tact I didn't think I needed to upgrade. 2 weeks ago I found myself slipping while doing suicides and that is the moment the "new sneakers" thoughts popped into my head. After I jacked my knee I knew it was time to take the plunge. Now my punk instincts were at war with me over this decision. I haven't spent more than $40 on sneakers in probably 12 years I didn't want to buy anything made with shitty labor practices (although that is essentially unavoidable if you buy any new consumer goods these days) and I certainly wasn't going to buy anything that wasn't Vegan. I did some research and found out that I was probably going to have to spend $80 to $120 and that there were a lot of completely synthetic running sneakers. I figure I would rather spend $100 now to prevent long term injuries, then have to worry about those injuries in my almost certain healthcare-less future, especially since, up to this point, insanity hasn't cost me a thing.

So with my decision made, I went to Philadelphia Runner on 36th and Walnut. (http://www.philadelphiarunner.com/) The staff there was super helpful. They had me do a few exercises to see how I was landing on my feet and examined the wear patterns on the sneakers I wore into the store. They explained how my flat feet could use some stability support, but that I seem comfortable and balanced in my stance so putting me in a stability sneaker might confuse my form. We decided it would be best for me to try a cushioned sneaker. They measured my foot and brought out a few pairs of shoes that they thought would work best for me. I ended up getting a $89.99 pair of Asics and couldn't really be happier with my decision. They have a 2 week exchange policy no matter how worn in the shoes are which is also pretty comforting.

If you decide to take the insanity plunge, think about this before working your knee's and ankles in a pair of Van's. Ouch!