Fit Test!

Here are my first fit test results: 

Switch kicks---------------101

Power jacks----------------47

Power knees---------------48

Power jumps---------------29

Globe jumps---------------11

Suicide jumps--------------12

Push-up jacks--------------10

Lowplank Obliques-------40 

And these are my results from today: 

Switch kicks---------------107

Power jacks----------------49

Power knees---------------84

Power jumps---------------36

Globe jumps---------------10

Suicide jumps--------------13

Push-up jacks--------------13

Lowplank Obliques-------54

I'm pretty happy with my results. The only one I dropped in was Globe jumps. Otherwise I'm already seeing some vast improvements! 

I did Cardio Recovery today. That shit is no joke. Uggggh.

 - Kathi

Insanity- Day 10

I'm on my 10th day of the workout and going into Cardio Recovery today. This is actually my first time doing Cardio Recovery- I skipped it last week because I skipped a day and decided to go right into Pure Cardio to punish myself. Haha! But from what I hear, Cardio Recovery is no picnic. Eek!

One thing for sure so far with this workout is that you need proper sneakers!! I don't actually own any jocky sneakers, so I was doing the workout in these old Puma Tigers, and my ankles and shins were just about ready to give out. In fact, during my last Plyometric, I had to stop 10 minutes before it was all over, only because my sneakers were just killing me. The pain was distracting me from the entire workout. It hurt to even do the cool down at the end. So! Here's a tip to those about to get into this- make sure you start with the right sneakers! I'm getting a pair of cross trainers today, and I'm pretty stoked to do this workout with proper footwear.

So far this workout has been such a good experience for me. I've always been one of those people who hated "working out", meaning any intentional workout outside of transportation needs (biking), or fun stuff (snowboarding, skating, swimming). I've always felt freakishly strong, but Insanity is showing me that my threshold is not where I thought it was- I can definitely go further than I ever thought I could.

Also Insanity is really fun to do with buddies! I've had a lot of fun starting it off with Krista. My roommate is joining in tonight. YEAH!

More to come! I keep meaning to do before and after pics- I'm just so lazy. Maybe tonight.
-Kathi

Brooklyn: Day 20. Insanity with Benefits.

When I started the Insanity Workout, my ultimate goal was to get in better shape, but I've noticed some benefits of the workout that I hadn't expected.

The first exercise of every workout is a jog, and I quickly noticed that my left shoulder hurt each time I moved that arm, which alarmed me because it wasn't as if it was sore. On the second day, when my shoulder continued to hurt, I finally realized that in the past year I've fallen on that shoulder about four times due to bicycle crashes. It felt better to have a reason behind this feeling, and from then on I made sure I held my shoulders in correct form. After a few days, my shoulder pain was gone!

Similarly, when I did any exercise in push-up position, my right big toe hurt so much that I couldn't do them at first. This wasn't surprising because I had sprained my toe over the summer in one of those bike crashes and it had never healed properly. It remained swollen and wouldn't bend like it used to. But there are a lot of exercises in the Insanity Workout that are in the push-up position, and I pushed myself through the pain in the same way that I did with my shoulder, and after about a week I noticed that not only did my toe not hurt anymore, but I could bend it again like I used to!

It's natural to stay away from the things that cause pain, but this workout has made me rethink the way the body takes to healing. I think personally, with smaller injuries, working the muscles so that they regain their strength is a better way to heal than avoiding the muscles so that they heal on their own. Who knew the Insanity Workout would teach me something new about healing my body??

It's day 20, and here are the results of my second fit test:

Switch Kicks: 110 to 119

Power Jacks: 40 to 50

Power Knees: 70 to 84

Power Jumps: 40 to 35 (the only area I decreased in, I think because I focused more on form)

Globe Jumps: 9 to 12

Suicide Jumps: 11 to 21

Push Up Jacks: 18 to 28

Low Plank Obliques: 50 to 72

I'm glad to see so much progress! Looking forward to the next test.

Crazy But Not Insane...

Ok Insanity Punx.....here's what's up.....

I kind of got a little bit sane last week....

So I had completed my first week of max work outs, keeping to the schedule and I was....well, I got through it. And it even started to feel normal. Then last sunday one of my friends from boston was around and we went to the Ergs reunion in asbury park...and there was the mosh (this was on a rest day...) and then while she was around philly the following two days....I just couldn't get to it...We were too busy drawing comics, and I really didn't want to break from that to jump around my tiny room for an hour. So...that wednesday I was like "ok, I'll get back to it, i'll do my monday workout today and follow through a staggered schedule..." only by that friday...I had a killer day at work and just could NOT muster the willpower to get insane. I took the weekend off resolved to get back into it Monday....

Only last night...after completing the fit test....I didn't have any more oomph in me. and it was almost 9pm and I really didn't want to finish insanity at 10pm and crash out in a pile of sweat and rubbery muscles...so. there.

I feel bad. I can feel Shaun T shaking his head in disappointment. I'm sorry Shaun.

Today I did Max interval circuit, and tomorrow i'm planning on doing the max plyo. But being that this is the last 2 weeks of the program and that, if things HAD stayed on schedule my very last day would have been christmas (and lets face it, I was never going to be doing switch kicks in front of my moms x-mas tree....) I am just going to do the best I can and get as many work outs in as I can manage before the new year....

The GOOD news is...I went up (a little bit) in every exercise in the fit test...except globe jumps where I dropped one rotation from last time....

Here's the results...

Switch Kicks:127

Power Jacks: 48

Power Knees: 84

Power Jumps: 33

Globe Jumps: 10

Suicide Jumps: 20

Push Up Jacks: 32

Low Plank Obliques: 66

And now for the obligitory corny fit pix

These are my comics...this is my 6 pack...

And here is a Warzone video in honor of the insanity program...

Just imagine doing Max Cardio in a fucking ski mask....

Welcome to Brooklyn

Hello! I'm excited to present the new Brooklyn chapter of Insanity Punx! Right now, it's just me with a little sideline action from Rachel Rubino, but hopefully more people will join in the future.

As for my decision to start the workout, it comes from a unique place, as I'm sure it does for most of the people posting on this blog. In my early twenties I was diagnosed with an incurable and life-threatening physical illness, and it has changed the way I view my body and health. Because my illness is untreatable, one of the only things I can do is to keep my body in good shape. This is part of the reason I came to this workout, and I'm glad to be able share the experience with others!

For starters, I believe I did a lot of the fit test exercises incorrectly, because after having done the workout for almost two weeks now, I've been trained to understand their correct form. Oops! Oh well, I'm sure the results of the second fit test will decide that theory.

Here are my results for the first fit test:

Switch Kicks: 110

Power Jacks: 40

Power Knees: 70

Power Jumps: 40

Globe Jumps: 9

Suicide Jumps: 11

Push Up Jacks: 18

Low Plank Obliques: 50

After the first three days of the workout, I woke up feeling like a rusty robot, but I haven't felt too sore since. I'm trying to carefully balance the workout with one of my jobs- as a bike messenger of sorts- because I don't want to push myself too hard and be unable to work well. Part of me thinks this is holding me back because, as an ex-cross country runner, track athlete, and current cycling freak, I'm pretty experienced on how to hold back and sustain my energy throughout workouts, which is kind of the opposite of what the Insanity Workout strives to do. I guess I'll need to dig deeper to find out!

And I am really not a fan of these kinds of pictures, but here's me on day 4 (I'm currently on day 13):

I'll be back after my second fit test!

- Krista