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.

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