Thursday, July 21, 2011

My Insanity Journey

For those of you who don't know, I started my Insanity Journey about a month ago.  Don't worry, I'm not going crazy or anything, it's a workout program. Then again, I may be crazy for doing it. ;-)

Insanity is insanely hard! It states it is "the hardest workout program ever put on DVD."  As of now, I haven't done P90X or other similar workout programs, but I believe it!  Six days a week, it involves a ton of jumping, squats, sports moves, push ups, crazy drills, and awesome stretching.  Shaun T is a great motivator, and pushes you to move faster, push harder, and dig deeper.  If you are determined, you can make it through.  I'm not trying to sell this product to your anything, just telling you my perspective on it.

Insanity is supposed to give you amazing results in just 60 days. 60 days?! That's it? How is that possible? Two months out of my life and I'll be in great shape? You know what, what's two months? Sign me up!

My first time trying it, I sprained my ankle in the second week.  Crap.  Now I can't workout until it's healed.  Three weeks later, healed, new and better supportive sneakers on and ready to go, I started over.   After every workout, I was exhausted, but felt a sense of accomplishment.  Now, I'm almost done with the first month, or week four, and I've gained four pounds.

Wait, what?! I've gained four pounds? Isn't this supposed to go the opposite way?  What's the deal?  Well, it could be all muscle, since these workouts are super intense and work every part of your body.  Which could very well be part of it.  Or, it could be that I still haven't exactly been eating right.  Ah, there's the culprit!

That's not entirely true.  I have been eating a lot healthier, especially compared to how I used to eat, which was basically whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted.  I've cut down on the desserts and snacks (which was the hardest part, especially because ice cream is like crack to me!), I can't remember the last time I had fast food except for Subway, I only drink soda on special occasions, I eat soup or salad as an appetizer if I go out to eat, to cut out the greasy and fried foods, I've always loved fruit, and I drink much more water than I used to.  Sounds pretty darn good, right?  Then, why can't I lose weight?

Firstly, it's not all about numbers on the scale.  Weight is not exactly the best indicator of improvement in this type of program, especially in the beginning. Many other factors weigh in (see what I did there? Ha ha...), like inches lost, how your clothes fit, your strength, your cardio, and results on the Fit Test. While I haven't lost anything on the scale or in measurements just yet, my cardio has improved (I can now get through almost the entire warm-ups without a break, and even those are super hard!), and my Fit Test results get better every time (which are done about every two weeks).  So, there are improvements.

Secondly, thanks to my awesome TeamBeachBody/Insanity coach Sherry, I've realized though I've improved on what I'm eating, I haven't improved on the amount I'm eating.  I'm actually not eating enough throughout the day!  As Sherry explained to me, the Insanity workouts burn around 600 calories each time, and if I don't eat enough throughout the day, my body goes into starvation mode and tries to hang on to every ounce of fat it has.  So for those of you trying to starve yourselves and eat less while working out crazy amounts, that's not the way to go.  It also helps your metabolism to stay higher.  Again, the less you eat, the more your body thinks it needs to hang on to it for nutrients and energy, so your metabolism also slows down, making it harder to lose fat.  I've also started using Shakeology, which helps me gain the nutrients I need, and replaces one meal a day, which definitely helps since I wasn't eating enough to begin with.  You can check out Shakeology on Sherry's coach page or on www.TeamBeachBody.com.

And thirdly, the most results of weight and inches lost comes from month two. I've realized that, at least for me, the first month was about getting myself back into better shape cardiovascularly (is that a word?) first, so that I can continue to handle the rest of the workouts, which get longer and more intense in the second month.  Now that I'm wiser and more informed, I feel better about my results, and am excited to get into month two.

Before Insanity, the most I could run for was about five minutes at a time, which for me is about half a mile.  Now that my cardio has improved, I wonder how much longer I can run for.  I've always wanted to be able to run a mile straight without stopping, and if I can do that, it will be a huge accomplishment for me.

Insanity, let's do this.  Bring it on, Shaun T!

3 comments:

  1. YES YES YES!!!! I am SOOO glad I am helping you out with your journey!!! Thank you so much for mentioning me :-)

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  2. Great job! Keep up the good work! I've completed both Insanity and P90X and am currently doing them together in a hybrid along with Sherry. They are both fantastic workouts that WILL give great results if your willing to put out the effort and follow a good nutrition plan!

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  3. Thank you both! I can't take all the credit, can I? ;-)

    Thanks Nick! I just finished the first month, and am starting the recovery week today before going to month two. I plan on doing Insanity at least once more, then maybe I'll try the hybrid.

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