Insanity Max Interval and Fit Tests

While I am still dripping in sweat and trying to catch my breath (5 minutes ago I was laying on the floor gasping for air), I wanted to update this blog (and all of you) about my Insanity challenge this past week.

It was the second week of max interval training. The max workouts are twice (or three times) as tough as the first month's workouts. I had no idea what I got myself into. They are usually about an hour long and have more circuits. Incredibly challenging for my heart and lungs but I definitely now understand what they mean when they say "the real changes happen in the 2nd month."

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I made the decision to start working out without a heart rate monitor and with a piece of paper covering the time on-screen. I get distracted really easily and distractions really mess with my mental state while working out. I am in pretty good shape for my size/weight, so I don't get out of breath very easily anymore. My (recommended) max heart rate is 199 and to get the maximum results I need to stay within 80% and 90% of this, which is roughly 159 to 179. Because I am technically overweight, I used to get over that pretty fast, but my endurace (lung capacity) is good enough that I could go on, even though my heart rate monitor tells me to take a break or slow down. So everytime my heart rate monitor would start beeping, I would get distracted and very annoyed and I would just completely stop. Or if I would look at the time and see that I am not even halfway, I would feel demotivated and no longer enjoy the workout.

So the decision to work out without a HRM came easily. I did it for a week and absolutely loved it. Could push myself, focus on my fitness, focus on form and not worry about my heart rate. Now I know not caring about your heart rate is not good and I do not recommend this. I think you have to be able to be honest to yourself if you can afford to go without one. After a week though, I decided to wear it again and just do my workout the way I had been doing that week and it turns out I really found my rhythm. I stick around 173 bpm, which is absolutely perfect. So I think I will work out without a HRM and then once a week or so I will put it on just to check if I am still doing good.

Today I had my fourth fit test. My third one was very disappointing, but I think I can attribute that to the fact that it was right after recovery week. My fourth fit test results do absolutely prove what max interval does to my body!

These were my results (1st week - 4th week)

Switch Kicks: 87 - 129
Power Jacks: 39 - 52
Power Knees: 87 - 107
Power Jumps: 20 - 38
Globe Jumps: 7 - 9
Suicide Jumps: 14 - 18
Push-Up Jacks: 15 - 40
Low Plank Oblique: 39 - 63

Every single one of them I have improved on immensely! I am especially happy with the Power Jumps and Push-Up Jacks. Those have to be my favorite moves.

I have 2 more weeks to go of Insanity. I have no idea what I am going to do after that. Maybe another round? Or maybe do Asylum next?

One thing I know for sure: I cannot wait to get my Insanity t-shirt in the mail!! Because you better believe that I earned it!

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Insanity Challenge Week 4

So, week 4 is over. That means, Month 1 done! I am incredibly happy and proud of myself.

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This past week was good, I pushed harder and felt myself getting fitter and stronger with every workout. I take fewer breaks now and can do more reps of each exercise. I am kind of sad that month 1 is over.

The next step is Recovery Week. The coming week will be 6 days of Core Cardio and Balance. I think I will switch it up a little, because as you might know, I am someone that gets bored of things fast, especially when they are not crazy high intensity... I might add in some other workouts this week.

And then we go into Month 2... It is the "Max Month", where the workouts get longer, tougher, more intense - What? - yeah... I watched the DVDs and I was just thinking "how am I going to do this? Seems impossible!" But truth be told, I had the same thought when I started Insanity Month 1.

I am already looking into what to do post Insanity. I was thinking of Insanity: Asylum, but I think I will first do another round of Insanity- because I am loving it so much!

Weight loss was 2,5 kg this month. Not great (or, well, you all will probably think that is a lot - but you know me, hard to please), but hey, who is complaining? ;)

Insanity Challenge Week 3

Week 3 of Insanity is done... It was good, again :)

The week started off with another fit test. I was very nervous, but curious to see how I progress and boy did I progress!! I did really well on the fit test and could totally tell my stamina has gone up like crazy. Here are my results (including the results from the first fit test, so you can see how much I improved):

Switch Kicks: 87 - 110
Power Jacks: 39 - 74 (this is crazy!!)
Power Knees: 87 - 97
Power Jumps: 20 - 27 (these are killer, but I am getting better!)
Globe Jumps: 7 - 8 (hate these...)
Suicide Jumps: 14 - 15 (another one of my - ahem - favorites)
Push-Up Jacks: 15 - 21
Low Plank Oblique: 39 - 51

Some crazy improvements there!

The rest of the week went very well also. I loved noticing that my stamina went up so much. But it certainly doesn't get easier. That is the beauty of this program: you get better but because you have to push your limits with every single workout, it simply doesn't get easier.

The only downside of this program is the Cardio Recovery workout. It is meant to give you a little break from the high intensity of the program, but I find it quite boring. The reason why I am in love with Insanity, is that it is so intense and fast-paced. But I guess they put in this workout for a reason, right? To give my muscles and lungs a little break.

The past 2 weeks were a little rocky when it comes to my weight because I had a few "off-days" where I had a lot of starchy foods, I also had my monthly problems, but I am still down 2,2 kg since the start of this program, so I am not complaining!

Anyways, I am looking forward to week 4 - the last week of the lower intensity (what now???) part of the program. After that is a week of recovery and then we go into 4 weeks of Max workouts... Ouch.

Insanity Challenge Week 2

Week 2 of Insanity went by really fast, and I wanted to give you guys an update on how it has been going. Also because I have been getting more questions about this workout.

First of all: I do not think this workout is for everyone, I absolutely don't. I do however believe that anyone who is in moderate shape and likes to challenge themselves to a new leven of fitness could try it. When your stamina is low, you get out of breath easily, you don't usually workout, you haven't worked out on a consistent basis for the last 3 months, your muscles aren't trained to a certain level or you don't like bootcamp style workouts, Insanity might not be for you.

That being said, I do think that if you've been working out for a while and your stamina and willpower are strong enough, you could absolutely give it a shot. I am not in perfect shape, I am overweight, but my stamina is quite good and my willpower is through the roof, so I love this workout. Insanity is designed in a way that you can push your limits and take breaks whenever you need to. You don't need to keep up with the people in the video. In fact, you will see them taking water breaks in the background as well.

Back to week 2. This week was great. Even though I was sick the majority of the week, I pushed through and didn't miss a day. I feel like working out does not affect my physical health negatively, whatsoever. Even if after the workouts I'd feel dizzy and/or nauseous, I felt better afterwards and I would have regretted skipping a workout. I also don't think me being sick affected my workouts. If anything, I feel like it gave me more energy.

I noticed my stamina increased a lot already. I could push myself more than in week 1 and I wasn't as exhausted as the week before. Power jumps are becoming easier, Level 1 Drills are becoming easier (burpees with pushups and floor sprints), globe jumps are still incredibly hard, I get really exhausted doing them, but I can do more of them! The only problem I came across is that my arch sometimes hurts after a crazy high energy workout. But if I do some foot exercises right after, the pain disappears.

I also definitely notice that I need to workout after breakfast instead of right after I wake up, like I did with previous workouts, because I really need the energy to get through the Insanity workouts! But that has not been a problem so far. If I have school, I will just workout when I get home, and make sure that I had a snack about an hour before.

This week consisted of the same workouts as week 1, but no fit test. The next fit test will be tomorrow (Monday). I am really curious to see my results because I feel I got better. One new workout is Cardio Abs, which is (duh) an ab workout without crunches or situps. This workout is the worst one, for me, because when I do situps or anything on the floor, I get lower back pains, so I couldn't really do more than half of the exercises. But I think burning 550 calories with Pure Cardio is enough for a day. I will enjoy my well-deserved rest day!

Insanity Challenge Week 1

Day 1 - Fit Test

Monday, March 4th 2013. Today is fit test day. The fit test is taken on day 1 of the program and then every 2 weeks to track progress. First there is a warm up to warm up those muscles and get your heart rate up, then a stretch and then you do 8 different moves. For each move you get 1 minute to do as many reps as you can. Overtime you should see an improvement in the reps. I am pretty happy with my results. I dug deep and when I was tired, I kept moving and went back in. I notice that taking breaks will only exhaust you more. Or, shall I say, it gives you time to think about exhaustion ;) My results:

Switch Kicks: 87

Power Jacks: 39

Power Knees: 87

Power Jumps: 20

Globe Jumps: 7

Suicide Jumps: 14

Push-Up Jacks: 15

Low Plank Oblique: 39

I really like how some of the moves LOOK easier than they are and others look harder than they are (to me...). For example, the power jumps, sure they look tough, but easy - but I had such a hard time with them. You basically jump up, pulling your knees in towards your chest. I only got 20 in 1 minute.

Power Jumps

Then there's push-up jacks. Now, I am not great at regular push-ups. I worked my way up from being able to do 0 on my toes, to do like 6 on my toes now. So push-up jacks looked like a humanly impossible move to me. But there I was, doing 15.

Push-Up Jacks

Day 2 - Plyometrics Cardio Circuit

Tuesday, March 5th 2013. While my heart is still working hard, and the sweat is still dripping from my ears and fingertips, I am going to say: wow... It is insane (oh yeah, I will be using this word a lot!) to see what the body is capable of. Today's workout was simply nuts. After the warm-up and stretch you are already dripping in sweat, your heart rate is already through the roof. Then it goes into athletic cardio circuit - lots of jumps and drills. Football training, basketball training, push ups, mountain climbers, it's all in there. I absolutely notice that my body can do more than I think. As soon as I stop to take a break, I notice that my heart rate is HIGH and I tell myself "I am DEAD", but once I get myself together, I tell myself "no, you can do 5 more" or "no, just do 10 more", and I do. Your mind gives up faster than your body does, so you have to push your brain into thinking differently.

During the 30 second breaks I had to check my pulse, because I can't go over 200bpm. My heart rate was between 160 and 180bpm. This is my anaerobic zone, which increases lung capacity and your lactate tolerance (which basically means increasing your endurance). I do think I need a heart rate monitor for these workous, to make it a little easier on myself.

Either way, day 2 was a success :) Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to fuel my body with some fruit and protein.

Day 3 - Cardio Power & Resistance
Wednesday, March 6th 2013. Muscles are shaking, sweating more than I ever have. I felt like I was going to faint, and I had to work hard to get the air out of my lungs, but I got through it, somehow. With a lot of breaks! This was the hardest one so far. I don't know why, but I had to take more breaks than yesterday. Maybe because I worked out a bit too soon after breakfast? Maybe because I didn't have a great night. There is a warm up which is sort of the same as the last 2 days. The circuits only had 4 different moves, which is less than yesterday, but they involve more muscle than cardio compared to the Plyo Cardio Circuit.

Pule was still around 80 - 90% of my max heart rate, which is good.

Day 4 - Cardio Recovery
Thursday, March 7th 2013. Today was a "day off" from the heavy cardio exercises. This workout is a mix between yoga and stretching. I am a person that gets bored of things really fast. I love Insanity because it is high intensity, high tempo. With Cardio Recovery you do a lot of stretches and you hold the stretches for 30 seconds or longer... Honestly, I got really bored. I do have to say, it is great for your muscles and also helps with your balance. I felt it in my thighs and abs. Got a good workout in but I am excited for another high intensity workout!

I actually got my heart rate monitor in the mail and was surprised to see that I still burned 260 calories with this workout!

Day 5 - Pure Cardio
Friday, March 8th 2013. "This shit is bananas, yo!" Is what Shaun T at the end of the this workout and dang he is right! Pure Cardio is well, pure cardio. As every workout, you start with a warmup and a stretch. You then just go into several exercises, 15 I believe, each for 1 minute. Without. Breaks!! Needless to say, I took my breaks. But it is nice to see the people in the video taking breaks and breaking down as well, so you don't feel like such a loser :P This is a really tough workout, but fun because there are so many different exercises! Right now, my whole body is sore, from my feet to my calves, thighs and I even feel my abs - and I haven't done a single crunch this past week!

I loved seeing my heart rate during this workout. I try to stay between 155 and 173 bmp to maintain the anaerobic zone. I burned 410 calories today!


Day 6 - Plyometrics Cardio Circuit

Saturday, March 9th 2013. Last workout of the week, and wow, I am dead!! I loved wearing my heart rate monitor. I burned 488 calories. My heart rate kept climbing really fast, even though I was not even out of breath, so that was not fun, but I tried to go a little past the 90% every time. I now need a big bowl of fruit or something full of protein to wake me up.

Tomorrow is Rest Day - well needed and well deserved, if I may say so. Kilograms lost this week: 1,6. Nice, steady pace. I am very happy with the way I got through week 1 of Insanity! :)

Insanity Challenge Start

I must be crazy... But isn't that why they call it "Insanity"?

After completing almost 30 days of BeachBody's P90 and Les Mills Combat hybrid, I decided to step it up. I had hit a plateau. I lost about 12kg/27lbs and hadn't been losing for 2 weeks straight. I was still eating the same, working out every single day but it wasn't doing a lot for my weight. Even if I did take pictures before and after those 2 weeks and saw that my body changed, I - a slave to the scale - wanted to get that scale moving, and read up on things (as I always do before I change my habits).

I found out that a plateau is mainly caused by routine and too few calories. You have to "shock" your body in order for it to start changing again. I knew I had to switch things up. I decided to get Insanity... You know, the workout that everybody is afraid of?

Yeah. I thought I was ready for it, even though I knew it was going to kill me, it looked like something for me - it is a very (very!) tough workout that focuses on plyometrics and athletics. It is not recommended for beginners, and even though I still consider myself a beginner, I knew I was stronger and fitter than I'd give myself credit for. After all, I love pushing myself beyond me limits.

I started Insanity on Thursday. It starts off with a fit test, you have a warm up, stretch and then 8 different moves and a minute for every move. You basically count how many reps you can do within that one minute, and as time goes on, you repeat the fit test every 2 weeks or so to see how you are progressing.

The next day I had dropped 1kg/2lbs overnight, just because I switched up my workout routine and upped my calories (I will blog about this later).

Friday was day 2 and it went well, even though I had to take a lot of breaks, I was happy that I got through it.

Then, Friday night, I was doing some ankle stretches and I overstretched. Yes, as stupid as that sounds... I had to give my ankle some rest.

On Saturday I found out that Shaun T, the creator of Insanity was going to start the program on Monday (which is yesterday). He had never done the program before (60 days straight) but he wanted to, and so he jumped in and asked people to join him.

I decided to join in, because I had lost 2 days of the program already and being the perfectionist that I am, would want to start over anyways. Also, I loved the idea of doing it at the same time as Shaun T, his team and thousands of Insaniacs all over the world.

So, yesterday I started over. 60 days of Insanity. 60 days of clean eating. 60 days to push myself. 60 days to dig deeper :) I am excited. Today is day 2. I will blog about my progress and my week on Saturdays or Sundays, so stay tuned :)

Welcome to my health and fitness blog

On December 14th 2012 I decided to live the rest of my life differently...

I woke up and decided I need to start working out and eating healthy. I was overweight and out of shape. And even though according to doctors I was considered "healthy", truth of the matter was, I wasn't feeling good and I knew only one thing would fix that: getting off my ass and working hard. So I did. I picked up some workout programs from BeachBody and committed to stick to it for 90 days. And I did. I also started eating healthy. This didn't mean eating lettuce and carrots all day, this meant making healthier choices. First of all: educate myself on what is truly healthy and what isn't and from there on out, make better choices. I created a structure that meant: 3 meals a day and 2 snacks (this has shifted throughout the past months). Over the past month or so I have gotten over 20 people that want to get healthier and moving, asking me questions about what I do, how I do it and if I have some advice for them. This absolutely flatters the shit out of me. People have been calling me inspiring (what?) and this makes me blush, because when I started, I could have never dreamed that I would come this far.

3 months in and I am more motivated than ever. I decided to blog about it, for myself, and for the people that want to know what I do, what keeps me motivated, what I eat, how I do it. I will blog about my goals, my progress, healthy meals and recipes (healthy eating can be oh-so good!), what my exercise routine looks like, etc.

I would love you if you guys would leave me feedback, questions and suggestions as to what to blog about :)