Insanity Workout Day 19: For the love of FASHION

Staying motivated is not an easy task when the only place you are losing inches is your chest and the scale seems to be stuck in the past. On day nineteen I find myself drifting to the back of my mind where it is asking the question "why do you keep going if you are not seeing results." Well, Rome wasn't built in a day. Right?
Even though today was my FAVORITE workout day because it was cardio recovery I found it hard to want to start the workout. One because of that little voice in the back of my head reminding me I haven't seen too many results and two I fear that I might have hurt my knee in one of the past routines.

One of the things the instructor repeats on every video is that you should go at your own pace and be safe. I have been doing just that; however, on day seventeen I could feel my right knee starting to ache and swell. Not a good sign but I am in this and I am not about to quit or make excuses not to do the workout.

There is not much I can do about my knee except to take the necessary steps to protect it from any further damage. So right now I am walking a fine line of not losing momentum and not hurting my knee permanently. I am thinking about doing the cardio recovery and Cardio abs video for the next two days even though it is not the routine scheduled. My thought process is that switching the videos my not be ideal for the program but it will allow me to keep going and give my knee some time to heal.

Source: fashionworship.com via Britt on Pinterest

As for the little voice inside my head asking WHY is it so important to complete this particular exercise program, especially since your results to date are only fair? I choose to respond to it's pesky questions with this responses:

1. I said I would! I am the type of person that we I make a commitment to someone or even myself I always follow through! 
2. It's a challenge and I want to conquer the CHALLENGE!
3. Because I believe this program produces results. I have seen it with my own eyes. 
4. For the love of FASHION!

Yes, you read number four correctly. For the love of FASHION is one of the ways I stay motivated to push through the challenge and the pain. At the end of the day, life is about being healthy but like any girl I love clothes and I want to look good in what I define as "my style." When my little voice starts to get me down I turn to Pinterest Fashion to stock my virtual closet and remind me to keep pushing forward.

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Insanity Workout Day 18: That Sh^t is Bananas!

Source: instagram.com via magquote on Pinterest

If you have every done the Pure cardio workout for Insanity you will know that at the end Shaun T always says "that sh^t is bananas!" Yes, he always says it because with a pre-recorded DVD the endings doesn't change. Even I know this but found it  humorous because no matter how many times you have done the routine, knowing the pre-recored ending and knowing he will say "that sh^t is bananas"  you 100% agree as if it was the first time! As you are lying on the floor after the last exercise in the moment "that sh^t is bananas" feels like the perfect sentiment!


You would think the craziness would end there but now that we are into week three we get an extra special treat of an additional 16 minutes of cardio abs! That is if you can scrape yourself off the floor for another warm-up session.

And of course you will...because you are INSANE! :)

Source: designerwhey.com via Stacey on Pinterest

Insanity Workout Day 16: To Eat or Not to Eat?

For the better part of a decade I have been on what some would call a "professional's diet." For those of you that are living in breathing Corporate America you might know this diet includes coffee as a meal and is usually picked to be the breakfast and lunch of champions. This is not a diet that is developed on purpose or overnight. One day you wake up in the busy world of back to back meetings realizing that it is three o'clock in the afternoon and the only thing you have had to eat all day was the cream and sugar  you added to your cups of coffee. By this time you think yourself that it is only a couple hours away from dinner so you might as well grab another cup and head off to another meeting. My body is now a well oiled coffee machine and does not want for food in the mornings. Well, at least that is what I tell myself. It may need food but it does not want for it. I never realized how much I could be hurting my health or the shape of my body by slowing my metabolism. Like I mentioned earlier this diet wasn't on purpose but rather an outcome of my particular circumstance. Now that this habit is as familiar as biting my nails or twisting my hair into a bun the moment I awake from sleep.

Source: burnettsboards.com via Angela on Pinterest

I did not occur to me that my bad eating habits might impact the INSANITY challenge. I have workout, been in a gym and even started running while maintaining the same eating habits. Yes, I read the nutrition guide and I have heard it all before about eating six small meals. But really, who has time for that?  Convincing a mind that has survived on the professional diet for years was going to take more than a pamphlet inserted into a DVD workout program. I would need to see proof!

After sixteen days of doing my best to muscled my way through the INSANITY workouts I may have been given the proof I needed to make the change to ditch the professional diet. As I have mentioned in my past posts I can feel my muscles getting stronger and I even performed better on the second fit test but my measurements must have been written in permanent marker.

Source - Pinterest

Being one out of three individuals doing the program and not losing the weight or inches you begin to question what it is YOU are doing differently. After several conversations it has been narrowed down to the question of "to Eat or Not to Eat?"
The other two individuals are following the six meals a day plan with a focus on healthier choices. They have not gone completely organic or vegan but started small with the simple changes such as less sugar, more fruit and more water, less soda. In this case I guess you could say that the "proof is in the pudding" literally.







Now that my mind has been opened to the possibility that I may be holding myself back by the choice to remain on the "professional diet" I am willing to make a change. This week I will focus on eating breakfast within the hour I wake and repeating a meal/snack every two hours thereafter. If I keep the meals around 200/300 and the snacks around 100 calories I should still be able to maintain my goal of eating less than 1200 calories a day. So let the eating begin! Oh, I forgot to mention this does NOT mean I am giving up coffee. I will just add a meal to go with my beverage of choice.

Insanity Workout Day 15: What you can MEASURE, You can IMPROVE!

The first day of the INSANITY program you have to complete a fit test that you will then be asked to repeat every two weeks throughout the entire program. The purpose of the fit test exercise is so you can track your progress as you move through the sixty day program. This workout can be used in two ways.

1. A way to push yourself each time you test ensuring that you will beat your last results and
2. As well as it is a visual reminder of how far you have come in the past few weeks. 

I must admit that I was happy to see the needle move on a couple of the exercises given that the scale needle seems to be glued in place. But we will get back that in a moment.

My baseline: Week 1 Results:

Source: cedricc.be via Courtney on Pinterest

• Switch Kicks - 60
• Power Jacks - 43
• Power Knees - 60
• Power Jumps - 20
• Globe Jumps - 6
• Suicide Jumps - 13
• Push-up Jacks - 13
• Low Plank Oblique - 40

Beginning of Week 3 Results:

• Switch Kicks - 77 (+17)
• Power Jacks - 50 (+8)
• Power Knees - 75 (+15)
• Power Jumps - 21 (+1)
• Globe Jumps - 8 (+2)
• Suicide Jumps - 15 (+2)
• Push-up Jacks - 19 (+6)
• Low Plank Oblique - 50 (+10)

For me, my results tell me that I am still "weak" when it comes to jumping. I use the word "weak" loosely because I am not viewing these results as a negative but rather a way to focus on what I need to improve on in the weeks to come. On a loose average it appears that I have increased my numbers by 25%. As I begin the next two weeks of workout routines I now know I will need to really push myself when it comes to power jumps, globe jumps and suicide jumps in order to increase my numbers on my next fit test. It will be my own challenge to move the needle another 5% on March 11th when I complete my third fit test.

As for my other measurements, the scale seems to be stuck in time and I have only seen an inch lost around my stomach. Although these numbers are not WOW numbers I try to remind myself that it has only been fifteen days and to imagine what another fifteen days will do for me!

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Insanity Workout Day 13: Saturday Morning Insanity

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Saturday workouts seem to be my greatest challenge when it comes to finding time alone to complete my workout routine. I am a little shy when it comes to working out in front of other people even if the people are my family. I have never been the girl in a sport bras and yoga pants "shaking it like a Polaroid picture" for the entire gym. Quite the opposite really. If you come in the room that I am working out in I will stop until you walk back out. That is if I am doing a workout video had home. If I made the choice to go workout at a gym I lean into my discomfort and remind myself that everyone is there for the same reason and then I block them all out with my headphones. In the past I have participated in group workout sessions doing cardio Combat classes, Zumba and even worked out in the middle of the gym with a personal trainer but it is not my preferred setting and it is definitely not in my comfort zone. But I am a firm believer that if we never push outside our comfort zone in life regardless of the actual event we will never become the people we are suppose to be.

With the Insanity workout I am still in the embarrassment phase of the exercises. Trust me, I own a mirror and I know what I look like when I am standing in front of it so I can only image what the high jumps, frog jumps and my Heisman's look like while I am performing the INSANITY routine. So like a teenager sneaking out for a big party on Friday night I am sneaking into my living room Saturday morning hoping to complete my workout before the house is awake. What I didn't anticipate is the noise that would come from my "soft landing" jumping abilities. We live in a 624 square foot apartment so I am not sure why I thought sneaking out of the bedroom into the living room to do a noisy workout was necessary but alas I tippy toed out and softly closed the door. I did manage to get through the first forty minutes of the workout before I heard the bedroom door open and a head pop out to make sure I wasn't wrestling an alligator or big foot monster in the living room. Lucky for me there was no alligator or big foot wrestling in progress but instead the head popper got a nice backside view of my body in V position , rear in the air while completing the pulsating abs. I guess it was bound to happen during Saturday Morning Insanity!

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Insanity Workout Day 12: Mandatory Meeting with THE BOSS

I once read that if you want to stick to your workout schedule you have to treat it like a mandatory meeting with your boss because no one cancels on "THE BOSS!" Strangely enough this theory is actually working for me. Everyone has a shifting schedule and that can easily be an excuse to not follow through on your commitments to your workout program or yourself.
Today would have been the perfect example of how to make up multiple excuses NOT to follow through. Here are just a few to get you started:

1. It's Friday
2. I have plans at the time I normally workout
3. One day won't matter
4. I don't want to have to shower again before going out to dinner
5. The sun is shinning
6. I have been doing really good so far, I deserve a day off.

Yes, all of these things run through my head just like they run through yours. Then I have to remember why I started this program and that the only thing I am doing is making EXCUSES! Then I employ my "mandatory meeting" theory and that reminds me that:

1. ...just because it's Friday doesn't mean you can cancel a meeting with "THE BOSS."
2. ...just because I have plans during my normal workout time doesn't mean I can't propose a better time to meet with "THE BOSS."
3. ...ONE day ALWAYS matters to "THE BOSS."
4. ...just because you don't want to get ready again doesn't mean you cancel with "THE BOSS." It means you workout before your first shower!
5. ...just because the sun is shining doesn't mean you can't meet "THE BOSS" outside.
6. ...just because you are doing really well doesn't mean your reward should be a day off from "THE BOSS."

The moral of the story if you haven't figured it out is that YOU are "THE BOSS" and the investment in yourself is one of the most important investments you will make.

For the record, all of the above applied to me today; however, THIS BOSS didn't cancel!

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Insanity Workout Day 11: Building a Bridge

After the first week of INSANITY I quickly labeled Cardio Recovery day as TGITH! (Thank Goodness it's THURSDAY) Now that it is towards the end of week two and my body is starting to adjust to the routines I am slowly recognizing that my mind is now able to focus on completing the exercise within its proper form. If we are being real with each other I think it is safe to say that the goal of the first week is simply to survive and to keep going!

Today's routine focused on breathing and working the muscles without the all the cardio. Does this sound like a familiar exercise? Maybe a very trendy, well known exercise? I personally have not experienced it myself but from my reading and again being honest my favorite TV shows it seems strangely similar to Yoga.
I have read a few articles about Yoga because being a person that lives in the fast paced world of Corporate America I often wondered if I could break into the spiritual side of this trendy exercise. For me doing yoga would be a way to become more flexible because I spend long hours sitting a desk and more importantly if there was a way to learn how to quiet the anxious world that lives within me. In my mind I could never really bridge the gap between spiritual meditation, breathing, stretching and a physical workout that toned your body into a beautiful shape.

INSANITY has built that bridge for me.

Today as we concentrated on slow squats, lunges and then into various stretching poses (warrior pose, downward dog) I began to see sweat beads rolling down my nose and hitting the floor. I noticed that my body was shaking as every muscle in my core, thighs and arms tried to find a way to hold their own weight and remain balanced. At the end of this workout I was physically tired, sweaty but not amped up from the cardio.

After spending two days lacking enthusiasm and energy I find myself once again inspired by the possibilities of what lies ahead when I finish this INSANE challenge.

I might just take the walk across the bridge that was built for me by this INSANITY program and take on the YOGA challenge.

HAPPY TGITH!!

Source: istockphoto.com via Wayne on Pinterest

Insanity Workout Day 10: Where do all the energy go?

Today was almost a repeat of yesterday. I am seriously dragging this week when it comes to energy and enthusiasm. I am not even certain of the why? I am never opposed to a challenge so I don't think it is because of the difficulty of the workouts. It could be the long, stressful working days but let's be honest those are never going to go away.

So how do you push through?

I know myself and I know that although I completed the workout I struggled the ENTIRE time to do my best? If you were to ask me if I did my best I would say NO based on my past performance but a 100% YES that I gave my best today.

Thank goodness tomorrow is a cardio recovery day!

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Insanity Workout Day 9: Choices

Today was one of those days where a long, rough day of work was bring me down. Juggling meeting after meeting and using every bit of brain power that I had left in my possession only pushed me further into feeling like all I really wanted to do at 4:30 was throw in the towel on INSANITY. The very thought of being a couch vegetable was becoming more appealing as the day wore on. Mentally, it wasn't helping that today was PURE HELL/Cardio day! So I did what I think most would do if there were in my position and on the INSANITY journey. 

Source - Pinterest

DIG DEEP!! 

So, I "dug deep" and laced up my sneakers for Day 8!

Capturing this moment in time where I am feeling less than enthusiastic about this work out felt important to me. I think that those of us who are not a professional fitness guru find that we experience days where we just want to throw in the towel. Hell, professional might feel this way too but I am betting it is much harder for them to "take a day off" from a workout when it is their profession. For me, I didn't want to go through this entire journey updating my blog only shooting out rainbows and butterflies about how I am one hundred percent pumped every day to be INSANE. I want to make sure I am presenting a real image of a person who is trying to stay motivated but does have moment of weakness when a CHOICE must be made.  
Today for me was not only about being mentally exhausted from work day but also the frustration of doing the physically hard workouts without results. Over the last week and half I have had the best eating habits I have probably had in my entire life. I went from drinking a six pack of Diet Dr. Pepper to drinking twelve plus cups of water a day and only have one or two diet sodas in the evening if I really couldn't stand to go without. I have even begun to eat Greek Yogurt and fruit for breakfast! I know this might not sound like a stretch but for anyone that knows me understand that my daily routine consists of coffee and the more coffee until around noon. I have been on the diet/health roller coaster ride before and I know how quickly motivation can be lost if the positive changes don't come with at least a little bit of positive results. 

With that being said I  am very thankful for the Shires INSANITY Support Group helping me through this journey because they are a month ahead and have said that if I stick with it I should start to see small results by the end of this week.

So today was about a choice and I choose to be INSANE! 

Source - Pinterest

Insanity Workout Day 8: Not looking cute but more importantly feeling strong!

Round two of Cardio Power and Resistance was not as bad as the first time I did the routine but I am hoping that the third time really with be the charm!

By end of last week I was able to feel my legs again and when I started today's workout I could feel that I was starting from a stronger place. What a difference six days of working out can make on your muscles! I am still having to focus on my breathing to ensure I am inhaling and exhaling through each move. I have found at times that I start to get winded and making more of an effort to exhale causing a muscle cramp in my right shoulder blade. I have also noticed that I am still having to take a few  more 30 second breaks than the professionals but not as many as week one.  Don't get me wrong, I am doing my best to focus on the positive improvements but also wanting to share my challenges and learnings as I go through this process.

The POWER behind today's cardio workout was that I noticed I am able to get through the entire warm up without having to stop. I know this might not seem like much to someone who has been doing this for more than a week but for me I remember my first day  and thinking "THIS IS THE WARM-UP!" 

Source: Pinterest

Insanity Workout Day 6: Remembering WHY!

After finishing my sixth Insanity workout I would like to take a moment to reflect on finishing week one of the hardest workout I have EVER done.  It is hard to believe that I made it through an entire week and that I am going to put my body through week two in less than 24 hours. When my mind starts to tell me how INSANE that sounds I simply hit the MUTE button on those little voices by remember WHY I started this challenge, this journey.  

Happy Sunday... See you on Monday! :D  

Picture posted from Pinterest.

Insanity Workout Day 5: Pure Cardio = Pure Hell, So I shall see you in Heaven! ;-)

Just when you think you are sailing into the weekend BAM! 

You have to do Pure Cardio!! INSANE!!

I stand by my previous post about singing the praises of TGITH; however, the praise will be immediately followed by sobbing because the next day is PURE HELL...I mean Cardio. 

Picture from Pinterest - I do not own

Insanity Workout Day 4: TGIH

Most of us are familiar with the expression TGIF! (Thank Goodness it's FRIDAY) From this day forward I am going to be singing the praises of TGIH! THANK GOODNESS IT'S THURSDAY! Today's workout was all about the deep muscle stretching.

Did I sweat? YES!

Did my muscles scream for mercy has we held the "deep lung poses?" YES! I even think the neighbors dogs heard their cries. I believe my muscles scream each time I workout but the screams are the high pitch kind that can not be heard by human ears. We instead only fell it in the burn followed by shaking and ultimately crippling us the next morning when we go to get out of bed or have to squat to pee. 

Source: shapefit.com via Bianca on Pinterest

Insanity Workout Day 3: Globe Jumping is so much more attractive when it involves a Passport!

When I started today's workout session I wasn't sure how I was going to "dig deep" when my calves felt like little rubber bands being pulled back and then snapping into place. Yes, it was that serious! But I trusted the system and proceeded forward to day 3 of INSANITY! After about ten minutes of "the warm up" and for those of you who do INSANITY you know why I added quotation; I realized that I had a whole new world of hurt in front of me. I am pretty sure there were about 152 GLOBE JUMPS and POWER JUMPS. Okay, maybe there were not 152 but it sure felt like it. Then to add insult to injury the professionals look as if they are ballerina's floating on air as they jump. It made me feel like this... 

Insanity Workout Day 2: Skiing is not for the faint of heart...

....or the weak abs! But then again neither is mountain climbing, power squats, basketball jumps, drills or even the yoga type stretching positions. This is the valuable lesson I learned today!

I can admit this is the hardest workout I have  ever done and I tried on quite a few. In the past I have tried my hand at cardio kickboxing, body pump, machine circuit training, running, personal trainer and even ZUMBA. There is NO CONTEST!!

I am proud that I made it through the entire video at least doing all the exercises even if I didn't do as many reps as the professionals on the video. I took breaks when I needed too and I kept my form. I am celebrating this accomplish so I can use that as mental power to do Cardio Power and Resistance tomorrow! It's all mental...right?

Insanity Training Day 1: White girl can't JUMP!

Insanity doesn't even begin to describe it and the sad part is the first day was only the fit test. Apparently, I am not very fit.

My whole body is shaking like a tree in an Oklahoma tornado. There was a point during the globe jumps I thought I was going to toss my cookies. Well, not really cookies because that would be INSANE to eat cookies and then put yourself through this workout!

I can't say these are not my best numbers because today they were my BEST.  My only hope is that in two weeks when I have to do this INSANE fit test again that they will improve.

 Today felt like that first day in gym glass and you had to do the chin ups and climb the rope to see how in shape you were against your peers. For some reason it seems easier at 12 then at 32.

Switch Kicks - 60

Power Jacks - 43

Power Knees - 60

Power Jumps -  20

Globe Jumps - 6

Suicide Jumps - 13

Push-up Jacks - 13

Low Plank Oblique - 40

 I have mixed feelings about circuit training tomorrow. Part of me says I should set a bucket out next to my workout space just in case tomorrows lunch decides to make an appearance and the other half is a little excited for the challenge.

To my brother and his wife...I am not sure whether to thank you or kick you. Lucky for you I can't feel my legs so I will say THANKS. ;-)

Taking a time out from running to become INSANE!

At the beginning of 2013 I committed to running double the miles from 2012. I spent the month of January keeping to that commitment; however, I have decided that I am going to take a brief 60 day pause to shape up and then get right back to my running goals. Why only 60 days? Because my family has talked me into taking the "Insanity" workout challenge.

I am not sure what I have gotten myself into but I do know that my brother and sister-in-law have spent the last month doing this challenge and between them they accomplished a 50 lbs weight loss plus 30 inches gone!

If they can commit to 60 days of hard core training....so can I!
My goal will be to complete the program and be in the best shape of my life. At the end of 60 days I will begin to work my running back into the schedule and use these videos as a maintenance plan.

Wish me luck! I think I am going to need it!