60 Days of Insanity - Review, Results, & Pics

I've finally finished!  I dug deeper, pushed harder, and made it through what's been labeled as one of the toughest workouts you could ever do without expensive equipment.  Insanity is just that - insane.  It will make you work, make you sweat, and make you swear.  And it's totally, completely, 100% percent worth it.

For those of you who don't know what Insanity is, here's the blurb from the Beachbody website:

Your personal trainer Shaun T will push you past your limits with 10 discs packed with cardio and plyometric drills with intervals of strength, power, resistance, and core training. No equipment or weights are needed, and you don’t have to be in extreme shape to do it. As long as you’re ready to dig deep, Shaun will help you get insane results in just 60 days.

Insanity is a Total Body Conditioning Program designed specifically to tone and shape your body with nothing but your body in 60 days.

Now, people may ask if Insanity works.  I can tell you that yes, it does work.  I have muscle where I had no muscle before.  I have confidence and energy where before I had none.  I don't have nearly as many problems with my knee, unlike before I started.  I can chase my nieces and nephews and not feel like I'm going to have a heart attack after running five feet. 

Was it hard?  Definitely.  I went from a complete lazy couch potato to a level of intensity I've never experienced before in my life.  At times, I wanted to give up, because I thought to myself "There's no freaking way I'm ever going to be able to do that".  I was wrong.  Within a couple weeks, some times as little as one week, I was able to conform my body into the moves required - like Diamond Jumps and Riot Tuck Jumps.  I can do those now.  Not that I can do them perfectly, but I can do them.

I also had a great team of people helping to encourage and inspire me to keep pressing play every day.  My heartfelt thanks go out to them and all my readers, especially Coach Brandy, because I can honestly say that if I didn't have all of you to be accountable too, I probably wouldn't have stuck with it.  I've learned so much, and have all of you to thank for it.

Now, I'm sure you're all wondering when I'm going to get to the "review" part of this post.  So, I'll stop rambling and feeling mushy and get on with it.  I'm not going to go through every single week, just highlights here and there.  If you want to read about my entire journey through Insanity, you can click this link and it will take you to a nice little list I have compiled for just that purpose.

Day 1.  Sorry for the crappy pic.

Day 1 was my first Fit Test and it was by far the worst day ever.  I felt like I had dropped into the pits of hell and was slowly being consumed by goblins who were masters of all sorts of evil torture.  Everything ached and I discovered muscles in places I didn't know HAD muscles.  The next two weeks weren't much better in terms of evil torture methods.

By the time I reached my second Fit Test, which was two weeks later, I felt confident that I wouldn't have improved.  My muscles, especially my legs and feet, were sore.  There was a muscle under my arm pit that was sore.  Hell, my damn fingers were sore!  But, I did improve.  I was like "Holy crap!  They went up!".  It was after seeing those numbers go up that I realized I was going to stick with it.  I wanted to know how much higher I could get them.

At this time, I could tell that it was working a little bit.  My arms looked smaller, my face looked smaller, but I still wasn't really losing much weight.  It wasn't until I did my measurements that I found out that I was losing inches.  It was also at this time that I stopped focusing so much on losing weight and focused more on losing inches.  I suggest you do the same.  Focusing on weight can be discouraging, but focusing on losing inches made the workouts go by faster and made me work harder.

Day 30.

By Day 30 of Insanity, there was definite improvement everywhere.  I had energy, had a great attitude and was proud of myself for finishing the first month.  Day 30 fell right into the middle of "Recovery Week", and let me tell you, I LOVED LOVED LOVED Recovery Week.  It stretches and almost relaxes your muscles, but you still get a great workout without feeling like you want to die.  It was also at this time that I signed up to be a Beachbody coach so I could get Shakeology cheaper.  Shakeology is like a gift from the Gods.  It tastes good and it gave me my daily dose of chocolate in a healthy form.

One of the hardest things for me was curbing my eating habits and eating five times a day.  I loved soda, chips, crackers and cheese, beer, fast food burgers, ice cream - all the things you shouldn't eat massive amounts of, I wanted, especially since now I couldn't have them.  Instead of cutting them out completely, I set a limit for myself.  Saturdays were free days, I could eat whatever I wanted if I was smart about it.  I also set Wednesdays as "You can have one, and only one, bad thing today" day.  At first, I gorged on Saturdays.  After a while, I didn't want to because the food I used to eat didn't taste as good, so I stuck to my shakes, salads, healthier foods and snacks.  Wednesdays I would pick to have one can of soda.  I can't even drink soda now because it's too sweet, makes my stomach hurt, and gives me a headache.  I really miss my bubbles, but I'll take a chocolate shake instead.  :)

Day 45.

It wasn't until Day 45 that I really started to notice the changes in the mirror.  I'd been so used to looking for them, that I didn't see them when they showed up.  My stomach was smaller, my arms had muscle bumps, my legs were more toned.  The closet jeans that were so uncomfortable to wear at Day 30 felt good to wear, not loose, but not cutting into my stomach anymore with 5 inches of gut hanging over the edge.  I didn't have to wear the baggiest shirts I owned to cover up that hanging bulge either.

Let me interrupt myself here and say that starting Insanity Month 2 was just like starting Month 1 all over again.  It was hard, everything ached, and those damn hellish goblins were back with their torture devices.  The exercises became more complex, sometimes combining two or more exercises from Month 1 into one exercise.  And I will be honest and say that there are a few them that I still can't do, but I did the best I could with them, modified them when I had too, and got the job done.

Day 60.

These last two weeks of Insanity, I kinda hit a "blah" phase.  I don't really know why.  Maybe because I'm a little sad it's over.  Before I used to be like "OMG I DID MY WORKOUT! YAY ME!" and it's been "meh, did my workout" lately.  I'm sure those of you who have been following my blog posts have noticed this as well.  I really don't have an explanation for  it, but one of the ladies in our Facebook group is feeling the same way, so maybe it's normal.  I think it's the beginning phases of Shaun T withdrawal, because he is just an awesome guy.  :)

Day 60 of Insanity.  I made it!  I did it!  YAY ME!  I decided to commit and succeed (to steal a line from my buddy Jon - thanks!).  I stuck to it, even through the aches, the pains, the "why do you hate me"s.  And I have the results.  They are more than I expected, considering I didn't even think I'd make it out of Month 1.  Take a look for yourself and tell me what you think! 

And there you have it folks.  Insanity - 60 days of pure insane cardio designed to make you sweat, swear, and look good.  :)  Up next for me is Turbo Jam, which we're starting on June 4th.  After that, I've already planned on re-visiting Shaun T and Insanity to see how badly I can pound those number into the dust.  :)

I want to thank those of you who've been following this journey either here on the blog or over at our Facebook page.  Stayed tuned for a journey through Turbo Jam!  :) 

Insanity - Week 8 - Completed!

I know I've fallen a little behind with posts lately, but here's a recap of the last two workouts.

Day 5 of week eight was Max Interval Plyo.  I did eleven S-S jumps from the warm-up and jammed out a good number of Power Jumps too!  It was tough because the house was ROASTING - even with the air on.  I was sweating buckets.  I really pushed hard doing this for the last time, and I felt it! 

I still hate Level 3 Drills, and I probably always will. 

Day 6 of week eight was a double workout with Max Cardio Conditioning and Cardio Abs.  There's nothing like running out of steam halfway through an exercise, stopping to breathe, and trying to pick it back up.  The house was still roasting and the knees were aching a bit (I blame Power Jumps and Riot Jumps).  Again, I pushed myself as hard as I could for this last exercise and man am I feeling it today.  My legs feel like Day 1 all over again.

My final Fit Test is today, and I'll be making a separate blog post for that one once I complete it.  I'll also put up all the good numbers and give you an over view of my Insanity experience.  All said and done, I can't wait to do round two after we finish Turbo Jam. 

I will miss Mr. Shaun T during our two months of Turbo Jam, but don't worry, I'll be back to visit.  During the two weeks before we start, I'll be doing Hip Hop Abs, so I can still get my fix.  :)

Stayed tuned for the Insanity Results ... and maybe pictures.  I haven't decided yet if I'm going to post them yet.

Insanity - Week 8, Day 3 & Day 4 & Facebook Challenge!

This post is going to cover two workouts.  Why?  Because TH and I were being huge dorks yesterday and played Diablo III all freaking day.  You know what that means right?  Yeah, the workout didn't get done.

So, I'm doing them both today.  Which is going to suck monkey chunks.

Day 3 of week eight was Max Interval Circuit.  I just finished it and I'm dog tired now.  I got a new record for S-S Jumps though - nine!  I was so proud of myself!  I was also able to do the Full Body Drills a lot better than the last time I did them.  By this I mean I was ALMOST able to do two full sets without stopping to rest my arms.  That's huge!  Doing the moving push-up jacks is still a bit discombobulated, but I did them!

The only thing that still gives me trouble with Max Interval Circuit is the Side Suicide Jumps.  The problem is I still have that flabby roll (thought it's A LOT smaller now), and doing any kind of get-down-jump-back or to the side move is a real pain in the butt.  It gets in the way a lot less than it used too, but it's still an issue.  It's my dearest wish that when I do round 2 of Insanity in two months and two weeks (Turbo Jam!  June 4th is our start date!), that problem will be corrected.

Insanity - Week 8, Day 2 - Double Trouble!

Have you ever been denied something you really wanted?  You coveted it?  You dreamed about it?  It was the first thing you thought of in the morning and the last thing you thought of before going to sleep, only to dream about it?

Lorraine Swiss Cheese.

I want it.

Bad.

The kick in the butt is we have some in the fridge.  And I can't have it because I'm still on the Shakeology Cleanse.  As soon as I woke up on Monday, I wanted it.  I have been coveting and craving that single piece of goodness for three days.

Insanity - Week 8, Day 1

Week 8 has started off great!

Can you hear the sarcasm in that?

For one, I'm doing everything a day behind when I normally should, which throws me off completely. 

For two, I'm doing the Shakeology Three Day Cleanse, which leaves me begging for energy about halfway through the workout.  If I could harness the power of anything to get through them the way I know I can, I'd be a happy camper.

However, I'm not a happy camper.  I should have listened to myself and waited until AFTER Insanity was over to do the cleanse.  I almost hurt myself twice today doing Max Interval Plyo because I got light headed.  If you're not used to doing a cleanse, have never done one before, or are not used to exercising, I highly recommend NOT doing one while doing Insanity.  Do it before you do the program, or after.  Just not during.  Maybe it's just me, but yeah.

So, Max Interval Plyo.  My friend.  How I will miss you when I'm bouncing around doing Turbo Jam in two weeks.  (Did you see the sarcasm there too?  LOL!).  I know the workouts haven't changed, and I know I've beat this poor horse to death before, but I swear they come in, steal my workouts, and switch them with modified ones.  They always seem harder than last time.  I guess that either means I'm slacking or I'm pushing myself harder. 

Knowing me - it's probably both.  :)

I did do 7 S-S jumps today during the first group of intervals though.  That made me happy.  I still can't keep up with the machines when they are doing Level 3 Drills though.  I just go at my own pace, and it seems to work.  I'm not a huge fan of what I call "burpies" (Level Drills to Mr. Shaun T), and I've never been able to do them well.  Getting on the floor and assuming my body is going to catch itself is not going to happen for a very long time, if ever.

Oh, and the knee step things - I can't remember the real name at the moment - I love those.  They hurt, but they feel great at the same time.  :)

I'm seriously debating whether or not to do Max Cardio Conditioning tonight, or just push this whole thing back.  MCC is more intense (for me) than Max Interval Plyo, so I'm thinking I'm just going to push this entire week back one day.  If I wasn't doing the cleanse - yeah I'd push myself to do it.  But, this just means my FINAL FIT TEST (yay!) will be on Monday instead of Sunday.  I'm thinking that sounds just fine to me.

Besides, if I push it back it gives me more time to play Diablo III.  Which I'm going to do right after I proofread this and publish it.  :)

See ya tomorrow!

Insanity - Week 7, Day 6 - Complete!

Saturday's workout was Core Cardio & Balance, which I did today.  Yes, I know it's Monday, and I said I'd do it on Sunday, but there were extenuating circumstances which prevented me from doing it yesterday.  You can read about them by clicking the link I'm typing, which you are currently reading.

I really do love Core Cardio & Balance.  It's such a laid back workout when compared to the other workouts.  :)

I also started a Shakeology Three Day Cleanse today too.  One of the options is to swap your dinner of salad and meat with your lunch of Shakeology.  I'm so glad I did that, because even with the relative ease of Core Cardio & Balance, I was still struggling to find the energy to do it.  I think if I had not swapped my meals, I wouldn't have been able to make it through it.

I feel better after doing my workout, though I'm very tired.  Normally, I feel energized after my workouts, but after the hell that was yesterday, and doing the Shakeology Cleanse, I think my body just needs to sleep for a few hours.  I'm also starting to get a headache, so after I'm done writing this, I'm going to go chug some water and veg on the couch for a while before I start folding the laundry that got left in the dryer all day.

If you'd like to know what the Shakeology Cleanse is and what does, drop me a line by clicking this link or by clicking the "Contact Me!" link on the navigation bar.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) I will make up today's (Monday's) workout.  I'm now on Week 8 and I don't want to stat falling behind now.  I'd rather push myself to do two workouts than screw up the schedule.  I can't believe how fast 60 Days has flown!  I can't wait to see what my final results be.  :)

I think I'm going to end the blog for today off here.  My brain is starting to demand sleep.  I'm going to apologize now for any typos because I feel really lazy and don't feel like going back to fix them.  :)

Camping, Mother's Day, and Daisy

It's hard to know where to start for this blog post.  So many things happened over this weekend.

First, campground was awesome!  I only gained 0.7 pounds this time versus the 2.5 pounds from the last time we went.  I was smarter with my food choices and I found a replacement for beer.  I wanted to try Malibu Red because it sounded awesome (it is), so I brought a bottle out there.  Jewel also had Sobe Lifewater on sale, so I brought those out too.  Put two shots of Malibu Red in a Lifewater and you've got a  pretty damn good drink that is marginally better than the Icehouse I normally drink.  One bottle of Lifewater lasted me between 45 minutes to an hour, and in that time I'd normally drink two or three or four beers.  So...bonus!

Oh, I tried all the new Lifewaters (minus just the regular old coconut) with the Malibu Red.  The best one was the Pomegranate Nectarine.  It also tastes fantastic with the Sobe Raspberry Lemonade too.  :)

Mother's Day was great too.  We had dinner at TH's sister's house and ended up staying a while.  I also made smart food choices there - mostly veggies with only half of a rib-eye steak which I JUST REMEMBERED RIGHT NOW IS STILL IN MY PURSE!!!!  Damnit!  /sigh  It was a good steak too.  Anyways, the only bad choice I made was the Baskin Robins Chocolate Oreo Ice Cream cake that TH and brother-in-law bought.  Hello - Oreos.  Ice cream.  Chocolate.  Yes, I'm having some, and while I wasn't an animal with the size of my piece, I definitely didn't skimp on it either.  It was amazing. 

Then, we came home and discovered our cat Daisy had passed away while we were gone.  She adopted us about 3 years ago, and she was old, about 15 or 16 at minimum.  We were going to take her to the vet today because she hasn't been eating right and not acting like her normal self.  She was just really lethargic, not very vocal (which she always was because she was deaf), and laying down in the oddest places.  I feel absolutely horrible that we went away this weekend, because I told TH when we left on Friday that I had a feeling she might not be here when we got home.  I hate that no one was here with her, because she would always cuddle with you, purr her heart out when you weren't feeling well, and rub her head on your chin (or lick you or both).

I miss my little old lady, and hope she's playing in kitty heaven with my Panther, who we had to put down about 2-3 months after Daisy adopted us.  Rest in piece Miss Daisy Crocket.

Needless to say, after we buried her in the yard at midnight last night, I didn't feel like doing Saturday's swapped workout.  If you'd like to read about Insanity, Week 7, Day 6, you can click here.

Miss Daisy Crocket - the coolest old lady cat ever.

Insanity - Week 7, Day 4 - Max Recovery

Thank you Max Recovery.  My muscles don't feel so abused anymore.  :)

I don't really have much time to write something funny or interesting.  I still have to fold laundry, gather ingredients for coleslaw, put my homemade frosting on my homemade brownies, finish packing our clothes, take a shower, set my alarm for 4AM so I get up in time to do my workout before we leave, and take out the garbage.

And yes, I realize I'm on a diet, but the kick ass brownies aren't for me.  We have community food weekend at the campground - brownies and coleslaw our TH and I's contribution to the yumminess.  But, I do have to say that the pre-cooked batter tasted awesome, and so does the frosting (I had to make sure hey tasted okay before I baked them didn't I???).  Brownies made from scratch are about the only things I can bake really well.  Everything else comes out like ... well ... crap.  TH is great at baking though.  He makes a great pumpkin bread.

Anywho, Max Recovery feels great, and I really wish I could do it everyday.  I know I'm going to sleep like the dead tonight.  So, I'm going to end the post here.  And since this one isn't as fun as most of my other ones, here's something to make you giggle:

 Have a wonderful weekend everyone!  :)

MoP Videos - Beta Release of Panda Dances

So - the beta dances are up for the male & female pandas.

I'm not impressed.

At all.

Hopefully they change them before release, because really?  I used to think the Undead Female dance was my least favorite, but I think these take the cake.  What they should do is give the male pandas the Ogre Dance.  How freaking cool would that be?

All credit for these videos goes to the folks at www.mmo-champion.com.

Check them out below:

Insanity - Week 7, Day 3 - Double Workouts Again!

I've been so behind all week, so I'll apologize for being lazy and not posting this yesterday after I did it.

Max Cardio Conditioning and Cardio Abs.

/sigh

Mother Nature has been playing hell on my knee all week with these random freak storms we've been getting.  Yesterday, it was sunny & gorgeous one minute.  Five minutes later it's pouring ass rain and then it started to hail!  Another 5 minutes go by and it's sunny and gorgeous again.  I thought my neighbor's garage was on fire because it was smoking, but no...it was just steaming because the "burst" was cold and the temp rose by like 15 degrees after it passed.  It looked kinda cool actually.

Insanity - Week 7, Day 2 - Max Interval Plyo

So, if you're keeping up with the NFBL Facebook page, you already know I was too sore yesterday to write a post about Week 7, Day 1.  In fact, I'll even copy the 'blurb' I put up in case you missed it. 

So - you can see...no blog post for yesterday. I hurt too much, but I kicked the Fit Test's butt, waited about an hour, then did my Max Interval Circuit. Whoever came up with that combination needs to be covered in honey, set upon by bees, then dumped in a salt barrel. Not really but holy hell it was hard to get through it. The thing I love about Insanity is it never gets easier...the better YOU get the harder you push. The harder you push, the harder the workout. So - consider this your blog post for Week 7, Day 1. :)

There ya go.

Anyways ... Max Interval Plyo, I feel I failed you today.  I couldn't push myself because my damn muscles are still sore from yesterday.  Normally, I'll drink my yummy Chocolate Shakeology after my workouts.  Except for yesterday.  I should have been smarter.  Instead, I drank it before we went to see Avengers (OMG - 3D - IMAX - AWESOME!!!!) and as a result, Max Interval Circuit AND a Fit Test left me feeling like a 90 year old woman, and walking like a 100 year old man.

Insanity - Week 6, Day 6 - Completed!

I know, I know I know.  Today (Monday) is actually the start of Week 7 for all you normal people.  I however am not normal.  Like you really needed me to tell you that!  Since I was occupied on Saturday (party!!!), I moved my Day 6 workout to Sunday...and this is Sunday for me until I go to sleep. 

It's done!  I really love Core Cardio & Balance.  I've gotten a bit better at the end exercise, which are called Shoulder Burner Plie (I think).  I can totally tell that the bottle of Shiraz, 4 Miller Lites, and 3 Rum Chata shots effected me.  More than just a small headache and major dehydration too.  My muscles didn't want to cooperate, but I made them!

Insanity - Week 6, Day 5 - Double Workouts!

Today was the first day of "double workouts" for Month 2.  Yippee!  /end sarcasm.  At least this month I was smart about it and split them up instead of trying to do them back to back.  Much more effective that way because I was actually able to give each workout the focus it deserved.  I did Cardio Abs first, then did Max Cardio Conditioning about 45 minutes later.

Not really too much to report on either, so...yeah.  Max Cardio is getting a bit easier to do.  I was actually able to do 4 Diamond Jumps.  Surprised the hell outta me when I just did it.  I'll take that as a sign that my legs are cooperating with what my brain wants them to do.  And In - N - Out Abs/Push-Ups Jacks didn't kill me until halfway through the second set of them.  Another shocker!  Push-up Jacks are still the bain of my existence (as far as Insanity goes), but they are getting easier - a little bit.

A New Coach, New Clothes, & Tilted Kilt

So, my first exciting news of the day happened just a little while ago.  A good friend of mine had been working out with P90X last year (or maybe the year before, I can't remember at the moment) and stopped.  When he started reading my Facebook posts about Insanity, he picked his P90X back up and has been doing it everyday since.

Today, he became the very first person to sign up as an Independent Team Beachbody Coach under me.  I'm so happy and excited for him, as I know he's going to be excellent at motivating and inspiring others to improve their lifestyles.  He's always posting up how he's doing, songs or sayings that help him stay on track, and being very vocal in our various accountability pages on Facebook.

So, a big huge "Congratulations Jon"!!!  :)

The second wonderful thing that happened today was I finally got my Kohl's shipment.  If you are a guy, you may want to just skip over this part, because I highly doubt you want to read about boob insecurities.  Since starting Insanity, I've been stressing that I'd lose boob size while doing it.  TH would not be happy about that, and honestly, neither would I.  They are the one part of me (besides my hair pre-highlights) that I actually liked.  Well, I finally got a 30% coupon to Kohl's and since the damn store rarely carries my size (or if they do, it's the really ugly old-lady styles), I ordered them from online, which I've never done for that particular piece of clothing.  Since I got sick of wearing stretched-out-missing-the-underwire bras, I ordered a bunch of them, thinking I could return the ones that didn't fit or I didn't like.

I'm keeping them all.  They fit great, look great, and that's all I'm saying about that.

The third great thing actually happened yesterday.  TH and I went out with some of his friends from work to Tilted Kilt.  Tilted Kilt is like Hooters but 1,000,000 times better.  They are a designed around a Celtic/Scottish/Gaelic theme (obviously) and their servers outfits are way better than Hooters, hands down.  They have great food as well.

Copyright Tilted Kilt.

The TK Lager (house beer) is delicious.  They also had something called a 'Beergarita' which is a margarita made with Blue Moon.  They also had a Spinach Chicken salad to die for.  It has spinach, grilled chicken, feta, dried cranberries, bacon, hard-boiled egg, and a house vinaigrette.  I got it without the bacon and it was fabulous!  I only had one TK lager and TH and I split the Beergarita, because I had to try it.  I drank iced tea the rest of the night. 

Now, it's storming and the lights are flickering, so I'm going to end this post here before I lose power.  I need to go find candles and a flashlight.  Later all!

Insanity - Week 6, Day 3 - Max Interval Plyo

I was trying to find a picture that could fully explain my feelings on how Max Interval Plyo kicked my butt yesterday, and this is what I found on some random website on the internet:

Because I thought I was going to die yesterday.  It was 81 degrees in the house to start.  And this was at 4:30 in the MORNING!!!  Second, I was sore beyond belief from Max Interval Circuit the day before.  Everything freaking hurt.  EVERYTHING.  Third, Daisy the Deaf Cat kept trying to lick the buckets of sweat rolling off my body from whatever body part she could reach.  (gross!)  I don't even remember the workout because I was dying.  I know I drank 32 ounces of water in an hour and was STILL thirsty.  But as for progress on any of the workouts?  Couldn't tell you. 


Somehow I made it through it.  And today I feel a bit stronger.  So that pic up there, randomly found on the internet, explains exactly how I feel right about now.  Minus the fact that even though the air conditioning is now on, it's 80 degrees in here and I'll need to do my workout in a few hours.  Hopefully it gets cooler in here by then, but I sincerely doubt it.  Our house gets hotter at night than it does during the day.


Today is Max Recovery!!!  I'm so happy and looking forward to it.  I need it.  :)

Insanity - Week 6, Day 2 - Max Interval Circuit

I hate this workout.  I LOATHE this workout.  I know it's good for me, but damn ... why???  That's all I want to ask.  Why must you try to kill me?  What the heck did I ever do to you?

My legs and arms are crying.  If my limbs could, they would detach themselves from my torso and run to Mexico. They would drink margaritas on the beach and laugh at me trying to do Insanity with nothing but a torso.

You know that joke...

"What do you call a man with no arms and no legs?"
"No, what?"
"Matt"

Only they'd change the response to "Becky" and it wouldn't be nearly as amusing as that joke is.

Facebook, Layout, and More!

Today is a good day.  NFBL is officially on Facebook now, and I put a handy dandy little widget on the right side so you can like us!  So ... go like us!  :)

As you can also see, I've also changed the layout design a little bit.  It was looking way too cluttered for me before.  Too much stuff.  I'm still doing a few tweaks here and there, so each time you re-visit us, it might be a little bit different.  Sorry for the confusion, and if there's something I took away that you want back, let me know.

I've also added a "Contact Me" page up in the navigation bar.  It has a nice little form you fill out so you can tell me exactly what you're looking for fitness-wise or if you just want to comment on the blog, a picture, the weather, the cool new shoes you bought, whatever.  I will return each of your emails in as timely matter as possible, except when I'm at the campground because my phone doesn't work out there.  :)

So, tell me what you think.  Is the blog missing something essential that it needs to live (besides a banner/logo, which I am working on)?  Do you like the layout?  Is it easier to navigate?  Do you just absolutely hate it and you want to stab your eyes out every time you see it? 

Thank you for reading! 

Insanity - Week 6, Day 1 - Max Cardio Conditioning

Mmmm ... chocolate.  Sorry, was having my moment in heaven.  Drinking my ice-cold chocolately shake after doing Max Cardio Conditioning is like drinking an ice cold beer after mowing a quarter acre lawn by hand - wonderful. 

Okay, I don't mow the lawn and it's not a quarter acre.  I did mow the lawn once though and it was so terrible that I absolutely refuse to do it again.  I have only done it once in the almost eight years that we've owned this house, and never again.  Our yard sucks.  It has been relegated to TH's domain of "Things You Have To Do That Your Wife Won't".  Also on that list is killing spiders and other crawling or flying things, entering the shed, and going in the basement.