Insanity:R2 - Week 1, Days 2-4

So I just finished Cardio Recovery. 

I barely made it through it.  I barely made it through Plyometric Cardio Circuit or Cardio Power & Resistance on Tuesday and Wednesday.  I feel wimpy. 

Then again, it's only Week 1, and I have not been active like this since my last round of Insanity.

One bonus for me is this time I'm not gasping - more like dying - for breathe after 10 seconds like I was before.  But, I still think I should be doing better than I am.  But, I can only get better.  :)

Another bonus was my stomach, which used to get in the way of many stretches and exercises, isn't that much of a problem now.  It's more of a "I don't have the balance for this right now" problem.  I almost fell over a number of times over the last couple of days.

I was going to be super awesome and do Pure Cardio today too.  PC is Friday's workout, and TH and I will not be here as we're going to our camper this weekend. 

OH HELL NO. 

Yes, capitals.  My legs feel like the head cheese I talked about the other day.  There's no way I'd make it through the warm up, much less the entire workout.  I don't think I should be doing double workouts during the first week anyways.  If I was on Week 3, maybe.  But not fresh out of the gate.  So, I'll do Friday's workout on Sunday when we get home, and go from there.  Yes, I realize this is going to throw my schedule off for a little while, but I will make it up - maybe after next Thursday's Cardio Recovery.

My feet are starting to hurt again.  At least I know this time it's because I'm using them and that it's not my shoes.  Though, if I were smart (and had a job), I'd probably get decent workout shoes instead of my dependable, old, every day Sketchers.  Something with a bit more flexibility and support.  If anyone knows if that shoe exists, let me know!  :)

Anyways, I've got a tone of crap ro finish before TH gets home from work, so I'm going to leave you now.  Stay safe!

Insanity - Week 1, Day 5 & 6 - CP & PCC

Pure Cardio and Plyometric Cardio Circuit.  Jesus H.

Somehow, I managed to skip a day somewhere and my schedule got weirded, so I had to do these two workouts today.

Needless to say, I'm tired, I'm sore, and I just want to crawl into bed and sleep for 10 hours. Except 10 hours of sleep is wishful thinking on my part. 

Today has been crap since I was rudely awakened by Yarly the cat.  I won't go into details, but that cat has hit the high point on my shit list.  Adding to the fact I somehow missed a hard workout, and had to make it up today, plus do Friday's workout before we leave for the weekend, and I'm just not a happy camper. 

Going to shower and make myself a shake, and then hopefully sleep for a few hours before I drive us out to the campground this weekend.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Insanity - Week 1, Days 1 & 2 - Fit Test & PCC

Hello my friends!  Yes, you read that title correctly.  I missed so many days last week, and I didn't even do the Fit Test, that I decided to start Insanity all over completely.  I chose to start on Sunday, so that my rest days fall on Saturdays - which is normally when we're at the campground.  :)

Yesterday I did the Fit Test.  I was mildly surprised that my numbers hadn't dropped terribly considering I haven't really worked out since I finished Insanity.  You can see for yourself below.  The first number represents my Day 63 results from my last round of Insanity.  The second number is Sunday's numbers.  The third number represents my Day 1 numbers from the first round of Insanity back in April.

Switch Kicks: 84 - 54 - 43
Power Jacks: 33 - 20 - 16
Power Knees: 73 - 72 - 53
Globe Jumps: 8 - 4 - 4
Suicide Jumps: 7 - 6 - 5
Push-Up Jacks: 15 - 12 - 3
Low Plank Oblique: 52 - 45 - 23

I seriously thought they would be way lower than they are, so I'm quite pleased with myself.  It's nice to know I didn't lose as much stamina as I thought I did.  :)  I'll be completely honest and say that I pushed myself incredibly hard to get those numbers, otherwise they'd be a crapload lower.  At one point I had to actually pause the Fit Test for a minute because I felt light-headed.  But, that's what I get for not turning the air on before I started the video up. 

As for today, Plyometric Cardio Circuit (PCC) welcomed me with open arms.  I didn't want a hug.  In fact, by the end, I was pretty much out of everything - breathe, stamina, and the will to make my muscles hold me up.  As much as I missed Insanity, I was laying on the floor wondering what kind of crazy I must be to want to put myself through this again.

Then I thought of the 10 pounds and close to 20" I lost with the first round of Insanity, and I know it will be totally worth every single minute of aching muscles, gallons of sweat, and swearing I'll be doing for the next 60 days.  About the actual workout - I love all the jabs and punches at the end of the video, and I think that the Cross Jacks are my second favorite exercise move.  The first one would be the Over The River thing.  :)

I feel drained, but happy to know that for the next 60 days, I have a definite workout that I know won't annoy me or make me frustrated because of my inability to execute it enough to feel like I'm actually working out. 

I'm also happy that I got today's workout out of the way early since we're going to my dad and stepmom's later this evening to make my dad a Father's Day dinner since TH had to work last night.  I won't have to worry about coming home to do my workout, because it's already done.  Yay me!  :)

Hello Insanity, I missed you!  See you tomorrow!  :)

Turbo Insanity Jam

So, I know I told you I'd write on Monday.  It's quite obvious that I didn't.  :)

I apologize, but I've been sucked into reading the "Shades of Grey" trilogy.  I finished it it - all three books - about 10 minutes ago.  I've decided to write my thoughts on each book, because after all the hype they've gotten, I feel it's something I just have to write about.  So, look for those in the upcoming days.

I've also decided to add Insanity back to my life.  I missed it too much.  If you recall back to my last post about Turbo Jam, I'm just not feeling the whole dancing and kicking thing.  Chalene's great, the music is great, the workouts are great, but they just aren't my cup of tea.  I will continue to do them during Month 1 of Insanity, just to make sure that I'm not jumping the gun on it, but the more I try to get motivated to do Turbo jam, the less I want to work out.

Today, which is still my Tuesday, I will be doing Plyometric Cardio Circuit.  I'm going to skip the Fit Test because technically I should have done it on Monday, though I didn't officially decide to go back to it earlier today.

Why, you might ask?

I've noticed loss of muscle definition in both my arms and legs, I've lost that drive to workout, and I just generally feel like crap.  Doing Turbo Jam left me feeling frustrated and annoyed, not like I actually accomplished something.  For those of you out there who like to dance, you'll love Turbo Jam.  I just can't do it.  I like the whole "do this as fast as you can" type workouts.  Maybe once I've gotten the muscle tone and coordination, I'll revisit Turbo Jam and Chalene, but for now, I'm going back to Shaun T.

So, that's all for tonight.  I've got to get sweaty now.  Expect a full report tomorrow!  :)

Insanity - Week 4, Day 6 - Completed!

Month 1 is OFFICIALLY OVER!!!!

/happy dance

If you haven't been reading this blog very long, it's quite possible that you have no idea how much I hate Plyometric Cardio Circuit.  You can read all about this love/hate relationship by clicking here.  In fact, I didn't think it was possible to hate it anymore than I did.

I was wrong.

Here's why.

Insanity - Week 4, Day 4 - Cardio Recovery

I'm so glad today is a Cardio Recovery day for two reasons.

Number One: One of my brother's spawn must have gotten me sick.  My step sister is sick too, which is just wonderful.  /end sarcasm  I love my nephew & my niece, but I don't love their sickness.  My chest is tight, my head aches from dry coughing, and I keep sneezing and sniffling all over the place.  Which annoys me and makes my head hurt more.

Number Two:  Cardio Recovery isn't hard, and it's a short workout.  If today was, oh say Plyometric Cardio day or Pure Cardio day, I'd fore go my 30 day prize of new window coverings for one room, curl up in bed, and sleep for 24 hours.  That sounds like a wonderful piece of heaven right there.  On the other hand, if I miss a day, I also fore go my 60 day reward for finishing Insanity, which is a new vacuum.

And I really, really, really want a new vacuum.  One with many pet hair attachments.  And no bags to empty, change or buy.  Having three cats is like having a permanent fur rug.  That vacuum is my personal motivation to keep moving forward, just like having some form of non-crappy window coverings in the Office to keep the glare off my computer screen is my 30 day motivation.  There's nothing worse than a boss fight where you can only see half of what's going on due to glare.

"Sorry that heal didn't land.  It's the sun's fault."  Yeah, that doesn't work.  I've tried it.

So, I'll do my Cardio Recovery.  I'll drag myself to the shower, and hopefully sleep blissfully until 7:00 a.m. rolls around.  Or maybe 10:00 a.m.

On the plus side of things, my muscles are gong to get all nice and stretched today, so maybe they'll stop aching like crazy.  The right hip finally seems to be doing better, so yesterday during the hated Plyometric Cardio Circuit, I was able to give 110% again.  It felt great.  :)

So, off to wheeze my way through some Recovery.  :)

Insanity - Week 3, Day 6 - Complete

Week 3 is over.

I hurt.  Still.  I think if Sunday wasn't a rest day, I wouldn't have had the gumption to do any workout yesterday.

Of course, I hurt because I ended with the much hated Plyometric Cardio Circuit.  I rocked that sucker on Saturday.  I was even able to do a few In & Out Abs, which before was just a "you've got to be kidding me, right?!" as I laid on the floor trying to breathe.  Two is better than zero though, and there are a couple other exercises that I had previously been unable to do "correctly" (I modified them to my strength level) that I did as well.  Moving Push-ups is one of those.  Before, I'd just jam out as many push-ups as possible, which was like 4.  I actually did like three moving ones.

I was damn proud of myself.

Today begins Week 4 with Pure Cardio & Cardio Abs.  Yay?  This is also the last week of Month 1.  There is no Fit Test until Week 5 begins - which is technically Week 6 because there is a "Recovery Week" that starts next Monday.  But, I'm not going to argue.  :)

Hello Week 4.  Please be nice.  Week 3 was evil to me.

Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Here's what I think about Plyometric Cardio Circuit.

DIAF!!!

For those of you non-gamers, that means "Die In A Fire".

Every single time I do it, it seems harder.  It's a great workout, don't get me wrong, but you'd think after a while I'd be able to get through the intervals.  Granted, this is only Week 3, but still.  I'm not a wimp, I'm kicking my own butt...still can't get through a complete interval without stopping to breathe.

/sigh

"Eat The Brownie!" Extravaganza

Copyright by Chili's Restaurants

 Yesterday, my stepmom & I had some errands to run, and since we're both on the unemployment bench, we decided to save gas and do them together.  This turned into lunch, which turned into the "EAT THE BROWNIE SUNDAE!" extravaganza.  We went to Chili's.  And Chili's has decent food, but their fire-grilled corn guacamole is awesome.  And so is the Molten Chocolate Cake & Brownie Sundae.

She was supposed to stop me from ordering the sundae.

She didn't.

I spent the next THREE HOURS in so much pain.  One, because I had managed to eat my entire main course (even though I promised myself before we went in I'd only eat half) and then, on top of that, stuffed the Brownie Sundae in.  I finished all but like 4 bites of that.  And it had ice cream on it too.  And hot fudge.

/sigh

Needless to say, after the hurting stopped long enough for me to do my Day 10 Insanity Plyometric Cardio Circuit, I really, really hated that lunch.  I felt sick, slow, and ... blah.  But, I did the workout.  I wanted to puke all over the floor, maybe curl into a ball and cry, but I did the workout.

What lesson did I learn?  Don't go errand running with your stepmom, and stuff yourself stupid at lunch.  Also, listen to the good gargoyle on your shoulder, not the evil one.

Insanity - Week 1, Day 6 - Complete

So today is REST DAY!  YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And yes, I'm actually excited about this, but a little let down too.  I kinda want to work out today.  Maybe I'll hop on the Wii to do some Super Hula Hoops and some Yoga stretches.  Then I might as well play Mario Kart while I'm there and have everything dragged out.

I wanted to take a minute to reflect on my Week 1 experiences.  I felt it might be a good way to help others to see how each week progresses.  I also thought that I wouldn't notice a difference in anything after only one week.

I was wrong.

On Day 2 of Insanity (Day 1 is actually the Fit Test), you start with Plyometric Cardio Circuit, and you end Week 1 with it.  Now, on Day 1, the house was 88 degrees and yesterday it was only 78 degrees in here, so I don't know if that made a difference.  But ...  yesterday was WAY easier than Day 1.  I was actually able to stretch further and do more of the intervals.  I still can't do a normal push-up to save my life, or the Level 1 drills the way you're supposed too - but I can do *some* of it, which is better than day one.  I took less frequent breaks to breathe too.  I'm pretty damned proud of myself.

And I swear the jeans fit better, but that could just be my mind playing tricks on me.  It's happened before.  :)

So, overall, I feel great, I have more energy, and I don't feel like quitting.  Is that how it was/is for anyone else?

As for the fitness goals, they are a bit harder to get used too.  I'm having a troubles eating five times a day.  It just feels like way too much to me, even if it's only a banana or some cashews or yogurt.  See, I used to only eat once, maybe twice, a day.  Sometimes not at all.  So this whole "make sure you eat five times every day" is difficult.  So is not guzzling coffee with my french vanilla creamer all day.  Do you have any idea how many calories are in a mug of my coffee?  145!  And I normally have 2-3 mugs!!!  So cutting back on that indulgence is almost more difficult than eating 5 times a day.

On the fun side, I downloaded this awesome, awesome texture pack for Minecraft today called vonDoomCraft.  It.  Is.  Awesome.  It's going to make the ginormous castle I'm building look completely amazing.  The husband (TH from now on!) is making all these cool little harvesting gadgets.  We now have an automatic egg harvester, wheat harvester, and he's built me a pretty sweet automatic gate for the castle.  I'll post pics at a later date when we move them from the test world to our live version.  :)

So, pretty good week!  I hope you've enjoyed reading so far.  I'm new at this blogging thing, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.  :)

See ya!

*Words Go Here* (March 21, 2012)

I'm alive.  Barely.  My fingers hurt and it's hard to think, not to mention spell.

I haven't done this much physical crap since I was a sophomore in high school.  That was 1998, I think.  I might be wrong.

I didn't think it was possible to sweat this much.  It just won't stop.

Creepy Staring Cats have abandoned me for cool spots in the house...like the bath tub.  I'd love to be in the bath tub, but I'd have to clean it first and I really just can't.  It's 86 degrees in here, which is probably why I can't stop sweating.  Yesterday it was worse...88.

Really need to look into getting workout shoes.  My Sketchers are pinching & sliding around too much.

Must find cool spot & water.  Mucho water.