You have been weighed and measured

Insanity Day 1

Today is day number one of Insanity.

http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/insanity.do

Technically it’s week 2 since I kind of started last week, but I’m marking today as my official start day since when I started last week I wasn’t expecting to really “do” insanity so I didn’t take my measurements or do the fit test you’re supposed to do on your first day and every 2 weeks after.

I bought the insanity DVD’s last December after watching an infomercial, liking that it didn’t require any special equipment, and asking my brother who had done it before (along with other workout programs like P90X) if he thought it was worth my money. He assured me it was and encouraged me to do it. I was looking for something I could do inside when it was too cold, wet or
icy to go outside. The only thing was it was never too cold, wet or icy for me to go jogging outside. I even went jogging in the rain. Shaun T sat trapped in his DVD’s on my shelf for the last 3 months. I usually go jogging for just under 3.5 miles around my hilly neighborhood on the days I don’t work minus Sundays. So some weeks I only go out 1 time, other weeks as many as 4 times but usually 2-3 times a week. On the days I work I usually don’t eat as much and figured being a nurse for 12 hours was good enough to wear me out, so I didn’t go jogging on those days. For now, I’m going to put my jogging aside and give Insanity a whirl.

Last week I went home to visit and my brother was home visiting too. He told me to bring my insanity DVD’s so he could “show me how it’s done”. I was shown. After the first day doing the plyometric workout I was so sore I could hardly move. I was especially feeling it in my back and calves. I felt like a little old lady hobbling around. My glutes and quads were tired, but not nearly as sore as my back and gastrocnemius and I attributed that to the hills I frequently walk/jog around where I live. It hurt, but I liked having new sore muscle areas. I found the insanity workouts left me more tired and gave me a more complete body workout than jogging has ever done for me and got my heart rate higher than jogging did too. The next day my brother and I went for a 2 mile jog instead of a workout because I was too sore for anything else. I finished the week doing an insanity workout every day and decided I would actually “do” insanity and since it was more effective and complete than jogging it was worth doing right rather than just an exercise supplement for when I didn’t want to go outside (because as it turns out I’ll always want to go outside anyway).

So today is my official day 1 with it being Monday, allowing me to line up with the workout calendar they provide for you. I have documented today’s weight, measurements and results of the day 1 fit test so I can track my progress over the next 60 days. I refuse to take pictures in my underwear.

The hardest part I’m anticipating is working out on the 3 days a week I work. I work a 12 hour night shift. When I get home from work in the morning I shower, eat and go to sleep. Then I wake up, eat, get ready for work, read a chapter out of the Book of Mormon and go back to work. In order to fit in my workouts (Insanity requires 6 days a week with a rest day on Sunday) I’ll have to wake up an hour (or more) earlier than I usually do. I’m afraid with the physical exertion and less sleep, and inability to always be able to eat every few hours while I’m there I’m going to be extra tired at work…but I’m going for it anyway.

Right now, I can’t even make it through the entire warm up without taking a break. Every time Shaun T says “know your limits” or “it’s ok to take a break” during the actual workout I’m already taking one. My goals with insanity are: improve my fit test by any amount every 2 weeks, be able to get through the entire warm up (warm up mind you, not the whole workout) without a break by the end of the first month, and to lose 10 pounds by the end of the 60 days. Right now I’m only 5 pounds away from the goal weight I’ve had for the last 10 years that I came close to once in nursing school, but have never actually made it to. I’m hoping insanity can bring me there minus another 5 pounds or so.

I don’t expect I’ll be able to do an entire workout without an unscheduled breathing break (or several breaks) at any point in the next 2 months, but I’m ok with that. I’m doing as much as I can and it’s definitely a workout. After the first month it gets kicked up a notch and you move on to the next set of videos with longer and more intense workouts so I’m pretty sure I’m never going to catch up…at least not in the 2 month time frame the program lasts, but I get my heart rate up and my muscles are sore so I’m pretty sure that’s all that matters even if I’ll never be able to do the entire workout without breaks.

I like that all the exercises don’t require any equipment and I can do it in my little living room without much space. All it takes is a tv, dvd player, and a willingness to move. That's one of the reasons I like jogging. All you need is running shoes and outside. Another thing I enjoy about jogging is seeing my improvement in how far up a certain hill I can jog before walking, or how much faster I finish my route than before. I like that insanity gives you ways to see and track your improvement also. I look forward to seeing good changes. It will be interesting to see when this 2 month program is done if I'll be able to better handle the hills on my jogging route that would contribute to a faster finish time. We’ll see how it goes.

I find it ironic that I finally commit to doing Insanity when the weather starts getting nice when I originally got it for when the weather was not nice. Oh well. I might have to go for some walks on my days off in addition to my insanity workouts so I can get my outside time too.