Sunday, April 21, 2013

It's time to go Insane!!!



I purchased the Insanity DVD set about 6 months before actually opening it.  I did one or two of the workouts previously while borrowing a friends set and just wasn't feeling it.  For about three years I've been working out in my house.  I like to exercise alone, or with someone that is really interested in getting results.  During workouts I put my iPod on the dock and zone out.  Fussing around is not on my agenda,  If all you wan't to do is chit chat, let's just go have coffee after instead, capeesh?

We've always had a treadmill and over the years accumulated a Smith Machine, Bosu, Kettle Bells, weights, bands a bench and many other pieces of exercise equipment.  I used to work out in a gym, where at first I was a "cardio queen" that would kick-box, or stay on the elliptical for an hour while reading a magazine.  I graduated into the 20 minute weight circuit and knew zero about what I was doing, hired a trainer, switched gyms, worked out with friends, took spin class and then finally started exercising in my house.  Over the years, I've also tried countless workout DVD's, which I always got sick of.  I later started running outside or on my treadmill and hired a new trainer, who'd come to my house once every other week to teach me a bit about weights.



I was extremely bored with my workout and needed to try something new to switch it up.  One Monday, I opened my Insanity package and did the "Fit Test," this was a workout in itself!  The next day Plyometric Circuit, then Cardio Conditioning on Wednesday, Thursday Recovery (which is pretty much yoga with some deep muscle movement), Pure Cardio Friday and Plyo again Saturday.  There's a lot of "Interval Training" in Insanity.  Interval Training is when you push to your maximum limit for 1-3 minutes, recover for a small amount of time and then repeat the sequence.  This way of training is very effective for burning fat and it really rev's up the metabolism!  The Insanity workout schedule switches  every week and all of the workouts are approximately 40 minutes or so in the first month.  This is a plan someone needs to be mentally prepared for, it is by no means easy and one should follow as close as they can to get the best results.  There is something about Shaun T. (the trainer and face of Insanity, seen below) that makes me wan't to go faster and push hard through the workouts.  I actually may have a crush on him at this point, It's too bad he's taken and very uninterested in women.  Anyway, after the first week I was addicted. I didn't veer from the scheduled workout calendar, even though it differed from what I was comfortable with.  "A recovery day in the middle of the week?"  I hated the "Recovery" workout because it was very easy in comparison to the others and I hated that I was supposed to rest on Sundays.  I was also scared that I would lose any muscle mass that I already had from previous weight lifting, boy was I wrong!  Although Insanity does not require weights, using your own body weight is quite effective on its own!  I realized that the Insanity workout schedule is perfectly planned.  I found that the "Rest" or "Recovery" days came when I needed them.   It was hard for me to hand over the reins of my workout schedule to Shaun T. but I'm glad I did.

After the first three weeks I started to see noticeable changes in my body.  I was pumped for the workouts and while they didn't necessarily get easier, I felt stronger.  After the first month there is a recovery week.  Cardio Core and Balance on tap for the full week.  This is a lighter workout than all the others but it still gets your heart rate up!   During this week I was bored and started to get nervous for the second month.  I was told by other people who tried Insanity, that each workout is about 50 or 60 minutes long and so much harder.

Month two rolled around and by that Wednesday I was relieved.  Although the new workouts were more taxing, i found them to be a bit more fun.  They didn't feel that much longer and the calorie burn  was higher which is a plus!  I loved feeling energized again after the workouts, as I did in month one before the recovery week.  By the end of the program I felt like a champion.  I was so excited to have finished but more excited to start again!  As hard as Insanity is, I absolutely love it.  As much as I thought that I would never be a "workout DVD" person, I am.  Shaun T. is my hero.  I think he may even be able to see me through my T.V. and is now biting off of my style,  because we even wear the same yoga pants!

I love the Insanity workout so much that I opted for another round!  I may even do it a third time!  Never, did I think that I would even finish a full week on the program, yet want to do it again! I guess I should have sent away for the t-shirt after all!  If you are bored with your workout or feel like it just isn't working anymore, you really need to try Insanity.  Pop It in the DVD player, put on your Polar heart rate monitor, lace up a pair of cool colored cross training sneakers (i swear bright colors give me more energy) and push play!  Most importantly, don't forget to DIG DEEP and by the end of the workout, like I always do, you'll feel like the guy in this video when you're done!


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