Get Fit or Get Out!

So I am now on the second week of Insanity but don't think I blogged about the Pure Cardio DVD. If not it's because that video kicked my butt so bad that my brain wasn't working right. LOL it's  not THAT bad but it's pretty challenging for sure! Well in this DVD you do the regular warm up that is featured in the Plyometric Cardio Circuit DVD and the Cardio Power and Resistance DVD and have your stretch afterwards. What is the biggest difference between this workout and the other ones is you go straight through the workouts with NO break unless you have to take one. With the other circuit workouts you do a three minute circuit then you take a 30 second break. Not with this one! It's straight through for about 20 minutes. Now I know that 20 minutes doesn't sound that bad but with Insanity it feels like you worked out for 90 minutes, that's how much you will sweat! The best part of this DVD and all of the others ones is that the moves are so challenging and many you may have never done before. This is where you will probably never hit a plateau and you will gain so much strength in your fast twitch muscles it will really blow your mind. I had to take a break several times I just did not have a choice, it's NUTS! But again like I have said before when you get through a DVD it's a real accomplishment because yo know you have worked harder than before and you are doing your body such a service it loves you for it! There are a couple things that Shaun says that I love, the first is "Get Fit or Get out People" What I think he means is do the best you can do and push yourself harder than you have ever before, if you are not willing to do that then don't step in the room. That is so true with this workout and any other workout that is very challenging and that will push you beyond your limits. If you just want to get off easy then this isn't for you. When you are trying to lose weight, or any other fitness goals you may have you can't take the easy way out. It just won't work. Constantly skipping a workout or constantly skipping a meal just won't get you the results that you desire, you have to put the effort in to get the results you want out. Another thing that he says that I love is "I'm not trying to hurt you just trying to make you better" This is true. You may think he is trying to kill you (and yes it does feel that way sometimes LOL) but when you are challenged and you accomplish your goal through that challenge that keeps you coming back for more when you are working towards something bigger.  This can seem like a big monster to a lot of people I mean heck it was to me! I NEVER thought I could get fit and love doing it at the same time but I do! You can feel the same way too! With any challenge and it doesn't have to be Insanity when that challenge is overcome your confidence goes through the roof. Whether it's public speaking, teaching a class, overcoming your fear of heights when you break through those mental walls that feeling is indescribable!  This was a challenge for me to take on because when the workout first came out I was literally too scared to do it. I thought it would be too hard but I  knew in the back of my mind that I needed a bigger challenge to continue getting results and to continue feeling healthy and fit. Believe me this challenge fits the bill for sure! You have to get out of your head about it and just show up, that is what doing Insanity has taught me. Do the best you can, it's not about keeping up with the people in the videos or being competitive it's about doing what YOU  can do and trying to get better and stronger everytime you come back to it. So if you are ready you CAN do it! GET FIT OR GET OUT!!

The Insanity Continues

So yesterday was Cardio strength and resistance. I thought Plyometric Cardio Circuit was crazy  but this was bananas too! What this DVD focused on was upper body strength and speed. There are a lot of push ups, tricep dips and sprinting! The warm up again kicked my butt and I love how the warm up starts the sweat dripping down and after you are done you get a good stretch in. This allows you to prevent injury and gives you a few minutes of mentally preparing for what is coming next. I was reading in my Insanity materials and a lot of the moves that Shaun T introduces came right from his track and field training when he was in college. No wonder he's in such great shape! So of course the warm up killed me I just knew that I was in for a massacre when the actual workout got started. I am not trying to scare you away from this workout but dang it is hard and it is INTENSE! I love the feeling that I am being challenged so much that I know I will never plateau doing this workout. See the better and stronger you get the more you can do and the harder it can be because you do so many more reps than you had in the beginning. That's what makes Insanity so brilliant and one of those workouts that you can do for years to come and still get great results as if you had just started on the first day. With these two workouts out of the way I am looking forward to doing the fit test in another couple weeks to see where I have improved and where I could still use some work. I am sure with two weeks out of the way I will see great improvement from the first day! The one move in this workout that blew my mind was the very last drill. You had to do eight jump squats then get down on the ground and do eight push ups right after! Now by the time you get to this move you are SPENT! This is after you've done power jumps, hurdles, v-pushups, tricep dips, tricep dips with each leg in the air, pure CRAZINESS! So when you try to eek out eight squats and push ups right after I mean you have nothing left and you begin to understand the comparison of feeling like you are climbing mount everest when you are taking on this Insanity challenge. It's one of those workouts where you feel so super accomplished when you are done because the moves are super challenging  but if you never press pause and never give up you will be so proud of yourself and actually look forward to the next workout to see what you can do and how you can get past those mental walls that tell you it's too hard or you can't do anymore reps. Just know with all that hard work and you are thinking that Shaun T is OUT of his mind there is a method to the madness.With crazy workouts like that you have NO choice but to get in shape! Follow the eating, eat enough and eat often, do the workouts and you are on your way to a healthier stronger leaner body!

Today is cardio recovery day which will be a welcomed day since the first two or first three if you want to count the fit test has been crazy! Today it will be working on deep muscle work and stretching which is what the body needs to help it recover! If you are thinking of doing Insanity DO IT! You can! It's all about breaking down those walls and pushing past your limits which gives the greatest sense of achievement. Never say I can't!

DIG DEEPER!

Man oh man oh man! Today was day 1 of the Insanity adventure. I had been thinking about doing this workout for months and months and to be honest with you I was pretty scared to try it. Now in the past I had done P90X, Turbo Jam, Hip Hop Abs, Turbo Fire and ChaLean Extreme. All challenging workouts but WOW Insanity knocked my socks off! What Insanity is is a 60 day INTENSE cardio conditioning program that will have you shredded without the use of weights, just your own body weight does enough and challenging yet effective workouts that will get you results that you have been working for! What you could do in a year is done in 60 days with this program. That's how intense it is! Before I had started my first day I had watched all of the DVD's to see what I was getting myself into. Now the people that are doing these workouts are in great shape and in fact they had been in the test groups before Insanity was released. Needless to say these people are all in phenomenal shape! They had done the 60 days and they all looked great. What blew my mind while watching these DVD's is the fact that people had done this workout got great results and they STILL could not get through the whole workout. That's right, they had to take breaks during each circuit because they were getting so tired. That made me crazy nervous! I mean not to toot my own horn but I have been involved in fitness for a couple years now and thought I was in pretty good shape but seeing these machines gas out was crazy!  I really loved Shaun T's attitude of being right there with you and he kept saying over and over "dig deep!!" He is so right about that. you have to really get out of your mind and not tell yourself that you can't do it or it's too hard. Of course it's hard and no one is expecting you to blast through it the first time but what Shaun T is saying is give it your all and do your best and you will get there! You will get the results you want! I swear hearing him telling me to dig deeper was the only thing that got me through!

Day 1 was the Fit test. What this entail is a series  of exercises that are featured in the workout. He has  set of 8 things that you do for 1 minute and on your card that helps you keep track of how many that you do. Tania and another Insanity graduate are in the video doing the fit test also and they are keep track of their results since they have finished the program and they both improved greatly so I am excited about where this will take me when the 60 days are over! This DVD is about 25 minutes long and even though it was the fit test it had me sweating pretty good if that gives you an idea of what kind of workout this is...

Plyometric Cardio Circuit: This was the workout I did today and man I did not think I was going to make it.. I am not trying to scare you from this workout but it is TOUGH. When you are done and you are dripping with crazy sweat you can wear that like a badge of honor! All that sweat will tell you how hard you have been working and and your body will thank you! Each circuit was three minutes long with a 30 second break enough of a break to get water and to prepare for what is coming next. 30 seconds is not very long but when you get through those 3 minute drills that 30 seconds feels like a vacation! Also with this workout and all workouts that are very challenging take a break when you need one. Listen to your body and give it a rest when you need then jump back in! Believe me I was taking all kinds of breaks and I'm glad I did so I didn't hurt myself or make myself sick from working out too hard.

Get out of your head about it! You can do ANYTHING! Remember what Shaun T says: DIG DEEPER!!!

A change is possible! You CAN do it!!