Well, it’s been a while since I have made a blog post so just in case anyone is actually reading this I wanted to let you know that I am still here and still on the UY108 program. And loving it.

Today was day 36 and we celebrated with 36 Sun Salutations. Like Travis Elliot said, it’s like meditation in motion. Or something like that. I really let myself fall deep into this and got lost in it. I wanted to keep going after the 36. I was so energized by it. I look forward to 72.

I have started to notice small changes. Changes that only daily yoga practice can bring about this quickly. Little things like being able to go deeper into one legged seated hamstring stretch. But only on the left side because I am still nursing my right hamstring. And noticing that my chest is becoming more open. And being much more mindful of the present moment. Little things. But I still notice, and like it.

You may have observed that I did not mention P90X2 in this post title. I was doing P90X2 for the first 3 weeks of TUY108 but it became too much so I put P90X2 on hold. I do miss lifting weights but I want to give UY108 a chance and want to see where this wild ride leads me. I feel great. I am eating good, healthy food.

My plan is to finish UY108 and then create a crazy hybrid from YU108, Insanity, P90X2 and maybe P90X. Should be a blast.

But for now I am enjoying the UY108 ride.

I can’t promise when I will blog another update but I will try to get one up before day 73.

See you on the mat!

I’m 1/2 way through Phase 2 of this awesome workout and I am feeling great! I have said this in the past, and I’ll say it again. This is THE best shape I have been in my life. Cardio and strength. This hybrid hits everything and hits it well. I feel like I could jump small buildings in a single bound! Well, OK, maybe I am getting a bit carried away here. But I do feel like I am at peak condition.

I am a few pounds away from my goal weight and ready to set a new goal. It always feels so good to be in shape and not ashamed of how you look. Like the saying goes, “Nothing tastes as good as thin feels.”

My plantar fasciitis is MUCH better. I have been wearing my night splint religiously and taping my foot everyday. I have not been able to run again yet but, for the most part, the daily pain is gone.

I really didn’t have much to say in this update, but I wanted to get a new post up because it has been a while since my last post.

One more week of hitting it hard and then recovery week. And luckily recovery week coincides with my vacation. I have to make sure I don’t let myself go too much while on vacation. That is always hard for me.

Till next time, dig deep and Bring It!!

I just finished Phase one of this fantastic hybrid workout and I am feeling better than I have in a long, long time. This workout combines the best of P90X and the best of Insanity to make one KILLER workout. It has helped me to break through my weight loss plateau and reach another milestone, 170 lbs. I have lost more than 20 lbs since the beginning of the year. And I have probably gained muscle, which means that I have lost more fat than the 20 lbs would indicate.

And I really feel like I am in tip top shape, and that is the best feeling ever. When I was doing only P90X I could tell that my cardio was suffering. And when I was doing only Insanity I could tell that my strength suffered a bit in certain areas. But by combining these two awesome workouts together I am hitting on all cylinders now.

Injury update: My plantar faciitis is getting MUCH better. After suffering from this horrible affliction for a year, I am finally getting some relief. My podiatrist was almost zero help. The orthotics that he prescribed for me didn’t seem to provide any relief. The physical therapist did not cure me either. So what’s a guy to do? Turn to the Internet of course. I searched out and read as many posts as I could find from people who had cured themselves. I took the commonalities between their cures and put together my own course of action.

This is what has been working to almost completely relieve all of my plantar faciitis symptoms.

1. I try to do my workouts in the afternoon now as apposed to in the morning. I think that my tendons were too tight in the morning and this contributed to the issue.
2. I wear an inexpensive night splint. I believe that doing this one thing has helped the most. I wake in the morning with virtually zero heel pain.
3. I tape my foot and leave it taped and remove the tape only to shower and sleep. I started using duct tape after reading an article from someone who found much relief from doing so. I now use athletic tape or duct tape. This has been a HUGE help! I can mow the lawn without tremendous heel pain afterward.
4. I regularly do stretches that my physical therapist recommended.
5. I do toe “curls” or “scrunches” regularly.

So, that’s what I am doing and it is seeming to work for me.

Tomorrow marks the start of Phase 2 of this workout and I am really excited to start working hard again after having a week of recovery.

Till next time… Bring It!

Two days ago I started this crazy P90X/Insanity Hybrid workout. I got it from Mike French and (if I am not mistaken) it was created by his wife Tami French.

I’m really looking forward to this because I missed the P90X pull-ups and weight lifting during the last 63 days of doing Insanity. I’m ready to BRING IT!

The first day of this workout was good ‘ole P90X Chest and Back and WOW was my intensity off the charts. I feel like Insanity really amped up my intensity level. I was able to crank out quite a few more pushups than I could before. Felt great.

The second day was Insanity Plyo Cardio Circuit and man-o-man am I sore from yesterday’s P90X workout. It had been awhile since I had done this Plyo Circuit workout because it falls early in the Insanity rotation. And holy cow,I forgot what a killer this workout was and how much I loved it.

Today was back to P90X Shoulders and Arms and I am still feeling the DOMS in my Chest and back big time. I am really surprised by this because Insanity has you doing a TON of push-ups so I thought my Chest would be ready for P90X. Guess I really pushed it hard the other day. This was a tough one to get through because I was so sore. But once again I could tell that I really made some great gains due to Insanity. I was able to increase reps or weights on just about every exercise.

Till next time… bring It!!

I survived Insanity! My rubberized workout floor needs a good mopping now but I survived! What an awesome feeling, I feel fantastic. I have not gotten around to taking my “After” pictures yet. But to tell you the truth, since my “Before” pictures were so grainy, I’m not too sure how much help they would be.

I lost 7 lbs total and look leaner. I’m sure that I put on some muscle too. I feel better than when I started and I like the way I look. Isn’t that all that’s important?

Here’s my (somewhat short) Insanity review.

Overall I give it 5 stars. I would definitely recommend it.

Pluses –

• It will get you in the best cardio shape of your life.
• I am able to bring much more intensity to my other workouts after completing Insanity
• I love to sweat, and you’ll definitely sweat in this workout.
• I am able to do more pushups after completing Insanity than I was after many rounds of P90X.

Minuses -

• I am not a big fan of the stretches. I liked the P90X stretching much better. I didn’t feel like the Insanity stretches did enough for me and there was not enough variety for me.
• Throughout the workouts Shaun T. tells you to look at your heart rate but never tells you what to look for or what to do about it. Was it in the guide and I missed it? I found it annoying.
• I think that Shaun is not great with giving Queues. I would like him to workout less and queue more descriptively and provide more information. I had to look at him too many times during the stretches and during some moves. Tony Horton is great at queuing. Also, I felt that the producers of the DVDs could have done a better job at letting you know what the next move/exercise was going to be. P90X is much better at that.
• There are lots and lots of squats. Be careful, my knees got a little tweaky by the end. You REALLY have to pay attention to your form in order to not get hurt. And when you are doing so many squats it’s easy to get injured by losing concentration and letting your form get sloppy.
• I hated recovery week. It was too easy. I would think about throwing in a day or two of yoga.

Okay, I know I have more pluses than minuses but I really did love this program and would definitely recommend it. As a matter of fact, I like it so much that I am doing a P90X/Insanity hybrid now!

Dig Deep and Bring It!!

 

I have completed my last Insanity workout! That wraps it up for this (my first) round of Insanity. Tomorrow is day 63 and is the last day but it’s only the Final Fit Test.

I felt fantastic during today’s Max Cardio Conditioning workout. Shawn T was right, at the end of the 63 days you will be in peak cardio and endurance shape.

I will save my final review for when I post my final Fit Test results in the next few days.

More soon.

Dig Deep and Bring It!!

One more week of Insanity and I’m done! That’s right, just 5 more workouts after today and I will be an Insanity grad. I feel pretty good. A tad beat up, if I’m going to be quite honest, but feeling at the top of my game. (Whatever that means)

I know that I am leaner than when I started. My cardio is better than it was 57 days ago. And I don’t feel like I lost any muscle mass. Actually, I feel that I have gained a bit of mass in my chest. Insanity has a lot of push up type exercises and I think it helped me gain a bit of mass. And other than my on going battle with Plantar Faciitis the only other injury/tweak that I have going on is in my right shoulder. But it has bothered me at times during P90X as well.

I’m really looking forward to next week when I begin a P90X/Insanity hybrid. I miss lifting weights and doing pull ups.

I’ll have my final Insanity review in about a week.

Until then, Dig Deep… and Bring It!!!

I was totally not into doing the Insanity workout yesterday. It was a double whammy of the Fit Test followed by Max Interval Circuit and to tell you the truth I was just plain wiped out and not wanting to do it.

Let’s see, I wonder if it had something to do with the fact that…

• I consumed alcohol the night before and didn’t get much sleep?
• Or maybe because I ate pizza and garbage the day before?
• Or was it because I skipped the Saturday workout and did it on Sunday and therefore did not get the proper break before Monday’s workout.
• Or was it the candy I ate 1/2 hour before the workout.

Whatever it was sure left me feeling very lethargic and not into it. But you know what? I went into the basement, pushed Play on the DVD player and forced myself through it. My Fit Test was not stellar but I did increase my reps on a few exercises. I was really spent by the end of it but at least I did it.

Today was Max Interval Plyo and my strength and intensity was back. I really pushed myself and felt great. But I far from “crushed it.” And if someone says that they “crushed Insanity” then they didn’t push hard enough.

This week I am going to start to rotate in some of the Insanity Deluxe workouts and maybe YogaX on Thursday.

I am really enjoying this workout but am looking forward to doing a P90X/Insanity hybrid in about 2 weeks. I miss lifting weights.

Till next time… Dig Deep and Bring It!!

 

 

Today was the Insanity Max Recovery workout and I hated it. I don’t think I’ll do it again. The entire time I was doing the workout I could not stop thinking about how I could have better spent the time. Next time I think I will either do the Insanity Deluxe Max Interval Sport Training, The Insanity weight training, or maybe the first 45 minutes of P90X YogaX. I just didn’t feel like I got much out of this workout. I even enjoyed the Cardio recovery more than this.

Other than today’s workout, I have been very pleased with Insanity. I feel great, I think that I look better, and my clothes all fit better. I don’t think that my results are very visible but I am still looking forward to taking my “After Photos” in 2 1/2 weeks.

I read an article the other day that discussed Recovery Heart Rate “A study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that one of the best tests to predict your risk for having a heart attack is your Recovery Heart Rate.” You exercise vigorously and then check your heart rate. Then wait one minute and check your heart rate again. If your rate did not drop by at least 30 beats in the first minute after exercise you are in poor shape. If it dropped by 50 or more then you are in excellent shape. I tested mine the other day and it dropped 35 beats in that first minute. It’s pretty easy to test if you wear a heart rate monitor, and I highly recommend that you wear one during Insanity. I doubt my Recovery Heart Rate would have been that good a month ago. I’ll keep testing and see if I can hit 50 beats.

Till next time… Dig Deep and Bring It!!

I now know why this workout was named Insanity and (contrary to my earlier belief) it has nothing to do with the first 30 days.
This second month of Insanity is INSANE! Absolutely a killer. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but wow what a workout. I burned about 1100 calories during the Day 37 Max Interval Plyo workout. And I love the crazy new pushup variations.
Also, I am sore… I can honestly say that even though the first 30 days threw some great workouts my way but I was never REALLY sore. No DOMS in the first 30 days. I have only done 2 workouts from Month 2 but I’m already feeling the DOMS. It’s a great feeling though.
I am back on track with my nutrition and can tell that I will be losing weight again.
I am looking forward to the Day 56 Max Cardio Conditioning. Bring it!

Today was the first Insanity workout where I really started to wonder what the Hell I had gotten myself into. It was a rough one! One reason it was so rough was because I really screwed up during week 4 and during Recovery week. I went off my diet and missed some workouts. I missed 2 workouts in week 4 and 3 workouts during recovery week. Mostly due to travel. I always have such a hard time sticking to a good diet and exercise when traveling. I gained a couple pounds too. I’m at the same damn weight that I was at a month ago.
But I am committed to getting back on track and finishing out the next 30 days strong. I had a very hard time during today’s workout, I think I didn’t eat enough during the day and I bonked out during the workout. It was a crazy one hour and 30 minute workout and my HRM showed that I burned 1340 cals. INSANE! The first 30 mins was the Fit Test. I increased reps in almost every exercise but they were modest gains. Probably due to the fact that I slacked off over the past two weeks.
I like some of the new moves in today’s Max Interval Circuit, but some are still awkward for me to perform. I look forward to Max Interval Plyo tomorrow.

Till next time… Dig Deep and Bring It!!

Another Insanity workout is in the books and I only threw up in my mouth once during today’s workout. ;o)

This past week was a bad week for me and Insanity. I was on a business trip and (once again) found it extremely hard to stay on track. My diet suffered and I missed two workouts this week. And as a result I have gained a couple pounds and feel like crap. When o when will I learn my lesson? When I did manage to workout this week I could tell that my fitness and cardio was not what it should be. I lacked intensity.

Well, today marks the end of month 1, next week is a recovery week. And then comes 28 days of pure Hell, courtesy of Insanity “Max” workouts.

Till next time… Dig Deep and Bring It!

I don’t have a huge update about my Insanity progress but I did take the second fit test the other day and wanted to post my results. I made some modest gains in the fit test but more than that I feel great. I have lost a few more pounds and my cardio is really coming up. I still Love, love love this workout.
More soon…

This workout is living up to its name. It’s a killer! I incinerated over 1100 calories in 57 minutes today doing Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs. I was soaking wet, my T shirt needed to be wrung out, and I was totally spent afterwards. I felt really strong through most of the Pure Cardio workout and I a looking forward to doing the Fit Test on Monday to see how much fitness I have gained. My gut is telling me that I have gained quite a bit.

My weight has not changed a whole lot during the past 13 days. I may be down a a couple pounds, maybe 3. That doesn’t sound like a lot but I do feel so much better physically lately. And I am liking the changes that I am starting to see in my body.

My Plantar fasciitis seems to be holding steady and maybe even getting better. I’m still going to physical therapy twice a week.

I am really looking forward to finishing this round of Insanity and then doing a P90X/Insanity hybrid workout. They should compliment each other very well. I do miss P90X and have added some pull ups and wall squats to my Insanity workouts. Those are two things I felt were lacking in Insanity. I may even throw some curls in to supplement Insanity in the next few weeks.

Till next time… Dig deep and Bring It!!

Well, that’s one full week of this Insane workout under my belt now and I love it. It is really intense, but it feels great to really push your body to new limits. I have run 4 marathons, many 1/2 marathons and miles and miles of various race distances and have never been pushed to this level of intensity. It’s an incredible workout.

The only thing that I like better about P90X are the warm up and cool down stretches. I feel like I benefit more from the P90X version of these. That, and I miss pull ups and wall squats. So I am doing pull ups every other day and adding wall squats on Thursdays.

Injury update – I’ve been going for physical therapy for my Plantar Fasciitis for 2 sessions now. The therapist does not want me doing any exercises that involve jumping but I can’t help myself and must continue to do Insanity. He gave me some stretches to do and they seem to be helping a little. It’s been worse than it is now so I will keep doing what I am doing and see what happens.

My weight loss appears to be stalled at 180. I am having a very hard time getting below 180. I have been stalled at this weight for a couple weeks now and it is frustrating because I watch my nutrition very closely. I have a splurge meal once a week and ensure that I am in a calorie deficit for the majority of the time. And this results in a calorie deficit for the week. Each and every week. I can’t imagine being more strict with my food intake, this is probably the closest I have monitored and controlled my intake ever.

One final piece of the Insanity puzzle that I am trying to put together is determining my Max hearth rate (MHR.) Depending on what formula I use my MHR ranges from 170 to 180. But I think that it is closer to 185 because that is what my heart rate monitor (HRM) shows when I am forced to stop and take a quick breather. I have seen readings on my HRM as high as 189. I hope that this is safe and my hear is not going to explode during an Insanity workout. Anyway, for now I will use 185 as my MHR. And I’ll tell you what. During Insanity I find my heart rate at the max during most of the workouts.

Till next time… Dig deep and Bring it!!

This program continues to surprise me. Yesterday kicked my but before the warm up was finished. And I thought today was going to be easy because it was only 30 mins and was labeled “Cardio Recovery.” Man was I wrong! It was a KILLER quad workout. And I didn’t realize how great of a workout it was until a couple hours after the workout was over. My legs are now weak and wobbly. And my Quads feel very worked. I know I’ll have major DOMS in the quads tomorrow.

I think that I am going to miss pull ups too much and I do not want to lose the ability to perform the reps that I have built up so I am going to add pull ups to Insanity 2 to 3 times a week.

Till next time… Dig Deep and Bring It!!

I have only one word to describe my first real Insanity workout, Plyometric Cardio Circuit… WOW!

What a Killer! I would definitely put this on par with P90X PlyoX, and maybe this was even harder than PlyoX. I can’t imagine what the rest of Insanity has in store for me. I burned 880 calories according my Heart Rate monitor and left a nice pool of sweat on the floor. Not bad for a 40 minute workout!

This afternoon I go to my first physical therapy session for my Plantar fasciitis.

Injury update tomorrow.

Till next time… Dig Deep and Bring it!

Today was my Insanity Fit Test. It’s a short workout but it’s a killer. I tried it out the other day as one of my cardio workouts during my last P90X recovery week so I knew what to expect. Even so, it’s a Mother of a workout.
I did take some pictures (well, actually I grabbed some stills from my video camera) and I must say this. Even though I came a long way from where I was a couple years ago and even 90 days ago, I feel like I should LOOK better than I do. And I have REALLY been focusing on my nutrition for the last month and have not seen much weight loss. I’m really hoping that Insanity will do the trick for me. And I may have to get even more focused on my food intake. Although I can’t imagine doing more than I do right now.
Here are some P90X After shots that will double as my Insanity Before shots. And my Fit Test Day 1 results. (The small numbers in the Day 1 column are from my unofficial Fit Test that I took the other day as practice.)


Till next time… Dig deep and Bring it!!

I made it! Another round of P90X in the books. This round started on November 30th and I called this round the Comeback.  I truly feel like I did comeback although I did not lose a ton of weight, only 11 lbs. But I feel so much better than when I started. So much stronger. I did the full 90 minutes of Yoga yesterday and I felt very strong. I love when I feel like this.

So tomorrow I start a new chapter. I am going to do the Shaun T “Insanity” workout. It’s a 60 day fat burning, cardio monster. My only concern is muscle loss. It is all cardio and body weight exercises and no weights. I hope I don’t lose any of this hard gained muscle. I know this program will get me leaner, and I need that right now, but I will so miss pull-ups and lifting weights.

I do have one more concern about Insanity, my Plantar Fasciitis. I am starting physical therapy for it this week and I hope that A.) It does not get worse due to all of the jumping around in Insanity. And B.) I hope the therapist does not ask me to stop Insanity. because I wont.

I did not take any “Before” images before I started this round but I really should take some “After” shots. And they could double as Insanity “Before” shots.

Check back soon, my plan is to post an (almost) daily review of Insanity.

Till next time… Dig deep and Bring it!!