Another round of Plyometric Cardio Circuit for Day 6 and Cardio Power & Resistance for Day 7. I think doing this workout is starting to pay off. I'm able to get through without as many breaks, which is a big deal for me! I still sweat something fierce and it hurts, but I've stopped being sore the next day. That's progress, right?
I'm also doing the C25K program at the same time. Insanity is definitely helping with my stamina and lung control! Sunday was Week 8 Day 1 (i.e. warm up walk for 5 minutes, run for 28 minutes or 2.75 miles, and cool down for 5 minutes), and I've been able to run as it asks without taking extra walks. I'm definitely not a runner...or at least I wasn't before. So this is exciting to me!! I actually ran 30.25 minutes because I wanted to return to my starting point (or my front door) so that I could use www.mapmyrun.com and calculate the exact mileage that I ran. It ended up being 2.91 miles!!!!! OMG I was so aggravated!! Why, you ask? 2.91 miles is great, right? Well, yes. But I started at my door, then ran down the main thoroughfare off my street. I came down to this tiny bridge that had a mile marker about halfway across it. I thought that'd be a good place to turn around and start my trek back. I have a feeling if I had passed that marker and ran to the other side of the bridge before turning back, it'd have been an even 3 miles! Aghhh!! Oh well, at least I can shoot for that today when I run. lol
Saturday was a really friend of mine's vow renewal for her 11th anniversary. Her sweet dh planned the whole thing as a surprise to her. It was super cute! She looked amazing and he is so stinking sweet and cute. We had a great time, and I got a lot of "wow, you look great" remarks so that felt really really good! Our 11th anniversary is in 3 weeks so I'm hoping I can lose even more and tone up before then. I have a really fabulous dress that I got at J C Penney for $2.77! Looking forward to wearing that sexiness!
Monday, September 23, 2013
Insanity Day 5 - Pure Cardio
Equals Pure Hell. Ugh.
This workout is about 38 minutes long. I'm dripping with sweat and cursing by the end of the warm up. Day 4's cardio recovery really doesn't feel like it helped me much in recovering. lol
The warm-up: same as it was on Tuesday for Plyometric Cardio Circuit.
This workout is about 38 minutes long. I'm dripping with sweat and cursing by the end of the warm up. Day 4's cardio recovery really doesn't feel like it helped me much in recovering. lol
The warm-up: same as it was on Tuesday for Plyometric Cardio Circuit.
- Jog
- Jumping Jacks
- Heisman
- 1-2-3
- Butt Kicks
- High Knees
- Mummy Kicks
I really don't mind this warm up. The kids really enjoy the Mummy Kicks. I'm glad they do because they hurt me. After warm up, we do some stretching again. After that? 15 minutes of nothing but cardio. No breaks. No sitting. Just sweating and crying and cursing.
The main workout consists of fifteen exercises:
- Suicide Drills
- Switch Kicks
- Wide Football Sprints
- Stance Jacks
- Pedal
- Hooks and Jump Rope
- Power Jacks
- Level 2 drills
- Frog Jumps
- Power Knees
- Mountain Climbers
- Ski Down
- Scissor Runs
- Suicide Jumps
- Push-Up Jacks
Each exercise lasts for a whole minute, and you go straight into
the next one with no break. The new exercises are basically just previous exercises with some changes. See below (thanks to http://thegrouchpotato.blogspot.com/2012/04/insanity-workout-blog-day-5.html)
Stance Jacks
Drop into a squat and touch your left foot with your right hand.
Return to an upright position, then drop into another squat and touch your
right foot with your left hand.
Variation of: Jumping Jacks
Pedal
Sprint on the spot for a four-count, then drop into a lunge. Right
foot forward first, then switch to a lunge on the other side. Repeat.
Variation of: Sprint and Basic Lunge
Hooks and Jump Rope
Hooks and Jump Rope is easy enough to follow, so I won't bore you
with a description. I get a bit of a recovery during this exercise, which is
good because we're only a third of the way through the workout and I'm
exhausted!
Variation of: Uppercuts
Level 2 Drills
Remember Level 1 Drills? These are worse. Drop into the plank
position and squeeze out 8 Push-Ups. Run it out for a four count, then bring
your knees into your chest (just like In-Out Abs) and stand up straight. This
exercise works all your major muscle groups, so it's going to hurt!
Variation of: Level 1 Drills
Frog Jumps
If only it was as fun as it sounds! A simple enough exercise, but
by this point you're probably running on empty. I had to take a break.
Variation of: Globe Jumps
Scissor Runs
I love Scissor Runs! Shaun T tells you you'll get a slight
recovery during this exercise, and you will - as long as you get the form
right. Don't let the front foot go past the hip or you'll work yourself twice
as hard as you need to.
Variation of: Switch
Feet
All in all, this workout really does make you feel great. By the end, I'm sweating buckets but also feel really pumped. Yay for not quitting!
Insanity Day 4 - Cardio Recovery
Yay!! A break!
Uh, no. I'm just kidding, this workout still kicks your butt and refuses to take names. It's all about recovering from the intensity of the cardio that you've been doing, but with some megawatt deep muscle work and yoga. Now, I've done yoga in the past and felt pretty confident going in, but this is like yoga on crack. 33 minutes of stretching and contortion. But it was enjoyable for what is was, I definitely slept really well, and the hubs got a kick out of watching the show. ;-)
Uh, no. I'm just kidding, this workout still kicks your butt and refuses to take names. It's all about recovering from the intensity of the cardio that you've been doing, but with some megawatt deep muscle work and yoga. Now, I've done yoga in the past and felt pretty confident going in, but this is like yoga on crack. 33 minutes of stretching and contortion. But it was enjoyable for what is was, I definitely slept really well, and the hubs got a kick out of watching the show. ;-)
Insanity day 3 - Cardio Power and Resistance
In the immortal words of The Waterboy, "foosball is the Devil". Or, in this case, Sean T and his jacked up Cardio Power and Resistance workout. Seriously, I'm a girl. I've never played football. At least not with any other goal in mind but looking cute and trying to snag a boy. These football drill exercises are kicking my booty. This workout goes like this:
Pretty much the same as yesterday. 39 minutes long. There's
another 11 minute warm-up, nearly 7 minutes of stretching, and 18 minutes of
cardio power before the cool-down stretch.
The warm-up
- Jog
- Power Jacks
- Log Jumps
- 1-2-3
- Butt Kicks
- High Knees
- Vertical Jumps
Now we chug some water and prepare to stretch our muscles....or try not to cry.
The main workout is broken up into two sections again. There are four basic exercises in the first section:
- Power Jumps
- Belt Kicks
- Hit the Floor
- V Push Ups
You do three sets at 30 seconds each exercise, and you get a 30 second water break between sets. At the end of the third set, there's three more exercises: Triceps Dips,
One-Legged Triceps Dips and Triceps Ball Push-Ups.
For the next circuit in this workout, there are these next (horrifying and sadistic) exercises:
- Hurdle Jumps
- Globe Jumps
- Moving Push-Ups
- Floor Sprints
Same as before, you do
three sets with a 30 second water break between each set. I just about made it through the final "bonus" exercise - 8
Hop Squats/8 Push-Ups. I'll be sure to add that one to my list of least
favorite exercises! It seriously sucks big...well, you know.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Insanity with Sean T: Day 1 & 2 Review
So, my fabulous BFF came to the rescue again and delivered unto me my very own copy of Insanity by Sean T. I'm 10 weeks into this weight loss/healthy lifestyle attempt. I've heard some good things about Insanity so I'm excited to give it a try.
I was able to find some videos for the first week of the program on YouTube, basically watching other people do the workout and copying them. Which is either really fantastic, or I was learning how to do the moves completely wrong. Anyways, I completed those in a pretty decent fashion. If you consider me lying on the floor, bleeding sweat, crying and cursing Sean T as decent. Which I do. So now that Renee has made my year, I decided to start over from the beginning so that the hubs could do it right along with me.
Day 1, Fit Test:
This is the "in what kind of shape are you in" pre-workout test. It consists of 8 exercises:
You do each exercise for 1 minute, then log how many you were able to do. For the record, I despise Globe Jumps and Suicide Jumps. I obviously have no comparison yet but I think I did okay. By the end of the 63 day program, you will do the fit test 4 times and have some neat comparisons. Here are my "scores":
Switch Kicks - 50
Power Jacks - 36
Power Knees - 80
Power Jumps - 30
Globe Jumps - 9 (seriously?)
Suicide Jumps (aka Burpees) - 14
Push Up Jacks - 17
Low Plank Oblique - 30
Day 2, Plyometric Cardio Circuit (aka WTF?):
This is the longest 42 minutes of my life. There is a warm-up followed by 2 circuits of 3 rounds of exercises. Yay.
Warm-Up:
Do this circuit 3 times (about 30 seconds per exercise), increasing your pace on each circuit.
Jog
Jumping Jacks
Heismans (these are actually fun)
123s (run to the side, knee to chest)
Butt kicks
High Knees
Mummy Kicks (think zombie lol)
Now we do a 7 minute stretch. Seriously. This warm-up and stretch is about 17-18 minutes. OMG. (Thanks to http://fitnessfatale.com/2011/10/15/insanity-plyometric-cardio-circuit/ for the exercise descriptions! I personally have given them descriptions that are non-postable.)
1st Circuit:
Suicide Drills (move a few steps across floor, bend and touch the floor. Go to other side)
Power Squats (squat and jump)
Mountain Climbers (stand up high knees and use arms like climbing a ladder)
Ski Jumps (feet together, jump side to side)
Additional moves at 3rd set of Workout 1:
Switch Feet (jump to right foot front, then left foot front and repeat, keeping both feet flat on the ground the whole time and swinging your arms)
Football Sprints (with feet wide, quickly alternate weight from left to right foot and follow Shaun’s instructions to turn right or left, move forward and backward, etc).
2nd Circuit:
Basketball Drills (squat and pretend to shoot a basket)
5 sets of Level 1 Drills (4 push ups, 4 plank runs, move to a standing position and repeat)
5 sets of Ski Drill (Start in plank then jump your feet to the right and then jump back to center, then jump feet to left, repeat)
Additional moves at 3rd set of Workout 2:
Jabs (in a boxing stance, punch the air, alternating hands)
Cross Jacks (Alternate hands going above your head while alternating crossing one leg in front of the other and both legs out)
Uppercuts (in a boxing stance, perform uppercuts, alternating arms)
Attacks (I call it the Mr. Miyagi. In a deep squat, alternate throwing your open palm out like you are deflecting an opponent)
Whew! By the time the workout was completed, I was drenched in sweat, my double-layered sports bras looked like I had removed them from the wash cycle and put them on, and my make-up was streaked around my eyes. (Removing it would've been too easy, I suppose). The hubby....well, I seriously thought I was going to have to call an ambulance. Whereas I had run 2 miles (well, 25 minutes, which comes out to roughly 2 miles lol) about an hour before, he hasn't exercised with any real form or substance in years. My bad for allowing him to start with this. However, I made sure to give him plenty of encouraging words and sexy talk throughout! I'm hoping that is motivation enough for him to continue on. If not, I can always continue to perform the workouts while standing directly in front of him, which is good eye candy on the squats and stretches. ;-)
So far, I recommend Insanity. It's at least very sweaty and very physical!!!
I was able to find some videos for the first week of the program on YouTube, basically watching other people do the workout and copying them. Which is either really fantastic, or I was learning how to do the moves completely wrong. Anyways, I completed those in a pretty decent fashion. If you consider me lying on the floor, bleeding sweat, crying and cursing Sean T as decent. Which I do. So now that Renee has made my year, I decided to start over from the beginning so that the hubs could do it right along with me.
Day 1, Fit Test:
This is the "in what kind of shape are you in" pre-workout test. It consists of 8 exercises:
You do each exercise for 1 minute, then log how many you were able to do. For the record, I despise Globe Jumps and Suicide Jumps. I obviously have no comparison yet but I think I did okay. By the end of the 63 day program, you will do the fit test 4 times and have some neat comparisons. Here are my "scores":
Switch Kicks - 50
Power Jacks - 36
Power Knees - 80
Power Jumps - 30
Globe Jumps - 9 (seriously?)
Suicide Jumps (aka Burpees) - 14
Push Up Jacks - 17
Low Plank Oblique - 30
Day 2, Plyometric Cardio Circuit (aka WTF?):
This is the longest 42 minutes of my life. There is a warm-up followed by 2 circuits of 3 rounds of exercises. Yay.
Warm-Up:
Do this circuit 3 times (about 30 seconds per exercise), increasing your pace on each circuit.
Jog
Jumping Jacks
Heismans (these are actually fun)
123s (run to the side, knee to chest)
Butt kicks
High Knees
Mummy Kicks (think zombie lol)
Now we do a 7 minute stretch. Seriously. This warm-up and stretch is about 17-18 minutes. OMG. (Thanks to http://fitnessfatale.com/2011/10/15/insanity-plyometric-cardio-circuit/ for the exercise descriptions! I personally have given them descriptions that are non-postable.)
1st Circuit:
Suicide Drills (move a few steps across floor, bend and touch the floor. Go to other side)
Power Squats (squat and jump)
Mountain Climbers (stand up high knees and use arms like climbing a ladder)
Ski Jumps (feet together, jump side to side)
Additional moves at 3rd set of Workout 1:
Switch Feet (jump to right foot front, then left foot front and repeat, keeping both feet flat on the ground the whole time and swinging your arms)
Football Sprints (with feet wide, quickly alternate weight from left to right foot and follow Shaun’s instructions to turn right or left, move forward and backward, etc).
2nd Circuit:
Basketball Drills (squat and pretend to shoot a basket)
5 sets of Level 1 Drills (4 push ups, 4 plank runs, move to a standing position and repeat)
5 sets of Ski Drill (Start in plank then jump your feet to the right and then jump back to center, then jump feet to left, repeat)
Additional moves at 3rd set of Workout 2:
Jabs (in a boxing stance, punch the air, alternating hands)
Cross Jacks (Alternate hands going above your head while alternating crossing one leg in front of the other and both legs out)
Uppercuts (in a boxing stance, perform uppercuts, alternating arms)
Attacks (I call it the Mr. Miyagi. In a deep squat, alternate throwing your open palm out like you are deflecting an opponent)
Whew! By the time the workout was completed, I was drenched in sweat, my double-layered sports bras looked like I had removed them from the wash cycle and put them on, and my make-up was streaked around my eyes. (Removing it would've been too easy, I suppose). The hubby....well, I seriously thought I was going to have to call an ambulance. Whereas I had run 2 miles (well, 25 minutes, which comes out to roughly 2 miles lol) about an hour before, he hasn't exercised with any real form or substance in years. My bad for allowing him to start with this. However, I made sure to give him plenty of encouraging words and sexy talk throughout! I'm hoping that is motivation enough for him to continue on. If not, I can always continue to perform the workouts while standing directly in front of him, which is good eye candy on the squats and stretches. ;-)
So far, I recommend Insanity. It's at least very sweaty and very physical!!!
Monday, September 9, 2013
2 months into my weight loss journey/battle/hell
Yikes!! Didn't think I'd even make it this far. lol It's been a ride, but not nearly as hard as I thought it would be. I guess I was finally ready to make a true lifestyle change and not just "go on a diet"...again...for the millionth time. *blush*
Beginning Weight: 168.8
Current Weight: 158.6
Total lost: 10.2
Measurements:
Waist: 36
Chest: 39
Hips: 40.5
Total Inches Lost: 13.5
Yay! I've still got way more to go, but I'm pretty pleased with that. I'm averaging about a 1.4 lb loss per week, which is steady. Still doing the C25K running plan and the CrossFit. I've done a couple of the Insanity workouts, and will start the whole program from beginning to end when my bff Renee is ready to start it with me!! Keep losing and keep the faith!
Beginning Weight: 168.8
Current Weight: 158.6
Total lost: 10.2
Measurements:
Waist: 36
Chest: 39
Hips: 40.5
Total Inches Lost: 13.5
Yay! I've still got way more to go, but I'm pretty pleased with that. I'm averaging about a 1.4 lb loss per week, which is steady. Still doing the C25K running plan and the CrossFit. I've done a couple of the Insanity workouts, and will start the whole program from beginning to end when my bff Renee is ready to start it with me!! Keep losing and keep the faith!
Mary's Super Sweet Sixteen
One of my best friends from high school, Samantha, had a sweet 16 for her gorgeous daughter, Mary, this weekend. Sam and I were roommates when Mary was an infant so I've spent some time around this girl!! ;-) The theme was "Cocktail Dresses and Cowboy Boots", teal and yellow and white. It was so stinking cute! I wish I could've gotten a good photo of the ice sculpture...a pair of cowboy boots..but alas, my camera made it too dark. Boo! On the flip side, here are some photos from the party... 
Me, Robyn, Mary, and Samantha 
My kid, Raegan, acting goofy in the photo prop area!! Overall, it was such a fun night! Great food, great atmosphere, a PHENOMENAL 16 year old "woman", and fabulous friends. Love!
Me, Robyn, Mary, and Samantha 
My kid, Raegan, acting goofy in the photo prop area!! Overall, it was such a fun night! Great food, great atmosphere, a PHENOMENAL 16 year old "woman", and fabulous friends. Love!
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