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. 

• 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. ;-)

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. 

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!!! 

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!

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!

Hold me accountable!

I'm not being flippant or funny or cute in a ha-ha way, either! I have begun my weight loss journey. I had posted previously about it but I've been serious about it and dedicated since July 7. Just a randomly chosen date that got me past eating the4th of July goodies. ;-) What I've been doing: Running - never been a big fan of running but I've heard it's the best cardio. My motivation for this is The Color Run that is scheduled for Mobile in October....on 10/12, to be exact - my 11th anniversary. :-) I've been wanting to do one forever so this motivates me to complete the C25K app that I've started and stopped a million times. The hubby and my girls have all been doing it with me, we're making it a family thing. I do this 6 days per week (repeating each day of the program twice). CrossFit - Gym memberships and specific CrossFit packages are way too expensive for my test but I've found some fantastic home workouts via Pinterest. You can find me here . I've found that I really enjoy CrossFit! It's challenging, never boring, and some of the moves have become my favorites, like the inverted handstand pushup! Surprising to me but I really enjoy doing it and it seems to be making a rather fast difference in terms of tone and definition, especially in my arms, legs and back. I do this 4 days per week, doing a different workout every day so that I can mix it up and stay motivated. Dance - My daughters' dance studio has begun offering an Adult Jazz class and an Adult Cardio Hip Hop Class, each class once a week. I thought I'd try those out and I love them! The hip hop more so than the jazz, maybe because it's slower. But they've been fun and there are a ton of great women in the classes as well. It helps that the teachers have been the dance teachers for my kiddos for several years now so I'm comfortable with them! Diet - Healthy eating, lifestyle change. Lots of veggies and baked foods. Limited sugar and carbs. Very little bread, if any. Using my LoseIt app to track my intake, drinking 64-80 ounces of water daily. Where I'm At: Starting Weight: 168.8 Current Weight: 162.2 Goal Weight: 140 6.2 lbs lost over the past month. I weighed yesterday and this is my TOM so I've got some water weight in there, I'm sure. With that being said, I'm okay with 6.2 lbs!! That equals out to a little over a pound a week. I'm determined to push myself even harder to make it come off that much faster! Here's my before photos....be proud! No one, and I Mean No One (save hubby and girlies) has seen me like this ever!! lol This is what 2 cesareans and a love of food does to you.