DAY 38: MAX CARDIO CONDITIONING

First time doing 'conditioning' ..excited much!

This workout lasts approx 50 minutes, maybe slightly less, i was concerned trying to get the window open for the beginning, all i could hear was the sound of ' 3...2....1....INSANITY'.

And i jogged my way back from the window to start the warm-up.

I thought maybe there'd be a bit of difference by now, but no...same warm-up, can't really complain as all of Month 1's workout warm-ups were the same. 

Then we got our Stretch for 5 minutes, little did i know, the calm before the storm. This workout is a harder version of Pure Cardio...i think so anyway. And i did not know i would not get another water break for 29 minutes. JEEEZ.

Each exercise lasted a minute for yep...29 minutes. 

High Low Jab with Squat - killer, my legs ache already somehow

Football Runs - i actually despise these, after doing like 10 my legs again are on fire

8 Ball shots with Squat - remember 'BUTT DOWN' shoot the ball four times, squat..again!

Right and Left Kicks - gotta do it on each leg, balance is the key

Diamond Jumps - slightly less tiring Power Jumps in my opinion

In and Out Push Up Jacks - 4 in and outs and 4 push up jacks

Suicide Jumps - by now you must know what these are...KILLERS

High Knee Low Floor Sprints -  sweat in my eyes, ouch

Ski Abs - tiny bit of recovery, but gotta keep going

Kick Step Back - 1st actual recovery exercise, 

Squat Twists - 2nd recovery exercise, 

Over the river Hops - final recovery exercise,

Attack - basically jabs...jab jab jab with a flat hand. 

Power Knees -  each side, a minute each

Ski Down Hooks - whilst jumping side to side, we do a hook at the end, 

Belt Kicks - OUCH

Forward Back Suicides - by this point i want to curl up and rest, but no....WORK.

Push Up Abs - working the obliques

Plank Punches - stomach really starts to work now, paiiiiin.

8 Jump Ropes/Hop squats - you know, and we're still going

Squat Speed Bag - just a squat with some crazy arm rolling, but your legs will be shaking like mad by now.

COOOOOOOOOL DOWN!

Main downer about this one, is i neeeeded water but you get no water breaks. So i must have downed about a litre after we'd finished. 

Yay, Recovery Day tomorrrow!

A.

DAY 37: MAX INTERVAL PLYO

Now this one ain't as cray as yesterday's Circuits. You still sweat your butt off, but you have to watch more demonstrations and explanations, so you get a little time to breath. 

Last approx 55 minutes or so, that includes a 10 minute warmup and about 4.5 minute stretch in the beginning. 

The warmup is the same as yesterday, i'm just so glad Mummy Kicks have gone, those literally made me want to lie down and not get back up. The first two times you do the warm-up in Month 2 workout's however is slightly different. You do two rounds at 4 minutes each, going at your own pace,  but the last time you do your warmup it only lasts 2 minutes and your supposed to really push yourself and speed it up!!

STRETCH.

Then we got into our first circuit. I was a bit apprehensive at first, wondering what on earth could this be like compared to Plyometric Month 1. 

I soon found out...Switch Jumps, which are basically a squat, jump and turn 180 degrees and squat again. Repeat for a minute. Squat Push ups, almost fell on my face a few times not going to lie. Wide In and Out Abs...think back to normal In and Out Abs, then cry. Power Jumps..self explanatory, and also painful. These really don't help with how fatigued you get. 

After the third round we have a minute of One Legged V Push Ups...again self explained. V Push Ups...but with one leg raised off the ground. Not fun!

Second circuit, Pogo's. Quite a bit of focus on balance and power with these. Reaching down to touch the floor balancing on one leg, then straighten up to hop. Repeat on both sides. Power Push Ups..actually like these. Globe Twists, pretty much the same as Globe Jumps but we're only going side to side and squatting. Level 3 drills! 16 PUSH UPS...16! THEN ANOTHER 16!

After third round we're doing Power Lunges/Hop Squats with 8 sets. 

Final and third circuit guys! Side Push Ups, Kickstand Touch the Floor, 8 Power Knees and 4 Diamond Jumps. I'm not saying much about these because unfortunatley with it being my first time doing the workout i was so concentrated on getting through it i forgot to jot a note down. Next time! 

We end with a Balance Push Up..which is nice and relaxing. (ish) It at least doesn't require as much energy, just more balance..which i have luckily. 

Tomorrow is MAX CARDIO CONDITIONING.

A.

DAY 36: MAX INTERVAL CIRCUIT

'DEATH WORKOUT'

Is what i was thinking after completing this, compared to Month 1...holy crap!

The difference with this Month 2 workout to the previous is the time: (59minutes) and the amount of energy i needed, oh and the amount i sweat during. Wondering if somehow there's a way to not sweat so much...with Insanity, doubt it.

The warmup with this workout is similar to Month 1's.

Jog: As usual

Jumping Jacks with arm's up: Slightly different, no more angel arms, get them up and straight

123's: Guaranteed to trip up at least once

Jump Rope side to side: Different, and i feel a bit like a pansy

High Knees with arms out: Much harder than normal  high knees, ouch

Switch Kicks: In the warmup...REALLY?

Hit the floor: Again, in the warmup....are you mad?

Side to side floor hops: These are fun and i like hopping.

And guess what, do all of this 3 times!

Then we have our lovely stretch which lasts about 5 minutes, i'm getting seriously flexible lately too. My hamstrings no longer ache at all! Which is odd, considering there's usually always a twinge of an ache when stretching. I think with warming my muscles up throughly every day then stretching is really doing em good!

The workout begins...

The whole lot of circuits last approx 39 minutes which is how long a full workout including warmup and stretches lasted in Month 1..so you can already see it's gunna be tough!

Basically we have three circuits compling about 3 or 4 exercises into each, with three rounds each ciruit. 

The first circuit consists of Pedal/Power lunges, these really target your quads, and burn. Especially by the third round. Ski Abs/Jacks/In&Outs/Obliques, kinda like a dance routine haha. You gotta try and learn the sequence and then complete it, will get easier once you've done it a few times. Aaand, Power Strike closely followed by Frog Jumps!

After the third round we did some Football Runs and Cross Jacks for a minute. Everything burns and we still had two more circuits to go!

Second circuit we have Hook Jumps, really make you puff after. High Knees with twists, can occasionally get cramp with this one from the twists, High-Low Jab with squat, Floor Switch Kicks - these almost have me crying, arms shaking, sweat dripping..not fun. 

After the third round we got to do a fun filled minute of 123 Jab Across. Helped me to recover slightly as my heart was almost pounding outta my chest. 

Finally, third circuit, WOOOO. We haaave, Side Suicide Jumps, these are just ridiculous..seriously. Squat Hooks, i like punching air. Full body drill comes next, Plank Punches and then finally we're done!

Shaun T and the posse collapse to floor after this one, normally i don't join then..opting to stand up and shake it off, but i had to...i collapsed and i enjoyed it. 

This MAX business may just kill me off.

A. 

RECOVERY WEEK ROUNDUP!

Initially, yes...i was going to write up errrryday about the Core Cardio and Balance workouts, but i just couldn't. Not only could i not bring myself to write everyday about the same damn workout, but the repetitiveness was driving me craaazy. You even mix it up when you go to the gym right? So i had to add little bits of other workouts in after i'd finished this workout by the Thursday. Monday to Wednesday i stuck to the plan, but by Thursday i completed the normal workout and did a little few exercises i remembered from Plyo and Power and Resistance, just to really help my progress. 

In all honesty, i think it's a wrong move doing the same workout for 6 days straight, it's too easy to almost lost interest. I mean, it's not neccesarily an 'easy' workout, yes it's recovery as each exercise your doing is slowed down compared to the normal Month 1 workouts. However, you find yourself thinking 'really....again' ..so like me maybe vamp it up a little and add in some other exercises from previous workouts, i promise it helps. A LOT.

I'm writing this post rather late, as i'm now onto Day 4 of Month 2 workouts, which i'll be writing about sooon (probably later on today as i need to catch up). 

A helpful quote from Shaun T:

This is your recovery week so I don't want you to over-pound your body.  I want you to focus, keep your core strong, keep your energy up and next week we will start it back up'.  

A

DAY 30: CORE CARDIO & BALANCE WITH PHOTO'S AND MEASUREMENTS

Progress!

That's the thing we all want isn't it?

When you start a new workout plan, meal plan, diet guide...anything to do with fitness, we all want to see progress right?!

Of course we do, i've been so excited for this point. I've been seeing little changes in my body, but stayed away from the scales and tape measure literally until this morning! You always notice little changes, like how when i workout, i can see my abs through my skin..woohoo! If only they stayed like that when i'm not working out, and my legs are looking trimmer and not wobbling as much! SCORE!

So, here goes the big reveal! Oooo i feel like it's Extreme Makeover or something...just not extreme and not a make-over. Ha! 

Before i started Insanity above, and today Day 30!

As you can see with both pictures there are some subtle differences. But that's what i wanted! I didn't expect to all of a sudden be a size 4, with a tiny waste, thin legs and no fat at all. That would be something wouldn't it!

I expected what i got.

My stomach in the top photo you can see is much flatter, i have more muscle there than prior and my overall shape has gotten a little thinner. I feel so much thinner if that makes sense, i no longer have the feeling of being bloated on a daily basis and that's due to the foods i'm eating along with the regular exercise. On the front facing picture you can see the fat around my hips has dropped off and i'm now more narrow around the waist. You can't see too well in the pictures, but i'll post my measurements below. My legs are also looking slightly less hench! I've always had rather muscular legs, larger than your average super model, mile long length legs. I'm 5'1 and have little legs, but they're looking more lean now rather than bulky...comes from the cardio i think. Here goes the measurements:

INSANITY	DAY 1 22/07/13	DAY 30 20/08/13	Difference
Weight	61.4kg / 9st 6 / 132lbs	57.6kg / 9st 1 / 127lbs	-3.8kg / -5lbs
Size	8-10	8-10
Body Fat %	28.4	22.1	-6.3
Chest (inches)	36	34	-2
Waist (inches)	30	28	-2
Hip (inches)	34	33	-1
Leg (top of thigh - inches)	23	22.3	-0.5
Arm (bicep - inches)	12	11	-1

I'm so overjoyed with the changes, i can't wait until i've finished Month 2...especially with my new eating plan, cutting out sugar etc. Explained more about this on Day 27. Hopefully i'll reach my goals and have even more impressive results! The best change for me has been on Body Fat %...my ideal goal is to be down to 16%..i may not reach that before the end of Insanity, which is why i'm going to do Month 2 again straight after the 63days. I'll add in some other elements of exercise then, like going back to the gym and doing 5k runs like i used to. But i wanted to soley do Insanity this round to see what difference it made on it's own.

I'm over the moon with my halfway point results!

It proves hard work really does go far!

DIG DEEPER ...i know i am!

A.

DAY 29: CORE CARDIO AND BALANCE & MEAL PLAN!

Today was the first day of a completely new workout! I had no idea what was coming and that absolutely thrilled me, after a whole month of the same workout, and often dreading what was to come, i was so hyped for this workout!

This is like a halfway point, as we now have a whole week of 'RECOVERY'...yeah right, as if this is going to be any easier....and it wasn't! It seperates the '40 minute workouts' from the Month 2 '60 minute MAX workouts'. 

Really, this isn't a recovery. I still sweat like hell, but it is slightly easier than the likes of Plyo and Pure cardio, and we don't have no repetitiveness either, yay. The warm-up isn't a 3 set killer, it just consists of Switch Heel Kicks, Mummy Kicks, Football Shuffle and Over the Log. They're all quite nice exercises to do, the only difference is we're being asked to do it slower, and that's the harder bit, how do you jump slow?! Please..someone inform me!

After a quick break we have 8 High Knees into 8 Power Jacks followed by 8 Fast Feet into 8 Alternating Hooks. I like these as i feel bad ass punching the air infront of me.....weird huh?

As usual we have to stretch, always my favourite part. It lasts about 4 minutes, and the stretches are pretty much the same as Month 1 just a little bit deeper than previous. A lot more focus is put into the hip flexors and the hamstrings...which i love by the way!

For the workout, i can't lie..it was exhilarating, but i'm not it's number 1 fan that's for sure.
I was sweating the same and pretty out of breath, more fatigue than actual exhaustion. My muscles were crying especially at the end where we had Hip Flexor Burners.
Lemme explain a little:
You lift your knee to hip height, bent knee and keeping your elbows and arms in a defensive kind of position. We then tap our leg to the floor bringing it back up to the same position for approx. 30 seconds. Then, without lowering your leg, hold your knee up and pulse up and own for 30 seconds.
PAINNN.
Then, again without lowering the leg, YES IT'S STILL UP...stretch your leg out and bend, out and bend. For another 30 damn seconds.
......
AND SWITCH LEGS AND DO IT AAAAALLLL AGAIN.

Other exercises in this workout, i'll go through a little day by day. Because i've got to do this for 6 days, i may as well explain a few exercises each day rather than block up a post with a 2500 word essay on my likes an dislikes of Core Cardio and Balance!

MEAL PLAN

I had a bowl of muesli to start my day today, i wasn't feeling anything hot for some reason, woke up craving some cold milk!
For lunch i made some brown rice and chicken breast, tossed together with some onions, garlic and chillis. This is my go to meal, and i love how many different flavours you can add to make it slightly varied each time, i'm a spicy person so 9 times outta 10 i'll have chilli in mine.
Noodles became my dinner and i'm rather annoyed, i had to leave the house pretty quickly and genuinley couldn't grab anything. The cafe at work was closed, there are NO shops on the way to grab some fruit or something, so i sulked and ate noodles feeling them go to my hips instantly. Hence why i refused to let myself rest during my workout and put double effort in. Won't be doing this again, felt crappy as soon as the noodles hit my stomach i swear!

A. 

MONTH 1 IS COMPLETE!

So today is Monday 19th August, it's Day 29 and later today i'll be completing the first day of the Recovery Week: Core Cardio & Balance. 

I thought i'd do a bit of a round up on the past month, i've wanted to cry and quit. But i haven't. I may have cried a little but quit i did not. From the first day of doing the first workout which was Plyometric, i knew i was in for some serious exercise. Saying previously, i'm a dancer and my job is to keep myself fairly fit and flexible, but nothing could have prepared me for this. The amount of research i did on Insanity still always had me thinking 'it'll be a breeze, this is for people who need to lose a lot of weight quickly'..I was so wrong. Hell yeah it'll help you lost weight, and quite quickly as your doing some sort of cardio 6 days a week for 63 days, if you didn't lose some weight at the end of that, your doing something wrong! But it gives you something else, which is better than losing weight...it makes you feel amazing. During the workouts you might want to stop or just sit and watch, DON'T. I can guarantee afterwards you will feel like a new person, waking up on a morning i no longer feel lethargic and like i don't want to get up. I want to eat healthy, unhealthy food just doesn't appeal. Most of all i think of how much good it must be doing my insides not just my outer appearance.

I'm going to upload some progress pictures and measurements this evening. I initially was going to do that after 2 weeks, but i think now i'm at the month goal, i can see the difference and feel it, so i'll share it! And it'll help me see on paper what i've achieved. 

So check back for the progress pictures and i'll post on the new workout's later tonight!

A. 

DAY 27: PLYOMETRIC CARDIO CIRCUIT & MEAL PLAN

LAST PLYO! AND OFFICIALLY THE LAST WORKOUT OF MONTH 1.

I'm again a flurry of mixed emotions, happy as it's my last one, but then scared of the harder version that is to come and reduce me to a former shadow of myself once more. 

As with some of the other workouts, although i really despise this, i find myself being able to get through it so well, to the point i'm only taking a rest on the last few seconds of a drill if i need to. The third set of the drill more so, it's just so much and because now i know exactly what's next, i'm either thinking 'okay, the next one isn't bad' or 'please no, pleeeeeease NOO'. Majority of the time it's the latter!

So my next scheduled workout is on Monday, this is Saturday's workout (done on Sunday..which should be a rest daay). I have a full recovery week next week! It's not really recovery, as i don't get to just not do Insanity for a weeek, can you imagine?! No..it's like part of my life now haha. 

We have a full 6 days of Core Cardio & Balance, for the first few days it'll be good and new and i'll be raring to go, but i think have six whole days of the same thing could get a bit samey..we'll see though as i might have a new favourite on the way. 

Stay tuned!

MEAL PLAN 

BACON! I haven't had bacon in so long, but i had it .... today i broke a little rule and had some bacon, on whole meal bread though..so it's kinda all good. It tasted amazing, but i can assure you i'll be leaving it off my diet plan for the next month at least. With Month 2 i've decided i'm going to be eating super super clean, i mean no sugar (at all, even in my coffee) .. minimal carbs (only on an evening meal) ... max protein (more chicken and fish with lunch and dinner)...and i'm going to actually cut out bread. It's not that i think bread gains weight etc, i NEVER eat white bread as it is...but it just makes me feel so bloated, i think cutting it out for a month and seeing the change, if there is any will give me an idea on what i need. 

So on Day 36 which is the start of Month 2, i'm going to post a list of my groceries, which will have every item i'll be using for the next month when it comes to food. If it ain't on the list, i won't be eating it! Even eating out, i'll have to be fussy, making sure things are cooked the way i want them, and no condiments etc. Hard life ey, but to get the results i want it's a change i'm willing to make!

Happy Blogging!

A. 

DAY 26: PURE CARDIO AND CARDIO ABS & MEAL PLAN

Last time i do this dreaded workout! Wahoooooo. However, i can stop 'wahooo-ing' realistically because i'm pretty damn sure that 'MAX CARDIO CONDITIONAL & CARDIO ABS' that my calendar has to offer in the next few weeks is going to be double energy, double time and double pain. So i should probably prepare myself for that. 

One thing i do like  about Pure Cardio is we don't have anything repetitive, what i mean is every drill you do, you only do once! Thats still about 15-20 drills for one minute each without any water breaks. So it's still very very tiring. I'm starting to love the fact that i'm not dying by the end of a workout though, yeah i'm knackered but i don't feel like i used to, i feel energized and ready to go (not to do another workout, just good in myself) 

Doing Cardio Abs straight after is beneficial but because you gotta do another warm-up, it's a bit like torture to your legs. Shaun T and his posse are bone dry definitley have had a nice sleep and a day between the two lots of filming! So i kinda feel boss doing it straight after AND getting through it...yeah, WHAT?! Shaun T, don't see you doing this!

The C-Sit position is good to keeep your core solid. Although your sitting in it at one point for a good 3 minutes doing a variety of leg/arm moves and twists, once you sit up and rest, hell can you feel the burn!

MEAL PLAN 

In a bit of a rush again today as i had a hair appointment early this morning, so an apple and a cup of coffee had to suffice for me unfortunatley. I promised to have a good lunch though which i did. 

A jacket potato filled with chilli con carne and a side salad graced my stomach for lunch, i got this while i was out as i was so hungry by the time i'd sat in the hairdressers for 2 and a half hours, making it home just wouldn't do!

Because i don't normally eat a lot of normal potato, i was quite full for the majority of the day, so for my evening meal, i had some broth my gran had made me a while ago, defrost and re-heat..it still tastes amazing. Her broth is pretty much made up of vegetables, chicken stock, lentils and bits of chicken breast. But seriously, it's soooo good.

A. 

DAY 25: CARDIO RECOVERY & MEAL PLAN

 Last time i'm doing Cardio Recovery for this round of Insanity. Sad times, actually it's dawning on me this is the last time i'm doing any of the Month 1 workouts! Jeeebus, time flies when your doing Insanity. It really does, it certainly doesn't feel like i've been doing this for a month now. 

Anyways, Cardio Recovery as you all know is one of my fav..yeah you still work up a little bit of a sweat but it's more about focusing on your core and stretching. With the recovery workout i think the best tip i can give is really focus on your breathing, not so much to get your breath back, but to train your breathing to exhale when your exerting energy and inhale on a recovery move. This gets oxygen to the muscles that need it the most depending on what exercise your doing. 

I think with Month 2's version of this since it's called 'MAX RECOVERY' i think they'll vamp up the cardio side of it, so you will be sweating a lot! And incorporate some harder more taxing stretches, by this point i presume if you've never been into fitness or didn't really workout, the Month prior will have you in good enough shape to cope with Month 2's exercises. Well that's my theory anyway!

MEAL PLAN

 A day off work means my meals are always timed well and i can prepare them as i go, yeah..meal prep saves time if you do it the night before. But there's just something so much nicer about a freshly prepared meal that you can eat right away!

Breakfast was a menagerie of fruit today! Some of my fruit was about to spoil so i took advantage and made a big fruit salad with apples, bananas, kiwi, melon and grapes.  A big bowl of fruit with some natural yogurt spread on the top get's me going for the day i can assure you.

Lunch was a fairly small affair of tuna steak, broccolii and side salad of lettuce with chopped cherry tomatoes. I was in a bit of a hurry with lunch as i wanted to get into town before it closed!

My evening meal had a bit more thought, diced chicken breast with soy noodles, onions, garlic, chilli and peppers all tossed together with some sweet potato fries (home-made...with low-cal spray might i add) finished me off for the day and i slept a happy bunny!

A.

DAY 24: PLYOMETRIC CARDIO CIRCUIT & MEAL PLAN

Now we all know how much i don't like Plyo. But today was really like 10x harder, my energy levels were so low, i don't think i had half as much to eat as i should have. Or i spaced out my eating far too much. Not to mention a 6 hour late shift at work. A combo of all of those things = unhappy A. 

But none-the less i had to push through, i always think if i miss one workout, at the end if my body isn't how i want it, i'll think back and be like 'that one day i couldn't be bothered, that's why i don't have a perfect body' So i am not willing to take the risk, come rain or shine, come tiredness or illness i will complete Insanity!

With the majority of this workout i closed my eyes, honestly..it helped, kinda. I mean i bumped into my wall a few times but...meh no harm done. The reason it helped is it just made me push through, i just kept thinking to myself 'NO PAIN NO GAIN, NO PAIN NO GAIN'...literally over and over and over again. 

Now because of my knee pain i've been experiencing lately the footall sprints i kinda had to take down a knotch, the pain was like a burning sensation which i totally understand is fairly normal, but i mean like 5000 degrees burning, so to avoid injury i just slowed it down. Definitely didn't stop, just slowed. And it helped!

My breathing is also becoming much better, i exhale at all the crucial points which gets oxygen into my body to help push my muscles to where they need to be!

MEAL PLAN

Two slices of wholemeal bread and marmite, i love it, i love it, i love it. With a cup of green tea :)

For lunch i finished off the stir-fry i made the previous night, i really don't understand what people don't like about re-heated food. It's stopping all that unneccesary waste, and yeah it doesn't taste like fresh cooked food, but it's still food! SO EAT! 

Again i had to take some food to eat at work, so itook a few rice cakes and my tub of peanut butter to munch on, along with a little bit of the tuna pasta i had left alsooo. A bit of a re-heat day today! 

Once home i had some chicken legs with a few new potatoes and a small side salad. YUM!

A. 

DAY 23: CARDIO POWER AND RESISTANCE & MEAL PLAN

Here we go again! I must say, i'm so excited to start Month 2 now, one because i know it's going to be so much more of a challenge, but two because it'll be more variety. I mean i can still do these workouts without getting bored, however it's just getting quite scary how i almost know everything that Shaun T is going to, along with the names of his 'posse'. I was browsing on some Insanity progress sights and found some hilarious photos i'm going to share. 

Josh, cracks me up..never get's the stretching right does he.

Onto the workout itself. For some unknown reason, i've been having really bad knee aches, so i'm taking it slow (ISH) i'd say on the round 3 of the exercsises i'm just going slightly slower than i normally would. I feel if i don't put as much effort in i won't see results! But i don't want to cause myself injury either so i need to change it up a little bit. I got through it, and without too much knee pain, still sweating like crazy and feeling so good having completed it.

My tricep dips are coming along too i've noticed, i'm able to make it to the one legged tricep dips without collapsing now, my prior attempts had me resting on the normal ones. Afterwards my arms still burn yes, that will never go away i don't think! 

MEAL PLAN

My morning started as it quite regularly does, with porridge. I had some honey mixed into it this morning and chopped banana. 

Lunch was a bit of a thrown together deal, i boiled some wholewheat pasta, opened a tin of tuna and added some broccolli to mix together. Although it wasn't probably the best meal i could have came up with, it happily filled me up for the majority of the day! Didn't manage to get a picture of this one (forgetful me)

For dinner, i ate rather late due to some commitments i had to take care of, meant i had to cook late which i haaate doing. So i boiled some light flat noodles, and flash-fried some chicken and veg to make a stir-fry, which i ate half of and left the other half so i could have it for lunch tomorrow, don't wanna wwwaaaaste!

A. 

DAY 22: PURE CARDIO AND CARDIO ABS & MEAL PLAN

Another brutal workout, another brutal body beating from beachbody and Shaun T. A lot of B's in that sentance. I could add another 4 but that would be rather ruuuude!

I think this workout kills me the most because there isn't any of my favourite 30 second water breaks, once the warmup is done, and the stretching..you go into 22 minutes of PURE CARDIO..hence the name! This is why it's sooo important to keep down with your breathing otherwise you'll either chuck up or pass out..or you might be fine, but i highhhhly doubt it! 

Can't believe i'm almost 30 days in, well almost. I can see so many changes in both my physical qualities and my health in general. 

MEAL PLAN

Photos are back!

Finally cleared up all the useless memory eating apps on my phone and made room for the more important things. Like meal pictures!

For breakfast we have some granola and muesli with freeze-dried strawberries, i didn't even realise that you can get these in packs either! I got mine from this health food shop in town, i'll try and post the name of them on here one time. For lunch i had some more of these gorgeous wholemeal pitta breads lightly toasted stuffed with ham, cucumber, tomato and spring onion. 

My evening meal consisited of a chicken breast rubbed with chinese 5 spice, usually this would go on pork or duck but i thought i'd try it and it worked. Sweet mashed potato is my lifeline at the moment and tastes sooo good with no seasoning at all, and cottage cheese to give my meal a bit of variety. The shake i've pictured is my regular protein smoothie, with two bananas, frozen berries, soya milk and coconut water. YUUUUMMM.

A. 

DAY 20: PLYOMETRIC CARDIO CIRCUIT & MEAL PLAN

This workout isn't my least favourite, but it has one of the hardest (in terms of energy and strength) exercises i've done EVER. God help me for month 2!

The exercise i mean is when we start with basketball squats for about 45 seconds, then we have Level 1 drills. These are basically 4 push ups, run out with your hands on the floor, stand up and repeat. About 10 times i'd say. Straight after this you've got Ski abs, bringing your knees to the side then back to plank type postion. Gotta keep your bum down to keep form, using the core on these help you get through. Finally you got In and Out Abs. I'm serious, my arms are always shaking like a crazy person after this. All i can hear is Shaun T....'IN......OUT, c'mon y'all....IN......OUT' It feels like it goes on forever and ever and ever. Collapsing on the floor at the end is the best bit!

MEAL PLAN

I was a at work again for the majority of today, so i had a cup of green tea and an apple to start my day before hopping in the car to go to work. Once i'd dealt with a few cases of fraud (i work in a Fraud Department part-time...ha) my friend Anya and i went to our faaaaav place for lunch. BAAAARRR BURRITO! So good, i got tacos this time as i felt a little bloated to be eating tortilla. This time i skipped the cheese and sour cream, but the avocados are so good i could miss them. 

The problem with Bar Burrito however is that it fills me up sooooo much i don't feel like eating for the rest of the day. I have to in order to keep my metabolism up, so when i got home i made a bowl of tomato soup and had a bowl of fruit salad for afters. Very light and i didn't feel like i'd eaten a whale getting into bed! 

A.

DAY 19: CARDIO POWER AND RESISTANCE & MEAL PLAN

Still going hard, i went at it today..i had a really good breakfast this morning so it gave me what i needed to fuel my workout even better. Going forward i'll be doing this more often, more on what i had for brekkie below!

I think the most important part of Power and Resistance really is the warm-up, once you've done the warm-up your really sweating, all your muscles are warm and it gives you the motivation you need for the actual workout. 

The power jumps are hard, like super hard, after the second round of power jumps, fatigue starts to set in big time. But your body WILL keep going if you make it, there's no limit to how much you can push. Well there is, but you gotta just push push push. I'm still struggling with tricep dips i gotta say, the back of my arms burn like a mother, and i get a small ache in my lower back. Squeezing my eyes shut and breathing seems to help me push through!

MEAL PLAN

Reveal of my hearty breakfast.....dum dum dummmm.

A twist on a full english, seriously..you'll be pulling your face like 'yeaaah that's not healthy' alas....it is!

I poached two eggs and had them on top of two slices of wholemeal grain toast, a few grilled tomatoes, and a two strips of grilled bacon, i snipped the fat off before grilling tooooo.

For lunch i made myself a turkey breast, avocado and tomato sandwich on wholemeal pitta breads...accompanied by a salt and vinegar rice cake. 

Dinner i made two oven baked chicken legs with cajun spices rubbed into the skins, with broccoli and green beans. Tasty, but i think i cooked the chicken a little too long so i didn't eat the skin, but i guess that eliminates some of the fat!

A. 

DAY 18: CARDIO RECOVERY & MEAL PLAN

I'm actually caught up, and i'm sitting here typing this post drinking a fruit smoothie after just doing the Cardio Recovery workout. 

I really really can't stress how much i love this workout. It's so nice to stretch out your muscles after a hard few days of cardio, power and just craziness. The best thing is although yes it is a 'recovery' there's still a bunch of exercises to work your thighs mainly, but also biceps and core. There's not one workout in Insanity where you don't work your core to be honest, and thats good. 

ABS ABS ABS ABS ABS ABS ABS

Not much to say today becuase i'm rather relaxed and about to eaaaat.

MEAL PLAN

More granola and fruit this morning, added some extra strawberries to my bowl..feeling fruity! Had to succumb to a cup of coffee for some reason i was feeling super drained. 

I soon sharpened up though and on my walk to work purchased a yummmmmy mango and pineapple smoothie. I'm loving fruit recently too, i almost feel i could live on it if i had to. No...there would be no protein and that would be bad!

I haven't had my dinner yet, but i have two chicken legs defrosting currently which i'll season with some spices, roast a few sweet potatoes to make some mash and boil myself some greens to go with...and voilaaa meal done! 

DIG DEEEEEPER.

A. 

DAY 17: PURE CARDIO AND CARDIO ABS & MEAL PLAN!

Ambling into my kitchen to retrieve my workout calander and happily humming a song in my head, i was 100% sure i had Power and Resistance today, which i quite like as it's more about strength and core than just constantly sweating my ass off. 

BUT NO.

I can honestly say, tears came to my eyes. This workout seriously makes me want to curl  up in a ball and cry. At least the thought and any time before i do it does. After i feel amazing i won't lie. 

There's something about the order of these exercises that just makes it work, you feel tired half way through, but then the next exercise gives you a little bit of recovery, not loads to really push for the next one. The football sprints to the left, front, right and back get me everytime. My calves cry out for mercy. 

'SET...SPRINT'

For some reason i go mental on the sprints, i get a burst of energy from nowhere, pretending i'm in the Olympics or something. HA!

Now i like to do the Cardio Abs straight after Pure Cardio, i've heard a lot of people will split these two up. Do Pure Cardio on a morning and the Abs on the night. I'm not sure that would work for me. I feel that after the first workout, i'm so loose and warm it would be a waste to cool back down to do the Abs later. 

I take a 5 minute break and get straight back on it, with the Abs only lasting 16 minutes it's definitely doable. There's no cardio hardly, just a lot of core use and some leg work. Your stomach muscles take a beating, but come 60 days you'll be thankful i bet! 

MEAL PLAN

I bought some fruit and granola at the supermarket the other day, so that's what i had to start my day a long with....you guessed, a cup of steaming hot green tea!

For my lunch i had some Tuscan Tomato Soup...it's some organic stuff from a health food store i came across a few weeks ago, but with some rice cakes it did the job and i was full full full. 

Dinner again came a little later in the day, as i didn't finish work till 9pm, but i made myself some Ryvita crisp breads topped with lettuce, ham and tomato. I had four to be exact and suprisingly they did the job and away i went to sleep to recover my muscles like they deserve!

A. 

DAY 16: PLYOMETRIC CARDIO CIRCUIT & MEAL PLAN

It's still exciting me to know that i'm over two weeks into Insanity. It really doesn't feel like it either, i know it should...but i think the muscle aches are a thing of the past. Well...kind of. I still ache, but i suppose i'm used to it now. 

Plyometric is probably one of my least favourite i'd have to say. The warm-ups i'm getting used to (jogging, jumping jacks, heismens, 123's, but kicks, high knees and mummy kicks ) x 3 increasing with speed each time. On the last set of 3 i really push now, whereas when i started i found myself slacking on the last set. 

I'm still learning that it's so important to do my workout no more than an hour and a half after i've eaten, if i wait too long i find myself lacking energy and the more i push myself the more i'm risking injury. 

Tips

By now, try and keep up with the timing of the exercises, obviously focus a lot on form..but it's also about speed.

Keep sip sip sipping on water!

MEAL PLAN

I kept it super simple today, basically because of the time i had to eat. Eating on the go, if your at work/out whatever your doing is hard, so it's all about meal prep!

I managed to squeeze in a bowl of porridge oats made with water and a handful of almonds before i left for my shift at work.

For lunch i made myself some brown rice and took a tin of tuna in with me (easy drain, no mess..yay!) For a dessert, or you could say a snack..i had a natural greek yogurt with granola and raspberries. 

Now i waited faaaaar too long for dinner today, silly me forgot to take my last meal to work with me, not thinking on that i don't finish till 9pm! So when i got home i did my workout and made some yummy chicken legs with sweet potato again. I'm seriously loving this meal recently and full of healthhh!

A. 

DAY 15: FIT TEST ROUND 2!

Your wondering where Day 14 is right?

Well it was REST DAAAAY! SO no workout, just rest rest rest rest. I ate clean though, so just because i rested doesn't mean i pigged out. Promise!

So today i had my second Fit Test, i was so excited for this becuase i really wanted to see if i'd improved from Day 1's fit test. I knew it wouldn't be any less sweaty or tiring, but i was raring to go, got my pen and paper and pressed play!

Throughout the test, this time i really pushed myself. When i didn't want to do another one, i tried to do two. The aim again..just a reminder:

Complete the 8 exercises shown, each exercise you have one minute to do as many as you can.

Here are my results:

MOVE	FIT TEST 1 (DAY 1)	FIT TEST 2 (DAY 15)
Switch Kicks	116	118
Power Jacks	62	65
Power Knees	110	120
Power Jumps	40	40
Globe Jumps	13	13
Suicide Jumps	16	18
Push-Up Jacks	20	30
Low Plank Oblique	50	69

So as you can see i've improved my a few on most of the exercises, bar a few. Power jumps really take it out of you, your knackered after those and it's so hard to do loads constantly, even for a minute. Globe jumps, welll....straight after power jumps? Really?! I'm already knackered what does Shaun expect. 

The one thing i'm really happy of, is that at least i didn't do less on any of them. But to be honest i don't think you can let yourself, i had a rough idea of how many i did last time, i purposley didn't look so i could get a true result of if i had improved. And i have. WOO!

I did think i was going to upload some 2 week before and after photo's at this point, but i really wanna do it after the first 30 days. Then i've got like a half-way point to show off. But i've seen some changes, so i'm sure i won't be dissapointed. It's all to come and i can't waittttt.

Who else out there is doing Insanity? Speak up, feel the burn, love the results!

A.