I Did It!!!

I just completed the Insanity workout program! I have to admit, I'm very proud of myself. The Insanity program is 9 weeks of intense workouts, 6 days a week. The first month is considered level one, then there is a one week recovery week which includes a lighter exercise routine, and the second month is considered level two. You can scroll through my blog to see past posts on my feelings about the Insanity program. In a nutshell, the first month was really tough, but the second month was literally "insane." The workouts got harder and longer.

If you are going to do this program, I suggest you commit to doing it 100%. It's very easy to make excuses why you can't do the workout or why you don't have time for it, but if that's the case, you are not going to see results. In 9 weeks, I only missed one workout (I had a straightening treatment done to my hair and couldn't sweat or get it wet for 48 hours). This means that sometimes I did workouts at 10:00 at night (or later!). I did not see a point in doing this program if I wasn't going to do it right.

Now, I'm not saying I can do the workouts the way Shaun T. and the other people do them in the video. Case in point: I cannot do a pushup to save my life. I just don't have the upper body strength. I did a pushup challenge a few months ago through a different company and had to do the "girl" pushups, or pushups using a wall or counter. However, that doesn't really work with this program, because of the types of pushups they do. So, when it would come to the pushup portions of the videos, instead, I would do a plank, or situps, crunches, or some other type of exercise. Additionally, sometimes I had to take more breaks than what they allot you in the video. But overall, I did my best and gave it my all.

On Day 1 you do a fit test and record how many reps of specific exercises you can do. Then you do this fit test every couple of weeks and end the program with it to see if you improve along the way. I will post my results just for Day 1 and Day 63 (the final day).

Exercise                     Day 1                  Day 63
Switch Kicks               75                        133
Power Jacks                40                         46
Power Knees               75                        106
Power Jumps               25                         35
Globe Jumps                 8                           9
Suicide Jumps              10                        20
Push Up Jacks*           15                         27
Plank Obliques            15                         32

*I did girl pushups instead.

Weight lost - I lost 6 lbs. total while doing the program.
Inches lost -  I wish I had measured myself before starting, but I did take before and after pictures (and pictures during - see previous blog posts). Again, I wish I had done it differently, because I would have taken pictures of my legs and butt too. I know those have shrunk, because of the way my pants fit. However, this is the only picture I have. I think you can see the difference though :)

 

The question people keep asking me is "What do you do next? Do you start the program over?" For me, the answer is HELL NO. I saw results, I feel accomplished, I'm happy I did it, but I think it was a one time thing for me :) However, my plan now is to go back to the gym for about 30 minutes of cardio (or more depending on my schedule), and then come home and do Jillian Michaels's "30 Day Shred" video. I have heard that this is a good workout that produces good results. I will post updates on how that goes much like I did with Insanity. I read online that you are supposed to do the program 2 days on, 1 day off, so that will be my plan. If anyone has comments or feedback on "30 Day Shred" please share!

--T