Day 4 - Pure Cardio

Back to work today after Easter and had the frequent pre-work sleepless night which put a stop to my workout this morning. So I sleepwalked through a day in the office, got myself home feeling pretty energy-less and once again wearily looked at the Insanity calendar - it's Pure Cardio today.

That suggests to me large amounts of energy is gonna be required!

One of the great things about Insanity is that Shawn T always warms you up first. So even if you don't really feel like doing the workout that day, just get your kit on, tie up the laces on your trainers and start jogging. If you can't carry on after that so be it but I'm willing to bet if you start that you'll finish the workout.

So today consisted of warm-up of jogging, jumping jacks, butt kicks, high knees

Suicides, 

Day 3 - Relief!! Ahh Cardio Recovery

Got back to my flat at about 4pm this afternoon after spending Easter Sunday at my mum's guzzling down red wine, gorging on roast lamb and consuming far too much sweet stuff.

Got in the door, psyched up to catch up on Better Call Saul whilst sipping a cup of tea when it occurred to me that I hadn't worked out today. I reluctantly pulled out the Insanity schedule..."Cardio Recovery"

Relief! I think I can manage that today in my bloated, slightly sickly (self-inflicted of course) state.

Plenty of breathing and stretching to ease in to this one...really just what a I needed.

However, my lack of flexibility was highlighted again as I'm unable to keep my legs straight and touch the floor with my hands.

DIDN'T REALLY REMEMBER THIS.

LUNGES HIP FLEXORS PULSES SQUATS OUCHHHH 

HAD TO BREAK OUT A FEW TIMES, COULDN'T HOLD IT THAT MUCH LONGER

PLANK POSITION PULSE IT OUT

NICE WARMD DOWN.

Day 2 - Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Easter Saturday...alarm going off at 9am, the bed is so cosy and warm, I don't really want to get up...but if I'M GOING TO DO IT have to get up now as have to be in the pub in SHOREDITCH BY 12 TO watch the Arsenal game...

pull myself up...mouth and throat feel so dry! pint glass filled up, still no sign of my water bottle and obviously didn't think to buy a new bottle of water when out yesterday!

into the warm up, jogging, jumpimg jacks...hmmm finding it tough goingin already, then the warm-up a 2nd time but a bit faster...then a 3rd time, even faster...still no water break...mouth drier than the Sahara!

basketball jumps, suicide drills, mountain climbers, all the old favoutriyes oh no and then the real bastards...level 1 drills...down 4 3 2 1, run it out, up, down...ski abs! in and out! this is killing me! i improved at this when doing month 1 last time buy seems like i've regressed! this is gonna be tough!

It all starts again...

So I started the Insanity workout back in January, I completed month 1 and the following recovery week and then before I  could get going on month 2 my day job got a bit out of control and my early morning workouts became a thing of the past.

Consequently I ended up landing on the beaches of Thailand without the beach body I'd been envisaging.

As it was Good Friday yesterday, the start of a long Easter weekend and jetlag/holiday hangover finally starting to fade, it seemed like a good opportunity to get back in to it. 

No work so woke up at 10 but feeling less than energised despite the lovely lie-in...decided to get up, get some porridge, watch the Wild Things (a ridiculous Sky 1 show where adults dress as furry animals and fall over a lot...incredible slapstick, I was choking on my porridge watching it!)...then The Sopranos, had a mug of green tea, was going to shower and head out in search of gluten-free hot cross buns when a sudden burst of motivation and energy hit me!

I went upstairs, put my trainers on, stuck the Insanity DVD in the player, filled up a pint glass of water  and then suddenly I'm back in it. 

Shawn T is back in my front room! Back in to the warm up, feeling surprisingly good as I start jogging, jumping jacks, butt kicks, mummy kicks...maybe the fact I've had breakfast is helping me...

Then it's in to the Fit Test...oh how I've missed this! I don't think so, something about having done it before is making it mentally slightly tougher, seeing as I know what's coming! 

I felt pretty good doing the switch kicks kicks, feeling pretty good, ytrying to focusd on the fomr...want to do this properly this time...power knees not bsd...ooh power jumps are starting to hurt sbout halfway thru...feeling it

globe jumps and my legs are starting to take on a leaden feel

suicide jumps...oh it's vcoming basck to me now...the killers...in to push up jacks and my flatmate walks thru the foor "ah back on the insanity he says...i'm unable to respond...strufgling to keep form here.

finaslly low plank obliques...i used to quite like this one...but really struggling to keep my body in line and hold myself up...feeling s bity lightheaded

good to be back on the horse but much work to do.

Fit test 1

Switch kicks 65???? I lost count when concentrsting on exhsling with each kick!!!

Power jscks 40

PAOWER KNEES 64 left knee

PAOWER JUMPDS 24

Globe jumps 7

SUICIDE JUMPS 11

PUSH UP JSCKSD 16

LOW PLSNK OBLIQUE 18

Am I insane enough to do this?

"I want to do Insanity' said my colleague, Becky.

"Woah, do you know what Insanity is?" I responded. "It's really hard you know? My brother did it and was sweating buckets.'

"Well, I'll find it easier if someone else is doing it with me" she said with a glint in her eye.

"Hmmm, I'll do some research tonight and will have a word with my brother", I said far from convinced that this was for me.

So I went home and watched a couple of Insanity promo vids to try and get an idea of what's actually involved and what results can be expected. I've got to say the marketing behind this is pretty damn good. The videos are fast-paced,, high-energy, lots of people sweating, really getting pumped up and puttig their all in to these workouts. You're shown photos of some amazing before and after results. The women are slim ad toned whilst the blokes are ripped! As a skinny guy who's never had much muscle, this was starting to appeal to me! "See insane results in 60 days!" bellows Shaun T, the creator and instructor on the programme.

I also promised myself that this year I'm going to push myself out of my comfort zone...so I'll call my brother to as him about it and see if he's still got the DVDs.

I called him up and said "Pat, tell me about Insanity." He said it was hardcore, that he used to do it first thing in the morning (before eating anything)and that he actually got to the stage of enjoying it. "Do it, you should do it", he said, adding "you're young, you can do it". I'm 35 and thought, this is a bit of a challenge, I should go for it. I was going to settle for doing '100 push-ups a day' but this Insanity sounds like a more of a game-changer. I went back in to work the next day and said "Becky, I'm doing Insanity!" To which she said, "It looks really hard!" "Well, I'm doing it".