Insanity Final Fit Test Results

Here's my final results from Insanity:

• Switch Kicks: 98 (up from 79, 72, 66, 57)
• Power Jacks: 75 (up from 70, 57, 56, 47)
• Power Knees: 114 (up from 107, 102, 94, 87)
• Power Jumps: 75 (up from 55, 42, 35, 30)
• Globe Jumps: 15 (up from 14, 13, 12, 8)
• Suicide Jumps: 22 (up from 19, 19, 18, 15)
• Push-Up Jacks: 44 (45, 35, 36, 30)
• Low Plank Obliques: 90 (up from 70, 60, 54, 28)

So I went up in all but Push-Up Jacks, and in some by a lot more than the last one. Overall I would say Insanity put me in much better shape cardio-wise. I don't feel as strong as I did during P90X, but I'm in better shape.

Day 53 Fit Test - Insanity

Here's my Day 53 Fit Test results:

• Switch Kicks: 79 (up from 72, 66, 57)
• Power Jacks: 70 (up from 57, 56, 47)
• Power Knees: 107 (up from 102, 94, 87)
• Power Jumps: 55 (up from 42, 35, 30)
• Globe Jumps: 14 (up from 13, 12, 8)
• Suicide Jumps: 19 (up from 19, 18, 15)
• Push-Up Jacks: 45 (up from 35, 36, 30)
• Low Plank Oblique: 70 (up from 60, 54, 28)

So I improved in most areas and stayed the same in a couple. Those suicide jumps give me trouble! Globe jumps are a very complex move so doing 1 rep better is really 4 whole jumps better, so nothing to sneeze at. Overall I'm pleased with the progress and look forward to the next (which is the last) Insanity fit test.

Shakeology Cleanse - Day Three & Review

I finished the Shakeology Cleanse last night.

To be honest, by the end of the cleanse I was happy to know I'd be eating "for real" again today. I was starving. I'm pretty sure, though, it's because I have a high metabolism going these days and I went against one of their fiercest warnings by doing it during Insanity. I was close to bonking during the workout yesterday, and never really recovered afterwards. There's just not enough calories to go around.

Results-wise, I did go down about 5 pounds total during the 3 days, which is nice (though I don't really care about weight numbers, it's interesting to track). I'd definitely do this again, but only if I was in a recovery week or doing very light workouts. Let me be the one to verify their claims: you do NOT want to be doing this during one of the Beachbody extreme programs.

Shakeology Cleanse - Day Two

Today's experience with the Shakeology Cleanse was actually not as tough as I thought. The adjustment was all in the first day, I think. I had to shift my meals around a bit to get around a super-busy day at work and running late in the morning after squeezing in a workout.

Yes, you can still work out during the Cleanse, but it's advised that you do NOT do P90X or Insanity - a rule I blatantly broke. They say, if you do your Cleanse during those workouts at all, do them during the recovery week. I did the next best thing, as I did the Cleanse around my scheduled off day. I escaped yesterday's workout unscathed, and today without a workout I managed alright. I've gone down about 2 pounds so far, and feel just as much energy as before (but also am hungrier than normal). Since the energy is still up, though, I'm not worried. Tomorrow is the last day. I'll post an update at the end.

Shakeology Cleanse - Day One

So I've decided to do the Shakeology Cleanse. The best place to get info on it is from Steve Edwards' blog post on it (here). The basic rundown is this:

• Five Small meals a day (3 Shakeology meals, 1 very large salad with 4oz super-lean protein, and a fruit snack for the other meal). Mix and match the meals to suit your daily schedule or social setting.
• Have 2 cups of green tea.
• Avoid coffee, fatty items, and dairy explicitly. Other things as detailed in Steve's post should do the trick.
• Do it from 1-3 days every 3-4 months, or when you really need to clear out your system.

This comes in between 900-1200 calories depending on how you do it. This may seem low, but all the nutrients from Shakeology are enough to keep you going (they say). After one day, I can say this is true. Sure, I was pretty hungry at first (I had fallen into a lazy eating cycle), but was determined to pull through. One benefit of doing the Shakeology Cleanse is to sort of reset your healthy eating. This was the main reason I wanted to do it. So far: it's working! I'll update after days two and three, as well!

Insanity Day 44 Thoughts

So I'm on Day 44 of this madness. Just when I thought I was getting the hang of things, the Max workouts arrive and I was floored again. It felt like the first week! That's great, though. The goal is to push yourself the whole way, right? Wouldn't really be worth it if it was "solved" in 30 days.

Max Interval Circuit, Max Interval Plyo, and Max Cardio Conditioning are just tough. A lot of the moves that were core moves in the first month are now enhanced and make up the warm-up now! This just shows how hardcore it is, I think. I had to take a lot of breaks the first time through, and that is counting the breaks he gives you to demo new moves. In the end, though, I survived the workouts. I needed to have a lot more water on hand, and I tried doing a little recovery drink mid-workout, too (though my stomach can't handle that). All in all, I've seen some good progress with this enhancement to the workout. I can't wait till the end to see how it all progresses. I'm almost at my weight from high-school, which is kind of mind-blowing to me.

Shout out on Workout Journey!

I got a nice mention from Brad Gibala on his blog, Workout Journey. He did a little Q & A with me about my P90X Results. Brad is a 3 Star Diamond Coach for Team Beachbody, and he is one of those success stories that went from losing his job in the recession to being able to work from home doing just Coaching to sustain his lifestyle. Pretty amazing! He also got mention in the last printed newsletter with the other top Coaches.

So, getting a mention from him was pretty cool! I'll have to keep it up. That should be fairly easy because I've noticed the exercise help me in other areas, like my programming and energy levels. I know, that sounds like a stretch about the programming part...and it sort of is. Any activity that helps you get your mind of those tasks usually leads to you figuring out a hard problem when you least expect it. I end up solving hairy software issues and problems in the middle of workouts now when my mind is free to roam and do it's own thing. It's like the old saying "a watched pot never boils". Other programmers get this just going for walks, watching a movie, or playing FPS games. I've done that, too. Lately, though, it's during exercise. I'll take it!