Pre-Workout Dread

The pre-workout dread is something I go through just about every day.  This may be true for most people, or people who doesn't workout on a regular basis, or maybe it's just me.

What do I mean by "pre-workout dread"?  It's this sinking feeling that I get when I think about the workout I have to do for the day.  I mean sure, if the workout is easy like just lifting a weight a few times, or running a few laps, or swimming for a few minutes, I don't get that feeling.  But when the workout is hard (like Insanity or P90X), I know I'm in for some pain and discomfort.  I don't particularly enjoy pain or discomfort.

I don't really know a way to get rid of that feeling, but to go ahead and force myself to start the workout.  Once started, the minutes ticks by and before I know it, the time's up and I'm done.  After the workout, I feel great!  Like I just wrestled with a bear and won.  It was hard and I had to push myself every inch of the way and I emerged victorious.  The workout is done for the day and I don't have to worry about it till tomorrow.

I thought that it would get easier as time progressed.  But it doesn't.  The only thing that helps me push myself is knowing that I've successfully completed the workout before, and if I've done it before, I can do it again.

Review: ON Glycomaize

It's been about 2 weeks since I've been using Glycomaize so I think it's about time I posted a review of the stuff.  It really is an interesting product and supplements your carbohydrate intake nicely after a workout.

Price: 7.5/10
Glycomaize's main competitors is dextrose and when compared side by side, Glycomaize is quite a bit more expensive.  There's really no other way of looking at it.  The one that I got is a 50 serving for container... provided that you only take one scoop per serving.  Unfortunately, it recommends that someone in my weight range take between 1 to 2 scoops.

Effectiveness: 8.5/10
Before taking Glycomaize, I used to eat a banana with my post-workout shake.  It's nice that it adds extra calories and carbs to the post-workout shake.  For people trying to gain weight, it's a very convenient way to add some healthy calories to the mix, particularly if you're taking more than one scoop.  One of the reasons why I think I've managed to not lose weight (an understandable worry for those trying Insanity) is because of this product.  Please note that for people within normal body weight range, not losing weight while losing fat is a good thing.  The reason why I didn't give it a higher score is because for those taking only one scoop per serving, they might as well buy bananas (if you can get it for cheap.  I live in SoCal so most produce is cheap year round).

Taste: 6/10
It is labeled as being unflavored.  But remember, unflavored does not mean no flavor, just that any additional flavor has not been added.  And indeed, this proves true when it comes to Glycomaize.  Glycomaize adds a slightly off taste to my shake as well as a chalky texture.  In the beginning, this was very off-putting.  The first time I drank it, I kind of regretted buying it.  I really liked the taste of my strawberry flavored protein and didn't like the way this affected the taste.  But you get used to the taste after a while, although the chalkiness doesn't really disappear.  Plus, if you shake it, that weird taste gets hidden even more.

Mixability: 6/10
Don't even think about stirring it with a spoon.  You'll just get gnarly lumps.  Not cool.  When you shake it, it's fine, but not stirring.  No way.

Overall:
I think that it's a pretty decent product.  A very nice way to add calories if that's what you're looking for and you just want to drink it instead of eating it.  The flavor initially is pretty bad, but you get used to it fairly quickly.  Also since most people shakes their post-workout shake anyways, it might be a non-factor for those people.  On a side note, Glycomaize is like cornstarch.  It likes to poof and make a mess everywhere.

Insanity Workout - Day 31

Is it just me or does Recovery Week seem harder?  I'm serious, it really does seem harder now.  I'm not sure if it's because I'm doing the same workout everyday or I'm pushing too hard, but it's really taking a toll on my lower back muscles and knees.

Like my fellow blogger mentions in his blog, Insanity, like P90X, only does one set for each exercise unlike the previous workouts.  I kind of like it this way because it keeps the entire workout fresh.  I also really like the fact that it seems to work out my lower back which I've always considered my weak point.  My knees are getting terribly fatigued though and I have no idea why.  I'm not doing the crazy jumps in this workout and I've been doing the squat moves with proper posture.

Well that's all for now.

Insanity Workout - Core Cardio & Balance Review

It's the second day of my Recovery Week.  

I woke up today with some muscle soreness which is a bit surprising.  My quads were pretty sore (which isn't anything new) and the lower side back muscles were sore.  I found the Core Cardio & Balance (CCB) workout to be a lot more relaxed than the previous workouts so I thought that, as far as muscle soreness goes, I wold cruise through this week.  I guess the workout targets new groups of muscles that the previous workouts haven't really worked out.

As far as CCB goes, like many of the other workout, there are similar/overlapping exercises, but there are also several new ones which is nice since it brings a breath of fresh air to the whole thing.  If I had to describe CCB shortly, I would say that it's an interesting mix of Pure Cardio + Cardio Recover - Intensity.  But just because I worte '- Intensity' does not mean that CCB is a cakewalk.  Oh no.  

You will still be sweating, breathing hard, and having a hard time keeping up.  What I mean by '- Intensity' is that it goes at a bit more relaxed pace.  Shaun T isn't quite as intent on switching to the next exercise as fast as humanly possible.

I was a bit worried that Core Cardio & Balance would be a cakewalk, setting me back a bit from the first month of exercises, but now I see that it was silly for me to have worried at all.  Seeing how the workout goes and feeling what I do before and after the workout, I would say this Recovery Week is pretty important.

P.S. I decided to just make my CCB review, a general review instead of the whole In-Depth/Brief thing.  For one thing, I am going to be doing this workout 6 times this week and the whole depth/brief thing seems to cause me to overlap what I've mentioned before.  I'll see how I feel about doing it this way and go on from there.

Insanity - First Month Recap and Goal Restatement

I finished my first half of the workout and start the Recovery Week today.  This seemed like as good a time as any to recap the first month of Insanity and to restate my goals.

Insanity workout seems to concentrate on explosive strength, quickness, and stamina, points that are needed in athleticism.  Core workout is emphasized in most workouts along with heavy leg workouts.  Calves and quad muscles are engaged nearly constantly and jumping and side to side motions adds support to this idea even more.

• Due to the large amount of jumping motions and squats, I would not recommend Insanity for those that are significantly overweight or have knee problems.  I also would not recommend Insanity for those with back issues.

Upper body workouts are also present, but it seems almost like an afterthought.  Since Insanity doesn't require any equipments, all of the upper body workouts involves using body weight.  Even then, it does still provide a good workout, although at times, it seems like just another way of using your core.

• As of yet, I would not suggest Insanity for those that are trying to bulk up.  I would expect some upper body muscle mass loss for those that regularly work out with heavy weights.  

I have noticed that my stamina has skyrocketed compared to when I first started the workout.  It's actually quite amazing when I think back on it.  But at the same time, I feel that my lack of physical shape in the beginning hampered me from taking full advantage of Insanity. 

• I would recommend Insanity for those that are looking to increase their cardiovascular strength.  My results shows me that even if you were not in the best of shape when you started, you do improve leaps and bounds.

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As for my goals:

My main goal is still to increase my cardio strength and increase overall fitness.  I believe that this would allow me to push myself better for future workouts.  My secondary goal is to lower my body fat percentage.

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Looking at the future:

Since I do have the deluxe package, I will now replace all Cardio Abs in the 2nd month with Insane Abs as well as Core Cardio and Balance with Max Interval Sports Training.

Insanity Workout - Day 27

Whew!  I burned myself today.  I went all out right from the get go, and you know what?  I didn't do half bad if I say so myself.  I tried my best to keep up with everyone in the DVD and for the most part, I succeeded.  By the time I was done with the warm up, I was already starting to pour out sweat, but physically I felt good.  I was the most worried about this point because if I started to feel wiped out from the warm up, I knew I would be in trouble.
I kept up strongly for about two thirds of the workout.  On a side note, I was gulping down water for a lot of the breaks.  I know that I should have sipped it and kept the water intake moderate, but that water flowed so sweetly the moment it touched my lips.  By the time I came upon the last third of the workout, I ran out of juice.  It wasn't completely unexpected.  I usually run out of juice by that time.

I pushed myself as much as I could go.  Even with the gas running on empty, I managed to go through the first interval of the last set strongly.  But it was impossible for the last two intervals.  I had to take breaks and once I've felt that I've recovered a bit, squeeze out a few more movements.  I went until my body just wouldn't listen to me. Till my arms couldn't lift my body and my legs wouldn't lift off the ground.  Then the next thing I know, it was time for the stretch and I cooled myself to the end.  

I learned a few things here.  I got a better grasp of my limits and just how much further I can push myself.  I also realized just how far I've come since that first day.  It's nice that the last exercise of the first stage is the same as the first exercise.  

Couple of things to note.  I've got be honest, I came pretty close to yakking doing it this way.  I'm sure gulping down water definitely contributed towards it, but I don't think that was the major reason.  Really pushing yourself, especially when you're doing cardio, you have to be ready for it.   Also, my condition was really good today.  Otherwise, I know that I wouldn't have come anywhere close to what I did today.  

Insanity Workout - Midterm Goal

Well, day 27 workout is right around the corner.  It's 12:06 am right now, so I suppose the workout is actually later today.  Now, you might be wondering why I'm specifically mentioning the day 27 workout.  The reason is pretty simple.  It's the last workout for the first stage of Insanity.  That's right, later today will be my halfway completion of the grueling workout.

Since it is a rather special workout (for me at least), I decided that I will truly go all out.  I know what you're probably thinking.  "Aren't you suppose to go all out anyways?"  The fact is, if I was in good (not decent, but GOOD) physical shape, indeed, I would be going all out.  But if I tried to do that with my previous workouts, I would have crashed and burned so bad that I probably wouldn't have been able to finish the videos all the way.  I needed to finish the workouts to keep up my motivation, so that's what I opted for.  I paced myself.  Even with that, I was still left gasping for breath, on the brink of hurling.

But not for this upcoming workout.  I will go full tilt from the get go with every intention of finishing the workout that way.  I will dig deeper.  I will burn myself out and see if there's anything left in the ashes.  I will see how much hotter it burns the deeper I dig.

Insanity Workout - Day 26

Finished Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs today.  It went quite well.  The warm up is finally just a warm up.  That makes for a nice way to start.  I don't go into the workout feeling that it's really a second workout.  I paced myself fairly well, but I tried to go too far in Pure Cardio today.  Pure Cardio has no breaks and I tried to take as few as possible.  It really ended up doing a number on me.  By the time I got to Cardio Abs, I was pretty much exhausted.  I couldn't hold proper form for long.

On the plus side, I noticed that I now take my first few breaks when the fit people in the video needs to.

Insanity Workout - Day 25 + Hunger Rant

Another day of Cardio Recovery done.  Do those poses that you have to hold work different muscles?  My improvement in Cardio Recovery is very incremental.  I really have to fight for every second of improvement.  For other videos, I plateau for a bit then improve leaps and bounds.  I wish I can say that for Cardio Recovery.

Now with the workout mini-update out of the way, on to my hunger rant.  Shaun T mentions how you have to EAT because you're going to burn through it?  He was right.  My metabolism skyrocketed.  I eat 5 meals a day and I'm constantly hungry.  I eat a light meal and 2 hours later, I get hungry again.  I don't even need to use the clock.  By the time hunger hits, it's been about 2-3 hours.

The good thing is that I tend to eat healthy.  The only unhealthy eating habit that I really had was my love for sodas.  I love sodas.  But for the sake of Insanity I dropped that to the minimum.  For those of you that likes your fast foods, the junk foods, etc...  The constant hunger is going to be tough to fight.

Cast Iron Skillets - A Brief Look

I've first been introduced to cast iron skillets by Alton Brown (not personally, but through his show Good Eats of course).  I mean sure, I've heard of 'em before, but I don't really know anyone that uses them.  Non-stick pans have dominated the skillet industries.  But Alton Brown converted me.  The thought of eating a perfectly seared medium-rare steak (the only way to eat a steak) was enough to drive me to buy one.

The pans sounded perfect.  It's relatively cheap, tough, versatile, and supposedly non-stick (more on that later).  It's also supposed to be green (if you care for that sort of thing) because you don't (or rather shouldn't) use soap to wash the darn thing.  I know, I know... With the current anti-bacterial society, that sounds horrendous, but it's not quite as bad as it sounds.

I've been using my skillets for a few months now and I think I got a pretty good handle on it.  There's a LOT of ups and downs of using cast iron and I'll slowly go through them, and that is a whole new journey.

Insanity Workout - Day 24

Finished Plyometric Cardio Circuit today.  The workout went well today as well.  There's a lot of things that I learned while doing these workouts and taking it all into account allows me to keep myself disciplined.  The results are showing up pretty nicely.

One thing nice about doing each of these workouts several times is that you begin to learn to read your body.  As I do the exercises, I also take a look at the time and put it up against my current condition.  If I realize that I still have some energy left to push myself and the workout is coming to a close, I start pushing myself harder.  On the other side of the spectrum, if I find myself becoming tired and I'm only 20 minutes into the workout, I know about how much I should pace myself to be able to complete the workout without bonking

Insanity Workout Equipment

Required Equipments:  These are the equipments necessary to start the Insanity workout.

• Nothing.  One of the biggest plus for Insanity is the fact that it doesn't require any sort of equipments to begin.  Many other workouts (including the super popular P90X) requires you to have starting equipments which just adds to the starting cost of the workout.  The DVD's are expensive as it is, but to have to buy additional equipments just makes it harder.

Highly Recommended Equipments:  Just because there are no equipments required does not mean that there aren't any equipments worth having.  Here's a list of equipments that I think would help you out with Insanity.

• Heart rate monitor:  Because of the high cardio nature of Insanity, buying a heart rate monitor is a worthwhile investment.  You want to make sure that you stay at your targeted heart rate which allows you to maximize your workouts and tells you when to take a break if you start hitting the danger zone.  I've seen prices ranging from $30 to $200.  The more expensive it is, the more features it comes along with.  I would recommend that you do your research before buying one.  After all, if all you want is to keep track of your heart rate, then it doesn't really make sense to buy one loaded with features.
  
• Yoga/Plyometrics Mat: There's a lot of jumping in Insanity.  I mean a LOT.  Undoubtedly, this leads to strain on the knees and ankles.  A nice semi-cushiony mat goes a long way softening the landings
  .

Recommended Equipments:  These are equipments that are nice to have, but not having them won't detract from your workouts.

• Good pair of shoes: If you have a problem landing softly, or doing anything softly, a good pair of shoes would be good to have.  I personally do my workouts in bare feet on hard wooden floor and haven't had any problems yet.  But for those that wants the extra cushion and food support, go for it.
  
• Body fat caliper/monitor: It's nice to be able to keep track of your body fat percentage.  For those of you that wants to slim down or get cut, it gives you a great method of keeping track.
  
• Tape measure: Tape measures are another great way to keep track of your body changes.  You can measure and keep track of anything, whether it be waist size or bicep size.  I think a lot of people would be pleasantly surprised by the results.  I know that because I see myself in the mirror everyday, I don't notice my gains and loss very easily.  This gives me a visual way of determining it.

Optional Equipments:  These are the equipments that you can get if you want some of the extras, but if you don't have them, they won't be missed.

• Weights:  Yes, I know.  Insanity says that it doesn't require weight and for the most part, it's true.  But, if you got the Deluxe package that had Upper Body Weight Training, you're going to need weights.  It's only one video and the schedule doesn't even list it.  Regardless, if you want to do this workout, you're going to need weights.
  
• Weight scale:  On the whole, it's perhaps the worst way to keep track of progress, but if you're trying to stay within a range of weights, it's important to have.  Otherwise, body fat and tape measures gives you a more unbiased measurements.  

Insanity Workout - Day 23

Yup.  Making sure that you start off the workout well hydrated makes a world of difference.  Unlike yesterday, I got a great workout today.  I'm really liking this workout.  The first two weeks were a hassle.  I really didn't want to do any workout, I didn't like the "pain" of physical exertion, I didn't like how I had to keep to a schedule.  In short, it was like a chore.  Now, I'm looking forward to the next exercise.  I like to see the physical changes the workout brings and I feel that I have more energy now.  Those endorphins must be getting to me.

I did the Cardio Power & Resistance today and really pushed myself.  I know I added pull ups to the last CPR workout, but I may have to rethink that.  Now that it takes a lot more to wear me out, by the time I get to the tricep workouts, I actually have the energy to really go all out.  My triceps gets really worn out.  I tried to do pull ups afterwards and all I could manage were reps of 1.

I would say, for those that wants to add pull ups to Insanity, look at the schedule and add the pull ups to a workout several days before or after CPR.  In fact, I would go so far as to say, if you do 2 CPR workouts in a week, don't do any pull ups that week.  You need to take the time to let your triceps heal.

Beachbody hit this workout off nicely.  I recently found a good video from Beachbody that has Shaun T explaining Insanity and who it's designed for, how it's different, etc...  I'm trying to get permission from Beachbody to put the video on this blog so that others can take a look at it and see if that's what they want.

Insanity In Depth: Pure Cardio & Cardio Abs

I couldn't give my all today.  I got exhausted a lot earlier than I was expecting and didn't pace myself to match that.  I normally sweat a lot when doing any Insanity workout, and Pure Cardio should have had me sweating buckets.  However, I noticed that I was sweating nowhere near the amount the I would normally sweat.  My guess is, I started this workout when my body was a bit dehydrated and I ended up suffering for that.

Pure Cardio:
I started feeling tired by the beginning of the third round of warm up.  I knew then that today's workout was not going according to plan.  I really start sweating when I'm doing my beginning stretch, but it was here that I noticed that I wasn't raining sweat.  Uh oh...

I start off with Suicide Drills, then 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, and finally Push Up Jacks.  All of these should be done without rest... but no way that was happening today.  I had to take multiple rests throughout the workout.  I tried to minimize them by only resting about a second or so, but I was still disappointed with my performance today.

You finish this off with a cool down stretch, then you go into Cardio Abs.

Cardio Abs:
I know, you could probably skip the cool down stretch from Pure Cardio and the warm up exercise in Cardio Abs, but that seems like an excuse for laziness.  Plus, the warm up exercise in Cardio Abs specifically targets your core so it seemed like a good warm up to do (despite already being warmed up).

Cardio Abs' actual workout starts with Wide Tucks Jumps.  The problems that I have with these high jump exercises are my legs not being strong enough to keep up and landing more harshly than I should be.  After the jumps, we get into C-Sit Position.

Cardio Abs don't have sit ups and crunches, so the exercises done in the C-Sit Position is important.  Twists in the the C-Sit works your abs nicely and you can feel it being used.  Very nice.  Next is Twists w/ Knee.  This is a great exercise as well and really starts the burn in your abs.  A-Frame Ab Twists takes it further.  Then A-Frame w/ Knee.  I do have to take some breaks.  My abs aren't strong enough to do so continuously.  Then you finish it up by holding the C-Sit Position.

After a small break, I move on to Single Leg Raises.  The hardest part about this workout is to do these exercises while my hands are in front of my glutes.  That takes a lot of core strength.  After another short break, I then do Leg Raises with both legs.  Another tough part about this exercise is when I raise my legs, it is to keep it straight.  I end up bending mine slightly.

Plank exercises are next.  I start off with High Plank Alt Knee (x2), then Low Plank Alt Knees.  The final exercise is Pulse Tucks Low and High.  By this time, I'm having a hard time maintaining a straight back because my core is worn out.  I finish the whole thing off with another group of stretches.

Insanity Workout - Week 3

Finally finished week 3.  Honestly, I'm a bit excited.  Just one week left before I hit that halfway mark.  Now for some updates...

I seem to be actually gaining weight.  I used to average about 168 lbs, but for the past few days I'm averaging 170 lbs.  As far as I can see, I haven't gained any fat, so I'm hoping that it's mainly muscles.  I really need to get myself either a body fat caliper or other form of checking device to keep track.  The only reason I haven't bought myself a caliper yet is because I've read online that depending on the equation used, they could be significantly inaccurate.

From a visual inspection, I seem to be gaining muscles on my leg that I didn't even know I had. Abs are slightly more defined since the previous week.  My stamina also seems to have increased as shown by yesterday's workout session.  On the whole, I'm pretty satisfied with my results so far.

I have, as mentioned  in a previous article, added pull ups to my workout.  I wanted more back exercises and pull ups fills that niche perfectly.  Also, I felt that I haven't been recovering as well as I could with just protein and banana, so I bought Optimum Nutrition's Glycomaize.  I'll be putting up a review on this in about a week after I see how well it works.

Insanity In Depth: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

To start the article off... a mini-rant.  I really did not want to work out today.  I only had 4 hours of sleep (woke up middle of the night and couldn't fall back asleep) and I've been fairly busy the whole day.  I only had 1 meal till about 7pm and it was a new burger from Carl's Jr.  After trying to eat healthy for a while, suddenly stuffing myself with junk food did not agree with my stomach and made the situation worse.  When I finally came home, I fell asleep for about an hour.  A BIG mistake.  I woke up feeling groggy and an upset stomach.  Instead of trying to force down food, I made a smoothie with some protein.  That did the trick in knocking out the funk.

I finally forced myself to get started on today's workout around 8pm.  I don't want to sound like I'm lecturing but... you should try your best not to miss a day of workout.  Miss it once and it becomes easier and easier to miss it the next time around.

I'm glad that I forced myself to workout.  Today was the day that I really broke through that barrier I've been feeling all week.  The warm up came easier and it was actually left me feeling warmed up instead of feeling exhausted. After the warm up, stretching follows naturally.

The following exercises: Suicide Jumps, Power Squats, Mountain Climbers and Ski Jumps came more easily and fluidly for the first two intervals.  By the third, I was starting to feel it, but I could tell that I still had more energy to use than I did before.  The last set ended with Switch Feet, then Football Wide Sprints.

Basketball, Level 1 Drills, Ski Abs, and In Out Abs followed afterwards.  Phew... this is tough.  I'm getting very tired by the first cycle, and the 2nd was torture.  On the 3rd, I had to take rests.  I just didn't have the energy to make my legs and arms bend anymore with proper posture.  Still, this was a lot later in the workout where I had to take a rest than before.  You finish the last interval with Jabs, Cross Jacks (which looks like doing jumping jacks with only one side of the body at a time), Uppercuts, and Attack (which looks like bunch of Sumo slaps).

I couldn't finish the last portion properly because I was getting some discomfort from the left side of my hips.  I never had that feeling before, so I took it a little bit easy.  I finished it up with a nice stretch and took a well deserved shower.

Insanity In Depth: Cardio Power and Resistance

First, before I get into the workout, I feel I should note something.  Every day when I do these workouts, I think to myself, "Alright, I've done this for a while.  I think I'm getting stronger.  It should be easier this time around."  And after every workout, I'm sitting there exhausted, and strangely enough, the workout felt harder than before.  To be honest, I'm alright with that.  As I get stronger, I would naturally be putting in more reps per exercises, so I'm doing more in a give time period.  Insanity is the type of workout that should never get easy enough for people to coast through.  Show me a person who thinks that they're strong enough to coast through it and I'll show you a person who isn't trying.  With that said, on to the main article.

Cardio Power and Resistance (CPR) like most of the other workouts starts off with a warm up.  CPR's warm up includes a lot of jumping exercises and this helps to prep your thighs.    Then comes the stretch.

After the stretch, you start with Power Jumps.  Whew, good thing you warmed up your legs sufficiently for this huh?  Then the Belt Kicks are next.  This exercise is not too bad.  Right after that, you do Hit The Floor.  Very cardio, but so far so good.  Then I do the V-Push ups.  I can't quite get my legs straight as in the video so I do it bent a bit.  It works out your shoulders nicely. 

After a 30 sec break, you do it again.  By now, I'm really starting to feel it.  Those jumping motions are tough.    The important part of these exercises is to go at your own pace.  But what you have to worry about is whether or not you're pushing yourself sufficiently.  Another 30 sec break follow, then the last rotation for this set follows.  Remember, each time around, you should push yourself harder and harder.

After the last V-Push Ups, you do Tricep Dips.  I wish there was more motion involved with this portion, but even the small amount is enough to make my triceps burn.  Then you switch to one legged tricep dips.  I like this portion because my triceps were always a weak point.  Then after a short rest, you go into Tricep Ball Push Ups.  It looks easy because you can use your legs to support you a bit, but trust me, it's still pretty tough.

Hurdle Jumps are next.  I do this portion alright, but I think that I may not be jumping as high as I should.  Right after this, you do Globe Jumps.  You know what that is.  Moving Push Ups are next and it's surprisingly hard.  I'm not sure if it's because I'm tired or it's the movement portion, but I find it a lot harder than regular push ups.  Then from that position I move to Floor Sprints.  I find that I end up rounding my back instead of keeping it flat.  That's bad posture probably due to my now weakening core.

Now there's 1 exercise left.  The 8 Squat Hops and 8 Push Ups.  A very nice way to finish strong.  All that's left is the stretch.

Afterwards, I added pull ups.  I miss doing pull ups and it's a great way to increase back muscles and further workout triceps.  For those of you that wants to do pull ups, I suggest that you add it during Cardio Power and Resistance.  CPR has the most upper body exercises of all the workouts for the first month.  This allows you to add pull ups very smoothly.

Insanity In Depth: Cardio Recovery

Now that I've almost completed a month of Beachbody's Insanity workout, I feel that I can take a little bit more in depth look at each workouts.  Today I fished the Cardio Recovery (CR).  I don't give CR nearly enough the attention that I should give it.  I always think that it's the easiest of the workouts until I do it, then I realize that it BURNS!

Here's how it went:

Unlike the other videos, CR starts off with light stretching and breathing instead of warm ups.  This is a bit unusual since as I understand it, the current workout trend is to never stretch before warming up.  I may have mentioned it before, but Cardio Recovery does not involve quick (relative to other videos) movements, but rather poses and holding the pose.  CR has a lot of breaks throughout the video and you're going to need 'em.

First, I started off with plank work.  Honestly, this isn't really a problem for my core, but my arms gets tired easily supporting my body weight.  Plank pulses, which came after the plank work was where I really started to feel the strain in my arms.  I won't go into details of how each workout looks like (if you want to know, you should buy the dvds).

Then some more light stretches.

Then comes pain.  Shaun T leads you into slow squats.  I'm thinking to myself, "this ain't too bad."  Sure, I feel it a little, but it's very manageable.  Then the movement ends and you hold the squats.  Oh dear, it burns.... it BURNS.  The people in the video must have thighs of steel, because I have to take a break.  I couldn't hold it non-stop.  Then you do some squat pulses, which is a relief since it's a distraction.  

Now my legs are shot, but I can't take the time to recover.  We do lunges and my legs starts burning again.  Then I hold position.  I hate holding position...  I don't make it and take a short break in the middle.  Then lunge pulses.  After a short break, we repeat the squats.  See above paragraph, but at a slightly faster pace.  Then we do the lunge with the other leg.  By this time, I'm cursing Shaun T.

After the lunge, we do another stretch.  While in most situations, this would be a nice blessed time to recover, but this stretch is done in squat position.  I really have to practice this position so that I would be able to do all these exercises without taking short breaks in the middle.  I also think I have a low tolerance for pain. 

Quad Strengtheners are next.  I'm just glad that it isn't lunges or squats anymore.  It's not too bad.  Then we go to Oblique Work.  My weakened legs comes to bite me and I have a hard time maintaining proper posture.  After the Oblique Work, we're done and we go through the cool down stretch.

I know it doesn't seem like much, but I've always been rather bad at these yoga/hold your position type of stuff.  

Hip Hop Abs Days 1-3

Weight loss the dreaded word that many of us fears. Only if we can lose our weight and get the "Hip Hop Abs" in a blink of an eye, but hey this is reality. I recently came across a weight loss program which claims that they will allow you to lose 3 inches off your waist the first week. On top of that you actually get to learn how to "dance" as well.

It's been a while that I started to think that I need to start losing some weight. However, with my busy time schedule I was burned out to do anything by the end of the day. I needed some motivation. I needed something fun and something to keep me active. So, I came across the "Hip Hop Abs".

At first I thought it was a hoax and didn't think twice about it until someone had recommended it to me saying that it actually worked for them. Immediately I went online and researched on this so called "Hip Hop Abs". Apparently, this workout is supposed to give you a "Hip Hop Abs" without doing any sit ups or crunchies. After a few days of researching and the feedbacks which I've read, I decided to give a go.

So below is my experience and what I have gone through thus far.



Day 1 - Fat Burning Cardio

I pop in the CD with excitement and hoping that this will be a turning point for me and my weight loss and also the thought of having a six pack after my first work out. The music starts and I see Shaun T rapping some lame song about Hip Hop Abs(which actually discouraged me when I heard it).

Throughout the video Shaun T teaches you step by step on what you should do. At first I was very rigid and didn't quite know what to do. As time progressed I became more fluid and it was easier going through the motions. One thing that you guys should keep in mind is that you should at all times squeeze your core even though you aren't doing anything.

So basically my first session went by just like that. There was nothing hard about this, but I started to sweat a lot.


Day 2 - Fat Burning Cardio / Last Minute Abs

When I woke up I expected my abs to be tight and to feel some soreness, but after moving around a bit I felt completely fine. I don't know if this is a placebo effect, but throughout the day when I would put some strength into my abs, it would feel kind of tight.

So I go home after work and look at the schedule of what I am supposed to do. I check the calendar and it wants me to the Fat Burning Cardio again. I go through all the motions except this time I my movement felt more fluid from the start and seemed easier to go through than the previous day.

I then started this workout from Hip Hop Abs called the "Last Minute Abs". This is approx. 6 minutes long and with a lot faster movements. Still nothing too special besides your legs being sore from lifting it so many times.


Day 3 - Ab Sculpt / Last Minute Abs

Now, on the third day I woke up thinking I did the Last Minute Abs yesterday and I will feel sore. I get up and do my thing as usual and I feel no soreness. I'm here scratching my head thinking, " Am I doing something wrong here?".

Anyways, I get home later during the day from work and check my schedule again. This time it told me to do "Ab Sculpt". For the first 3/4 of the workout it was almost similar to the "Fat Burning Cardio" workout. I got through the motion and told myself that this is a piece of cake.

Then out of nowhere Shaun T pulls out a floor mat and gets on it. I was there thinking to myself "Wait a minute, I thought there was no sit ups or crunchies?!?!", but we started to do some other exercises like twisting with your body in a halfway sit up position or bringing in your legs and twisting your body. This actually got my abs to burn and it felt good.

After the first workout finished I went on to the Last Minute Abs and finished it up.


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So far I do not feel any gain or weight loss from Hip Hop Abs, but was only 3 days of workout. We'll see where this takes me and give you guys an update of where I'm standing tomorrow. Bye now.

Insanity Workout - Tip #2 - Jumping

Ugh...  Day 17 of the workout.  My muscles were pretty stiff from yesterday's workout.  The Plyometric Circuit was pretty tough.  The nice thing about Insanity workout is that the more fit you get, the more you end up doing in each workout, so every workout should be a challenge.  I've briefly wrote about each workout for the first half of the program, but now that I've done that, I wasn't sure what to write about anymore. So I thought about it and decided to write the second set of tips for those of you that wants to try the Insanity workout.

Tips on jumping:

• When jumping, make sure to start the jump from the lowest point.  Basically what I mean by this is, don't make it a 2 part action.  Once I start getting tired, I noticed that I have the tendency to stand, then jump, instead of just jumping from the beginning.  It might not look like it would make a lot of difference, but it does, and your legs will feel it.
• When landing, try to land softly.  This is pretty much common sense, but I think that people may put it low on their list of priorities when in middle of the workout.  Landing stiff and hard is harsh on the joints.  Try to cushion as much of the shock by keeping your joints flexible and bend/crouch into the landing.

Hip Hop Abs

I was planning on doing Hip Hop Abs in addition to Insanity and posting on here, but I felt that due to the harder nature of Insanity, it would be difficult to determine just how effective of a workout Hip Hop Abs would be.  So... I got myself a guest writer who will be doing Hip Hop Abs for a month (which is how long the schedule is) and writing about the workout here.

For those of you that don't know a lot about the Hip Hop Abs workout, here's what I know of it.  The workout is with Shaun T (yes, the same person from Insanity).  Hip Hop Abs ads seems to be targeting the weight loss audience over the fitness orientated audience.  Much of the workout  is done with dance-like moves, allowing for those easily bored to have a fun time as well.

Insanity Workout - Fit Test #2

Every 2 weeks or so, you do the Fit Test again to see how you are progressing.  I've just finished my 2nd Fit Test, and to be honest, I was a bit nervous going in.  The past week, I've felt fatigued and near the end of the week, I wasn't sure if my stamina was worser than the previous week.  If you want to see the results for my first Fit Test, it's in my Insanity Workout Week 1 post.

Here's the results for the 2nd Fit Test:


1. Switch Kicks  63
2. Power Jacks  50
3. Power Knees  54
4. Power Jumps 21
5. Globe Jumps 7
6. Suicide Jumps 11
7. Push-Up Jacks 17
8. Low Plank Oblique 21

I was quite surprised by my results.  As you can see, I've made a significant improvement over the last Fit Test, and it's only been 2 weeks.  I think that it's a good amount of improvement... almost too good.  I thought about what other factors, besides physical improvements, there could be to create such a large improvement.  I've narrowed it down to a few that I think are distinct possibilities.

• Reason #1: To quote an uphill cyclist I've talked to once, "It never gets easier, you just get faster."  After doing the workouts for the past 2 weeks, I've grown to tolerate and push through some of the "pain" and just crank out more reps.
• Reason #2: My body became adapted to the workouts so it performs them more efficiently, thus using less energy per action.
• Reason #3: It could be environmental.  I may have had done the first test when I was tired or the weather was hotter, etc...  (Although I think that it was near the same conditions, because I didn't think about it, I can't say for sure.)

With that said, it's nice to see that I am in fact improving.  The next Fit Test won't be until the beginning of the 2nd half of the workout.  From there on, it will be a tough challenge.  One thing that I am always worried about it whether or not I'm maintaining proper posture.  I think that I am, but as I do these workouts quickly, and fatigue sets in, I'm sure there are more than a few in there that's quite a bit sloppy.

Review: Gold Standard Whey Protein 100%

For my one and only nutritional supplement, I take whey protein.  Why is it my only one?  For one thing, it costs a LOT of money to buy supplements (these don't come cheap) and to be constantly buying to replenish your stock of several supplements is more money than I'm willing to use.  Another reason is that the number of supplements out there is huge and for each of those supplements, you have a company telling you why you need it.  But I did my research and as far as I'm concerned, I don't really need any of it.

The whey protein I take is Gold Standard Whey Protein.  I would rate this protein 8.5/10.  

Protein Content:

The amount of protein that it supplies is competitive with other whey proteins.

Mixability:

I had to rate it a bit lower because it doesn't mix very well.  I get lumps and no matter how much I stir it, it doesn't really go away.  Maybe it mixes better shaken, not stirred... but I doubt it.  I've tried several methods and none of them seems to work very well.

Update: I finally got myself a shaker and I have to say, it does make a huge difference.  When shaken, it dissolves into the milk very well and didn't leave any noticeable lumps.  I would recommend using this product the James Bond way.

Price:

I found Gold Standard proteins to be a bit lower in price compared to its competitors at my local nutrition store.  Sure, there are other lesser known brands that are offered cheaper online, but if you want one that has been used by many people, it's hard to go wrong with Gold Standard.

Taste:

This is a big one for me.  I've tried chocolate, I've tried vanilla.  I didn't like either.  If you don't like the taste of your protein, you're not going to want to drink it.  I got the Delicious Strawberry flavor (I like strawberries) and I have to say, it tastes pretty good.  Kinda like strawberry Nesquik mix.

Overall:

You really can't go wrong with Optimum Nutrition's Gold Standard Whey Protein.  The price is decent (they constantly have sales so you don't need to pay msrp), the quality is good, various flavors, and comes from a big name manufacturer.  They are probably the most well known protein sellers on the market.  It's a very solid product.

Insanity Workout - Week 2

Well... 2nd week of Insanity has come and gone. To be honest, I found this week to be harder than the previous week. For some reason, my energy was dropping and I had to struggle through it. Hopefully next week will be better.

Now for my results. I feel that my stamina has definitely increased. I can do each workout harder than before. I suspect that my fat percentage may have dropped. I haven't measured it so I can't say for sure. From visual inspection (looking in the mirror) it looks like it. My weight hadn't dropped, which is a good news for me. It means that my muscle development is keeping up with fat loss for now.

From what I felt for the second week, I would say that I wouldn't recommend Insanity for those more concerned with building up upper body. For those who feels that their lower body is their weak point, it really is the perfect workout. Posture is very important to make sure you don't get hurt. Due to the large amount of jumping, I would say that those with bad knees should avoid this workout. I find that this may cause some problems with people that are overweight. I would suggest that they get started with a slightly easier workout to make sure that they have the muscles developed to absorb the shocks from jumping.

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Insanity Brief Look: Cardio Abs

Whew... today was a tough one.  Starting today, the 6th workout of the 2nd week, Pure Cardio is paired with Cardio Abs (CA).  Now, not only are you exhausted from the constant moving, the jumping, and the push-ups, you also have to deal with the extra 20 or so minutes of ab workout.  It's great.

Honestly, until now I was a bit put off about not having any ab workouts.  It has just been about keeping the core tight.  With the CA, you now have a good total body workout.  Cardio Abs is interesting in that it does not involve any crunches or sit ups.  Instead, a large portion of the workout can be summarized into two positions.  The first involves leaning the body back while in a sitting position on the ground and the second the plank position.

The workouts do seem to work quite well, but I feel that after doing Insanity for a couple more weeks, it might not be enough of a challenge.  The Deluxe version comes with Insane Abs workout and the schedule states that it is okay to interchange the two.  Hopefully with the two, ab workouts remain a challenge.

NOTE:  For those doing P90X and wants to know a comparison between the two, I found Cardio X to be quite a bit harder than Cardio Abs.

Workout Nutrition Tips #1: Pre/Post-Workout Meal

I've read several different articles online as to which is the "most important meal of the day," and I've run across some conflicting articles.  Each stance seems to have some convincing points in nutritional theory.  I find find it to be a bit of a pain trying to follow the current trend so I just follow all of it.


For my pre-workout meal, I usually use one of my "main" meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner).  I feel that this works out well as it supplies all the necessary nutrition that the pre-workout camp advocates.  It has carbs so that you have the energy to workout, it has proteins (one study seems to show better absorption of protein taken before a workout), and some fats.  Then depending on how heavy the meal was, I usually wait anywhere between 1 to 2 hours to digest.  


For my post-workout meal, I usually use whey protein in 2% milk with a fruit (usually a banana) or cereal.  Supposedly, after a workout, a lot of your blood is in your muscles and not in your digestive tract which slows down digestion.  So whey protein is good because the body is able to easily digest it quickly.  The milk is a nice plus because the protein from milk is mainly caesin (a slower digesting protein) so it gives me a nice mix.  I know some thinks that the milk should be skim milk, but honestly, I would rather have water...  Plus, I don't think that the fat from 2% milk would slow down my digestion of whey protein significantly.  I then take in the carbs to switch myself from a catabolic state to an anabolic one.

Insanity Brief Look: Cardio Power and Resistance

Cardio Power and Resistance (CPR) is one of the toughest workouts in the first month.  It is characterized by a lot of jump moves combined with chest and tricep exercises.  The jumping motion kills your legs pretty early on in the workout and then it just becomes grueling from there.  I found myself becoming more and more off balance as the workout progressed and maintaining proper posture was harsh.

I feel myself becoming more fit, but this seems to be a double-edged sword.  My muscles can now keep up with the pace that I (mentally) want to be at so I pushed myself hard. But it turns out that my heart isn't up to par yet.  I should have paced myself better so that I can smoothly finish all the workout, but instead I ended up wiping myself out.  Shaun T reminds you frequently throughout the dvd to pace yourself and regularly check your pulse, and that's a great advice.

I can keep up a good workout at about 160 bpm for a decent span of time.  But once I get near 180 bpm, I'm wiping myself out and a little bit of rest is nowhere near enough to try and recover.  It really goes without saying that for the average joe that attempts Insanity, it's damn easy to hit critical bpm.

Insanity Brief Look: Cardio Recovery

Cardio Recovery (CR) is done every Thursday for the first month, and honestly, it couldn't be placed at a better time.  My physical condition really deteriorated with some negative side effects.  Most notably, I ended up sleeping in by about 2 hours (I never sleep in.  Not even after a night of heavy drinking.) and despite the extra sleep, my body still felt extremely tired.

CR, for those of you that have tried P90X, is like Yoga X (though not as intense).  You go through various posture and practice holding that posture for a length of time.  While it sounds easy, the postures burn.  You'll still work up a sweat if done properly, but despite the name Cardio, lacks any real aerobic exercises.  It is quite relaxing and gives you that break in the middle of the week to recover properly.  

Insanity Workout - Tip #1

Well... here's that post about I said I was going to write on the previous post.

I went into today's workout very fatigued, which resulted in me cramping partway through the workout and just not having the level of energy that I expected.  The cause of this is no doubt due to spending all night out. The lack of proper rest translated into an inadequate recovery.   I knew that there would be some consequences, but I didn't quite expect it to be such a pain in the ass (literally).  Seriously... a cramp to the gluteus maximus?

I also suspect that I may not have been properly hydrated for the workout.  I only tend to drink water during workouts and meals.  I'm probably on the low side of hydration, and drinking the night prior probably did not help that condition any.

So in short:

• Make sure to get proper amount of sleep in order to recover properly.  A proper recovery is essential in particular for workouts like Insanity which uses a lot of the same muscles groups everyday.
• Make sure to stay hydrated throughout the day.

Insanity Brief Look: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Plyometric Cardio Circuit (PCC) was the first "real" workout that I did in Insanity.  I remember it being particularly agonizing the first time through, but 2 weeks in and the third time around, it's actually becoming a nice tough challenge.  I'm not searching for a bucket after the workout anymore... just desperately gasping for breath.

PCC is a great mix of exercises.  It incorporates both lower body and upper body workout, wrapped into a tidy cardio package.  But, therein also lies a problem.  The upper body workout (consisting of push ups) is in the second half of the workout.  By this time, I'm so tired out from the first half of the cardio that I feel like I can't give as much effort as I should.  I also feel my form going down the drain.  Luckily, unlike Pure Cardio, there are several 20-30 second breaks throughout the session which helps out quite a bit.

I went into the workout a bit sore (reason for that later) and about 20 minutes into the workout, developed a persistent cramp.  I thought I could work through it, but had to stop for a few minutes, due to it worsening.  About 5 minutes of targeted stretching helped quite a bit and allowed me to finish the workout.  This cramping taught me a few things.  I'll go more into it on a later post.

Insanity Brief Look: Pure Cardio

I will be looking at each Insanity workout and give my opinions on each of them.

Today I finished the Pure Cardio workout, so that's a good place to start while it's still fresh in my head.  First impression?  Pure Cardio is tough.  The others are tough too, but Pure Cardio is tough.  I actually didn't do the Pure Cardio workout last week (it was the one workout I missed due to being sick).  The Fit Test, which I thought was pretty tough when I did it, is like the mini version of Pure Cardio.

A simple way to describe Pure Cardio would be to take a bit from each of the other workouts this past two weeks and put it together, but forget to add the breaks.  Yup, after the warm-up stretch, until the end, there are no breaks.  You are constantly running in place, jumping, kicking, push ups, etc.  Then you rinse and repeat.  Shaun T in the video tells you to take a short water break if you need it, but the video continues on.

Like every other Insanity workout, prepare to sweat buckets.  The nice thing for me about this workout was that because I'm constantly moving, I switched to cruise control near the last third or so and it almost felt easier.

Insanity Workout - Week 1

Well, week 1 of the workout has come and gone.

About the workout:
Insanity starts off with a fit test as the first workout to allow you to keep track of your improvements over the weeks.  The first thing that is evident about Insanity is the sheer amount of intense cardio.  It just never seems to end, moving from one workout to the next without breaks until the round is over.  Then a short break, after which the workout starts again.

The workouts for the first month doesn't seem like a targeted muscle workout.  This leads me to believe that if what you are going for is mass, Insanity is probably not the workout for you.  However, if you want to get in shape for any active sports or just become fit, then Insanity looks like it will fill that niche.

A lot of movements in Insanity involves quick explosive movements combined with prolonged aerobic workout.

My thoughts:
The hardest part of Insanity and probably other similar workout DVDs is to complete the whole video.  It is extremely tempting to just tell yourself that the last 10-15 minutes don't really matter because a large portion of it is stretching and that you've done enough.  Don't fall for it.  Pushing through that thought and finishing is really motivating.  It's like... Ha!  I kicked my weak self's ass.

Also, because of the intense cardio, my advice for many other couch potatoes like me would be to take a break when you need it.  Don't let yourself cooldown, but if you need a quick breather to finish the workout, take it, then get back into it.

Another thing that I tried to do was to place an importance on proper posture over repetitions.

My improvements:
I would like to say that I noticed some muscle definition, but at this point, it might just be wishful thinking.  I have noticed that my overall flexibility has improved.  I have not noticed any definite gains or loss of weight at this point in time.  Weight isn't a very good indicator of improvements though.  When I find my tape measure, I'll put up more accurate stats.


Fit Test #1:

• Switch Kicks: 41 
• Power Jacks: 35
• Power Knees: 44
• Power Jumps: 15
• Globe Jumps: 5
• Suicide Jumps: 8
• Push Up Jacks: 10
• Low Plank Oblique: 17

Notes:
In the fit test, I counted by sets (ie. Left switch kick + right switch kick = 1).
Yes, I know.  My fit test results are pretty abysmal.
I could not work out on one of the days due to a cold.

Insanity Challenge

After years of being a couch potato and only giving a half-hearted effort at working out, I finally decided that I gotta do something about it.  I was taking too much advantage of my (fairly impressive) metabolism.  I tried various workouts here and there, but had a hard time committing to it all the way through.  Then a friend of mine mentioned that he decided to start a workout called Insanity to prepare himself for PT (he was joining the military).

I looked into it and found out that it was only for 60 days, doesn't require equipment, and concentrated on cardio.  I thought to myself, 'Hmmm...  Only 60 days.  I think I can manage that.  And no equipment necessary? Bonus points!'  Plus, I really needed to increase my cardio strength.  Not having done any real aerobic workout for the past 8 years or so really did a number on me.

Here is basically what I know about Insanity Workout.  The trainer on the DVD's is Shaun T and the workout is marked as a total-body conditioning program on their website.  The workout consists of plyometric drill intervals with very short rest periods in between.

Here are my goals:

1. Lower body fat to about 8% (the magical number).
2. Increase cardiovascular strength.
3. Increase general physical stamina and endurance.

I will continue to post regular updates as to my progress and my general thoughts on the matter.