Insanity Day 14: Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs...holy shit

After my lazy Sunday and a long night of little sleep (Insomnia), I had to force myself to do Pure Cardio/Cardio Abs.  You already know my feelings about Pure Cardio...but I definitely noticed improvement in a lot of things yesterday.  I was able to complete the first two circuits of the warm up without stopping, which is the first time that's happened.  I really tried to breathe through every move and I was determined not to stop.  The third fast circuit is still too challenging for me so I had to take a couple breaks.


I really busted my ass yesterday to get through the moves and even though I had to take quite a few breaks, I still felt that I was improving.  By the end I didn't feel completely ruined as I had the other times I did the workout.  I will take any small improvements at this point.


However, this was the first time that I had to do Cardio Abs and after such a hard workout it was the last thing I wanted to do.  I liked the workout but my core was friggin' killing me since I haven't really done any ab exercises during this program.  If you're wondering, Cardio Abs is MUCH tougher than Ab Ripper X in P90X.  You're engaging your core a lot more with moves that require you to keep your back off the mat.  No sit ups or crunches and the result is a much more effective workout.  The fact that I had to do it immediately after Pure Cardio was the hardest part.


Anyways, week 2 is complete!  Overall another tough week.  The workouts are not easier but I have been making small improvements here and there.  I've lost a few pounds but the hardest thing for me is to keep motivating myself to put the DVD in and press play.  If I do that and get past the warm ups then it's all good.  I have two more weeks in this month and then I will finally get to the Recovery week.  My next workout is the 2nd fitness test and I will be sure to create a new section on the blog to display the test results.  Later!

Insanity Day 2: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Just so you know, there is a fitness test you are supposed to do before you begin the workouts proper.  I completed the test back in August and I didn't feel like doing it again for, most likely, the same results.  Needless to say I could complete the exercises but I know that I have a long way to go before I get better at them.


Anyways, DAY 2!  I setup the spare bedroom for this program because it receives good airflow and the carpet is easy on the joints.  The first real workout is Plyometric Cardio Circuit.  The word "Plyometric" sends a shiver down my spine due to it's appearance in P90X.  


I guess when you purchase a workout program called "INSANITY" you would be foolish if you didn't know what you were getting yourself into.  The first five minutes of the workout introduced me to what interval training is.  Periods of high intensity, ass-kicking, sweat-inducing moves followed by a measly 30 second break for water.  I mean holy SHIT...the friggin' warm up is brutal!  The intervals usually have 4-5 moves that you do in succession for 30 seconds each.  After the aforementioned 30 second water break, you repeat the same sequence of moves, only this time at a faster tempo.  One more break and then you repeat again at maximum speed.


I was a mess by the end of the warm up with about 25 minutes to go.  25 brutal minutes of various squats, jumps, and the dreaded circuit #1.  Think lots of push ups, with jumps in between, and in/out ab moves.  At a minute and repeated three times along with the other moves not mentioned, this sucker is a killer.


The scary thing is as I was watching the video, the people that are working out (who are extremely fit by the way) are friggin' dying.  They're taking breaks during the moves, drinking tons of water, and all I'm thinking is "I'm screwed."  If they're having such a hard time and they look like that, how is there any hope for me?!  The simple answer is that there never was any hope but I can only do these moves at my speed for now and maybe down the line I will improve.  I guess we will see.