It is hard to believe that it has been one month already since I completed the Shaun T high intensity interval training routine also known as INSANITY! It feels like yesterday that I started.

I am happy to say that my life has probably been permanently changed by this whole experience.  I have learned what ‘real’ exercise is and now realize that if you want results of any kind (losing weight, gaining muscle, sculpting your body) it takes persistance, dedication and hard work.  Nothing comes easy when your goals are high.

Since I have finished the 63 day grueling program I have continued to keep a fairly consistent routine of exercise.  I currently am working out 3-5 times per week just depending on my schedule.  I like having the flexibility in my life to skip a day here and there if needed.  My workouts consist of either one of the Month 1 workouts (Pure Cardio, Plyo Circuit, or Power & Resistance), the upper body weight training DVD, and running. I also plan to add some other strength building routines and yoga into the mix.

Overall my fitness level seems to be staying intact.  I may have lost a little edge by not working out every day like when doing INSANITY, but I am certainly in great shape.  I am truly amazed at how much better I can run now.  My heart rate is so much lower during runs and I just feel stronger.  I know this is a direct result of Insanity.  A strong body (core in particular) can do wonders in running.

I also am maintaining my beach body abs   I keep checking to make sure they don’t just disappear!  I think by now though they are here to stay as long as I don’t eat a ton of junk (which I don’t) and keep working the muscles.  So far maintaining the ‘new’ body has not been a problem.

I plan on keeping this up and making this a permanent lifestyle change.  It feels great to be in shape!

This past week was spring break for our kids, so we took the opportunity to go and visit my parents in South Florida.  This is where I grew up, so it is nice to go back once in a while.  Most of my life was spent on the beach, so it is fun to share this with the kids.

So, I finally got a chance to put my beach body to the test!  I think I looked pretty good, and much better than the other nearly 40 dads out there .  Here is a picture of me and my dad.  My dad is great, he is turning 75 this month and works out at the gym 3-4 times a week.  We both like to flex for the camera!

I also did a lot of running on the beach, which is my favorite place to run.  It felt absolutely great.  I could barely get my heart rate up which is a testament to my fitness level now.  It was also nice because the resistance of the sand works the muscles a bit differently.

Now I just gotta work on my tan!

On Tuesday I finally got up to go out for a run.  The weather has been beautiful and I am looking forward to doing more exercises outside.  Before Insanity I would run 2-3 times a week.  That was the extent of my exercise.  During Insanity though, I never had the time, nor the energy, to do anything other than the workouts.  So this was my first run in about 2 1/2 months.

The results were great!  I ran my same regular route at about the same pace, but the noticeable difference was where my heart rate was.  For the entire run it was a good 5-10 bpm lower than it used to be.  My neighborhood is quite hilly and even hitting the big hills didn’t elevate my heart rate nearly as much as it used to.  So this tells me my cardiovascular system is in much better shape than before Insanity!  I could definitely have run much longer or faster if I desired.

The only bad part is that my legs are killing me!  I could feel a bit in the knees when I started (but that is gone thankfully).  The real pain in is just in my muscles.  My quads and my shin muscles are very sore.  I am not sure why this is, I can only think it is because I have not worked those muscles in that way for so long.  But it’s just muscle soreness and that will subside.

I am super happy with the results Insanity has had on my overall fitness level and I plan to keep exercising to maintain it