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

After taking a few days off, I am starting to venture back into Insanity.  Yesterday I did Pure Cardio to see how I would feel, and in lieu of taking a run (it was kind of crappy out at the time).   Besides doing Insane Abs on Thursday, this was the first Insanity workout since finishing the program.

Overall, it felt pretty hard.  I don’t think I have lost too much in my week of rest, but this is proof positive that these workouts pretty much can kick your ass no matter how great of shape you are in.  The warm up seemed harder than I remember and my heart rate got pretty high for me.

I think part of the reason this felt difficult is that my eating habits have been slipping a bit.  They are not that bad, just not as regular and disciplined as before.

It was good to get back into doing some cardio as I actually miss these workouts!  I burned 438 calories, so now I can polish off that cheesecake in the fridge

Looking back on all of the workouts scheduled over the 63 days of Insanity, I decided to review what I did and did not do and produce my own report card of sorts for you.

• Out of the 63 days, which I tried to follow exactly, I missed only one workout.  This came on day 51.
• I made one substitution/modification on one day due to time constraints on Day 59.
• During the second month, I never added on the Insane Abs workouts.  I just couldn’t justify the time involved with the additonal workouts.  If you have been reading my blog you will know the struggles I faced at times to complete these workouts and still be a good dad and husband along the way.  This workout was added on 4 times during the second month.

Besides those minor modifications I followed the program.  I also adjusted my eating habits to reflect those of the Nutrition Guide.  My scenario was a bit different because i was not really trying to lose weight.  I ate more calories than normal, but they were all low fat, high protein type of calories.

I think I can grade myself with an ‘A’

Here are my final results!  After 63 days of hard workouts here is what I look like now.  A few of my (favorite) observations:

• These crazy muscles developed around my obliques that look like my ribs, but are not.  They are small long muscles that pop out on top of my ribs, so it looks like you are seeing my rib cage (which you are in Day 1) but it is really muscle.
• My triceps really grew from all those push ups as you can see in the top picture
• It must really take a lot of work to get that last abdominal line to form the 6 pack!  I still don’t quite have it, but I am darn proud of my stomach.

From the beginning, my goal was to bulk up, which I think I did.  This routine is a little more difficult probably to gain weight with due to all of the intense cardio, but it hands down beats anything for shaping your body.

So here are some pictures!  You can click on the picture to view a bit larger.

I suppose this is the official last day of the program!  Day 63, the day we all dream about when we first start Insanity.  The day to look in the mirror and relish the accomplishment.  That day is here, and with it comes the last fit test to see the results.

First let me back up a bit to Saturday.  That was my last workout and was very satisfying indeed.  That evening though, my wife and I went to our daughter’s school’s annual fund raising auction.  This is quite a fun event where you can bid on all sorts of great items as well as win incredible prizes with raffles.  But there is one more part of the auction that pertains directly to this post . . . the food!  There were tons of gourmet food spread out for the taking.  Here is a sampling of what they had.  I omitted listing the bevy of meat options as I don’t eat those, but there was plenty of that as well!:

:: Home-style Grits Bar – Top your own Grits with a choice of Traditional Stone Ground White Grits or Aged Cheddar Cheese Grits, with choice of various toppings, including:  Butter, Sour Cream, Shredded Cheddar or Monterrey Jack Cheese, Grilled Shrimp, Pulled Pork BBQ, Applewood Smoked Bacon Crumbles, Sautéed Sweet Vidalia Onions, Diced Green Onions and Diced Tomatoes

:: House Made Bruschetta Chips with Choice of Following Toppings – Roasted Red Peppers, Chopped Tomato and Basil Salad with Basil Balsamic Dressing, Black Olive Tapenade, Herb Pesto, White Bean and Roasted Garlic, Fig Preserves, Ricotta drizzled with Italian Honey, Prosciutto, Shaved Beef Tenderloin, Tuscan Chicken Salad, Caramelized Onions, Gorgonzola and Mozzarella Cheese

:: Italian Cheese Display Showcasing Cow, Sheep and Goat Varietals served with Fresh Sliced Pear, Fig Preserves, Nine Grain Crostini and Artisan Crackers.

A Lavish Selection of Sweets, Treats and Confections Featuring Chef Drew’s Choice From Among:

* Turtle Brownies topped with Caramel and Crushed Toffee Pieces
* Old Fashioned Miniature Lemon Tart Bars with Toasted Streusel Topping
* Miniature Coconut Cream Pie topped with Freshly Whipped Cream and Toasted Coconut
* Petit Key Lime Torts topped with Freshly Whipped Cream and Key Lime Mini Wedge
* Vanilla Bean and Cappuccino Crème Brulee served in White Chinese Wonton Spoons
* Fresh Strawberries filled with Dark Chocolate Ganache and Mascarpone Crème Fraiche
* Miniature Chocolate Cupcakes topped with Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing with Assorted white and Dark Chocolate Garnishes
* Seven Layer Dessert Bars with a Graham Cracker Crust layered with Crème Anglaise, Dark and White Chocolate Chips, Butterscotch Chips, Toasted Coconut and Pecans

So, needless to say I pigged out!  I think I had like 3 or 4 plates of food and desserts.  But hey, I deserved it.  The only problem was my body was not so happy with me the next day.  It was like a food hangover.  It made me dreading doing the fit test because I felt as though I would not perform to my best with a grumbly stomach.  So I waited until the afternoon to do it and ate well for the morning.  On top of that I did not sleep well at all, probably partly due to the food.

But, in the spirit of all things Insanity, I had to mentally talk myself up and believe I would do well.  I got myself ready and went off to do the fit test.  And here are the final results!

I was very happy with the results.  I pushed myself harder than I can remember and used every second of rest in between exercises.  Looking at the overall numbers, I more than doubled my output on 3 exercises (nearly 4) and had a massive increase across the board.  As for other measurements, I don’t really have any   I didn’t measure inches and stuff at the beginning, so have nothing to compare that with, but I am confident my arms and chest have grown.  As for weight, I weigh exactly the same as when I started.  I wish I knew how to measure my BMI though because I am pretty sure it very low.

In the next day or two I will be posting the final pictures for you all to see for yourselves.  I feel great and enjoy looking at myself in the mirror LOL.  That sure beats the alternative

Day 62 – The FINAL Workout!

Ok guys, normally I am all sunshine and flowers about Insanity, but today I have a confession to make.  I need to be honest here . . . I AM READY FOR THIS TO BE DONE!  Don’t get me wrong, I really do love the Insanity workout and am extremely proud of myself (and all of you who are doing it with me) it is just that I feel like I need a break.  I have really only felt this way here in the last week.  It is mentally and physically wearing on me. There are a couple of main reasons for this:

1. Physically, my knees need rest.  Coming into today’s workout my knee issue turned into knees issues.  My right knee was hurting all day as well as the normal left knee.  It was probably the worst they have felt the entire time.  These knees have been through a lot and deserve a break.  I was dreading starting today because I was afraid of how they would do. The rest of my body feels good with a little muscle soreness here and there (which I kind of like).
2. The second reason is more compelling: there are times when I feel like my life revolves around Insanity!  I find myself rescheduling items so I can get in a workout.  Or sacrificing other important tasks or time with the family to do a workout.  Now I understand that you have to be committed to this, which I am, it has just been tough juggling being a good dad, husband, and getting these workouts done without stress.   I am looking forward to coming home from work one day next week and just playing with the kids for an hour instead of huffing and puffing in front of a TV.  This part of Insanity is much tougher for me than the physical part.

The second reason brings me to the “Modification” part of this post.  Here is an example of the choice I had to make today.  I had volunteered to move some items around at my daughter’s school in preparation for the annual auction.  I was slated to show up at 6:00pm and it would only take a half hour.  Well, by the time I get home from work and get prepped and ready to do my workout it is 5:00pm.  Today I was scheduled to do Max Interval Circuit which is a full hour long.  So I had some choices:

1. Skip the workout
2. Do the workout in the evening, which probably wouldn’t get started until 8:30pm or so and mess up my dinner/eating schedule
3. Do a shorter workout

I chose #3.  Instead of Max Cardio Circuit I did the Month 1 Plyometric Cardio Circuit which is 40 minutes long vs. 60 minutes.  This allowed me to get over to the school in time and enjoy dinner with the family.  It was the modification for today that I had to do.

Knowing that I am so close to the finish line is keeping me motivated though.  I only have 3 more workouts and one fit test to go!

Day 58 – Max Cardio Conditioning

Just writing that title makes me realize how close to completion I really am.  It really is hard to believe I started this in January and it is almost springtime and I am still at it.  One more week to dig deeper and conquer this thing we call Insanity!

Today was an uneventful rest day.  The weather was kind of crappy outside so there really wasn’t much to do.  I pretty much hung around the house and played with kids and watched some NCAA basketball.  It was nice because on previous rest days I have been really active as well, so this was truly a day of rest.

I can barely feel any twinge at all in the knees which is great.  I still go gingerly up and down stairs from habit.  All I need is for them to hold out one more week!

Ok, off to visualize the final week of Insanity . . .

Day 55 – Max Interval Sports Training