Round 5: Day 16: Insanity: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

I was hoping for an improvement in cardio durability today, but was disappointed to find that this workout beat me again. I did manage to extend my workout time, prior to pausing the DVD; however, the pause did eventually arrive. The workout went a little better for me, having done it once before, so I was somewhat ready for the various moves. Knowledge, however, does not equal ability. I started to flag on the ski-jump ab move (or whatever it's called). That, followed by the in-and-out ab move is really challenging for me. At least I recognize my weaknesses. Now, I'll have to take steps to address the weakness in order to show some improvement.

I'm enjoying the Insanity workouts. At this rate, I figure it will take me about 6 months to feel really comfortable with the intensity. Actually, I don't know that I'll ever really feel comfortable with the intensity. I suspect that as I improve, I'll be able to work harder and faster, which will make me more fatigued. It's a never-ending vicious cycle of pain and endurance.

I picked up a heart rate monitor recently. The Insanity routines typically push my heart rate into the 90% plus zone, which is a little uncomfortable for me. I'm more uncomfortable with that mentally, rather than physically, but it's nice to have the information. The monitor also has a calorie burning counter on it, the accuracy of which is really unknown, but it's telling me that I'm burning around 630 calories per Insanity workout. I saw on the informercial that if you really push yourself, you can burn up to 1000 calories. That may apply to the longer, Phase 2 workouts, or to people who are capable of doing the workouts without pausing the DVD. At present, I clearly don't fall into that category. On the other hand, I don't really care how much others are burning. I'm only competing with myself and, as an Insane beginner, I'm reasonably content with my progress so far. I will endeavour to push harder next time.

I'm enjoying Shaun T's instruction and I like his approach and personality. It's significantly different from Tony Horton, but I'm enjoying the variety this workout schedule offers.

So far, a great start to Week 3.