Round 5: Day 34: Insanity: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Small improvements are coming in this workout, but they're painfully small and, being extremely competitive with myself, I really want to push, push, push to make it through this monster non-stop. The improvements are that although I'm still pausing the tape twice, I'm extending myself longer into the workout before taking those pauses. I'm optimistic that soon I'll be able to eliminate first one pause, then the second.

There's a series of exercises during the circuit that have a body-numbing cumulative effect on me: the core exercises consisting of Level 1 drills (pushups, plank run, stand up, repeat), side to side ski jumping whilst in plank position, followed by in-and-out in plank position. Any single exercise is manageable; the totality is really difficult for me. Level 1 drills are never a problem. Towards the 2/3 mark of the side to side moves, I'm feeling it. Following up with in-and-outs is just cruel. Then, do that at a medium intensity. Then, do that at high intensity. Then, shavasana (corpse pose).

Much of this is actually physical. My body just feels too tired to complete the full range of exercises without stopping. Most of the kids in the video stop periodically, so I don't feel too bad about my own limited abilities, but I don't really care about the kids in the video; I care about my own progress. Some of this is mental. If I can get a little tougher mentally, I can probably push through to eliminate one pause in the DVD. That's the approach I'm going to adopt next time.

This, and all Insanity workouts, have been really challenging to date. I'm glad that I took the leap and included them in this Round.

Thankfully, this is the end of Week 5. It's been a pretty tough, yet rewarding week. I'm looking forward to training with greater intensity next week.