Round 5: Day 48: Insanity: Cardio Power and Resistance

Further to the end of yesterday's post, I think that the word I was looking for was: sustainable. A good workout program, or a healthy life program, if you will, should be sustainable. That is, it shouldn't just be something you can do when you're in your 20s or 30s; it should be a lifestyle you can sustain into your golden years. It seem obvious to me that Insanity falls outside of that category, and likely, P90X does as well. This isn't to say that each has its place somewhere within your workout regimen, it's just that perhaps you'll have to give up one or the other, or both at some point in your life, when your body can no longer take the stress that these programs impose on it.

Fortunately, I'm not at that point in my life where I have to give up a workout regimen. I'm still at a place where I'm trying to increase the load on my body, to really whip it into shape and to see just how far I can push myself, both physically and mentally. That's why I added Insanity to this Round to begin with.

That said, it did take me some time this morning to mentally prepare myself for today's workout. Even though I'm doing two Insanity workouts per week, it seems as though so much time elapses between workouts that I tend to forget the moves. I now find the warmup enjoyable. I look forward to increasing the intensity level as the warmup moves along and try to push my heart rate really high by the time it's over. I don't find myself huffing and puffing so much during that portion of the workout anymore; it's more like a good, warm feeling all over by the time I take the first 30 second break.

I'm still having some problems sustaining my energy level during the workout, which I guess is to be expected if you're really exerting yourself, and I pause the tape between rounds to allow my heart rate to recover a little bit. That's an improvement over the first few times through the DVD, so there is a small improvement. I don't really want to slow down and pace myself just to make it through the entire video without pausing; I think it's more productive to push harder, raise my heart rate, sweat more, then pause, if necessary. Hopefully, I'll eventually make it through the entire workout employing this approach without pausing. I'm stubborn and persistent, perhaps not a great combination, but it is my character.

That ends Week 7. The time is just flying by. I'm looking forward to Recovery Week.

Round 5: Day 47: Just Arms

After the stress of the past couple of days, it was a relief to get back to lifting weights. I had lots of intensity today and my focus was particularly good. I was intent on lifting heavier weight than previously and, although I mostly fell short of my goals, I did improve in some exercises.

This workout tires me quickly, because it pounds away at the arms incessantly. There are only so many curls I can do before my biceps burn out. Repeating that exercise a few minutes later is really insufficient time for my muscles to have recovered. To achieve consistent results between rounds, I slightly decrease my number of repetitions from my maximum. Otherwise, I'll never survive the second round. It's the same approach as P90X's Chest and Back. Tip of the Day: pace yourself.

I love having intensity when I work out. It gives me extra energy to burn, and I like having a tough physical task to perform to deal with that energy. It's like riding my bike home after an aggravating day at the office. The ride home is entirely uphill. I attack that hill with all my aggression and by the time I reach the half-way point home, my aggression has dissipated with the expenditure of energy, my teeth are no longer gritted, and I'm feeling much better. This workout offers the same benefits: I attack the opening exercises with a ton of energy and aggression and, by the time the repetition is complete, my energy has been consumed in a positive way, making my mind and body feel better. It's all for the best.

I was thinking this morning, following the workout, that tomorrow is Insanity. So far, I can't say that I've particularly looked forward to the Insanity workouts. I like them when they're over, but I don't get too excited about starting them. Insanity seems like a workout regimen that you might just do once, for a full 60 days. I don't really see doing multiple rounds of it, like P90X, or like the path I've chosen for myself, doing rounds of 90 day hybrid workouts. I think it's important that an exercise program keeps you excited and motivated so that you'll continue exercising beyond the program's initial schedule. I think that P90X tends to encourage that, whereas Insanity doesn't. Or, perhaps Insanity just isn't really my thing. I'm not giving up on it, as it's definitely challenging me, and I haven't really been able to keep up with it. I'm sticking with it until it no longer benefits me. That won't be for some time.

Round 5: Day 46: Yoga

It's been a ridiculously stressful couple of days at the office, the kind of stress that makes you want to lie down in a dark place curled up in a fetal position and wish that the world would pass by, leaving only puppies and rainbows and unicorns when you come out again. Unfortunately, I'm dubious as to whether that's going to happen, so I opted for Plan B today: yoga.

Yoga did give me the opportunity to clear my mind, stretch out my body and temporarily forget about the worries of the day. It was great while it lasted: looking at my kneecaps, stretching out my shoulders, lower back and hamstrings, breathing deeply, closing my eyes and forgetting.

It's too bad that has to end. Now I'm back at work, all caught up again in the seemingly endless cycle of nonsense. This will eventually pass, and I know that yoga is always available to assist me in recovering my balance and sense of inner peace and harmony.

On the brighter side, tomorrow I'll be able to blow off some serious steam by lifting heavy objects.

Namaste.

Round 5: Day 45: Diamond Delts

Well, 45 days went by quickly. Today marks the half-way point in this Round, and what better way to celebrate it than by working your deltoids. I've extended this workout by adding three additional exercises at the end, each exercise repeated twice: pike presses (off a couch), military press, and lying-down-shoulder rolls (the exercise at the end of the workout where Tony lies down on either a bench or the floor and raises a dumbbell with his arm in a 90° angle position). I added these extra moves because I felt that the workout wasn't strenuous enough as it was. I suppose I could try increasing my weight or rep count during the normal workout, but for now, I'm satisfied with my current adaptation.

Thus far, I'm pleased with the schedule revisions I made during this Phase (adding another day of resistance training). I'm feeling a little stronger and somewhat more energetic. As well, I noticed today that my left arm and shoulder have improved in strength and endurance, as they are now keeping up with the right side of my body. I'm not yet sure whether or not this is just due to how I felt today (felt great, by the way) or whether it represents a real improvement, but I'm optimistic that this gain will carry through to future workouts.

Today, I was able to do more military presses at a higher weight than before, even with the additional move at the end of the workout. I had a really good mental approach to lifting weights today. I only focussed on my goal, and steadfastly lifted the weights until I reached my number. During one exercise, I felt stronger than normal, and surpassed my goal by a couple of repetitions. Satisfaction guaranteed.

I'm looking forward to yoga tomorrow, appearing in its regularly scheduled slot. Stretching and relaxing would suit me fine.

Round 5: Day 44: Insanity: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

I ate poorly last night. I've been carefully watching what I've been eating for the past 6 months or so, and in the last few months especially, I've been severely cutting down on my grain consumption with the ultimate goal of eliminating grains entirely. This is due to my recent adherence to the tenets of The Primal Blueprint, by Mark Sisson. I'd recommend to all that you look at his website, marksdailyapple.com, where you can find a litany of information about healthy eating and healthy living. He makes a cogent argument for eliminating grains from the diet; hence, my attempt to do so.

Anyhow, I gave into my cravings for pancakes. I had three pancakes with some sort of sugary syrup on top. Loved it at the time, and regretted it later in the evening and into this morning. My stomach really felt out of sorts when I woke up, and it still feels a bit off as I write this now. I should have known better. I don't react particularly well to wheat products and, having basically eliminated that from my diet for quite awhile now, the introduction of wheat products was probably seen by my body as some sort of invasion. It's no wonder that my body reacted the way it did. Lesson learned: don't do that again.

So when I woke up this morning, I wasn't particularly in the mood for Insanity. As a result, I didn't have the greatest workout. I managed to scrape through it, not with any sort of grace, paused the DVD twice to catch my breath, and struggled through some of the moves, per usual. I still managed to get a decent calorie burn and worked up a tremendous sweat, but in no way did I come close to conquering the workout. On the other hand, I'm no longer huffing and puffing through the warmup routine, so I am starting to get used to the regimen. I'm going to have to be stricter about my nutrition and I'm going to have to make a mental adjustment to get more out of my Insanity workouts.

Round 5: Day 43: Chest and Back

I have a fondness for this workout, as it was the first workout I encountered when I first started P90X, about 15 months ago. I remember struggling mightily through the workout, barely squeezing out 15 standard pushups, and maybe 7 decline pushups and 8 diamonds. I remember thinking that I was severely out of shape, and how much I had to do before I could start to come close to Bobby Stephenson and Scott Fifer.

Fast forward to now, and it's a completely different story. Now, not only am I equalling the kids' efforts, in many cases, I'm surpassing them. All it takes is time, patience, and effort. Keep showing up, as Tony says. Also, it's true that Rome wasn't built in a day.

Today's major improvement was in Decline Push-ups. I had made a note to myself to increase the number over the last time I did this workout, and I managed to crank out 30 in both rounds. While that was a nice achievement, I suffered a bit in the 2nd round of Diamond pushups, hitting only 20, whereas I had done 25 previously. Take a little, give some back, it seems.

Overall, it's still a great workout and, even after 15 months, there are still opportunities for improvement. That's what I like about this program: the stronger you get, the more you're capable of. When your target comes within range, you can push it out just far enough to keep you hungering for improvements.

Good start to Week 7.