Round 6: Day 20: Insanity: Cardio Power and Resistance

It's been a strong finish to Week 3. Yesterday, I didn't particularly feel like riding my bicycle to the office in the morning, nor riding back home after work, but I pushed through (literally), did it, and enjoyed myself. This morning, it took awhile for me to turn over the old heart and get it going, and I even struggled a bit during the Insanity warmup. But by the time the regular workout commenced, I was ready to get at it, had my mind right, and put in a strong effort, completing the entire workout again without having to pause the DVD.

This workout is, at last, becoming a little easier for me to get through. I wouldn't say that I'm crushing it, but I'm reasonably competent at it. I'm going to keep doing the current selection of Insanity workouts through Phase 2, following which I'll re-evaluate my progress and perhaps try some other Insanity workouts (the 50 minute ones) during Phase 3, to make life a little more challenging.

It's been a great Week 3; challenging, to be sure, but really rewarding and satisfying. I'm feeling a little beaten up by this Phase, and I'm really looking forward to easing off a bit (but not too much) during next week's Recovery Week. Right now, I feel like I deserve to recover.

Round 6: Day 19: Just Arms

I've gone back to doing something which I really enjoyed while I was growing up: reading comics. I've always enjoyed the comics: Dick Tracy, Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes; but my favourites were the superheroes. Lately, I've been reading graphic novels featuring Batman and Daredevil. These guys are fit. Oddly, you never see them hit the gym (except perhaps in the earliest Batman comic, and I've seen Daredevil hit the heavy bag at Fogwell's on occasion) and you never hear them talk about what they're eating (heck, Bruce Wayne drank quite a bit of alcohol in his role as a socialite) and there's no talk of protein powders, or protein to carb ratios, or healthy fats, the consumption of nuts and fruit and abstinence from sugar, cookies and ice cream. How these guys stayed incredibly buff without regular, daily training is anybody's guess.

I'd love to think that the workout regimen I'm undertaking will give me the body of a superhero. Alas, the only crime fighting I'll likely see are crimes against the English language and punctuation. But who says I can't wield a pen to correct an apostrophe error with the same speed and ruthless efficiency that Batman uses to dispatch the Joker? And now I can do that with my buff arms, courtesy of Tony Horton and the Just Arms workout.

I had a decent workout today, just matching the numbers I've posted the last couple of times through the workout. I wouldn't say that I've hit a plateau, although I don't feel capable of increasing weight or reps. There aren't exercises where I'm pounding out a huge number of reps. Everything is at 10 reps or so; therefore, I seem to be in the right slot for my current abilities. I'm going to monitor my progress in this workout over the next Phase to see whether there might be room for subtle improvement.

The good week continues. I'm looking forward to capping it off with a little Insanity tomorrow.

Round 6: Day 18: Yoga

I needed a good yoga session today. It seems like I say that every time I do yoga, likely because it's true. The workout regimen I've established stresses my body (in a good way) and it's necessary to maintain flexibility to enable me to keep up with the other workouts. If I'm not flexible, the other workouts just aren't as effective as I'd like them to be. Yoga assists in providing strength and suppleness so that my body can move more fluidly during both cardio and resistance training workouts.

The early moments of yoga today weren't pretty. Bending over and looking at my kneecaps, I could barely scrape the floor with my fingertips. My lower back and hamstrings felt tight, and I was carrying a lot of tension in my neck and shoulders. That eased somewhat upon repetition of bending over, going to flat back, and raising my arms over my head. It amazed me at how much my body loosened up in a few short minutes with just three simple moves. Once the initial cracking and popping of my joints had expired, I got into the flow of the vinyasas, and lost myself in the moment. I really have almost no memory of the workout, except for the music and Tony's cues. I focussed on the stretch and on my breathing throughout. At some point, I recall sweating profusely, with beads of sweat rolling down my back. I don't recall having sweated that much during yoga in quite some time.

Now, I feel as though I've just had a full body massage. I'm loose, relaxed, and ready for the challenges of the day.

Namaste.

Round 6: Day 17: Diamond Delts

My strength is improving as this new Round rolls along. I felt strong this morning when I commenced the Diamond Delts workout, and decided to increase my weight on several exercises, and to increase my repetitions on others. In addition, I still did my personal bonus round (two each of pike presses with legs on a couch, military press and side flys) and I still felt like I had some gas left in the tank. I topped out in military press with 14 reps during the second round (one more rep and I would have had the weight land on my face). So the point is made: there's room to be more aggressive in weight selection.

I really enjoy this workout, especially the start, when Tony is doing the shout-outs. Even though I've heard it all before, I still grin when Tony mentions Richard Bell's name, and mimics a bell clapper with his head wobbling side to side. The guy is just naturally funny, or at least we share a similar sense of humour. This workout seems relaxed in tone and while you're working hard, Tony really makes it fun and entertaining. The time passes quickly as a result.

I've noticed that on some exercises, I'm lifting as much as Tony, which has always been a goal of mine. He's only a couple of years older than I am, but (of course) so much more accomplished, so when I can approach the weight that he's handling, it feels like a significant achievement to me. I've always tried to be competitive with myself, but still, I can't just sit back and not notice what others are lifting. It's my nature, I guess.

My shoulders, which used to be a weak part of my body, have definitely made improvements over the past few months. I've made some notes to lift heavier during the next Diamond Delts workout, as I feel that there's still more opportunity for improvement. That's the great thing about this program. Once you've achieved a goal, move the goal posts, and go for the next goal. Build on your successes. Eventually, you'll achieve a state of fitness (mental and physical) that you've never before enjoyed.

The more I exercise, the more I come to realize that the mental benefit is as powerful as the physical.

Round 6: Day 16: Insanity: Pure Cardio

Oddly, I still find this workout intimidating, mostly after the stretch but before plunging into the workout proper. It's the fear of not knowing how my body really feels, and whether I'll have sufficient energy to complete the workout, or, if I can complete the workout, it's not knowing how much intensity I'll be able to put into each exercise. This is, of course, all in my mind, and it shows you the importance of getting your mind right before engaging in exercise. I've heard Tony Horton say (during P90X Chest and Back) that your mind tells you to stop way before your body is really fatigued. This illustrates the power of the mind. What you need to do is to train your mind to convince your body to keep going and to do more work. This positive approach will result in a more beneficial workout. I'd even go one step further and say that such a positive approach would result in greater success in most of life's endeavours. All you have to do is research the effect the placebo can have on your body.

Once again, I managed to complete the entire workout without pausing the DVD, although again, I would say that of my effort on some of the exercises was pretty ugly (frog jumps come to mind). There are a few sequences during the workout which tax a particular part of the body: glutes and quads, or shoulders and arms. In particular, inserting switch kicks as the second exercise is particularly devilish. Shaun T evidently likes to challenge.

It's looking like my body is gaining strength during Week 3. I've noticed that my weight is up a few pounds, but my pants are fitting looser than ever. I'm likely gaining muscle while loosing some fat. Measurements should confirm my theory. I'm looking forward to pounding the upper body this week on the resistance days.

Round 6: Day 15: Chest and Back

An off-topic comment first: last Friday afternoon, I went for a run with my daughter for the first time ever. She's now 18 and has told me frequently that she hates running. For someone who hates running, she exhibited nice form and admirable endurance. She chalked up the form to her gym teacher, who sports a Gillian Michaels-like intensity for all things athletic; endurance, she attributed to me. It's nice to know that the old man can still push the young punks. To top it off, I was running wearing my Vibram Five Fingers. This was the first time I've run in those minimalist shoes, and it was pure joy. I've been wearing minimalist shoes at the office for months now, and my walking gait has adjusted to ensure that I have a mid-foot or fore-foot strike each step I take. Running in a similar manner required very little adjustment. I'm going to try to make our run a weekly event.

On-topic now, I tackled P90X's Chest and Back workout. I may have said this before (I don't make it a habit to read my archived posts, so please forgive me if I'm repeating myself) but I have a real fondness for this workout for several reasons: it's the first P90X workout I ever did; and it's a workout where I've perhaps shown the greatest amount of improvement.

I felt really energetic during the workout, and increased the number of reps on standard pushups from 30 each round to 35. I also increased my weight on heavy pants and lawnmowers. It's a great feeling knowing that there's still room for improvement. I'll likely increase my reps on military pushups next time around, having reached 30 each round and still feeling that there's gas left in the tank.

Great start to Week 3.