Insanity: The Asylum - Day 20

It was an absolutely gorgeous Memorial Day yesterday, but before I could enjoy it I had to get in gear and do my Day 20 workout which was Vertical Plyo. Ordinarily this workout is pretty fun. I have enjoyed the jump rope exercises mixed with the various leaping moves that Shaun T makes me do. During this workout, however, I wasn't very fond of Shaun T. This was because of the fact that Vertical Plyo was scheduled the day following Game Day plus Overtime! What that meant for me was my legs were weak and a bit sore from my glutes down to my calves, and I could feel it as soon as I started to warm up. It didn't stop me from getting through the entire workout, but the rest of the day I could definitely feel it in my legs. 20 Days down, 10 more to go!

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 19

I know I didn't post for Day 18, but it was a day of relief on the schedule so not much to report other than sheer happiness that all I had to do was stretch my body out and feel good, and for good reason. That reason just happened to be DAY 19 of Asylum! Today was brutal. Not only was GAME DAY on the schedule, but it looks like Shaun T didn't expect my team to win so he made us go to OVERTIME right after the first workout! I actually felt pretty good today during the original workout. I sweat my ass off and was so wet by the end of the workout that it was almost impossible to get my shirt off, but last time when I did the workout it seemed like that 60 minutes took forever to end, and today it didn't seem like a minute over 75! In all honesty, other than some coordination issues I ran into once fatigue set in, I improved significantly from the last time. Overtime, however, was another story. Even my flip cam got so tired it quit filming! There are some moves that gave me fits, most notably were the squatting fake-outs. I felt beyond uncoordinated during those, and thought I was going to land flat on my face. There is definitely room for improvement in the Overtime workout for me. I guess that's why I have to try to win in regulation from now on. Dig Deeper people.

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 17

Strength was the key in this workout, but something tells me it refers just as much to the mind as it does the body. There comes a point in all of these routines so far where my body gives me a sign that it is ready to quit. It is at that moment when my mind has to get my body to focus on the movements, what the goal is, and tell my muscles to keep going. Yes, I still take breathers when the people in the videos continue with the workout, but I never give up. In watching myself in this video, I saw my Insanity T-Shirt go from light to dark from all the sweat that was pouring from my body. I remembered back to the first couple of weeks that I did my first round of Insanity and thought..."This looks familiar." I remember feeling like I wasn't improving to my expectations during that time as well, but I was actually doing great. I remember by the end of my Insanity experience that I looked and felt better than I had in 15 years, so I know that I am doing fine now. I have just come so far with the different Beachbody products that I have used, that I now have a higher expectation of myself, and it feels great. I know that when I reach one goal, I just set another and continue on my journey. Thank you to those of you taking the journey with me. You motivate me, and I hope I continue to inspire you to Dig Deeper.

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 16

Yesterday I did Vertical Plyo and I did notice improvement over the last time I did this workout. I also had a little motivation about half-way through as my 5 year old son joined me for some jumps and back fly lunges. It's great that my boys are watching me and really noticing the example I am trying to set for them, especially when they want to jump in and try some of the moves. It really is a great feeling. On the negative side, during one of the moves where you jump up and down on one foot, I felt a pain on the inner part of my left ankle that I am a little concerned about. Going to definitely have to pay attention to that over the next few days. Keep Diggin folks.

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 15

Another day of Asylum brought me another day of Speed & Agility training. I was a bit tired from the previous night's workout, so my legs felt like they were done 10 minutes into the workout. I actually did ok, but I kept some scenes in my video to show that not only did I still have to take a few water breaks and breathers to fill my lungs with oxygen, but a couple of times you can see where I just couldn't get my feet high enough to avoid disturbing the ladder, especially during the in-and-out progressions. It was a tough workout indeed, and with about 10-14 minutes left (I can't remember because I was exhausted and honestly dizzy from dehydration), I truly was ready to quit...but I didn't. I just focused on my breathing and let my drive overcome the aching in my body, and I'm so glad I did. Keep digging people.

New Song Fit Club 5/24

Last night I replaced Day 14 of my Asylum Journey to play host to my fit club, and I don't regret it one bit. My group gave their all, new members, consistent members, and some that had been gone for a while, and worked it during an intense workout to Insanity's Cardio Power and Resistance. I am so proud of every one of them and am completely inspired by those members that pushed to their breaking points, despite being nervous about doing an Insanity workout before we began our series. Thank you for all you effort, positive energy and unbending faith that I am leading all of you on the path to health and wellness. This is my mission, this is my passion, and we're in this together. Check out what you accomplished last night!

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 13...sort of

This workout was supposed to be Asylum's Strength routine, but I did my own version of strength with my arms and legs instead and mixed it up with Game Day in real life. It was my day to pitch in the starting rotation for my team, and on a day when we played a team from another division, and I didn't feel I had my best stuff, I went out and pitched 8 innings, giving up no earned runs, striking out 7 and walking 1. If that isn't a testament to the transformation my body has made because of Beachbody and great programs like P90X, Insanity and now the Asylum, I don't know what is. Today calls for Relief, and I am really looking forward to that one.

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 12

Once again I am met with the challenge of Back to Core. I know in looking at my videos from the previous days with this workouts that I'm improving, but during the workout it sure doesn't feel that way. Two moves in particular set my lower back on fire, and the first of those two does a number on my shoulders. Those two muscle groups continue to be my biggest area of weakness that I really want to improve on. The moves I am referring to are the twists (pulses included) and the swimmer. I had to take a quick break (I think a couple during the swimmer) in both of them to give myself some relief. The other thing I am having issues with are my calf muscles during the jumping jack sequence. The same thing happened to me during Plyo and Legs & Back in P90X and it is quite painful. My calves have always been muscular, but ever since I strained my achilis a couple of years ago I have had this problem. I will have to monitor it and continue to stretch and massage them because it is pretty frustrating. Other than that, it was a great workout.

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 11

GAME DAY!!!

I love game day...but I'm typically referring to Sunday when I play baseball these days. Not today. Today Game Day refers to the Day 11 workout in Asylum, but don't let the name fool you. There is no way around it, in Game Day, you don't play around. This is a grueling 60-minute workout from start to finish that left me, my shorts, and my floor completely soaked...and that was just at the half-way point. You start out by simulating a 1-mile mini marathon over hills, valleys and rocks you have to scale to get to the other side before you even get to stretch. You then go through a series of drills specific to a variety of sports, including basketball, skating, swimming, surfing, tennis, football, and baseball. It is almost non-stop action the entire time with a few seconds in between to catch your breath and take a swig of water. My workout imitated life, because I sucked at the swimming, skating and surfing exercises just as I do in the sports themselves. I guess my feet were just meant to be on the ground. I'm out.

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 10

This workout is called Relief, and that's just what it gave me. It was a pleasant 25-minute workout devoted to stretching out those muscles that have been working so hard the past few days. I didn't break a sweat or need to grab my water out of sheer exhaustion, and it was a welcomed experience. At the end Shaun T says to use this workout whenever we feel our bodies just can't go, and we know we won't make it through the workout scheduled on the calendar while keeping good form. What I say to that is, "Don't tempt me like that Shaun, because that workout sounds like a nice alternative to the pounding my body gets in the other workouts." Until next time everyone, take a look at the relaxation and energy your body gets from Asylum's Relief.

Asylum Day 9 - I cheated!!!

Ok, so I didn't end up doing Vertical Plyo yesterday like it's listed on the calendar. I admit it, I am a wuss. Last week when I did my Day 2 workout and followed it up that night by hosting my Fit Club workout to Insanity Plyometric Cardio Circuit, my calves were burning for 5 days and the following workouts were exremely tough to get through. So I didn't want to experience that this time around to see if my next few workouts will be better for me than last week's following Fit Club. I am supposed to have a rest day today, but with a busy schedule tomorrow I plan to flip flop them and take tomorrow off. As always, I did prepare a video, so check out what we did yesterday with the small group that attended the workout yesterday. If you like what you see and want to try it, help increase our numbers by showing up with a friend.

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 8

OK, so I didn't post to my blog last night...sorry. I had the opportunity after reading my boys to sleep to spend a few minutes with relaxing with my wife while she was asleep, then went to bed myself...so shoot me. Yesterday my workout was Back to Core, so if you do it you will understand why my bed was such an appealing option to turn to instead of the desk chair in front of my computer. I can prove I did it all on the right day by the post of my video on YouTube, so get off my back...it's sore enough after the workout! I'm not kidding. My lower back was so tired by the end of the workout, and I really felt it during the twist move where you hold your arms out like you're being crucified and then try to fly away with quick pulsating moves for what goes on for what seems to be an eternity. Bey the end of that rotation my quads, hamstrings, lower back, lats and shoulders all felt like they were on fire. But I felt great after I was done, and I feel great sitting typing this right now. Today I am supposed to host my fit club after doing the Day 9 workout, we'll see about that later. Check out my video to see how things went in Back to Core.

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 7

Things must be improving for me, because I did this workout after playing 2nd Base and Pitching in my baseball game this morning prior to this workout, and I only died a little bit this time ;-D.  I really liked the change with the bands today in the STRENGTH workout. It gave me a different feeling in the two-way resistance, although I did feel awkward in some of the movements, especially when I had to jump in the air with the bands still under my feet. But hopefully I will become more graceful as time goes on, because I do plan on doing this workout again with the bands.

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 6

A repeat of the Day 1 workout, today I did Speed and Agility. I still don't feel very speedy or agile, but I do think I made some improvement, despite the fact that my quads were burning from the beginning, no doubt a little residual pain from the previous workouts completed during the week. I still had to take periodic breaks for both my fatigue and to get some oxygen back into my lungs, but did better on most of the moves. I still have trouble with some of the agility moves where my left foot is supposed to lead (it's a little on the slow side), and no matter how hard I try, can't seem to get my feet into the 3rd ladder rung without knocking the ladder out of place during in and out progressions...by the way, I HATE IN AND OUT PROGRESSION. It's like when Shaun T couldn't decide what move to do next in the sequence, that was his "go to" move...he must have been pretty indecisive during the planning of this workout then :-D. As usual, here are the highlights of the workout.

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 4

I have to admit that today is actually Day 5 of my Asylum program, but that means that today is a rest day for me. Therefore, I took the luxury of going to bed without posting last night, knowing that I could do it today instead. So what if that makes me lazy...I was exhausted after that workout and the video will prove it. My legs were still recovering from two days prior when I did the Strength workout and followed it up by hosting my fit club in doing Insanity: Plyometric Cardio Circuit, and the rest of me felt the fatigue from the Back to Core workout I did the day before. By the end of this workout I honestly felt like I was going to throw up and pass out, or pass out and throw up...I really couldn't tell in which order they were planning to occur. My stomach hurt, and I was having difficulty catching my breath. I think a lot of it had to do with dehydration. I don't know if it shows in the video or pictures, but I was completely drenched in sweat from head to toe. I managed to survive without passing out or puking, so I claim a victory over Vertical Plyo in this round. However, I still have a ton of improvement to do on the movements. Many of them caused me to stumble, waiver, or look just plain stupid, but I kept going. I hope this inspires others to do the same.

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 3

Back to Core should have been named Back to Bed. This workout is no joke and I am seriously tired. I barely have the strength and brainpower to complete this post, so I will be brief. No weights or fast movements are involved in this workout, but you get every bit of a hard-core workout that you would expect from something called Asylum. I used muscles in my lower back that I didn't even know were there. I definitely have a lot to improve on in this one, especially since it really helps to identify weak areas that you have in your core. I hope to improve next time this workout comes up. Check out what I did:

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 2

STRENGTH is the name of the workout for Day 2 of The Asylum, but I think it should be called Strenth & Coordination. I felt a little awkward during some of the moves because you are using both upper and lower body while moving them in different directions at times. I know that over time I will improve on these, and need to focus more on the form than on the number of reps I can complete, as in any workout I do. I was exhausted by the end of the day, and pulling double duty with my fit club doing Insanity as well took every last bit of energy I had right out of me.

One thing about the STRENGTH workout is that you do have the option to do STRENGTH with Bands instead of weights, I think I might try it next time. There are people in the video using bands, but not the same style that come in the Insanity pack, so I am curious to see how they are used. I like how there are options to do moves involving pullups or weights & pushups as an alternative, which is a nice feature. We'll see what the next workout brings, but in the mean time, here is my clip from Day 2:

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 1

OK, my first official workout of Asylum is in the books and it kicked my ass. I felt completely uncoordinated at times, having to reposition the agility ladder on several occasions. I have always known that I am not the fleetest of foot, but combine that fact with my utter exhaustion and you have disaster in the making. I did however, manage to push myself through the workout and survived through to the end. It reminded me of when I started Insanity, and how I was drained just after the warm-up, let alone having to muster up the energy to do the actual workout. But over time, my strength and endurance improved, and my breaks became shorter and less frequent. I expect to have a similar experience with The Asylum as well. No matter what failures I may see in my workouts, they will only truly be failures if I do not learn from them, and I let them discourage me and my progress. As with anything in life, if it weren't worth doing, it wouldn't be so challenging in the first place. 1 Day down...29 more to go. Check out a clip from my Day 1 Workout:

Insanity: The Asylum - Kickoff Post

Yesterday I took my first step in my latest journey with the latest Beachbody Fitness Program, Insanity: The Asylum, by taking the Athletic Performance Assessment (aka Fit Test). If the test is any indication of what is to come for me in the next 30 days, it's going to be a great ride and I'm going to lose a lot of sweat. My goal is to document every day of my journey, so I am calling all of my friends and Beachbody Community members to help hold me accountable by checking in to see that I have posted an update every day. I expect to maintain plenty of motivation just by pushing myself, but everyone can always use a few more people in their corner to push them through a rough patch or a day where inspiration/motivation is hard to come by. Please check in and follow this blog, and if you don't see an update, I would appreciate it if you would message me on Facebook or send me an email to see what's going on. Thanks for your support.