DONE WITH INSANITY...NOW WHAT? AND FINAL RESULTS!!!

Insanity is done. I am surprised that I was able to get through this program. I had my reservations at the beginning considering that it has always been difficult for me to actually apply myself to anything. For a number of reasons, I was able to just maintain the motivation I had from the get go. The feeling I have is one of gratification, accomplishment and pride balled up into one. I wake up, and the first thing I do is look in the mirror. I can't help but crack a slight smile because the stomach I had is no longer there. The fat on my arms has turned into definition. My face is no longer round and the cheek bones I thought disappeared at one point in time have finally returned. All of that is good, but the best thing I got out of this workout was the fact that I am not tired all day. I am not out of breath. I can keep up with my kids.

Yeah, life is definitely better today than it was two months ago. Now it is time to get ready to implement the next step of my quest for ultimate fitness. The first round of Insanity is over, and I was thinking about how to ease my way into the next big routine: P90X. From what I have seen out of P90X, it looks more like a strength based workout as opposed to cardio. I still want to keep my cardio going for the moment, so I am going to continue my second month Insanity workouts and incorporate some moderate weight lifting so that I can work more toward toning my upper body. I am looking to starting the P90X routine around the second week of June. I would start a little sooner, but I have to make a trip back home to see family and friends.

I've also decided that I will not be working out in my house when it comes to the P90X routine. The way my living room is set up just makes it way too inconvenient. I want to be in a position where I can see the movements as they are done so I can get the proper form down. This is where having a garage does wonders. What makes it even better is that the summer is coming around, which means that I will have plenty of Texas heat hitting me; that will only amplify how much of a sweat I break during my workouts! I am hoping to achieve maximum results by doing my workouts in the garage. I guess you can say I am using the heat as a sort of sauna suit.

If you look off to the side of my blog page, you'll see my final results. I have been including strength training with my regular workouts to create a little bit of bulk. The funny thing is that I haven't gained any weight as a result. I think there is a little bit of difference in my upper body mass from the last progress pics I took, but it could all just be in my head. Anyway, this ends my journey with Insanity...at least the first round. I'm still going to keep using the workouts on a steady basis. They have given me awesome results. I didn't lose any muscle, but I didn't necessarily gain any either. My main purpose with this workout was to shed fat. Now that I have done it and tested my endurance along with it, it's time for me to take it up a notch.

Keep following my blog, folks. There will definitely be more to come in the near future. Until then, keep digging deep!!!

Insanity WILL Get You to Burn as Advertised!!!

I've had my heart rate monitor through my entire time of doing Insanity. I have seen plenty of people counting their calories burned on here and all I could do is sit here and watch everyone else brag about how they burned 500 or 600 calories in a given workout. Still I sat there wondering, how are these people counting their calories burned?

I was messing around with my heart rate monitor the other day and guess what I realized? My heart rate monitor DOES keep a count of calories burned! At this point my face flushed beat red with stupidity as I quieted laughed to myself. HOW COULD I HAVE MISSED THAT THIS WHOLE TIME?!?!

Anyway, so I decided to put it to the test. How many calories can I burn on my Insanity workouts? So, I did my Max Interval Circuit workout today. I wasn't expecting anything crazy. I figured that I still have a long way to go before I can say I burned 1,000 calories on a workout. Well, assuming made an ass out of no one else but me!

I was just 26 minutes into my routine and had already burned 475 calories! By the time I was done with my Max Interval Circuit, I had burned a whopping 1,057 calories! SERIOUSLY?!?!?! Let me go ahead and say it again. In just under 60 minutes of Max Interval Circuit training, I burned 1,057 calories. WWWWWOOOOOOWWWWW!!!!

In conclusion, folks...believe what they advertise when it comes to Insanity. I have given people the burden of proof they need as far as whether or not you can truly burn 1,000 calories in one hour. Yeah, I'm loving every bit of it!

Progress PICS...and Other Stuff!

If you go ahead and scroll down, you will see my current progress pictures after completing 7 weeks of Insanity. The first thing that comes to mind is shock...I am shocked that I have been able to generate such insane results in such a short time. I am shocked that I managed to maintain most of my build up top and added definition to boot! At the same time, I am slightly dismayed. I would have really wanted to hit my goal of 185 on the first go. That said, I will go ahead and refer back to what I said on my first post: while I would love to be down to 185, the 190's-range is also acceptable so long as there is a significant difference in my overall appearance. I'll just let the pics speak for themselves.

Another thing I am slightly down about is that time flew by on me. I still feel like I just barely started the routine and I am already 10 days away from being an Insanity graduate. You better believe that I'll be getting my Insanity shirt ASAP! Don't worry, I'm still going to continue my routine, but I am also working toward purchasing the P90X routine, Insanity: Asylum, a few more Insanity DVD sets that are separate from the regular collection as well as a boxing workout called Savage and Serene. I figure, the more workouts I get: the more I can shock my body in every possible way. OH YEAH, and I'm thinking about taking up hot yoga: a form of yoga which takes place in a room where temps are set at between 95 and 105 degrees. I think it's supposed to allow you to get a really good stretch. That will be key when I see that REALLY good recovery from everything.

For now, I still have plenty of Insanity left on my plate, so I won't be stopping any time in the foreseeable future.I have already developed a plan that I call my 6 steps of Pure Madness. If I see that it is working for me in the long run, I'll be putting it out there for everyone to follow. No worries, I'll keep the progress pics coming. However, I think that I will spread it to a monthly basis after I complete the Insanity workouts. I will get back to posting bi-weekly progress pics whenever I decide to get into the P90X mode. Take it easy folks, and remember to always DIG DEEP!!!