10K and Getting Back to Business

Okay, back from my short hiatus. I had stitches in my leg which ended up preventing me from working out for a week. No big deal, and all is well now, but it took a little while to recover. It would have been mucho uncomfortable to workout with those!

I ran a 10K yesterday and I am seriously sore today! The INSANITY workouts definitely had me ready for the cardio involved, but for some reason my quads were so tight afterwards. Being sore is not a bad thing though, so I'll deal with it. I finished faster than I had ever finished for a 10K, although I'm not exactly a fast runner. I averaged somewhere around 9:45 min per mile. Not bad for not officially training! I think after INSANITY is over I'm going to get back to running so I can improve my pace. I think I'll do a modified P90X where I do the lifting and on the non-lifting days I do a running workout.

I'm going to rest today and then pick up where I left off with INSANITY. I was considering starting over so I could have an uninterrupted 60 days. Any thoughts on that??? :)

Short Hiatus

I'm taking a short break from the workouts/blog. I have a minor health issue to tend to that is making it difficult to workout. Nothing major but the INSANITY just won't work. I'm hoping to be back into it by the end of this week or beginning of next. I have definitely noticed a drop in energy level during my break... I'm hating being so inactive! Just a few more days....

How many calories are burned in 3 weeks of INSANITY?

I'll tell you!

10000!!!!

I've been keeping track of everything in a spreadsheet (I'm definitely a nerd), and that is my total for the first 3 weeks of INSANITY. All I can say is that's insane! Or maybe I should say it's bananas!?!?!?

Today was Pure Cardio and Abs, and I was feeling like a major slacker beforehand. I didn't get home until almost 7, and I knew I had to make dinner. I really, really had to convince myself to do it. Oddly, blogging is a big reason I did it! I would've felt guilty if I didn't because there are people (even if it's only a few!) who are tracking my progress. That means no slacking! And so I pushed play on the most intense day of INSANITY when I really just felt like chilling on the couch. I'm happy to report I finished and I didn't slack while I did it AND I burned 758 calories. That's on top of those 10000 I mentioned above! :)

Happy Workouts!!!

Busy busy busy!

This weekend was a busy one, so I ended up taking two rest days instead of the one in my schedule. I hardly had time to sleep... hate when that happens! I finished up week 3 today with the Plyometric Cardio Circuit. The good news is that I felt stronger with this workout even with the days off. Guess two days is no big deal! :) I'm getting much better with those plank-ski jump things. For those without INSANITY, you essentially are in plank and you jump your feet up and to the left, then back center, then up and to the right. Doesn't sound too crazy, but my shoulders get tired!!! All in all, I burned 619 calories. My heart rate is definitely stabilizing at a lower level than the early workouts. I was usually around 185 bpm and now I'm at 175. That's progress!

Lots of work to do... I'm going to start week 4 tomorrow, and I'll adjust if necessary later in the week. Happy Workouts!

Lactic Acid Craziness!

So today was the "easy" workout again, Cardio Recovery. Love, love, love the stretches but the lactic acid buildup is killer! I'll be honest, I'm a bit crazy and I love the lactic acid burning too, but man oh man it is rough!!!

Since I've been feeling some serious lactic acid buildup in my legs during these workouts, I decided to do some googling on lactic acid and exercise. Sounds like way back, scientists thought that the lactic acid actually diminished performance of athletes. They actually thought that was what caused muscle soreness after a workout. Turns out that lactic acid is actually a fuel source for the muscles and can improve performance!

I'm hoping I can see the results of all this crazy burning in a couple weeks. I signed up for a 10K, and I'm not actually running right now. The Insanity workouts though are high intensity and there is impact, so I think they'll be a great training source. I can't wait to see how I do! For those who haven't read my P90X portion of the blog, I actually ran a half marathon in May during my P90X program, and I didn't train for that. I actually finished faster than one of the races I ran that I trained for. If that's not a testament to the quality of these workouts, I don't know what is!

Pure Cardio, Abs, and TAP!

Today was a big workout day for me. I had Pure Cardio, which was awesome! I'm taking way fewer breaks than I've ever done, AND I actually felt like I hit a runner's high. Any runners out there probably know what I mean. Four years ago, I ran a marathon and raised money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (Team in Training). I never believed the whole runner's high thing until I noticed that I felt awesome after mile 5 and beyond. Like literally, 45 minutes in, I was almost in an ethereal state. I felt like I could run forever!

I felt that today with Insanity! I made it into Cardio Abs, and the jumps were cake. Okay, maybe not cake, but much better than the other day! At the end of the workout, you do these crazy plank moves where you go from planking on your elbows to planking on your hands. I definitely need to put something down so I can't slip! My first time I did this was at the hotel over the weekend, so I was on shag carpet (it was a trendy hotel!). Today I did this on wood floors, and I was slipping all over (of course because I was dripping with sweat).

To make the day crazier, I went to a tap class tonight at a local university. It was fun! I've been tapping since I was 5, so I was happy to be in a class. The style was different than I'm used to, but I'll ease back into it. The teacher was very nice, and there are people of varying levels... like other adults like me and then some students in the musical theatre program at the university. All in all, good time and I burned almost 500 calories! Insanity was around 800, so I hit some big numbers today!

So, that in turn made food a challenge. I had planned on eating this monster chicken breast for dinner because of the need for INSANE calories, but I got so sick of the taste. I had rice and beans on the side, and I decided to add in some baby carrots and hummus plus strawberries for dessert. It brought me up to 2200 calories, and MFD told me I could still eat something crazy like 500 more calories and meet my "Lose 1 Pound per Week" goal. I'm tired and not hungry though, so I am DONE.

Tomorrow is a Cardio Recovery day for me. Woo hoo!

Keep pushing play! :)

Week 3 begins, some results are showing!

I just finished up my first non-fit test workout of the third week. Things are going well! I weighed myself this morning, and it looks like my resolve from last week has worked. I'm down about 3.5-4 pounds. I'm not uber-serious about tracking my weight, so it could be give or take a half pound. Based on comments and some stuff I was reading, I'm going to do no alcohol unless it's a special occasion, in which case I'll have a glass or two of wine. A special occasion does not equal a night at happy hour with friends. A special occasion equals a wedding, a special date night, or something like that. So far it's working!

Also, as a gesture of solidarity to a blogger friend who is doing Insanity at the same time I am, I have decided to post my before pics and a post-workout pic. Now, the before pics are horrendous in my opinion, but it is what it is. I am now going to get rid of that awful summer weight and then some. I'm at 165 (eek!) right now and hoping to get down to 140. I'll keep you posted!

Fit Test, Day 15

Two weeks down, and it's back to the fit test. It's been a fun two weeks! I went away this weekend for the holiday, and I brought my DVD's with me. Saturday was Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs. I had never done the abs workout, so I didn't know what to expect. Shaun T kind of plays a cruel joke on you, having those back to back! You've just finished youre 15-16 min of pure cardio HELL, and then during your warmup for Cardio Abs, you do POWER JUMPS! Ugh. I was doing all this in a tiny space in my hotel room, but I managed to do well. The biggest challenge was that I was working out on shag carpet, so it was really hard to pick my feet up quickly. It was actually kind of funny... I felt sooooo slow! That was a total of 828 calories burned! My total for the week was 3530!!! NICE!

Fit test take 2 went well! For some of the moves, I pretty much stayed the same, give or take one rep. My main improvements were:

Squat Jumps - Increased by 9 (went from 49 to 58 in one minute)

Switch Kicks - Increased by 10 (went from 112 to 122 in one minute)

Push Up Jacks - Increased by 6 (went from 24 to 30 in one minute)

Low Plank Oblique - Increased by 18 (went from 44 to 62 in one minute!!!)

I still want to improve my switch kicks. I think as I get stronger abs, I'll kick higher, which might actually make my number stabilize or go down. I'd say at this point my leg is still not quite parallel to the floor but it's definitely going higher than knee level... probably somewhere in between but hopefully closer to the high end!

This week should be a good week! I don't have any major challenges standing in my way, and I'm actually starting dance classes this week. I signed up for a tap class and a contemporary jazz class to supplement my business classes. I danced as a kid, so I think this will be awesome!

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend! Good luck with your health and fitness journeys!

Cardio Recovery

Today was a much needed cardio recovery day. I can really tell my muscles have been working. The lactic acid build up was insane during the lunges and squats! It felt great though, and I am much more relaxed than when I started. It was a grand total of 279 calories! I did a ton of walking today too, so I've burned quite a few calories.

As for food, I'm between 2000 and 2100 calories, so that should be good. Dinner is grilled mahi mahi, a side salad, "greens and beans," and maybe some couscous if I have room. "Greens and beans" is one of my favorite summertime treats in PA. Greens are in abundance during the summer and fall, so I wilt them in some chicken stock, throw in some Italian-ish seasonings, and some white beans. Yummy! It's one of my favorite healthy sides! I tend to spice it up with crushed red pepper too because I love spicy food.

Now I'm starving... must eat!

Plyo Cardio Circuit Again!

I just finished up Plyo Cardio Circuit again, and I am soaked! That seemed harder to me today! I've definitely got the warmup down, but once we moved into the pushup section, it was rough. Basically, you jump down, do 4 pushups, then stay in plank and run for 8 counts, then jump up and repeat. Tough, tough, tough! After all that, you do a bunch of different jumps from plank position. Whoa, my legs were losing it. All in all, it was 661 calories!

As for food today, I'm doing well. No temptations thrown my way, and I've managed to keep myself full all day. I'm already starting to feel healthier, so that's a huge improvement from 2 days ago. I seem to be getting myself easily to around 1900 calories, but myfooddiary and INSANITY want me to eat more.

Here's a question for all of you! Which do you think is better?

a) Eating when you're hungry even if you "don't eat enough." Of course, I'm certainly not condoning starving yourself, just the difference between 1900 calories and 2200 calories.

b) Eating more because it's what is recommended, even if you're not hungry anymore

Time for dinner... have a healthy night! :)

Another day of INSANITY!

So today is going much more smoothly for me... I don't feel like quite the mess I felt like yesterday. I have been telling all my wonderful friends that I'm giving up drinking and eating completely clean for the next 8 weeks, and they look at me like I'm insane! Haha... no pun intended. I guess I am! I already feel much better today, even if it's just the mental resolve that's making me feel better.

Positives for yesterday:

1. I had a fantasy football draft last night where there were tostitos and salsa, plus beer. I had NONE. I have a soft spot for salsa, tostitos, and guacamole, so that was some serious restraint.
2. I felt much stronger while doing my workout, and I walked to and from school carrying my laptop (it's actually kind of hilly here). I burned over 1000 calories!

Areas for improvement:

1. I only slept 6 hours, and I definitely prefer 7 - 8 hours.
2. I didn't eat enough! By the end of the day, I had logged 1508 calories. INSANITY says I should eat 2100 calories a day, and myfooddiary said I still needed at least 900 more calories to be at a safe weight loss level.

As an aside (I've said this before but I'll say it again), if you're looking for a food diary, I highly recommend www.myfooddiary.com. They have a huge list of foods, so I hardly ever have to enter foods manually. They will track all your major nutrients in addition to calories in and out. Then you get a little report at the end of the day to tell you how you did. This is what it said to me yesterday:

At a glance ...
	Notes
	Exercise! You burned 1218 calories.
	A high-fiber breakfast can help you lose weight and reduce your risk for heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
	No dessert! You easily saved yourself hundreds of empty calories.
	You have eaten fiber-rich foods. This is a good indicator of a healthy diet.
	Saturated fats only accounted for 3.2% of your calories. Good job staying below the 9% limit!
	You consumed 1313 mg of calcium. This is 131% of the recommended daily value (1000 mg) for adults under 50 years old.
	You consumed 3778 IU of vitamin A. This is 126% of the recommended daily value for women.
	Too few calories. Consuming too few calories can decrease your metabolism. This will hurt your long-term weight loss efforts. Note: Make sure you have entered all of your foods for the day.
	You consumed 2718mg of sodium. Ideally, this number should be below 2300mg.
	Only 13.6% of your calories came from fat. Fat should account for a minimum of 15% of your calories.

Cool huh?

So here's the scoop on today. I did Pure Cardio, which AGAIN, is BANANAS. Shaun T's words, not mine... now every time I do that workout I think of Gwen Stefani. It's bananas, B A N A N A S! :)

For the food, I was much more thoughtful about what I ate/am eating. I'm going to be in school till at least 9:30 tonight, so I had to do some quick planning. I was home from 11:30 to 1, and in that time, I did my workout, I cooked my dinner, I made my lunch, AND I packed snacks. The key to my success today was literally having my laptop next to me so I could log all my food and figure out if I needed more. Turns out, I did! I added in a bag of walnuts and dried fruit, and now I'm all set.

MUCH BETTER!!! Thanks for reading! Good luck with your health and fitness goals today!!!