Insane February

Happy February!  I love this month.  Maybe because it’s my birth month, or maybe it’s because it’s the odd-ball month that’s just a little smaller than everyone else and I feel sorry for it.

If you read my resolutions post and if you’re keeping tabs on me (and thank you, to those of you who are), you’re probably wondering when I’m going to start talking about the Insanity workout program.  If you’re anxiously awaiting my report, today is your lucky day (and it might be time for you to get a hobby).

I started the Insanity program on Sunday, January 6^th.  Insanity begins with a fit test, and they revisit that fit test every two weeks so you can track your progress.  After day one, I almost threw in the towel… the sweaty, sweaty towel.  The fit test was seriously so hard.  And Shaun T. just kept telling me to “dig deeper,” and push harder.  Yuck.  Little does he know, when someone tells me what to do, I’m strangely compelled to do the opposite.  Just ask my mom.  I struggled through the fit test, sort of trying, and sort of half-assing it, but still sucking wind.  These are my (embarrassing) numbers for that first fit test:

Switch Kicks	68
Power Jacks	33
Power Knees	53
Power Jumps	17
Globe Jumps	6
Suicide Jumps	11
Push-Up Jacks	15
Low Plank Oblique	32

Every day, I dragged my lazy butt down to the basement and wondered what kind of strange and unusual hell Shaun T. had in store for me that day.  I hated it.  Honestly, I still hate it.  Every day as I begin my workout I ask myself if I really have to do it again, and I tell myself that I’m really not that out of shape, and I would probably enjoy walking, running, spinning, swimming, zumba, pilates, or being chased by rabid bears more than this stupid Insanity program.  And then I remember that I’ve got some readers out there to keep me honest, and I push through one more day of sweaty torture, all the while cursing you all.  Thank you, by the way.

At the end of week two came the second fit test.  I was still working just as hard to get through the workouts, but I was taking fewer breaks.  My week two fit test results were higher, although still nothing to brag about.

Switch Kicks	86
Power Jacks	47
Power Knees	72
Power Jumps	21
Globe Jumps	8
Suicide Jumps	15
Push-Up Jacks	20
Low Plank Oblique	45

I should tell you right now that I’m a very results-driven person.  If I’m not seeing or feeling results, I’m much less inclined to keep going.  A big problem I have with the Insanity program is that I’m never sore.  You know how you feel the day after you were just at the gym lifting weights, and your legs are a little tight and it hurts to get out of bed?  I don’t know what it is about that feeling, but I look forward to it after every workout.  I like the way it feels to know that I pushed myself the day before.  Because I’m not sore, I find myself questioning whether I’m getting any results.  Unfortunately, when I took my measurements at the end of week two, they weren’t much different than they were at the beginning.  I’m hoping for some change at the end of this week when I take my fit test again.

I’m currently in week four.  I should be in week five, but at the end of week two, I rolled my ankle and then got the stomach flu, so I took a week off to recover.  It was hard to jump back in and my endurance was noticeably lower.  After this week, I get one week of Core Cardio and Balance, which apparently is my “rest week” before things get really crazy. 

 As you can tell, I’m less than enthusiastic for month two.  I haven’t looked ahead at the workouts (I like to let each torture session be a surprise), but I did notice that none of month one’s workouts are there and I will say that I’m not going to miss the Plyometric Cardio Circuit.  It’s currently my most dreaded workout.  However, I’m sure it will be replaced by something exponentially worse, leaving me sobbing and begging to go back to it.

Have any of you done the Insanity program before?  If so, what were your results?  Were you ever sore?  Maybe I’m just doing it wrong!