Today I finished day 15 of an intense workout known around the world simply as "Insanity". It has been extremely difficult. There have been days I wanted to give up, or at least skip the workout for the day. There have been many times I could not keep up with the video, and had to pause it to catch my breath. Almost every day I get a sharp pain or "stitch" in my right side that stays with me for several minutes. But I have stuck with the program. I am one quarter of the way through Insanity, and I must say I am proud of myself.
On the very first day of insanity the workout consists of what is known as a "Fit Test"; there are 8 exercises you have to perform and are given a certain amount of time to do as many as you possibly can. Every 15 days you retake the test and chart your strength and endurance progress. Out of the 8 exercises, I improved on 7, and was dead even on one. The fit test is a good gauge of which muscle groups you need more work on. Some exercises I was able to do a lot more of, some only a few, but overall I saw an increase of about 15% in the last two weeks.
Many people use the 15 day, 30 day, 45day,and 60 day benchmark to weigh themselves or measure their waist. I have chosen not to do so, for two main reasons. First, I don't want to be disappointed or discouraged if I don't meet my goal. I understand that setting goals helps in the short range for most people. However, I am not most people. If I set a goal to lose...say 3 pounds this week and only lose 2, or worse yet lose nothing, I will become extremely discouraged and am more apt to give up or at least slack off. My goal is to work as hard as I can every day; to make my rest periods shorter and shorter, and be able to keep up more with the people in the video.
The second reason I am not tracking my weight or size is that weight loss does not always happen right away. I have done a reasonable amount of research reading Beachbody (the company that makes Insanity) blogs and massage boards. I have found that while some people lose significant weight early on, many people do not see measurable success until around week 6. I read countless message board posts in which people were frustrated because they had been doing insanity for a full month and had not lost a pound. So in light of these two factors I think it would be better to just be satisfied with the fact that I am not really getting sore anymore like I did in the beginning, and I improved my endurance by roughly 15%. When I reach day 30 and the halfway mark, I may consider measuring my waist, because I did weigh and measure myself on day 1. If you are thinking about trying Insanity or have any further questions, feel free to message me or leave a comment!
On the very first day of insanity the workout consists of what is known as a "Fit Test"; there are 8 exercises you have to perform and are given a certain amount of time to do as many as you possibly can. Every 15 days you retake the test and chart your strength and endurance progress. Out of the 8 exercises, I improved on 7, and was dead even on one. The fit test is a good gauge of which muscle groups you need more work on. Some exercises I was able to do a lot more of, some only a few, but overall I saw an increase of about 15% in the last two weeks.
Many people use the 15 day, 30 day, 45day,and 60 day benchmark to weigh themselves or measure their waist. I have chosen not to do so, for two main reasons. First, I don't want to be disappointed or discouraged if I don't meet my goal. I understand that setting goals helps in the short range for most people. However, I am not most people. If I set a goal to lose...say 3 pounds this week and only lose 2, or worse yet lose nothing, I will become extremely discouraged and am more apt to give up or at least slack off. My goal is to work as hard as I can every day; to make my rest periods shorter and shorter, and be able to keep up more with the people in the video.
The second reason I am not tracking my weight or size is that weight loss does not always happen right away. I have done a reasonable amount of research reading Beachbody (the company that makes Insanity) blogs and massage boards. I have found that while some people lose significant weight early on, many people do not see measurable success until around week 6. I read countless message board posts in which people were frustrated because they had been doing insanity for a full month and had not lost a pound. So in light of these two factors I think it would be better to just be satisfied with the fact that I am not really getting sore anymore like I did in the beginning, and I improved my endurance by roughly 15%. When I reach day 30 and the halfway mark, I may consider measuring my waist, because I did weigh and measure myself on day 1. If you are thinking about trying Insanity or have any further questions, feel free to message me or leave a comment!