Day 58

DVD - Max Cardio Conditioning
DVD - Cardio Abs

I cheated a little tonight and skipped the warm-up on Cardio Abs. Hell, I'd just completed 43 minutes of a different workout, I was already "warm".

I've been trying to pay attention to my heart rate more the last week or so. I've noticed that my maximum heart rate seems to be the same as at the beginning of Insanity. What's changed is that it takes me a little longer to get there, especially during the warm-up intervals. Curiously, I do start to sweat earlier with the Max workout warm-ups, and I'm pretty sure it has something to with the Side to Side Floor Hops, because there is a slight break in the cardio pace as you get into position, and the move itself is a little harder to do as fast as the rest. I've noticed that I tend to heat up and start to drip when I stop after an exertion. During Insanity, this has usually meant that I start to get really hot and sweaty during the warm-up stretch, when I am no longer flinging my body around at high velocities, but executing slow, deliberate moves. Or when I walk really fast to BART on a cold morning, feeling chilled until I stop on the platform to wait for the train.

It's interesting to me how different types of exercises effect my heart rate. Obviously the exercises that require me to move fast will raise my heart rate rapidly: they are the equivalent of sprinting, and we're asked to "sprint" for anywhere from 2 - 3 minutes straight. Seriously - that's a pretty long time to sprint. But then moves like Suicides, where I am only able to do about 20 in the allotted time instead of 60 - 100, because it requires getting up and down from the floor. According to Shaun, engaging all of your major muscles increases your heart rate just as well as sprinting. My experience suggests he is right.

Now, if you'll forgive the clunky segue to a bit of nostalgia, I'm going to end this blog entry by noting this was my final run through of these two DVDs during the initial 9 weeks of Insanity, so this was my goodbye workout. But "goodbye" for a break, no permanently. I'll be seeing them again once I implement my plan to incorporate Insanity into an ongoing regime including running and Hip Hop Abs.