Day 36 - Crazy like a fox

DVD - Max Interval Circuit

So now I know what they meant by "the interval circuits get even harder".

In my Days 33 & 34 post I asked:

Even harder? What does that mean? The moves are harder? The interval circuits are longer? There are more interval circuits? I guess I'll find out on Monday.

The answer is all three. The moves are harder and in many cases you are required to do two and up to four different moves in a single part of the circuit. Instead of 30 seconds for each part, it's 45, so that the interval increases from 2 minutes to 3. And there are now 3 interval segments instead of 2.

The warm-up is different, as I mentioned last night. Jog (sprint during the final section); Arms-Up Jumping jacks (instead of starting with your arms out to your sides and bringing them together over your head, you hold wrists just above your shoulders with elbows in and push your arms straight up, sort of like a military press); Side rope jumps (remember Rocky's jump-rope training? you simulate part of it here, jumping side to side and moving your arms like you are holding the handles of the jump rope together and swiping the rope to the side of you rather than jumping over it); 123-Heismanns; High Knees (but with your arms out at your sides like they would be before starting a traditional jumping jack); Switch Kicks; Hit the Floor; & S-S Floor Hops (start in plank position, keep palms on floor and hop back and forth with your legs behind you).

The stretch section was pretty much the same as all of the rest of the DVDs, but maybe a little shorter.

When the warm-up and stretch were over, I looked at the workout counter displayed on the TV: 45+ minutes to go. 45!!!?!?! All of the other DVDs are 20-21 minutes after the warm-up and stretch. So basically, the intense part of the workout just doubled.

The first interval circuit was tough on my shoulder area. I was able to do the singular moves from start to finish, but the combo moves were so hard on my pecs and deltoids that I think I maybe did half. I did well with Pedal Lunges (these are in one of the first month workouts; basically you sprint in place, followed by 4 deep lunges. Repeat for 45 seconds. Then a seriously hard combo series for 45 seconds where you do 4 each of Ski Abs, Push-up Jacks, In & Out Abs and Oblique Push-ups (like the high plank oblique move from Cardio Recovery, but you add in a push-up with your arms). HELL on my shoulders. Then came Power Strike (where you lunge on the left side, 2 punches downward, lunge right side, 2 punches downward. Repeat). You round out this interval with Frog Jumps.

Between each round you get the usual 30 second water break, with the exception of the 3rd round, after which you go straight into a minute-long Football Runs/Cross Jacks (football shuffle but you spin on a 4 count, then back the other way on a 4 count and finally execute 4 Cross Jacks).


The 2nd circuit consists of: Hook Jumps (4 hook punches high, 4 hook punches low, 4 high jumps with simulate jump rope arms, switch sides and repeat). High Knees with Twist. (As you run with High Knees you hold your arms in front of you with fists above chin height and rotate your upper body side to side while you do High Knees);
High-Low Jab with Squat (jump high and punch on a diagonal, then back to a squat and punch to the side as you land)to the side, punch as low as you can in a squat); and finally Floor Switch Kicks (switch kicks done with your body in the position you need for Tricep dips).

The 2nd interval is followed by 1 minute of 1-2-3 Jab Across (Side jumps with a punch to each side).

This 3rd and final interval set consists of: Side Suicide Jumps (instead of putting your hands in front of you and jumping into plank with your feet, you jump to the left side then stand up and jump to the right); Squat Hooks (like Power Jacks but instead of your arms going up when you jump, you punch across your body as you squat); then the tough Full Body Drill (start standing up, drop to the plank position, run in place 8 times, do 4 Moving Push-Ups, then 8 counts of wide-knee running in place).

Max Interval Circuit is capped off with Plank Punches, 1 minute of holding yourself in plank position on the floor and alternating your arms punching forward, so that your fists punch higher than your forehead.

If that seems like a lot, that's because it was. I did well with the exercises requiring a single repetitive move, and was able to get through each interval of most of these. The combo moves were harder, both in terms of the moves and executing the transitions between the moves.

So how do I feel? My deltoids and pecs are sore. I was still feeling the 6 days of shoulder-burners from Core Cardio & Balance before I started Max Interval Circuit. That so many of the exercises in this Max workout involved some sort of push-up or plank position move just exacerbated the issue. My hamstrings are sore, particularly above the knee, but no where near as much as my deltoids and pecs. My upper back is a little sore, as are my knees. Not wanting to be left out after Core Cardio & Balance, I can also feel it in my hip flexors. We'll see if I'm still sore tomorrow. I'm thinking it might be a day that stats with Ibuprofen.

The workout as incredibly intense, but not quite as intense as I was imagining in the cardio department. IMHO, some of these moves have a terminal velocity: no matter how fit you are, you just can't do as many as fast because of the complexity of the move or the effort required. Your heart rate still gets way up, but because you are using more power, not more speed. It seems to me that these moves raised my heart rate steadily, as opposed to shooting it way up really fast all at once.

Day 6 - Casa de loco

DVD - Plyometric Cardio Circuit


Today I went back and repeated the first workout. After today, I'll do this DVD 5 more times. It turns out my memory of the workout was a little off when I reviewed it here. I've been thinking this whole time that there were rest periods between the intervals during the warm-up. There weren't. It was straight through just like Pure Cardio last night. To go from not being able to make it through a 10-minute intense cardio segment without breaks to doing so 2 nights in a row in 3 workouts in the space of 5 days is pretty insane. Thanks Shaun T!

I won't re-hash the rest of the workout: other than inserting non-existent scheduled breaks during the warm-up, my description was accurate.

As I mentioned above, I made it through the entirety of the warm-up without rests. The warm-up is the same as Pure Cardio last night. The variant is Resistance & Plyo. The stretch session is the same in all three and I am noticing a slight increase in my flexibility and balance.

I did better during the interval series - made it through the first 2 intervals of the first circuit and almost to the end of the 3rd before needing an extra break, where I'd needed an extra break during the 1st interval on Day 2. I am still stopping for a few seconds more frequently than the crew, but can notice a gradual improvement.

I started strong during the 1st interval during the 2nd circuit, but was knocked off my game by the heart-burn/indigestion I'd been suffering all day (this happens to me at certain times of the month). The first exercise in the circuit is "Basketball Drill" where you start from a bent-knee position and launch yourself up like you're shooting a free-throw. I'd been jumping up and down during other parts of the workout, but at this point the sourness of my stomach was working upward a little bit and as I started the "Level One Drill" (jumping down to the floor for push-ups, running in a plank position and jumping up repeatedly) I burped and felt a warm and acrid taste rise in my throat.

I considered giving-up; several times earlier I'd thought to myself "I've worked hard and I'm feeling a little funky, maybe this time I'll fast-forward to the cool down. What's a few less minutes? Instead, I ran to the bathroom for some Tums, sat out for 2 minutes and then tried to push through as much of the rest as I could, avoiding any of the serious up-and-down from the floor moves but doing any that were all on the floor, or all upright. It really wasn't serious enough to completely stop, and part of challenging myself and my limits is to try to get through some of these lesser physical obstacles. Don't worry, I know the difference between accommodating a little indigestion and needing to stop because I've seriously strained or otherwise injured something. If it so happens I have another bout, I'll remember to take the Tums early enough before the workout that it won't be a factor.

Since it is the weekend, I didn't want to have to get up for my 7:30am feeding. I was up in time for 10:30 and had some coffee (I haven't given up coffee), but didn't get around to "breakfast" until closer to 1:00 pm when I had 1-550 calorie meal consisting of a 2 egg, 1 egg white omelet with mushrooms, spinach and mozzarella cheese, 2 veggie sausage links and an english muffin. For a late afternoon snack I had half a peanut butter sandwich and a small banana (about 250 calories). Dinner was a small piece of steak (4 oz before cooking), a good-sized broccoli crown steamed and tossed with 1 oz. of goat cheese and half a medium-sized red potato, baked and topped with 1. tbsp light sour cream (about 600 calories). Today felt like splurging, even though calorie-wise I consumed slightly less than on my 5 small meals days.

And so that's the first week of Insanity. On Sundays I rest.

Day 2 - The Insanity Begins

DVD - Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Wow. They weren't kidding. It IS hard.

It starts with a warm-up. A warm-up on steroids. 10 1/2 minutes, 7 exercises, each for 30 to 60 seconds. Jumping Jacks. Heismanns. Heismanns with steps in between. Mummy Kicks. And more. Those first 3 minutes were the longest three minutes of my life! Then a water break (30 sec). Then another set of the same 7 exercises, only more, and faster, in the same time frame. Then water again. Then a final set, more and faster still. I made it all the way through the first set of reps no problem. The 2nd was a struggle. By the third, I was having to stop for water. I chugged a little too fast and started feeling a bit nauseous.

Remember, that was just the warm-up.

Luckily, the warm-up is followed by a 7-minute stretch session where Shaun takes it down a notch or 50. By the end of the stretch, the nausea had subsided but I was covered in a not-so-fine sheen of sweat.

Warm-up plus stretch, and 18 of the 40 minutes are up! Only 22 more to go. 22 more of mostly "Max Interval Training". These are like the first 10 1/2, but with harder exercises and a lot more getting up and down from the floor. Example: Stand up. Now jump to the floor and get into plank position. Do 4 push ups. Then jump up again. Repeat to the point of failure as many times as you can in 60 seconds. And that's only 1/4 of the drill. You do that drill 3 times, in the same manner as the warm-up. Fast, faster, fastest, with 30 second water breaks in between. And then there is a whole new set of 4 exercises before you reach the cool down. I forget the name of the move I found super cool: you are essentially in the position you would be in to start a push-up but instead of lowering your chest and chin to the floor, you jump forward and to the side with your legs while your torso and arms stay as still as possible. The wall I hit came from my arms: my legs and abs wanted to keep going but after all the push-ups my shoulders didn't want to hold me up anymore.

No, I didn't make it through Max Intervals. I stopped, took breaks, but tried to keep moving to keep my heart rate up by walking or jogging around or jumping and shaking out my muscles. If I was on the floor, I went into a crouching yoga position and breathed deeply for a few moments before starting again. At no point did I just completely give up. I'm not sure my heartrate has ever been that high for a sustained period of time, and I know I've never sweated that much.

Quite honestly, my need for breaks happened more quickly than to the people in the video. But they all hit walls too, literally collapsing out of position in some cases (luckily they were close to the ground). Even Shaun doesn't do the whole workout from beginning to end. This heartens me. I feel good about my early goal, which is to increase my stamina and endurance enough to get through as much of the work-out as the people on the video. According to the dialogue, they are all in week 3, and are still at the collapse point. If I get to there from taking frequent breaks like I did tonight at the end of 2 weeks, I'll be damn impressed with myself.

So how am I feeling physically? Sore. I went into the workout feeling sore from yesterday, and started to feel more sore soon after I finished. I popped a couple of Excedrin Back & Body tabs after dinner and drew a nice hot bath. Ibuprofen or some other painkiller is recommended in the beginning while doing this workout (follow the pill manufacturer's directions) because you are going to hurt. I'm clearly using muscles in ways I haven't before, and my joints in particular are letting me know. Mercifully, the bath and Excedrin helped a lot.

So that's Plyometric Cardio Circuit in a nutshell. I'm scheduled to do this DVD 6 more times this first 4 weeks. The next time will be Saturday.