Day 11

DVD - Cardio Recovery

There's not a whole lot to say about the Cardio Recovery days. They aren't a challenge. My body and my will power appreciate this. It's nice to have a break from the Insanity.

It’s not that the workout is easy. It’s not. Some of the moves require balancing on one foot for upwards of a minute, but in a way that pulls a lot on your hamstrings and quads. You are also expected to maintain slightly stressed squat positions which again require a lot of balance and pull on your hamstrings and quads. I must confess I can’t always hold the positions for the duration of the stretch, particularly when moving from one intense hamstring-quad stretch combination to another. I am happy to report, however, that my balance seems to have improved greatly in the last 11 days. Before Insanity, there were moves in Tae Bo that required balance and I struggled with them every time. Today, I can stand on one foot and hold that position for much longer than I ever could with Tae-Bo and I do not have to work extra hard to do so.


One area I’d really like to work on is my flexibility, particularly in my groin and hips, so that I can do something approximating the splits. At the moment, if I try to do the splits from a seated position, I am only able to open my legs wide enough that they form just over a 90 degree angle. If I start from a standing position, I can get the angle between my legs greater than 90 degrees, but not by much. If I try to push beyond this, if feels like I’m going to tear some vital muscle or tendon in my legs, especially in my thighs. I notice my flexibility improves from one end of the cardio videos to the next, but not so much during the Cardio Recovery DVD. From what I understand, the difference is the workout. Once you've warmed up your muscles, they are more inclined to stretch farther.