Hello Lovelies!
So, I’m half way through month one of INSANITY and have lived to tell the tale…..hurrah! It
has been a bit touch and go at times though!
I feel like I should start with a little information on me
and my current situation exercise/health and fitness wise. I don’t have any
health issues that I’m aware of apart from being prone to being a little anaemic.
I’ve been doing Weight Watchers for the last 18 months and got on well with the
programme. However, I have struggled with it more recently because my
motivation has been completely out the window. I decided that I wanted to do
something about the condition of my body instead of just what I saw on the
scale. I lost a stone and a half on WW and honestly, it didn't make THAT much
difference to how I looked. I thought in my head that I’d be swanning around looking like a
model at below 9 stone but the reality is, at 5ft nothing and my build, I’m
never going to look that way. My new goal is to look healthy and fit. Enter –
Insanity
This is a very intense work out programme and is certainly
not for the faint hearted. My first day involved the Fit Test.
My first week was really tough, I have a relatively OK level
of fitness – I can run 5K without stopping but I can’t really do much else
afterwards! The warm up is the first thing you do and I feel like it’s quite
thorough. You do one round of moves at a relatively slow pace, then repeat them
at a faster pace again and finally go full out one final time. The final time doesn't really feel like a warm up anymore – it’s very much a work out
in its own right! During week 1 I was
really struggling to make it through as far as the third rep without having to
press pause and catch my breath. I enjoyed seeing that some of the people accompanying
Sean T on the DVD were also looking quite worn out during the warm up too!
Next comes the sweat…..and it doesn’t stop! Straight from the warm up you go
into stretches. This is kind of like yoga poses I guess, the moves are slow and
involves lots of holding positions, the music becomes much more relaxing but
you do sweat absolute buckets doing this section! Remember to keep a towel
handy, it’s like no other workout DVD or class I've ever done!
 |
| An indication of how my first Insanity fit test ended! |
Then you move on to the main body of the work out – this usually lasts around
20 minutes and consists of different reps that you do once then repeat another
two times at a faster pace each time. Breaks typically happen after each full
rep, sometimes more frequently depending on the type of exercise. Cardio
resistance is harder in terms of pressure on the joints and body so the breaks come
more often. You only get 30 seconds to recover which is just enough time for a
swig of water and to catch your breath.
One of the DVD’s is called Cardio Recovery – this is a real
God send come mid-week when you’re feeling tired and in need of TLC instead of
an intense workout! It’s similar to the stretches that you do at the start and
end of all of the work outs but lasts around 30 minutes. It’s by no means easy,
I certainly feel the burn when I do this, it’s just nice to be able to catch
your breath and not feel like you’re assaulting your body! This was by far my
favourite DVD in week 1……but that might be because it’s the only one I could
manage to get through without pausing!
After one rest day (mine falls on a Saturday) it’s straight
back into it for week 2. The workouts are not in the same sequence as week 1,
so it’s important to keep an eye on your calendar that is provided with the
programme so that you know what you’re doing each day.
I found from Sunday that the work out was feeling a little easier, but
Wednesday I was getting through the first 25 minutes of the exercise without pressing
pause (a huge achievement) and then last night I managed to get all the way
through Cardio Resistance without taking any unscheduled breaks! If nothing
else, my stamina is improving!
Results
Obviously this is only the first 2 weeks and I’m not
expecting to see huge changes yet. I certainly feel better in myself, I’m
following the meal plan as much as I can but substituting certain foods that
are harder to find in the UK or things I don’t like very much. The important
thing is that I’m eating well and have cut chocolate and all of that good stuff
that makes you gain weight! I’ve lost around 6lbs so far which is good, but I’m
not expecting this to move much lower at any great pace. A lot of people who
have completed this have said that the scale doesn't move much but the
measurements are where you notice the real difference. Although I can’t see a
change yet, I do feel a little more svelte and my skin is looking much better
than it has done in a while.
I have my fit test on Monday so will include my measurements
from two weeks ago and the updated measurements to see if there are any changes
there!
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or you’re
taking on the Insanity challenge/completed the programme yourself, let me know
in the comments! I’d love to hear how you’re getting on!
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