Fit Test #2 and Week 4 Results August 11, 2009

Okay here goes nothing…I have had many people ask about my results with Insanity so far and so I did just what I was scared to do MEASURE and WEIGH! All in all I am pretty happy with my results thus far. I have exchanged Cardio Abs for Insane Abs ( I really feel that this is going to help with my core strength and losing the inches quicker in my middle section ) Insane abs is really crazy though, I couldn’t believe how much I was shaking during this workout. Now Insane abs is not part of the Insanity package it is part of the Deluxe Insanity package. Insanity Deluxe Package

Okay and here we go…

Day 1                                                                    Day 14

Switch Kicks – 44 reps                                    50 reps

Power Jacks – 33 reps                                    48 reps

Power Knees – 65 reps                                    95 reps

Power Jumps – 25 reps                                   36 reps

Globe Jumps – 0 reps                                       7 reps  (I wasn’t even out of breath)

Suicide Jumps – 5                                            12 reps

Push-up Jacks – 10                                         23 reps

Low Plank Oblique – 16                               45 reps

Since day 1 I have only lost a few inches and my weight has increased (but I am almost 100% sure this is because I am gaining muscle ) and my body fat has decreased 2%. I don’t think I have ever seen my body fat decrease with a workout before! I am really happy to see this working. When I measured my legs tonight I will be happy to report that they are HOT! I am looking more defined and my thigh and calf is almost back to being pure muscle again. No more wobbling for my legs because they are Insanely strong and looking tone. I am almost through with month 1 but I am making some changes to my workout program. I am definitely adding Insane Abs and I need to add more food to my diet. I know for a fact that I am not consuming enough calories each day. I know this is my biggest problem right now.

I am going to be honest with everyone through, Insanity is about pushing yourself and pushing yourself to that insane place everyday. This workout can be easy if you do not dig deeper and push through the pain. I leave every workout drenched and I know that I worked my ass off each time, but I do believe that Cardio abs was not difficult enough for me and I do need to eat more. I know a lot of people have tried Jenny Criag, there is a reason it works quickly, the reason is because you are sticking to a specific calories and you are eating 5 to 6 times a day.

I know there are a lot of people that have e-mailed me about my results and if Insanity is worth it. I really believe this workout is amazing. This is a great Cardio routine that if you complete it to the max everyday you will see awesome results. I hope this helps feel free to contact me if you have any questions at all about this workout I will be happy to share. Contact Me Here

Week 3 of Insanity August 6, 2009

Today’s workout - Cardio Power & Resistance

Duration of workout – About 40 Minutes

Day of workout – 8/06/09

I am officially on week 3 of Insanity. Insanity is a 60 day program that is super intense. I just cant believe the cardio strength it takes to complete the workouts. The entire program is 10 dvd’s and I have only completed 5 of the DVD’s because the last 5 are for the second month. I am not going to lie this is a high impact cardio program that works out every muscle in my body. I really felt like these first 3 weeks have been stregthening my cardio endurance and really working my leg muscles more than anything. I dont think  I have woke up sore each and everyday from any other workout program. Since you are trying to complete as many reps as possible in the time given each day you just push yourself harder and harder. I am still sweating the same way I did on day 1 as I am now that I am on day 21.

I am going to be honest right now though, I am not seeing the results on the scale like I would like, but I am seeing a huge improvement in my endurance and my strength. I am able to jog and complete push-ups way more than I have ever been able to. I am actually doing half my level one drills on my knees and the other half are without my knees. I am pushing myself each and everyday and looking forward to the end of the program when I get to see my body fat decrease along with my measurements. I personally have never been a huge fan of the scale and I really believe that a lot of people (especially women) tend to focus on the numbers too much and get themselves psyched out. Although I am 5’1 and technically at this height I can range in weight from 100 to 129, I have always weighed a little more natually. My body type is naturally muscular and built vs. slender and small. I have always been fine with having a more muscular frame and this is why I have always steered clear of the scale.

Just remember that even though the scale might not be showing you the results you want measurements will. I took very detailed measurements on day 1 of Insanity and have not taken a full set of measurements since. Part of the reason I have not taken measurements is because I am only human and if the measurements are not what I want I just might start to get mad. I have complete faith in Insanity though, and I can’t wait to see my Day 60 results. I can’t wait to get my Insanity shirt and show off what Beachbody and Shuan T have helped me do! Keep checking my posts, I am going to share my #2 Fit Test results soon

DIG DEEPER cause those tricep push-ups are BANANAS!!!!

If you have any fitness questions that I can help you with or any questions about Beachbody products let me know www.healthiernewyou.com

Day 9 Pure Cardio July 24, 2009

Today’s workout - Pure Cardio

Duration of workout – About 38 Minutes

Day of workout – 7/23/09

This is the most difficult day of the week by far. I was dreading this workout all day yesterday and as you can see from my blog post Pure Cardio is my least favorite day. I will admit that I put it off until about 8:30 pm last night and finally got up off the couch and did it. This workout is really intense, even though breaks are not given during this workout I did have to take a few breaks of my own because I was losing form and hurting.

The Pure Cardio DVD is about 40 minutes long with the same warm-up just with mummy kicks added. The warm up is still about 11 minutes long and the stretching sequence that follows is a little shorter with only about 6 minutes. After the stretching it is Pure Cardio for 15 minutes without any breaks. Each exercise he has you complete for 1 minute and then its quickly onto the next exercise. Shaun T does not hold back with this workout. He keeps it intense for the entire 15 minutes. I am going to list out the exercises that he has you complete so you can see the workout!

Suicide Drills

Switch Kicks (these are so difficult I can only complete 5 before I have to stop and take a break)

Wide Football Sprints (this exercise is fun, it makes me feel like an athlete all over again)

Stance Jacks

Pedal (these are killer on the gluts!)

Hooks and Jump Rope (this is not as intense since you get to throw 8 hooks and then do one high jump)

Power Jacks (at this point my legs were burning and I couldn’t get as low as I would have liked)

Level 2 Drills (I still collapse on these after about 10)

Frog Jumps

Power Knees (Nice little break, but still hurts my legs by the end of the minute)

Mt. Climbers (This is the point where a water break was necessary not only for the people in the video but Shaun T admits he is hurting)

Ski Down

Scissor Runs

Suicide Jumps (my legs were hurting so bad that I would collapse on the floor after a few of these jumps)

Push up Jacks (this last minute was so hard and definitely tested mind of matter with me)

This whole workout is very intense and insane, I can see why they call it Insanity. Pure Cardio leaves you drenched and exhausted afterwards. The stretching period at the end felt so good, but I just wanted to lay down on the floor so bad. I agree with Shaun T when he said at the end of the 15 minutes “This S**T is BA-NAN-AS yo” If you want an awesome cardio routine…Insanity is the one for you. Shaun T pushes everyone to there limits and even past them for some. I really need to make sure I get a heart rate monitor on for a work out so I can make sure I am in the correct zone of 85%.  I have seen some of my friends on Facebook talking about the calories they find out they are burning with Insanity with their BodyBugg. I think my next fitness purchase is going to be the BodyBugg. If you dont know what the BodyBugg is check it out here http://www.24hourfitness.com/training/bodybugg/ Right now they are selling them way cheap just to get them out there and people talking about them. It is a MUST HAVE for any fitness lover. For this workout in particular Shaun T recommends a heart rate monitor and after that workout I can see why. My favorite part of working out is being able to get a big glass of recovery formula afterwards though. In the picture below I am in the kitchen getting ready to make it. It tastes just like a orange Push-pop!

Please let me know if you have any questions about Insanity or any other products Beachbody has to offer. I would love to help you better understand each program and the products. Beachbody is a great company that has helped me reach a good fitness level that I am just trying to improve with Insanity. Check out my story here

Hot, Sweaty and RED! Thanks to Insanity

Insanity Day 8 July 23, 2009

Today’s workout - Cardio Power & Resistance

Duration of workout – About 40 Minutes

Day of workout – 7/22/09

60 Days of Insanity

This is my second time to complete the Cardio Power & Resistance the last time I didn’t dedicate one entire post to it and I really think this workout deserves some better detail for you. I really can’t wait until I can get through an entire workout without stopping and taking a break. There were a few times during this workout that I had to stop and catch my breath before I continued going. I have improved my cardiovascular endurance, but it is still hard after a while.

The warm-up on this workout is different and definitely my least favorite warm-up. It starts off with a nice jog goes into power jacks. These Power jacks burn so bad once you get to your third circuit. The log jumps are next and I kept a chair in front of me during this workout and I tried to make sure that I would jump from one side of the chair to the other side of the chair during this move. The next moves are 123-123 Heisman (which are my favorite) and then into butt kicks and high knees. Both of the butt kicks and high knees are building speed and endurance when running. The last move of the warm-up is the vertical jump. This warm-up if done with near perfect form is very difficult. I cannot stress enough how much you need to watch your form and make sure you do not sacrifice form for speed or reps. Although I am not completing as many reps or going as fast as Tyler or the people in the video are going, I know I am paying close attention to each move and making sure I perform it as close to perfect as possible.

After the warm-up you get to complete the stretch sequence. I will admit that after this warm-up that it took me almost half of the stretch sequence to catch my breath. I love having this stretching period for 2 reasons 1. it lets me know that I can push myself just that much harder in the warm-up because I get to take a break in about 11 minutes and 2. My muscles are so tight after the warm-up that it is nice to let them stretch out twice in the workout. Once after the warm-up and second after the workout is over.

Once stretching is complete I got a nice 30 sec water break and onto the first round of Max Intervals. This round consisted of Power Jumps, which work my calves out so bad, and then onto Belt Kicks. Personally I am not  a huge fan of the belt kicks because I am not feeling them working as much as the other exercises afterwards. I am keeping my core tight and yet I still wish I felt them more in my obliques. Then its time to Hit The Floor this is similar to suicides. Now he ends this circuit with a few really cool moves that I have never done before. He has the V Push-Ups, this is so hard! I can feel my triceps, deltoids and trape muscles working. This actually got me shaking by the end of the circuit. Shaun T will have you complete three sets of this circuit and then he adds at the end of the third circuit Tricep dips and Tricep Ball Push-ups. The Tricep dips definitely burn my triceps and then when he has you take it to one legged on each leg, my core engaged a lot more and my thigh began to burn. After these you are able to take a short break and then you do this funky Tricep Ball Push-up. I can say the first time I completed this I was doing it wrong, and last night I figured it out and could feel my triceps shaking every time I went down.

Now onto the last Max Interval circuit. The second circuit starts off with hurdle jumps and then onto my least favorite move globe jumps. One set of globe jumps is four jumps in a circular pattern. This move is killer and I can tell you that after about 5 of these I am about ready to lay on the ground! The next move is Movie Push-ups. I do not completely grasp the concept of moving push-ups which causes me to complete less reps because I am going really slow so I can make sure I don’t mess up. You finish up the circuit with floor sprints which engage the abs a lot (my problem area)! Circuit 2 is my favorite because it pushes me harder than the first circuit I think personally, but since it is not as many moves and has more ground work at the end it is easy to just lay in child’s pose when I am hurting.

Right when you think it is over because there is only 4 minutes left he has you complete 1 minute of 8 Hop Squats and 8 Push-ups! Dang you Shaun T for pushing me harder than I have ever pushed myself! After the workout there is a feeling of accomplishment along with a shaky body! I am happy to have day 8 complete and tonight is Pure Cardio (just a disclaimer right now…pure cardio is HELL on a DVD…just a little warning)

Best of luck in your fitness and please let me know if you have any questions about Insanity, or any other Beachbody products! http://teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/MDSANDVD2103?referringRepId=27975 <- Link to Insanity…Check it out

Insanity Rest Day! July 22, 2009

Todays workout - Rest Day

Duration of workout – 0 min

Day of workout – 7/21/09

Yesterday was my rest day of Insanity! Wow, what a great first week. Shaun T is a great motivator and really pushed me throughout each workout. I will admit that I did push myself harder on my last day and I am even feeling it in new muscles within my body. I am feeling it in my obliques and my booty. Gotta love being able to feel your body changing! I did do Kenpo X with my team at 360 Wraps on Monday along with my ploymetric DVD, so that might of helped work some different muscles as well. Of course most of you should be able to tell that the Insanity workout is 6 days with one off day. Now that I know what my week has in store for me I am going to push myself to my limits this next week. I know I can go even harder during each workout and really get the results I am wanting.

Since I posted my before pictures for the world to see I am much more dedicated to pushing myself to have AWESOME after pictures (plus I really want to get the Insanity T-shirt for FREE)! I see the girls wearing it in the video and think to myself “I want to be that healthy and sport a cute cut off Insanity Tshirt” It is hard being young and out of shape. At my age there is no excuse. I will admit that I did not gain the typical freshman 15 in college and I was really proud of myself. I actually lost weight and was at my smallest right after high school, which would typically be exciting but it wasn’t that exciting because I was losing muscle. Now that I have been out of high school 4 years my body has completely changed and I have gained weight, lost muscle and all in all was not as healthy as I could be.

I am hoping with Shuan T, Insanity, Shakeology, and my recovery formula that I will slowly get back to being healthy and possibly even be in better shape than I was in high school. Now that my rest day is over I am going to start this week off with a bang, and I am going to push myself to and even past my limits. I am excited to add abs in this week, I will let you know how that goes.

It’s all mind over matter!

Insanity Day 6 July 20, 2009

Todays workout - Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Duration of workout – About 41 Minutes

Day of workout – 7/20/09

I just completed my second round of the plyometric cardio circuit and completed my first week of Insanity! It was nice know what to expect this time and being able to go all out because I knew what was coming next. I made it completely through the warmup this time without a major break. This time I do think that I built up my intensity the way I was suppose to. My first round of Insanity I was too tired by my third round that I didn’t push myself on the last set. This time I went all out on my last set of the warmup.

The stretches got my muscles all ready to get Insane, and then the two circuit rounds started.  The first group of circuits consist of suicide drills, power squats, mountain climbers and ski jumps. This is  tough leg circuit. My legs were burning so bad during the workout.  The mountain climbers is a tough one though, by the time I get to it I am drained and can barley lift my leg up anymore.

I will have to say that I really like the second group of circuits the best. The basketball drill is fun and really gets me moving. I was a high school athlete so the sport drills are so much fun! I am still struggling with the level 1 drills. I am not keeping perfect form on the push-ups unless I go slow, which causes me to not complete nearly as many. The level 1 drill is so exhausting and I am shooting to be able to complete the entire set in full pushups by the end of month 1. My form is good throughout the workout though and Shaun T keeps saying throughout the entire thing you have to keep form over reps. I love how he walks through the crowd and checks form and tells them to take a break. It really helps me to know my limits too. The in out Abs is so awesome for the body. I can hear my arm muscles and abs screaming with each in and out.

Insanity is so cool, and very inspirational! Shaun T is a great motivation on the DVD’s he makes you want to keep pushing it and dig deeper each set! He is constantly reminding you to land soft, keep core tight, push harder. I am going to be sore again tomorrow, but with time this soreness will disappear and be replaced with great new muscle. I can’t wait to see my before and after photos and get my Insanity shirt. Remember insanity is a mind game, don’t let your mind say you can’t do it anymore or it is too hard and stop. Tell yourself you can, when I worked out today I was screaming at myself in the mirror telling myself to DIG DEEPER FELECIA YOU CAN DO THIS! I am not going to let my mind control me I am going to push through it and get the results that I want.

Okay so for 6 days I have debated putting my befores on here without any afters, and I thought to myself what the heck you only live once! Mr. Shaun T even said it himself  Insanity is “some crazy sh*t”  which means I know I am going to get some good results. So here it is from the front, back and side! This is my swimsuit from my summer going into my Junior year. I am happy it still fits but its just a lil smaller than I would like

From the Front Day 1

Side View

From the back day 1

Insanity Review Day 5 July 20, 2009

Workout – Pure Cardio

Duration – About 35 minutes

Date of workout – 7/19/2009

I am almost through one week of Insanity! I am so happy right now. I have been able to see a really big difference in the control of my breathing and I am taking less breaks. I have to tell myself each day I work out “It’s all in my mind, I can do this!” Now onto my review of Pure Cardio.

The Pure Cardio routine has the same 11 and a half minute warmup (which I would like to say has gotten much easier for me) with the same stretching sequence. I would like to say that Shaun T says with about 1 minute left in the stretching “is anyone else scared of what is to come next….because I am” I will admit that the minute I heard that he was scared I started to really think about what I had really just got myself into. The cardio workout is about 15 minutes of non stop drills. He mixes it up from leg work to level 1 push up drills to football drills and many more. There is this great one towards the end called a frog jump. This was great for the legs and so hard at the end of the workout. Shaun T is amazing and he fit so many different drills into this short amount of time I couldn’t believe it. By the end of the 15 minutes I was ready to collapse.

At the end of the cardio portion he gives you a 1 minute water break and cool down. Don’t stop moving though! I will say that the Pure Cardio disk is great, I cant wait to add on abs next week. This is really going to help me burn calories and push my fitness level up a notch. Day 5 complete and today I am onto Kenpo X with my team at 360 Wraps and then later tonight I am going to complete the Plyometric Cardio Circuit. I am hoping this time is even better than day 2.

Looking forward to burning more calories and pushing myself even harder today If you are starting Insanity or thinking of starting Insanity feel free to ask me any questions or visit my store to look at the amazing product. I would love to help you reach your fitness goal.

http://teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/MDSANDVD2103?referringRepId=27975

Insanity Workout July 19, 2009

Today is day 3 of the amazing Insanity workout! I have never felt this sore before in my life from a workout. I have been completing these workouts with my boyfriend which has given me great encouragement each day to push myself. I am trying to maintain the best form I can and this might cause me to complete less reps, but I can feel it paying off already. Just laying in bed this morning prior to my workout I couldn’t believe how sore my calfs were, my shoulders, and my obliques. I am going to share with you my last two days of working out.

Day 2 of Insanity – The workout test was a wake up call on my fitness level that is for sure, then the first real day of Insanity came when I pressed play on the plyometic cardio circuit. This was a very intense 42 min workout. The warm up is 3 sets of 3 minute drills. I couldn’t believe that after only 9 minutes of warm up that I was already out of breath and pausing for air. The warmup builds up with each 3 minutes and 30 second section. It starts off with jogging and quickly goes into jumping jacks and then into my favorite hesiman. The hesiman is a great lower and core workout that just makes me feel like an athlete when I do it. Then you switch into 123-123 followed by butt kicks and high knees. To  end of the 3 minutes and 30 seconds is mummy kicks which are super difficult after everything before.  I love the fact that after the 10 minute and 30 second beginning Shaun T does a great stretching routine that truly stretches every muscle in your body. During the stretches I was able to control my heart rate and get ready for the circuit training.

The last half starts with my old high school basketball drills such as suicide drills, ski jumps and squats. I will admit that I pushed myself too hard on the first set that by the 3 set I was dead and could hardly finish. The second set had drill called the level 1 drill which was a combo of push ups running in plaques and doing it all over again. This was killed my upper body that by the last circuit I couldn’t move my legs at all.  By the end of day 2 I just couldn’t wait to enjoy my results and recovery formula. Not only did I finish my workout drenched in sweat just like the teaser said I was shaking and my muscles were screaming! I am going to admit that this felt so AMAZING once it was all said and done!

Day 3 Cardio Power & Resistance – This was a shorter workout but a different level of insanity and intensity. It started out with the same tough warmup drills which since my body was in so much pain it was hard to get my body going. The exciting part though was not only was it me and Tyler working out my parents joined us They were suppose to be completing the plyometic disk of P90x but decided to try out Insanity. The workout had the great stretching session after the warmup again which was a great feeling again. Once we got to the resistance section I couldn’t believe how tight my calf muscles were. There was this great pushup sequence that burned every muscle in my body.

All and all I am so excited about this workout and it gets me out of bed and excited about working out. I can’t believe how tough this workout is and how much it pushes me each and every day.

Shaun T’s new Insanity Workout July 16, 2009

Last night was the beginning of my 60 day fitness challenge. I am using the new Beachbody program Insanity to help get myself to the fitness level that I have been aspiring to be at for a long time. I am a full time college student, I work full time, and usually can’t find the time to work out. I have decided to commit myself for the next 60 days to this workout program 100%! This includes eating properly and working out 6 days a week.

Since Insanity was just released you may be wondering what is Insanity? Insanity is a 60 day Max interval training program. There is no equipment needed for this workout just the commitment to wanna push yourself to conquer each and every workout. The secret to achieving the full body transformation is a system called “Max Interval” Typically during interval training programs the workouts include working out at a moderate level with short bursts of intense effort. With Max Interval training you workout at your maximum capacity with long burst of intense exercise and only short periods of rest in between! This is typically used for athletes in their training ( and I know we all know that an athletes body is usually very close to perfect )

The basic Insanity package includes 10 DVD’s of intense cardio programs, a nutrition guide, and a short fitness guide and a large wall calendar. I added the deluxe package onto my order which included 3 more intense DVD’s.  According to the nutrition guide I will eating 5 meals a day not to exceed 1642 calories. The food in the nutrition guide looks really good too. Protein pancakes, turkey chili, and even pasta with seafood marinara The guide helped me calculate my calories with this nifty little 3 step process: Step 1 – For Women: 655+(4.35 x weight in lbs)+(4.7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age in years) = 1382.05 Step 2 – Multiply this answer by your exercise factor ( mine is 1.55 moderately active ) = 2142.18 Step 3- Since I wanna lose weight I need to subtract 500 calories per day from my number in step 2 = 1642.18.

I will be logging my workouts in WOWY (Work Out With You) on www.teambeachbody.com . This is the virtual supergym that Beachbody has created. They even give away prizes each day to people that have worked out. I have the chance of winning different prizes each day and I have even scheduled out my workouts for the next week on there its that simple.

Review of Day 1 of Insanity:

Okay so here is how my first night went……Last night was the first night of the challenge and it was a great tough start. You start the program with a Fit Test. This test is 25 minutes long. There are 8 different exercises that you perform for 1 minute and you try to complete as many reps in that 1 minute as possible. Let me tell you when I heard it was only 8 minutes of intensity I thought “Ok, I can do that. Its only 8 minutes. Thats easy” Well let me tell you something I was wrong this short test looks sweet but do not let it fool you. It is intense and it let’s you know your exact level of fitness. I will admit that my initial scores were low, but I am not disappointed, I have not worked out this hard since High School (4 years ago). My scores were as follows:

Switch Kicks – 44 reps            Power Jacks – 33 reps           Power Knees – 65 reps        Power Jumps – 25 reps

Globe Jumps – 0 reps             Suicide Jumps – 5                   Push-up Jacks – 10              Low Plank Oblique – 16

Compared to the girl on the video I didn’t do so great, and I know your looking at that big 0 on there with the globe jumps too. I know I was completely out of breath and needed that break. I completed half of 1 globe jump. After it was all said and done I realized what I was getting myself into and couldn’t wait to continue and improve this fit test score. I am scheduled to take the test every 2 weeks and I will update my status on here each day and especially each new test. This is going to be a very intense program and 60 days but it will definitely be worth it. Even this morning I woke up a little sore in areas that I didn’t realize could be sore (this is very exciting!)

Right after my workout I had a much needed glass of my recovery formula, because I really needed that nice refreshing cold recovery.

Please let me know if you have any questions about a Beachbody program or Insanity. If you are currently starting Insanity too please let me know I am always looking for workout buddies on WOWY!

So much Insanity packed in one package

Wish me luck, and hopefully I will reach my fitness goal in 60 days!