Insanity & insanity

Okay, much awaited & finally here is my review of week 1 of Shaun T's Insanity program. Well, I won't sugar coat it. It was BRUTAL! Lots of jumping, plyos, planks, speed work, football & basketball drills. But the good part was a lot of stretching! The only soreness I felt was my calves & I attribute that to the running in place, butt kicks, high knees & other similar drills. They feel better today & so far no issues.

Week 1 (these rotate for a full month)

Plyometric Cardio Circuit. Burn fat with intervals of intense lower-body plyometrics and sweat-inducing cardio. (40 min.)

Cardio Power & Resistance. Build lean muscle and upper-body definition with strength-training and power moves. (40 min.)

Cardio Recovery & Max Recovery. Shaun goes easier on you once a week so you’ll be ready for the next round. (80 min.)

Pure Cardio & Abs. Nonstop, extreme cardio workout. (40 min.)

Week 2-4 (all of the above plus)

Cardio Abs. Do explosive intervals of cardio and core moves for rock-hard abs. (20 min.)

Again, totally brutal but a great challenge & the addition of the stretching that I fail to incorporate into my program. I did a bit of foam rolling this past week help with the calf tightness & it seems to help. I also moved to the tile area of our basement for some of the moves rather than doing them on the carpeted area.

So that's Insanity. Now onto the insanity. The hard part of the first week was being excited to see a scale drop since I'd worked SO hard (I also kept my Savage weight training in there too! So Saturday morning, I hop on the scale & see that it's UP! I was ticked but trudged about with my workout for that day anyway. I killed it & remembered to dig out my HR monitor to start tracking those workouts that way. I don't get caught up in the numbers but want to make sure that I'm working as hard as I could be.

Anyway, it's up. Not happy of course but google "weight gain on Insanity." Sure enough most people experience that. Now, I don't know if they are people who'd not worked out before but Insanity is not recommended for novices so I assume they are like me. I've eaten REALLY well for quite a while with the exception of a really good meal once a week & this week was no different inspite of the "gain." Yesterday, I took a MUCH needed rest day but was back to eating well, healthfully or whatever you want to call it. Made mistake of getting on the scale again today & was just ticked. I actually started sobbing during my workout (Insanity) & had to have a "come to Jesus" with myself.

I came up from my workout & hubby had just returned from the gym (he wanted to do some weights) but I said nothing & jumped in the shower. He later came to check on my & I asked him to move the scale. Not just that but hide it. It CANNOT define me & while I've been really good about ignoring it, clearly I'm not able to do that right now.

For the record, I see GREAT changes in the mirror, much better shoulder definition, clothes still fitting well, etc. I am built like my father & unlike many women can build muscle fairly easily. I'm not saying I gained tons of muscle last week but what I am saying is that if my body was primed & ready for it, it'll happen. So in the meantime, the scale goes away. I will find my measuring tape tonight (should have done that a week ago) & go from there.

Yes, I sound like a loon at the moment but I'm in a much better frame of mind than I was this morning. Sometimes I guess you just need to have a breakdown to be able to move forward!!!!!

It's getting hot in herrrre.

Yes, folks. Bad spin off from a song ;) Today our weather guy indicated that we'll be experiencing tropical conditions. Not such a bad thing to most except for those of us living in the MIDWEST! lol We'll be topping out over 90 degrees today with high humidity. This is August weather normally for us!

The Cubs game was a blast. I had a ballpark hotdog, enjoyed a couple beers & sampled two..that's right..two treats from the dessert cart. Carrot cake & a lemon bar. My faves. Both were delish!!!

We finally received Insanity on Tuesday but have yet to give it a go. I need to figure out how to work it in with my weight training. But my hope it to start either Sunday or Monday. I have to set up the training area & get going! I can't wait though.

I won't lie, I gained a few after the wedding but I was very diligent with my eats & have eased up a bit. I'm being more diligent again but not as much as before the wedding. If that makes any sense at all? I still want to get back down to my Weight Watchers goal. Getting rid of the extra will help me be more healthy for pregnancy, help me move better at the Urbanathlon & help me look hotter for me & hubby for our honeymoon. See mostly realistic health reasons ;)

Not much on tap for the weekend other than taking our families (including my grandparents) to dinner for Father's Day. They get a meal on us & we help our friend by taking everyone to their pizza place. It's a win-win plus I don't have to cook!

Have a fantastic weekend & happy Father's day to your hubbies & daddies!!!!

Go Sox?

Okay, okay. So I'm more of a White Sox fan but coming from a family of Cub fanatics, I still have them in my blood. In fact, my aunt's nephew (by marriage) played for the Cubbies for several years thus we attended a lot of games during his years with the organization. Anyhooooo.

Tonight I will be forced to cheer on the boys on the North side as we'll be venturing to see the Cubs take on the A's. It's going to be brutally humid but thankfully we are rolling in skybox style! Thank you to my FIL for taking us along :)

It's been a day of mishaps (yesterday) so today I'm enjoying the evening with open arms! I'm hoping for a Stanley cup sighting as well but who knows if that'll happen.

Hope you are all doing well & a little teaser for you...things are going to get Insane in our house very very soon ;)

Plugging along!

Hey all! Been a bit I see ;) Things in the my world are going pretty well! How about a boring bullet list?

1) I started weight training again the first of the month & it's going pretty well. My finger is still an issue. It's stiff in the morning (can't bend it) & gets pretty tender by the end of the day BUT I'm still moving forward! I missed the weights & realize how much better I feel being able to take out any stress on the poor iron! I'm modifying where I need to & it's going well! Nice to be back in action!

2) Had my doctor's appt (annual) this week & spent time discussing "family planning." ;) I had been torn about when to stop taking my pills & after MUCH discussion with hubby, in my own head & a couple of my very dear voices of reason, I decided with my doctor to continue them for a bit longer. The headaches suck but are manageable, I don't want to get pregnant yet (doing the Urbanathlon & taking our vacation/honeymoon..both in October.) So we'll start "trying" then. She was good with that & reassured me that she's not remotely concerned about my age & having a baby.

3) The Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup ;) I'm actually watching the parade & rally live online as I type! So exciting to have a championship in the city again especially one that's eluded them since 1961!!!! Co-Captain Jonathon Toews with THE cup. He was also awarded the MVP!


4) We are going to see Frank Marino's Divas tomorrow night with my in-laws. Super excited! If you remember, the girls took me to see it in Vegas for my bachelorette party & we LOVED it! They will be at the Blue Chip tomorrow & we scored free tickets. Kevin will redeem his man-card afterwards when I drag him to watch UFC in the bar. Yes, I'm a well balanced girl ;)

I think that's it for now. Life continues to be good, keeping VERY busy & enjoying what life brings our way!

Hope you are well!!!