Insanity Workout Reviews » abs routine

Insanity Workout Review – Day 37 – Max Plyo

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:08:01 +0000

In my Shaun T Insanity workout today, I did the Max Interval Plyometrics workout and I’ve got to be honest…I struggled today. I do have a great excuse though, I blame….the cycle class I did yesterday evening. It was probably one of the toughest workouts I have ever done, even in the first five to ten minute I was dripping in sweat. By the end of the cycle class my shirt was so wet, I probably could have rung out my shirt.

Doing that class really made it difficult for me to do my workout today. I started off the workout with a killer headache, so I started drinking more water, eventually the headache went away. My legs were also tired, I was having a hard time getting my legs up. After I warmed up, my body started to feel better. I will not be doing anymore crazy workouts like that but once a week. I really liked the cycling class, it was a great challenge.

The Shaun T Insanity workout today was pretty tough, regardless of me being already tired. There were some very new workouts that I have not seen before, so it was a great learning experience. The Max Interval Plyometrics workout was about 55 minutes long, and the main workout starts around the 38 minute marker. The workout that challenged me the most was the level 3 drills. It is the last workout in the second interval section. You do 16 push ups and then sprint it out in a plank position, and then you do it again. Since you are already exhausted it makes it really tough to to this exercise 3 times.

There are two Interval sections in this Insanity workout, plus there is a five minute workout after the intervals are over. This is a great workout, and I am excited to see what type of results I am going to get.

I ate pretty well yesterday, but I did have some eggnog. I love eggnog, I am like an eggnog addict.

Insanity Workout Review – Day 36 – Max Interval Training

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:05:49 +0000

Today was the first day of the 2nd Insanity Workout Month. I was supposed to do the Fit Test again today, but decided to skip it because I did not have enough time. So I went straight to the Insanity Workout called Max Interval Circuit, which is an hour long…Double the time of the first month of the Insanity workouts. If I were to do the fit test, it would have been an hour and a half workout today, and I just did not have that kind of time.

It starts off with a warm up like usual, but the warm up is different than the first month’s warm up. The warm up is around the same length of time as the first months, but with more difficult moves. You will definitely be sweating, by the end of the warm up.

One thing that kind of surprised me, was that the stretching did not seem as long, I could be wrong, but I felt like we did longer stretching in the first month of the Insanity workout. Anyway, you start the main workout with about 42 minutes left in the DVD. Usually you would start around the 22 minute marker…But this is the second month!! This is where it really starts to get crazy!!

There were some pretty tough workouts. There was one particular exercise called the….something? I can’t remember what it was called, but Shaun T has you do 4 ski ab jumps, into 4 jumping jack push ups, into in and outs, then into four oblique push ups. It totally sucked. Another exercise was called “full body drill”…I think. This exercise had you drop down into a plank position, then do sprints, four moving push ups, then four wide sprints, you then got on your feet and jumped and then do it all over again. The workouts were exhausting today. I was glad I decided only to do the Max interval circuit workout, instead of doing the fit test before it.

As for my knee…it is feeling better, the three days of rest really helped it. I started wearing my knee band when I was working at the Elk Camp, and by Sunday there was no more pain. So I wore it today through the workout, and I am wearing it right now.

I was not able to keep to the Nutrition plan this weekend, because at elk camp the only thing to snack on are cookies and chips. Then my Dad makes the most unhealthiest dinners and breakfasts in the world, but they are sooooo delicious.

Later on today, I am going to a cycling class at the gym with my friend. I am going to have to eat a lot of food today, because I heard you can burn anywhere up to 600 to 800 calories from one of those cycling workouts. We’ll see how it goes.

Get insanity!

3rd Day – Shaun T Insanity

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:20:12 +0000

So today I did my Shaun T Insanity Workout and it was once again a very tough workout. Today’s Insanity workout was called Cardio Power and Resistance, it really was a great workout. I felt yesterday’s workout through my whole day, I felt it through my legs, my core, and all the way to my upper chest. My lower back muscles have been sore, but it’s been a good sore. I thought to myself, “I will get a great night sleep and the next day I will feel better.” I was wrong…My muscles were burning right when I woke up this morning, and I was doubting if I was even going to workout this morning. I felt as if there was no possible way for my body to workout when it feels so tight and so sore, but I did it anyway. Although my calves and my thighs were on fire, I still pushed on and did the whole workout. I am sure that I will be sore for the next week, but I know eventually that soreness will go away…HOPEFULLY! Today was really important for me to push through and workout, it was a big step in the right direction.

Let’s get down to the Insanity workouts! I actually made a mistake yesterday explaining the warm up part of the workouts. I said that there are 30 second breaks in between the circuits in the warm up section….I was wrong, there are NO breaks. The warm up is around 11 minutes of non stop action. It is important to get your muscles warmed up so you can prevent injury, especially if your muscles feel tight from the day before. After the 11 minutes of warm ups today, my body felt a little better. Don’t get me wrong I was still sweating profusely and tired, but my muscles loosened up a little. I then went into stretching, I love this part because your heart rate goes down, and the stretching is relaxing. But it is pretty much the calm before the storm, you know at some point it isn’t going to stay like that. So even though you try to enjoy the stretches, you really can’t because you know the furry is coming. There were some really great workouts, there are full on sprints with jumps like you are doing hurdles, there are power jumps and a great shoulder push up workout…plus many more! Once again there were people in the workout video having to take breaks during the workouts because it is so tough, even Shaun T himself took a little pause. This workout was around 40 minutes long, but when the count down hits 23 minutes is when the party really begins. The workouts were different then the first disc, but it had the same structure. Do a circuit, 30 second break, same circuit, 30 second break, same circuit, 30 second break, then you start over with a new circuit and do it all over again. Your blog really gets pumping and your body gets really hot, it is important to breathe properly through these workouts.

For my nutrition: Yesterday evening I had an apple and some turkey, then for dinner I had chicken. This morning after the workout I had a bowl of Kashi Go Lean cereal (1 cup), with non-fat milk (2/3 cup), and flax seed (1 Tbsp). For my mid-morning meal, I am going to have a Shakeology Drink, and for lunch I will probably have a sandwich with whole wheat bread. I am going to Costco today to get some more healthy food. I will get veggie burgers, turkey burgers, lean steak, whole wheat Pita bread, and whole wheat buns. I will also need to get some fruits and vegetables.

See you tomorrow!! Get Insanity

I’m Back From Uganda!!

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:54:33 +0000

So it has been a few weeks since I have been able to write about what my plans are with Chalean Extreme. My original plan is still my plan now. I am still going to do the Chalean Extreme workout and I was going to start it the Monday after I got back, but unfortunately when I was playing soccer at a village in Uganda I sprained my ankle on the uneven ground of the soccer field. I have rolled my left ankle a couple times before that, but this was by far the worst I have ever rolled my ankle. It is starting to get annoying, I feel like i am just getting injured all the time, and it is stupid things like my shoulder or my ankle, it is probably a sign of old age, but I am only 26, I should not have so many problems or accidents with my body. I probably take care of my body more than normal people do, and for some reason I always injure it.

Anyways, Monday the 14th of September I am gonna kick this pig, and start with my Chalean Extreme workout and Shaun T insanity workout. It is going to be tough but I think I can do it, I probably need to make another bet with someone so I can remain motivated through the whole thing. I am a little nervous, because I want to do the workouts and the nutrition plans really badly, but I do struggle with seasons of laziness and I am kind of in one right now. Laziness is a hard habit to break and I never want to to be complacent in that, it’s a bad place to be!!

Along with my Chalean Extreme workout and Insanity workout I want to start using the Shakeology, I think that will help replenish my body and help cleanse my system of any unwanted toxins.

The ChaLean Extreme Fitness Routine

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:22:18 +0000

Let’s first just go over the basics. ChaLean Extreme is a 90 day workout, but you have the option of going 120 days. There are three main phases, the first phase is the Burn phase. In this phase you will lift weights so you can speed up your metabolism and break down any fat reserves. There are upper body and lower body workouts and most the time your are working them out at the same time. The second phase is called the Push Phase. There are different workouts and still weight lifting, but this time with heavier weights. Where in the burn phase you do a weight where you can get 10-12 reps, in the Push phase you use weights where you can only do 6-8 reps. It gets tougher, but you are still gaining muscle to burn away that fat. The third phase is called the Lean Phase. This is where you will really start to see the results, all that weight lifting and work you did in the first two months, lead you up to this point. You will do new workouts and exercises that will help melt those fat reserves right off your body. After this phase you can be done, but there is also another phase that you can chose to do called the Lean for life phase, it is an extra thirty days for anybody who really wants to push themselves. It is there as an option, so you can make the decision after the 90 days is over.

The great part about the Chalean Extreme workout and even the Px90 workout, is that they both focus on beating the workout plateau. The workout Plateau is when a person stops seeing results from their workout routine, your muscles adapt to your routine and even though you might be working harder, you still do not see results. But Chalean extreme addresses the problem, by continually switching up the routine every 30 days. The Chalean Extreme program also comes with a fitness guide and a nutrition guide, because eating is a huge part of the workout if you are going to see results or not. There are recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and I am pretty sure there are some recipes for snacks. Chalean Extreme comes with a sculpting band and a body fat monitor, and if you get the deluxe version it comes with weighted gloves.

All this to say, the main goal is to build muscle so you can burn fat. Do not worry about bulking up though, because this program is designed for building lean muscle, not huge bulky muscles. The Chalean extreme program has a lot to live up to, because it says you can burn up to 60% of your body fat in three months….I guess they are right no matter what, because it do not promise 60% fat loss, but “up to” 60%. Anyways I am sure that if someone really took it seriously and did it by the book, then they can see great results from it and that is what I am going to try to do. My challenge is to see if this thing actually does work, so I will be sticking to a diet of my own and pushing myself to muscle failure. Let’s see how it goes.

Can You Do The Chalean Extreme Workout?

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 23:40:53 +0000

Here is an article that I wrote on my other blog, I thought that it would be helpful for anyone who was interested in the Chalean Extreme workout.

Before you begin your Chalean Extreme journey, it is important to know if you can even physically do the ChaLean Extreme workout. First you need to do the fitness test, to see if you are even in shape for the workouts. For the Fit test you will need a stopwatch, wall, towel, pen or pencil, comfortable clothes, water, 12 inch ruler and free weights ranging from 5 – 20 lbs. or resistance bands. There are eight parts to the Chalean extreme evaluation, you being with doing about 5 minutes of warm up. The warm up is crucial because it will help you to prevent injury that could happen. The warm up can including light jogging, jumping jacks, etc.

The first exercise you will do after the warm up are push ups. All you need to do, is complete as many push ups as you can do without a break, if you cannot perform a push up on your toes, than you can do the knee option. Just make sure that you keep good form, no butt in the air, flex your abs and butt, and do not lover your head. After you are done, mark how many push ups you did, whether on your toes or on your knees.

The 2nd exercise in the Chalean Extreme fit test is crunches, it is the same goal as push ups, do as many as possible. Lay on the ground with bent knees, with your hands behind your head, lift your shoulders off the ground until you come to a 45 degree angle. Perform as many as possible without having your shoulders hit the ground and make sure you do not pull on your head when you perform a crunch.

Thirdly, squats. Again, do as many as possible. Begin with your feet shoulder width apart and squat down like you are sitting in a chair. Keep your back straight and your knees bent, make sure your knees do not bend past your toes. To keep your balance, you might want to stick out your arms straight from your chest. Make sure your weight is focused on the back of your heels. Lastly so the Squats slowly.

The Fourth workout is the Forearm Plank, for this exercise you will need the stopwatch. To perform this workout , get in a push up position, but instead of being on your hands, lie down on your elbows with your forearms and hands faced forward on the ground. Start the timer and get into plank position, holding yourself up on your toes and your elbows, make sure you tighten your abs and butt. Go as long as possible and record your time.

Fifth, do an Overhead Shoulder Press. For this exercise you will need to do 10-12 reps with dumbbells or resistance bands. You will need to pick a weight so that by the 12th rep you can barely push it up, this is important because the Chalean Extreme program focuses on doing reps until your muscles pretty much fail. For the Overhead Press, stand with your feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, and back straight. Hold the weights or the band handles in your hands so that they are just above shoulder height or resting on your shoulders, then push the weights up straight over you head and slowly back down.

The Sixth workout is a Bicep curl. You will need weights or bands for this exercise. Again you want to pick a weight heavy enough so you almost fail at the 12th rep. This is pretty simple, it is just a standard bicep curl. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, and slightly bent knees. With your arms down and your elbows by the side of your body, lift up the weights and stop just before you get to your shoulders. Do not rush it! Count to 4 when you are curling up to meet your bicep, and then do a 4 count on the way down.

The last exercise is a Sit and Reach, you will need the ruler for this one. This is a flexibility test. Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you. place the ruler vertically in between your legs, with the bottom of the ruler even with the bottom of your feet. Stretch three times with your hands stacked on each other. Record each stretch, if you reach past the ruler and your feet, than you meet the minimum requirements for the ChaLean Extreme workout.