Insanity Workout Review- Week Seven

What a terrible week this has been! I haven't done a workout since Tuesday!! So not really much to review!

On Wednesday I hit a wall as big ad the Great Wall of china and just couldn't bring myself to do a workout. It's now Sunday and I'm not sure where to go from here- do I continue and add an extra 4 days onto the end of the plan? Or should I just start again? I was starting to struggle a bit with the workouts anyway, and some of the exercises I had to modify quite a bit because I couldn't do them. 

Has this happened to anyone else? Where did you go from here?

I've started seeing some results, but I can only really notice when I look at a picture like this (these were taken at the beginning on the week) I definitely don't feel like I've got ANY smaller!

Insanity Workout Review- Week Six

OUCH!

This week was definitely a tough one! They definitely don't ease you into the "max" sessions easily. The first day was both the fit test and Max Interval Circuit. I really pushed myself during the fit test, and managed to improve my score on every exercise (my scores are at the bottom of this post). This left me feeling knackered by the time I came to start the Circuit workout, and the warm up nearly killed me! But I finished it all and managed to burn 700 calories! Woo Hoo... Then Tuesday morning came with a whole host of achy muscles and joints which made Tuesdays workout equally tough!

These DVDs are definitely a step up from the first 4 weeks, and I can completely see why they don't have you doing it from the start- The exercises themselves are much harder, with the plyo DVD fast becoming my worst enemy due to the number of push up based moves...I can hardly do normal push ups so I definitely found it hard. The intervals have also got longer, moving from 30 seconds to 45 or 1 minute each. As well as the intervals being longer the overall workout length has also increased. Now the running time is 50-60 minutes, compared to about 40 for the first four weeks- Those extra 10 minutes make ALL the difference in turning you into a shaking, sweating mess...Sounds delightful hey!

I've decided to change my rest day to Friday as I get it off work so it means that I do have a full day off- Rather than working all day and then not having to do a workout- It doesn't really feel like a break!

Diet wise I have eaten much better this week. I did have a couple of treats, but also filled up on plenty of veg, fruit, protein and healthy grains like quinoa and I can really feel a difference. I've ran out of my Skinni Minni protein powder now, and I decided to do this week without it and then think about getting some more. I definitely think it helps though, I know the workouts are now harder but I definitely felt less achy when I was having it post workout.

Overall I'm feeling good after this last week, I feel like I'm finally starting to see a difference and my tummy is starting to feel flatter.

Only 3 weeks left now then it's holiday time! I'm actually going away before the programme ends, so I'll end up missing 3 workouts. I haven't decided if I'm going to risk being one of those fitness freaks I hate and take the DVDs with me or if I should just finish it when I get back?!

Here are my fit test results-

Move	Day One	Day 15	Day 36
Switch Kicks	50	57	63
Power Jacks	46	56	67
Power Knees	82	116	126
Power Jumps	22	29	35
Globe Jumps	9	13	14
Suicide Jumps	7	10	12
Push-Up Jacks	12	17	20
Low Plank Oblique	46	50	61

Insanity Workout Review- Week Five

This fifth week of Insanity has been the "rest and recovery" week, and I've definitely needed it!

I found myself struggling and loosing momentum at the end of the last week so a week with some easier sessions was definitely needed. I've actually found this week the hardest week to commit to, and it's been a real struggle to make myself do the workouts every day. I didn't do the workout on Thursday or Saturday and so instead of having a rest day today I need to do Thursdays workout tonight. And either donor again straight after for Saturday or tag it onto a workout during the week- I think ill get it out of the way and do two tonight!

I don't know if it's the heat that made it harder, the fact I know it's about to get so much harder, that I'm only just over half way through or the fact I haven't seen results that has made this week tough- To be honest it's probably a mixture of all them.

Workout wise there was only one workout that was repeated for the whole week, it got a little boring near the end as I had got used to the variety during the first four weeks, but it was much more slow moving- More strength and balance work which was a welcome relief after the previous weeks.

My eating habits at the beginning of the week were really good, and I found it much easier to not snack on rubbish- Instead opting for fruit. Meals consisted of lots of vegetables, and grains such as quinoa. But on Thursday it all went a bit pear shaped again...I skipping dinner in favour of eating cake, had chinese on Friday evening and then had fish and chips and an ice cream on Sunday...Naughty!! (You can blame my dad for the last three!) But I'm feeling ready to get back on it now.

Although I'm pretty scared about how hard the sessions are going to be over the next four weeks I'm also feeling pretty determined to give them my full determination and commitment, even if that means giving up the cake! I WILL reduce the size of my cake belly!

Insanity workout review- Week Four

Yesterday I finished my last workout for the first month of insanity- it should of been a rest day but I swapped it around a bit.

Generally I found this week harder than the rest, I stopped taking the protein shake at the end of my workout and I found My body was aching more than it had before, that combined with the how hot it was at the end of the week didn't really make for optimum workout temperatures. 

I've still been unable to stop my sweet tooth from demanding all that is unhealthy as so I've felt deflated with my non existant results- I really have been working hard during the workouts, and apart from the odd piece of cake etc my diet has been pretty good.

I took a couple of pictures at the start of insanity, and I took a new set tho morning (just ignore the incredibly messy room...students hey!) I wasn't sure if I should post them or not because I can't actually see a difference so it's probably not going to spur you on!

The top pictures are when I started, and the bottom pictures today.

Although I haven't seen a physical change I am starting to feel much stronger and dispute a change in shape, or dramatic fat loss I do feel tighter and slightly more toned.

I'm so happy, and I little relieved that  now going to be started the "recover" week. I really feel like I need it!

I'm going to be using his week to try to improve my diet, make changes and then hopefully at the start of the second month, when it all gets harder I'll see much better results!

I've been thinking of watching the DVDs for the second month, just so I'm prepared, but I think it will scare me off so I probably won't!

Has anyone reading this seen good results? Or like me struggled to get any? 

Insanity workout review- Week three

Today's workout marked the end of my third week of insanity.

I've found this week pretty tough, and there have been a couple of days where I've really had to push myself to do the workouts. But I've managed to do all of them and I'm pleased that I've stuck to the plan so far!

I've also found that my muscles have been quite achey this week, much more than the previous two weeks. My legs especially have felt the strain. I'm definitely looking forward to tomorrow being my rest day!!

I've been using my heart rate monitor for all the workouts this week and I've been a bit disheartened as I've only been burning between 350 and 450 calories, even though I felt I've been working much harder than the previous two weeks. I've compared the calories I was burning last week and a couple of days, including today I burnt slightly less.

Results wise, I am starting to feel stronger and fitter, but I'm not sure I can see that much of a physical change. I think this is mainly because of the rubbish job I've been doing at healthy eating- I've definitely been making some bad choices, including the Indian I just devoured with Sam! (It's hard to care when it tastes so good!) I have taken a couple of pictures at the beginning of each new week so I can look back at them, and see if I can see some progress. 

The next week I'm going to make more of a conscious effort to eat better, I've stocked up on fruit and veg and the fridge is looking full and healthy...I just need to find that motivation again!

If you're thinking of starting insanity I would suggest you buy a good pair of trainers that will support you through the workouts and a heart rate monitor will be useful but not essential. Apart from that you'll just need a good deal of personal motivation, and someone to help you along when you're not feeling up to it is a definite advantage!

Insanity workout review- Week two

MUST. KEEP. GOING.

I had to talk myself into this quite a lot during my second week of insanity. Half way through the week I came down with a cold and felt completely rubbish. I missed Thursday's workout and instead practised lying in bed feeling sorry for myself, and moaning to my better half. 

On Friday I decided I should probably stop with the moaning, and because I started to feel a little bit better I gave the workout a go and just didn't push myself as much as I would of normally. Because of missing Thursday's workout my schedule was out of sync so I decided to do Thursday's workout on Friday, Friday's on Saturday, and Saturday's on Sunday instead of the normal Sunday rest day. 

Week two had the added addition of cardio abs, and I have to say I wish they didn't bother adding it in...It was agony! I think it's fair to say my stomach muscles are non existent...Either that or they're hiding under layers and layers of cupcakes! Oops :/ 

In the first week I was doing the workouts in the evening- Any time between 6 and 9. But because of a change in my hours at work for a few days I decided to try and do it in the morning before work. Getting up was definitely tough, as it meant setting my alarm for 6:30 so that I would have time to do it. I don't think I could do it before work every day, but it is nice knowing that when you finish work you don't have anything else to do and you can fully relax.

Overall week two was probably more difficult motivation wise than the first week due to feeling ill...It's definitely worth having someone around who can motivate you and get you moving...Thanks Sam! 

Today marked the start of week 3, and todays workout was the "fit test" this was completed on the first day of the programme too, and I was able to see how my fitness has improved already- I've posted my results below in case you're interested :) 

Switch Kicks- Week 1-50     Week 2-57

Power Jacks- Week 1-46     Week 2-56

Power Knees- Week 1-82     Week 2-116

Power Jumps- Week 1-22     Week 2-29

Globe Jumps- Week 1-9     Week 2-13

Suicide Jumps- Week 1-7     Week 2-10

Push-up Jacks- Week 1-12     Week 2-17

Low Plank Oblique- Week 1-46     Week 2-50

I'm really pleased that my scores have improved because I've been feeling pretty fat and yuk the last couple of days! 

Insanity workout review- Week one

I've just finished my 6th Insanity workout, which marks the end of week one...Only 8 weeks left!!!

The week started with a fit test, which composes of 8 exercises that you do for a minute each and then you write down how many you manage to do in the minute- The obvious idea being that you're able to do more as you progress through the programme...I was kind of hoping this would be a nice little taster of what was to come, something a bit easy, but I'm come to realise that easy and Insanity are two words that are not found in the same sentence, unless you're saying "Insanity is not easy" I managed to get through the exercises and after doing some googling of other peoples results I realised that I actually didn't do that bad- Maybe I've got a fit person inside me after all!

The rest of the week has gone pretty well, I like the principle of interval training, as it's so nice to have a rest between circuits- Trust me they're needed! I'm not going to lie, I have found them quite tough, but I've managed to get through them, and if I can complete them you certainly can! 

I haven't been following the nutrition plan that come with the workout, but I have followed a couple of the principles- I worked out how many calories I should be eating, according to them, and I've been eating smaller meals, with a couple of snacks. I've also been having a Skinni Minni shake after each workout and I've been taking the Skinni Minni capsules daily. Even though I haven't followed the plan properly I weighed myself this morning and I've lost 3lbs!...YAY...Although most of the reviews I read before starting said that weight loss isn't a major part of the programme and its mostly a change in dress size and shape that you'll notice so before I started I took some horrible photos of myself and hopefully I'll start to see some results soon...

I'll try update you again at the end of the second week.