Insanity, ouch!

[zCypher]

I've had my share of lame failed attempts of going to the gym. The best shape I've ever been was when I worked a job that kept me moving all the time. Now I love my current job and am excited about the path I'm taking there, but all this sitting down has been killing me. I sit down at work, walk home and sit down some more. There's a lot of beer and laziness involved, but I digress. I knew I was horribly out of shape, but doing the Insanity "fit test" has put into perspective just how horribly out of shape I am! One of my coworkers has been doing Insanity, and it piqued my interest.

Feels good to be sore from working out, but I hardly did anything. I was pretty dead after the first few exercises. Tomorrow I will try the plyometric or whatever it's called.

What do people do after Insanity? I mean, I'm sure plenty of progress can be made with it, as it's pretty intense - but what do you guys do to keep in top shape after insanity? Do you combine insanity with another workout routine, or do you keep doing insanity over and over? Or do you move on to something else like Insanity?

So far it's pretty fun, more fun than just running on a treadmill IMO. I appreciate that there is a stretching session, warm up, and another stretching session at the end. It seems the variety of workouts do a fairly good job of getting various muscle groups.

I've been thinking about what to do about food. I know that eating habits can impact fitness at least as much as exercise, so I have no choice there. Most days I don't bother eating breakfast, and only end up eating lunch 8+ hours after waking up. I often eat dinner only an hour or so before sleeping, probably not a good thing.

This morning (and by morning, I mean 3pm) I made my sis and I a big breakfast with eggs, bacon, croissant and a few types of cheese, some good coffee and I started insanity roughly an hour after that.

What are some good/easy ways to eat properly, keeping Insanity in mind? I'm not as interested in using special products for working out, as optimizing my eating habits with good food that make sense for the activity I'm doing.

I burped a lot and felt a bit like puking towards the end and got a pretty bad headache for about a half hour or so. I drank some water, and the headache went away. Tonight I am sore in my left calf, and I feel it a bit in my back and neck/shoulders. I felt it in my lower abs a bit earlier, but that seems to have went away.

Any tips, suggestions, criticism, etc are all more than welcome. Excited to start day 2 tomorrow. I know it can take a long time to see serious results, but I'm really curious to see just what happens over the next month or two.

Edit: forgot to mention I am a 28 year old male, 6'1 and if I had to guess, I weigh around 210lbs but I haven't weighed myself in a long time. Last time I weighed myself I was around 190, and it's been a long time and I just keep getting fatter, so I assume I'm around there. Most people seem to think I'm skinny cause I'm tall, but I can no longer see my abs. They're buried under a fair bit of flab. I don't like it.

 

[HendrixFan]

Diet is key to good exercise. You will struggle to keep up with Insanity or any other fairly rigorous routine unless you are eating well.

Do some searches in this forum for smoothies, you will get quite a few good recipes and tips. That could really help ensure that you are eating breakfast daily. In general you will want to eat as much unprocessed food as possible.

Personally, my diet is mostly oatmeal, rice, chicken, tuna, ground beef, pasta, bananas and tons of veggies. All are whole grain, no hormone, etc. I can't stress the veggies enough, those are vital to a good diet.

Keep drinking water early and often. Not just during and after a workout. Keep yourself saturated throughout the day. I carry around a camelbak pretty much everywhere and refill it all over the place (work, gym, home).

Read through the fat loss sticky for more in depth advice on diet. Keep posting updates here on your progress, it should help you keep up with the exercising and not give up.

 

[tedrodai]

It depends on what you mean by "top shape". Everyone has different goals when they're trying to be in top shape, because there's many different ways to train your body, and there are tradeoffs in the way you exercise. You won't be as strong as you possibly can if you train lots of endurance; You won't have a real efficient cardio system if you train purely strength; etc. So, to be in top shape, you need to think about what kinds of things you want to be able to do, and train for those things.

Do you want to get better in a particular sport? Do you want to just get rid of the excess fat and look/feel better? Do you just want to improve your overall health?

I tried out Insanity at the end of last year, and while it was fun having a group to work through it all with, the Insanity workouts were basically the antithesis to my workout goals...which are bodyweight strenght training 1st, cardio 2nd. I tried for several months, but just couldn't get the Insanity workouts to fit with my routine at all. I'm not trying to talk you out of doing Insanity--it has it's place--but I will say this: video workouts like that are rarely an efficient workout for the amount of time you put into it. So, while it's not at all a bad thing you're doing Insanity, I'd definitely recommend you move on to other routines after a few cycles of it if you want to be in top shape. We can't really help you pick routines to go with, however, until we can narrow down your goals a little bit.

Diet is incredibly important though, as HendrixFan said. Not only is it MORE important than exercise for losing weight, but it's also very important to help fuel your workouts and your body's recovery. You'll have to start educating yourself on nutrition in order to get a handle on things, and the fat loss sticky isn't a bad place to start.

 

[Nebor]

You just keep doing Insanity. They will always smoke you. I've done the complete training schedule once, and right now I'm on week 5 doing it all again.

I run every morning (3-10 miles depending on how I'm feeling,) lift weights around lunchtime (On a Monday through Friday rotation of chest\shoulders\arms\back\legs) and then do Insanity in my garage when I get home from work in the evening.

I also keep my carb intake to a minimum, aside from all the alcohol I drink. Overall I don't really worry about what I eat or the quantity that I eat it in. You can burn it all off.

My point is, Insanity will always be a good workout. If you have the space, Insanity Asylum is a good way to mix things up if you're tired of the same workouts. And you can supplement Insanity with running and lifting weights. Insanity will absolutely change your definition of what "tired" means, so you'll find that when you start running you can go longer and faster because you're not really as tired as you thought you were (plus your cardio is built way up.)

 

[zCypher]

Thanks for all the feedback! I tried doing the plyometric thing today even though my calves hurt quite a bit. And now...walking is painful! lol. Can't wait to see how it goes tomorrow morning.

I can see why a lot of people would give up. Doing insanity + working out on top of that seems like it would be crazy. For now my goal is to get rid of my extra chub. I want to see my abs again. I weighed myself today, and I'm still around 195 which has been my weight for the past few years. However I used to be fit at that weight, now I'm quite a bit fatter at the same weight so I must have lost quite a bit of muscle.

I definitely want to have better muscle tone, more strength and what not, but since my cardio and endurance is so horribly bad, that's my focus for now. Once I'm satisfied with my cardio/endurance and I look better (no more belly), then I might want to focus a bit more on strength. I don't have any particular goals in terms of sports, though I would probably get into hockey again once I'm in not-disgusting-shape. Right now I feel like Insanity is really going to kick my ass, so I'm OK just doing that for the time being. Not that I've ever been really ripped before, but I've found that the gains from weight lifting were seen in a relatively short period of time. So given how much harder cardio seems to be for me, I'd rather concentrate on that. I might try lifting a little just to not burn away too much muscle, but I'm probably a ways off from needing to worry about that.

In early March I will be heading out to Vancouver for the first time ever, so I'm pretty motivated to try and be in as good shape as possible by then.

Taking a pic of myself was almost as much of a wake up call as how much the fit test and plyometrics kicked my ass. don't be too hard on me: http://imageshack.us/a/img138/2471/img201301231631381.jpg

i was one of those guys that could never put on a pound no matter what I did, I was hideously skinny. that persisted until about 3 years ago when I started working in an office again. I have spent the better part of the past 3 years being pathetically lazy, and have seen my fitness decline to a really sad low. I walk to work (granted, it's up-hill, but still) and I'm sweating. People ask me if I've been running or just came from the gym. Pretty embarrassing.

I feel like there's no way I can do day 3, but I'm going to do whatever I possibly can either way.

 

[tedrodai]

Sounds like a plan. And that's basically the approach I took a couple years ago when I decided to change my attitude towards my fitness/health--I did cardio and light bodyweight stuff for most of a year, focussing on dropping weight and getting back in halfway decent shape, before I started back with some real strength training. I was 5'11" 200lbs at the time, and most of the excess was fat.

Most would suggest starting out with weight lifting, but the important thing is finding a diet and routine that you enjoy and can stick with. Consistency is the key for both.

For Insanity though, make sure you go at your own pace. Keep proper form with every exercise and don't push yourself to injury...it's easy to do.

 

[zCypher]

You're not kidding, my legs will attest to that. I did day 3 (cardio and resistance I think) even though i was already hurting. Yesterday in plyometric I didn't get all the way through. Today I paced myself a bit more and focused on doing (whatever I could do) properly. I took quite a few breaks for 30-60 sec, but I made it all the way through.

Even though my upper body isn't feeling much yet, I was hardly able to do any of the pushup related exercises! I was so beat. Those globe jumps look so easy too but they're not. Overall satisfied having made it through at least. Anxious to see how I'll feel tomorrow.

I just ate a clementine before my workout and made a proper eggs and bacon breakfast afterwards.

I'm planning on eating more regularly throughout the day using nuts and fruits, we'll see how that goes. Sadly I have no choice but to reduce my beer intake as well. On the bright side, I don't feel like drinking or eating junk as much now that ive started insanity.

 

[Nebor]

Yeah, globe jumps, basketball jumps and frog jumps are all the same thing. Similarly, suicide drills and touch-the-floor are the same thing. It is amazing that you can be so tired from jumping around that it's hard to just crawl around the floor sometimes.

 

[zCypher]

I started feeling sick yesterday, coughing and sneezing/blowing my nose throughout the last half of the day at work. Walking home was much easier going than walking to work. Then I couldn't sleep last night, lucky if I got two hours of actual sleep. Ugh. So I woke up and did the cardio recovery. Thank god it was "recovery"! I found it really difficult, but something tells me that I'm going to be sorry if I don't get a good night's sleep tonight. I had a really tough time with the plank oblique thing, could barely do it at all. Feels like my side-fat is getting in the way (during stretches too), haha. Legs are back to "can hardly walk" again. Two more days till rest day. lol.

Feeling pretty good overall even though I'm beat, I made it through the whole video which is encouraging. I caught myself with bad form and corrected a couple times. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the video and try to keep up with them when I should really be focusing on my form before anything else.

 

[Nebor]

Are you actually following the calendar or just doing one video after another in order?

 

[zCypher]

I'd like to follow the schedule as closely as possible. Can't wait for my first day of rest!

 

[zCypher]

Yesterday I started feeling pretty crappy. I kept getting cold chills to the point of wearing my winter coat inside for a while, accompanied by a nice headache.

When I got home from work I curled up in fetal position shivering. Death was warded off by chicken noodle soup. Surprisingly it made me feel a LOT better. I wonder if I was just really low on salts after sweating so much.

So I felt good "enough" this morning not to skip day 5, pure cardio. I feel ok so far but still a bit like I'm coming down with something. After the workout today I ate a banana, oatmeal blueberry muffin (no sugar or butter), some ham and eggs + orange juice. I also had a tall glass of water throughout/after workout. Does this sound ok??

 

[Rudee]

I've been dong the Insanity Hybrid workout since Jan 1st and I love it. It's a hybrid of P90x and Insanity. The extra pounds I packed on last year are burning away fast. I've done both P90x and Insanity separately before, but the hybrid workout is definitely my favorite.

 

[HendrixFan]

So I felt good "enough" this morning not to skip day 5, pure cardio. I feel ok so far but still a bit like I'm coming down with something. After the workout today I ate a banana, oatmeal blueberry muffin (no sugar or butter), some ham and eggs + orange juice. I also had a tall glass of water throughout/after workout. Does this sound ok??

Just be careful that you aren't pushing yourself too far while sick. I typically take a week off if I come down with something then ease myself back into my workout routine. On a couple occasions I came back too soon, just as I was feeling on the upswing, and whatever I was sick with roared back and took me down for a few more weeks. I rarely get sick too, so it was quite a surprise. Make sure you are leaving your body enough energy to fight off whatever bug you have.

 

[zCypher]

Just be careful that you aren't pushing yourself too far while sick. I typically take a week off if I come down with something then ease myself back into my workout routine. On a couple occasions I came back too soon, just as I was feeling on the upswing, and whatever I was sick with roared back and took me down for a few more weeks. I rarely get sick too, so it was quite a surprise. Make sure you are leaving your body enough energy to fight off whatever bug you have.

This is a good point, I will have to be careful. I just figured that my body was overwhelmed with such drastic sudden changes. Instead of sitting down all the time and eating junk / drinking beer, all of a sudden I'm working out intensely every day and the supply of poutine and beer has dried up. Body must be like 'WTF are you doing to me?'

Yesterday I felt relatively fine for the first half of the day, and got much worse after that. Today I feel considerably better than the same time yesterday, but I'll see how it goes. Tomorrow will be day 6, so unless I get worse I think I'll stick to it.

Edit: just thought of this, I drink coffee. Is that bad? Usually a cup or two in the morning, but sometimes as much as 3-4 cups, always black. Is there a potential negative there, or it's ok?

Edit 2: woohoo! finished day 6! now I get a day of rest, finally. I'm still a little sick but it's getting better, so I think I'm good. Day of rest should fix me right up.

 

[Nebor]

Coffee is like a superfood. Pretty much no negatives when consumed in moderation.

 

[Jeffg010]

How many calories are you taking in a day? If you are not taking in enough it could impact you negatively. I have a feeling your diet is bring you down.

 

[zCypher]

How many calories are you taking in a day? If you are not taking in enough it could impact you negatively. I have a feeling your diet is bring you down.

I think so too. I don't think I was well prepared for the food, especially the first few days. Day 1 and 2 I was still drinking, then I started feeling worse and worse.

Day 6, rest day and today went great. Since I have cut out excess alcohol and junk food, I also been making an effort to eat better before/after working out. I've been eating lots of protein, and lately I have been eating about 5-6 times per day. I haven't really been counting calories though, perhaps I should?

Here's an example of what I ate one day:

- Pre-workout snack (first food of the morning): two clementines and a banana, then I did Insanity
- Post-workout breakfast: 2 eggs, cheese, sourdough bread with raisins/nuts in it, blueberries and strawberries, small glass of chocolate milk, freshly ground coffee
- Pre-work day snack: small home made bran muffin, "greek" yogurt (8g protein), some freshly cut pineapple
- Lunch: apple, chicken noodle soup, some cheese and roasted garlic hummus
- End of work day snack: another yogurt, more pineapple
- ~1-2hrs before bed: another yogurt and another apple

Probably too much yogurt for one day I'll admit, just got to work in some more variety for the eating-more-often thing.

 

[HendrixFan]

First off, keep up the good work!

I would definitely say you should start counting calories, mostly for informational purposes at this point. If you track it for a few weeks you will have a good idea of where you are getting your calories from, whether or not it is too much or too little, and provide you direction on how to improve.

Some guys will certainly know better than me and hopefully chime in, but at a glance that diet looks to be too heavy on fruit, and too light on protein and veggies. It looks like alot of your calories are coming from sugars (via fruit). Is the yogurt plain or flavored? Plain is usually low in sugar but the flavored kinds tend to have quite a bit of sugar.

Those foil sealed packages of tuna are good for a quick snack and are high in protein. Try and find ways/types of chicken that you can easily eat while at home. Chicken is high in protein and low in fat. The grocery store should have lean ground beef also.

Personally I try to veer towards veggies that are high in potassium. Milk is also high in potassium and could be beneficial if added to your diet.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=162171

The fat loss sticky does a great job of describing some goals and objectives in your diet as well as offering up suggestions.

 

[zCypher]

Thanks for all the great input! I counted this morning's calories. I had clementines, sourdough bread, soft boiled eggs, and a cashew / almond / hazelnut / pecan / brazil unsalted nut mix a bit later. Also had a can of V8 juice and some coffee.

I counted a total of 955 calories. I counted 39g of protein in all of that, and 1130mg sodium / 720mg potassium. This is over a couple hours time though. Feel good so far. Will probably eat dinner in a couple hours.

I went to one ot these sites that calculates BMR/BMI. Says my BMR is 1910.2 and BMI 25.8. Apparently that means I need 2292 calories per day. I selected sedentary activity as I sit down all day at work. No idea if these numbers are accurate or what they even mean really.

 

[HendrixFan]

That should mean you need roughly 2300 calories to maintain your current weight while doing no exercise. See what the calculator says when you change your activity level to reflect your current workouts. Whatever it spits out you will want to run a few hundred calories below that number to lose weight steadily.

 

[tedrodai]

No idea if these numbers are accurate or what they even mean really.

BMR = basal metebolic rate = how many calories your body burns in 1 day simply exisiting.
You also burn calories walking around, eating, exercising, etc. So your total calories burned each day is BMR + calories from activity. To stay at your current weight, you'd eat a number of calories equal to that total. To gain weight, eat more calories than that...you get the picture.

BMR calculators are always an estimate, but they should give you a good idea of your actual BMR.

BMI = some formula devised to give the average joe an idea on whether they're fat or not, and thus at risk for health problems. It has its uses I guess, but it doesn't really account for muscle mass, so people who have a lot of muscle think it's BS.

 

[Mel17]

Great to see you have started doing Insanity and are powering through. I'm on my second time through, currently on month two and noticing i can really push myself a lot more.

One of the things i found hard initially was the nutrition.To begin with it was crazy when i started to understand how much i was eating prior to Insanity. My portion sizes were bigger and i was less conscious of calories. Upon starting Insanity I used myfitnesspal to take note of the nutritional values and calories in the foods i was eating. It tracks values like calories, fat, sugar protein and you can adjust the percentages based on how much you want to consume. It was a great way to gain an understanding of food portions and foods that worked well together for a meal although I used it as a rough guide only.

When i'm out of the house and need to eat lunch i normally try to avoid sandwiches but instead go for health mixes containing lentils, beans or grains. Something like a wholefoods mix with a light citrus and soy dressing. They normally fill me up and i don't feel bloated after.

Normally after a heavy workout i have a drink of chocolate milk and don't normally feel as sore as expected the next day. Did you use the guide that came with the Insanity package to calculate you calorie intake per day?

As posted above going at your own pace is key, slower with correct form is better. Keep at it!

 

[zCypher]

Well I had my second fit test a few days ago. To my surprise I completely killed it compared to my first fit test! I remember hardly even being able to do a switch kick (pathetic I know), this time I did 54!! That's still pretty far behind the people in the video, but it was a huge motivational boost to see that I actually made some progress.

The two days prior to fit test #2, I woke up a bit late and almost didn't end up doing it. But even though it was cutting it close for time, I did it anyway and I was really glad I did (haven't skipped a day so far). I still feel completely useless doing each video, although I am able to get farther into the warmup before needing a break and I seem to be recovering a bit faster.

It made me lol when Shaun T said "this is about when Shaun T needs to take a break" during the Pure Cardio video.

While my calves aren't hurting anymore, I feel it a lot more in my quads now. All that jumping and squatting is freaking madness.

I've still kept clear of any bad foods. Yesterday I made a squash soup for the first time, it was bloody delicious. Pretty healthy too I think. I then made myself a pork stew with rutabaga, carrots, green beans and potatoes (all from "local" sources, in-province) to bring for my lunch today. I've not been eating out either, except for getting some pretty healthy indian food (lentils, vegetable stuff, palak paneer which is basically spinach and cheese, etc).

Tomorrow is cardio recovery.

I've been wondering about them heart rate monitoring thingies. Should I bother getting one? I've just been taking breaks when I really need them and starting up as soon as I can (sometimes a bit too soon). Shaun T seems to often stress the importance of recovery.

 

[HendrixFan]

The more you work out, the more you will find good food satisfying. Your body will crave what it needs. After you adjust to a cleaner diet fully you will be surprised at how the food you used to eat tastes.

As a 28 yr old, I don't think you should be overly concerned with a heart rate monitor. You should be able to push yourself hard without any problems. You seem to know your own limits pretty well at this point.