Chronicles of “Insanity”

I am looking to add some size (peak) to my biceps.  The stuff I am currently doin gis not getting me the results I want.  I have tried volume and heavy and I am not sure which helped out if either.

Any suggestions?

That is what my wife said last night.  She had me rolling laughing.  She wanted to break a sweat and was not going to the gym and she said "let me do one of your DVD’s".  So I explained to her month one was easier than month two and she said "just give me one of the ones you are on at the moment"  Now if anyone is doing the insanity series you know you work your way up to month two, you do not just do it.

I told her I would coach her for support, which was true but I wanted to see how she would do.  My wife is 5′8′’ and about 143 lbs walks everyday, hits the gym 2 days a week, and is a card carrying memeber of the cult Weight Watchers (LOL… I am not bagging on Weight Watchers she dropped 25 lbs, but try living in a house where everything is broken down into points).  As soon as I started the dvd it was pure comedy.  She made comments like "I’m writing a letter to the NAACP, this DVD is booty biased, all this jumping ain’t for people with big booty’s"  I am just shaking my head laughing as the warm up went on the comments changed "Why is he screaming at me…?"  I am really laughing now.

The warm up finishes and she is proud thinking she was done because the stretching had begun.  After the stretching the instructor says OK let’s get ready to work, and goes into an intense workout to which my wife replies "Screw this insanity sh*t, I’m done"  Did I mention she normally doesn’t curse.

I am still smiling and that was last night. 

Alright enough talk….time to go do some "Insanity"

Day one month two and I am blown away.  I seriously thought "well the exercises would be the same we would just be doing them longer"…..Well I was wrong.. the warm up was different and so were the exercises.  The workout was a total of 59 minutes.  This was nothing like the first month, this is much harder and more intense (I did not think that was possible).

I am scared to see what tomorrow brings! 

Time for a program change for this month and I want to maximize fat burning/fat loss.  Which would be better Heavy weight or high reps.  I am 6′6′’ 269 and a lot of my weight that I want to lose is about my mid-section. 

I have read several articles with several variations of this diet and i have some general questions.

1. How many calories should one be taking in?  I am 269 lbs and taking in about 2000 cals and 300g of protein and I feel full doing that.

2. How do you factor in fat?  I find it hard to now have to include a whole bunch of fat.  How does one do this.

3.  How does one battle fatigue during workouts?  I can make it through insanity

4. How long should a cycle last?  1 week, 2 weeks, more?

Well month one is done and I am still alive.  I had a number in my head that I wanted to lose and I did not hit that.  I wanted to lose at least 10 and I lost six.  As they say on "The Biggest loser" any weight loss is good and I will get to that point in a day or two.

Been on a ketogenic Diet for the last 11 days and I like it so I will continue to cycle that diet.  Time to refeed though….where is my Captain Crunch (lol) 

it is my 6th complete day on this current eating plan.  I did not think it would be so different since I already wathch my carbs, fats and proteins.  I was wrong, this is completely different and much harder.  All Protein, no carbs and  a lot of fat (I have not quite figured out the fat part I think I am not taking in enough)

I read a bunch of articles before I started and one if the interestign things I read involved food dreams, I laughed and moved on, but after day 2 I started to have them.  At first it was Giant oatmeal/chocolate ship cookies, but then it switched to lemon cake with lemon frosting, being at a fancy restaurant and having a supersized stack of pancakes, sitting down with a gallon of soy milk and a box of captain crunch (with the berries) and carrot cake ice cream (although I have never had it in real life).  Oh what I would do to a bag of Ruffles and some dip…better yet a honey bun……  I could go on but I am getting hungry as we speak.

Has anyone else tried this diet?  Did you have any success? Do you know of a cake with lemon cake and lemon forsting with no carbs?  Holla at me.. (LOL)

5 days to go until I refeed….

Any advice from those who have been on it?  I am just starting day four, and I had my first dream about dessert last night.  How long have you cycled it before?  What results have you seen?

I am so happy to bein my own home and no onger sick.  I had to travel for work last weeka nd right before I left my wife was sick, which in turn made me sick a day later.  I was in Phoenix (hot as hell) and coffing and sneezing and had a major headache.  I had brought my "Insanity" DVD’s with me but had no strength to do them.  I came back a day ealry and just rested and loaded my body with vitamins and rest and that did the trick in 36 hours.

Since I lost a week of insanity progress I went back two weeks in the program to start from there.  I also added a three day lifting split (started today chest/Back) and to top it off I started a ketogenic Diet today.  (I guess I am a bit ambitious)

it just feels so good to get back in the saddle!

Part of the Insanity program is something they call a fit test.  It is 8 exercises to test out your endurance before you start the program and then to track your progress every two after that.  Below are definition of the fit test exercises as well as my number the beginning of week one and then the beginning of week two.  Each exercise is a minute long.

Switch kick:  Arms up (as if you are in a defensive mode) and kick your legs out in front of you.  Left kick, right kick equals one.  Week 1= 50 week 3= 68

Power Jacks:  Jumping jack into a squat.  The up down motion equals one rep.  Week 1= 45, Week  3= 68

Power Knees:  Think of a Muay Thai knee.  You lean to one side and make your knee and your hands meet at your naval.  For you MMA fans imagine you are holding someone in the Thai clinch and you are trying to knee them.  Week 1= 72, Week 3= 103

Power Jumps: Start off in a squat jump in the air, pull your knees up with your core and land softly.  Week 1= 15, Week 3= 31

Globe Jumps:  (I think this is the hardest one): Start off in a squat position Jump to your left (land in a squat), jump to the back (land in a squat), Jump to the Right (land in a squat), and finally jump to the front (land in a squat) that is one rep.  That is nuts right?  Four jumps = one rep.  Week 1= 5, Week 3= 9

Suicide jumps: Down into a plank position, pull your legs through to a squat and launch yourself up.  Week 1= 6, Week 3= 10

Push Up jacks:  This reminds me of a jumping jack lying down.  You start off in a plank position, as you lower your body your legs go out, and when you go up you pull them back in.  Week1= 15, Week 3= 29

Low Plank Oblique:  Start off in a low plank position, contract your oblique as you bring your knee to your side.  Week 1= 20, Week 3= 30

I feel good about my progress and I cannot wait to weigh myself in two weeks.