C’mon y’all! Let’s GOOOO!
In all the excitement of the past month (ha ha), I forgot to mention the results of my first round through Beachbody’s Insanity workout program. To be honest, when I started, I was more concerned about injuring myself than I was about losing weight. After all, my brother-in-law gave the DVDs to me, after admitting he was hurting his knees and wasn’t going to use the workouts anymore.
The short version of my results: I lost 5 lbs, and a half inch from my waist. Not too bad for a guy who’s already at his goal weight. Also, during that period of time, I celebrated my birthday, my wife’s birthday, and a few days’ vacation. It was a great weight maintenance strategy, I guess. Plus, for two months I had no desire to do mini-workouts at the office. Those five-minute exercise breaks? Nope. None.
In the weeks since completing my first round of Insanity (and there will be more!), I have been doing a variety of workouts. (You can read about some of them in my series Free Workout Fridays). I’ve lost four additional pounds (that’s 9 pounds since Insanity Day 1), and another inch around my waist. I think Insanity kicked my metabolism into high gear!
So here are my suggestions for getting through 60 days of Insanity without getting injured:
- Warm up before the warm up: The Insanity warm up is really a high-intensity interval workout in disguise. I was preparing myself by doing the P90X2 warm up sequence, just because I am familiar with it: Stretches, lunges, and squats while holding a stability ball. Slow and controlled, for about five minutes before the Insanity warm up.
- Listen to Shaun T: Pace yourself. Take breaks. Use your core (not your back). Jump from the bottom of a squat. When you squat, push your butt back, and your knees should be above your ankles.
- Listen to your body: As the old joke goes, “If it hurts when you do that… Don’t do that!” We all have sore spots, in our back, or our knees, or maybe all over. Do what you can, but don’t overdo it!
Please let me know if you’re a fan of Insanity, or if you’re thinking about starting the program. Leave a comment below, or on the Facebook group.
