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Don’t forget to check out all my CAST PROFILES!
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Help me, Shaun T!
(Anna doesn’t need it) |
Full Name: Anna Kaiser
Video Introduction: Shaun T seems to have trouble with Anna’s name. Sometimes he calls her “Hannah.” These are intense workouts, so we’ll forgive him! The cameras turn to Anna fairly often in the Beachbody Insanity Month 1 videos, to demonstrate proper form and intensity. She is also featured in Core Cardio and Balance (the Recovery Week workout), and Max Cardio Interval. Of course, she is in the background for the other ones, too.
Background/Current: Anna’s staff profile for AKT in Motion lists the following achievements:
- Former instructor for ballet, body conditioning, and dance cardio at prominent fitness clubs in New York and L.A.
- Former Chief Content Officer for fitness personality, Tracy Anderson, and preferred trainer for VIP clients
- Featured in workout videos including Beachbody’s INSANITY
 and The Denise Austin Series
- Co-created and co-produced Expecting More – Sara Haley’s Daily Sweat Pregnancy Program
- Appeared in music videos for pop stars such as Shakira
- Toured internationally with the cast of Fame!
- Served as a principal dancer in Disney’s feature film Enchanted
- Performed in the 50th Anniversary of Broadway’s West Side Story
- Performed at Carnegie Hall, in Showboat
My Comments: Whenever I see that a fitness video cast member is given some extra attention, I wonder if their health/fitness resume includes more than making the audition for the video, which is already impressive. As we see here, Anna is both a fitness professional with many credits, and an accomplished performer.
Official/Personal Websites:
Facebook (follow or friend request)
Websites Featuring Anna:
AKT in Motion profile
Twitter @AKTInMotion
I’m still alive, after a month of Insanity! Five weeks, actually, if I include the Recovery week. I was given the DVDs by my brother-in-law, who decided around this point that the program was too hard on his knees, and that he didn’t like all that emphasis on cardio anyway. I came into week 1 wondering if my own knees and endurance were ready for the challenge, being careful to follow the recommendations about soft landings and taking breaks as needed. Fast forward, and I feel pretty good about my pace after week 4. I’m not ready to be a cast member yet, but I can certainly make it through the end of the workouts.
Changes and improvements: I’ve lost 3 pounds since I started. This isn’t a drastic change, and I wasn’t expecting too much anyway since I am at my goal weight. I am surprised at some of the changes I have seen, though. I am pretty sure my forearms are getting bigger, from all the plank exercises and push ups. I’m getting better at burpees (jump squat thrusts). Also, as I learn to use my core for all these hopping and jumping exercises, maybe I will see that elusive six pack?
Recovery Week (between month 1 and 2) does allow for, um, recovery, but there isn’t much variety. For comparison, P90X has one workout specifically for recovery week (Core Synergistics) but the rest of the week includes familiar but less strenuous workouts (Yoga, Stretch, and Kenpo). Insanity includes one Recovery workout for month 1, but the recovery week is simply Core Cardio and Balance, for six days straight. The pace is about two-thirds of a normal workout, with some balance exercises in addition to the more familiar ones. By the end of the week, as my proficiency improved, I found myself working almost as hard at “recovery” as I was in previous weeks. I might have preferred more variety, but I guess the goal of recovery from month 1, and preparation for month 2, was achieved.
I have already started the month 2 “Max” workouts: Max Interval Plyo, Max Interval Circuit, Max Cardio Conditioning, and (of course!) Max Recovery. I was a little confused that the Fit Test is scheduled on the same day as the first Max Interval Circuit, for 90 minutes total exercise time? I just did the Fit Test that day, and tried the first part of the workout, for about an hour total. More about that in my next update.
Related Posts
All Cast Profiles (includes Insanity, P90X, P90X2, and more!)
All Insanity-related posts
Don’t forget to check out all my CAST PROFILES!
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| Close up, because the rest is a blur!
(Insanity Plyometric Cardio) |
Full Name: Tania Ante Baron
Insanity Introduction: Tania and Chris greet us in the Fit Test with Shaun T, and Tania is featured prominently in the Month 1 workouts.
Background/Current: On her Facebook page, Tania lists many professional projects, including the workout programs INSANITY, Hip Hop Abs , Shakeology: The Workouts, and more. In addition, she performed for several years as a Britney Spears dancer; for musical acts ‘N Sync, Monica, and Usher; and on a list of entertainment and awards shows. She’s a professional, and multi-talented!
My Comments: I admit that I am still relatively new to Beachbody’s Insanity workouts, as I finish week 4 on my first time through the program. I could tell right away, though, that Tania stands out from the crowd. It was interesting to learn about her other projects, including her previous work with Shaun T in Hip Hop Abs. A quick look at her Twitter or Instagram feeds will show that she’s a mommy now. Good for her! Just another example of the real person behind what you see in the exercise video, or in her case, on stage and screen.
Official/Personal Websites:
Personal website
Facebook page (Keeping Up with Tania Ante Baron)
Twitter (@TaniaAnteBaron)
Instagram (taniabaron)
Websites Featuring Tania
Shakeology: The Workouts promo clip (YouTube)
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“Adriana, tell me how you feel!”
“I feel like sh*t!” |
Tuesday, February 12 was my birthday. It was also Week 3, Day 2 of Insanity. Of course, it’s possible to treat my birthday as a “cheat day” when it comes to my calorie count and exercise, and get back to the program on the next day. I ended up taking a little break when it comes to calorie counting for the week, but I did keep up with the exercise schedule.
The workouts this week were the same as before, with a Fit Test on Monday to check my progress, followed by Plyometric Cardio Circuit, Pure Cardio/Cardio Abs, Cardio Recovery, Cardio Power & Resistance, and Plyometric Cardio Circuit (second time). My Fit Test numbers were not dramatically increased compared to Day One, but I did see some small increases on certain exercises, as well as a definite improvement in form and stamina. I also noticed how the Fit Test is a shortened Insanity workout, with the same warm up circuit.
I am getting better at surviving the last 10 minutes of the workout, but I am still modifying (or just watching) the plank moves at the end of some workouts. I mean, who needs to do ski drills followed by In and Outs, repeated several times? For the Level 1 Drills, I did Mountain Climbers in a standing position rather than the plank position.
The workouts aren’t getting easier, because I am increasing my intensity whenever possible, and taking fewer breaks. I don’t know if I am thankful for the same workouts each week in a different order, or if some new workouts would be a nice change. Most important of all, though: Still injury-free, after three weeks!
Related Posts
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| “C’mon y’all, Let’s GOOOOO!” |
I made it to the end of week 2 of Beachbody’s Insanity workout program, and for some reason I want to put up one of those signs you’ve seen or heard about in factories: “No injuries in (number) days.” In other words, it’s “So far, so good” when it comes to my back, knees, ankles, etc. I have had problems during my rounds of P90X with my shoulders and knees, for example, but I came into Insanity forewarned that I should pace myself. I also purchased some foam squares to cushion my jumps, which are probably helping.
Here’s another reason I might be doing well with Insanity so far: I like to warm up beforehand, using the stability ball and foam roller I learned about from P90X2. Tony Horton often reminds us that the warm up and cool down are demonstrations of what you should do, but of course it’s OK to do more if necessary. Shaun T, on the other hand, briefly reminds us to stay safe, go at our own pace, land on “soft knees,” but the Insanity workouts pick up the pace a lot quicker than P90X and P90X2. Maybe I need the extra warm up and stretch, and maybe not, but it does help me to get ready for what’s coming. I also like to add a couple of cool down exercises at the end, because that three minutes doesn’t seem long enough,
The workouts for the first month are the same, in a slightly different order and frequency each week. Check out my Week 1 Recap for descriptions. The big difference is that week 2 is supposed to be the first week with six workouts (OK five and a recovery day). Unfortunately, we had a big snowstorm here on Friday night, so my Saturday workout consisted of a lot of shoveling. Hurray for fitness, right? I wasn’t complaining about a sore back like a lot of my friends, but my arms were sore from all the lifting!
I lost a couple of pounds this week, but since I am in weight maintenance mode I didn’t expect anything drastic. I am still working towards the elusive six-pack abs, and of course the ability to workout at those high speeds. Week 3, here I come!
Related Posts
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