Health starts today. And it started with a rude wakeup call.
For about the last year, I'd been doing research on a particular workout program. It looked fun, terrifying, but wreaking with results. Results I wanted. Maybe you've heard of it, maybe not. Maybe you've tried it and run away screaming. Or maybe even you've tried it, gotten all the way through it, and are a fitness champ!
Shaun T's Insanity program is rightly named. It's the hardest workout I've EVER tried. Set up as a 60 day program, it's focused on MAX interval training. You will be out of breath, you will be coated (maybe even dripping) in sweat, you will push your muscles to "give out" and if you stick with it you will have a ton of fun.
Like my kickboxing instructor, Shaun pushes you to your max and beyond.
This morning, I just tried the first workout in a 10 dvd set: the Fit Test. Let's just say it was the most humbling workout experience of my life, bar none. 30 minutes of pure out cardio and strength training, it was exhausting. How it works is: every two weeks you take the Fit Test - a group of exercises to determine your progress through the 60 day program. You do each exercise for one minute, doing as many reps as you can, at your max pace, while concentrating on keeping your form (form trumps reps). You then note down how many reps you were able to do in that minute to compare with your workout two weeks later.
Yes, today there were a couple of the exercises that had a 0 next to them. Nearly halfway through, I was so out of breath, my legs were quivering, and I could barely support myself in a plank. I was wiping away sweat and my towel was pretty damp by the end. I'd chugged a 30 oz bottle of water within the first 15 minutes. Um yeah, it was insane.
When we finally finished, I did literally collapse on the floor, panting, with my eyes dazed for a few minutes. What the heck had I just gotten myself into???
I picked myself up on my limp spaghetti noodle legs. I couldn't believe I'd actually made it through. Then the lightbulb turned on...
Dude!! I actually finished! Did I need to take a lot of breaks, yeah. Did I do each exercise perfectly, no. Did I even need to skip out on a few of them, yeah. But I had pushed myself as hard as I could and I had finished. 10 minutes later, I felt great! My legs were still wobbly, but my heart rate came back completely to normal and I was completely energized. I almost wanted to go do it again.
It's going to be an intense two months ahead. I'm sure there will be days, much like midway through a marathon, that I'm going to want to quit, I will cry, and hate Shaun T's guts.
But that's when we're gonna dig deeper, keep pushing, and hang on for 10 more seconds!!!
Shaun T's Insanity program is rightly named. It's the hardest workout I've EVER tried. Set up as a 60 day program, it's focused on MAX interval training. You will be out of breath, you will be coated (maybe even dripping) in sweat, you will push your muscles to "give out" and if you stick with it you will have a ton of fun.
Like my kickboxing instructor, Shaun pushes you to your max and beyond.
This morning, I just tried the first workout in a 10 dvd set: the Fit Test. Let's just say it was the most humbling workout experience of my life, bar none. 30 minutes of pure out cardio and strength training, it was exhausting. How it works is: every two weeks you take the Fit Test - a group of exercises to determine your progress through the 60 day program. You do each exercise for one minute, doing as many reps as you can, at your max pace, while concentrating on keeping your form (form trumps reps). You then note down how many reps you were able to do in that minute to compare with your workout two weeks later.
Yes, today there were a couple of the exercises that had a 0 next to them. Nearly halfway through, I was so out of breath, my legs were quivering, and I could barely support myself in a plank. I was wiping away sweat and my towel was pretty damp by the end. I'd chugged a 30 oz bottle of water within the first 15 minutes. Um yeah, it was insane.
When we finally finished, I did literally collapse on the floor, panting, with my eyes dazed for a few minutes. What the heck had I just gotten myself into???
I picked myself up on my limp spaghetti noodle legs. I couldn't believe I'd actually made it through. Then the lightbulb turned on...
Dude!! I actually finished! Did I need to take a lot of breaks, yeah. Did I do each exercise perfectly, no. Did I even need to skip out on a few of them, yeah. But I had pushed myself as hard as I could and I had finished. 10 minutes later, I felt great! My legs were still wobbly, but my heart rate came back completely to normal and I was completely energized. I almost wanted to go do it again.
It's going to be an intense two months ahead. I'm sure there will be days, much like midway through a marathon, that I'm going to want to quit, I will cry, and hate Shaun T's guts.
But that's when we're gonna dig deeper, keep pushing, and hang on for 10 more seconds!!!
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