Well…I did it!!! I finished Insanity in its totality, according to its craaaaaaaazy 63 day schedule (refer here for my previous update). What an epic moment when RJ and I completed our very last fit test!! I did it!! Through PMS, through food poisoning, through school, practicum, and work, through travels and conferences, through pure exhaustion and muscle soreness…it really can be done, ESPECIALLY ESPECIALLY if I can do it!
Let me give you a descriptive picture of where I was at before. Before:
- Walking for 10 minutes would tire me out greatly.
- Climbing up a flight of stairs was difficult and would cause me to huff and puff.
- I needed a nap nearly every day to survive.
- I had trouble falling asleep at night.
- I could not make it up to the C.
- I couldn’t even make it through a month 1 Insanity warmup.
- I had trouble concentrating in school and at work.
- I was weak!
- I was little, but not healthy.
- I could not do any real “boy” push-ups.
- I was nauseated at least 3 days a week.
- I was unsure of what my body was really capable of.
Now:
- I have functional muscles! Meaning, the workouts helped me in performing everyday tasks much easier, like walking to class when I’m late, holding babies, or running up a flight of stairs without getting TOO winded. I still get winded. =)
- I have more energy.
- I can make it up to the C!
- I require less naps and sleep better at night.
- I am able to better concentrate in class and at work, making me far more present and in-the-moment than I ever have been. I am now living versus surviving!
- I am still little, but I see (slightly) more muscle definition.
- I am stronger.
- I can make it through the majority of month 2 workouts, which are FAR more difficult than month 1 ones.
- I can actually do real push-ups. And about 20 at a time!
- I think I was only really nauseated a couple days during the entire 63 days!
- I see what my body is actually capable of…and I am proud of it!
So about every two weeks, Shaun T has you complete a fit test as a workout. The fit test is comprised of many different exercises that help you measure your progress and change in strength throughout the entire Insanity process, as you try to complete as many of each exercise in one minute. Along with the fit test, Shaun T also has you measure certain body parts (chest, biceps, waist, hips, thighs, calves) and weigh in. Here are my body measurements. If you want to know my fit test results, just message me and I’ll send them your way.
And my body measurements in inches:
8/29/11 9/12/11 10/3/11 10/17/11 10/30/11
Chest: 32.75 32.5 31.75 31.5 31.5
L Bicep: 9.25 9.5 9.75 10 9.5
R Bicep: 9.25 9.25 9.5 10 9.5
Waist: 26 26 25.5 25 24.5
Hips: 37 36.5 36 35.5 35.5
L Thigh: 18 18.5 18 18 19.5 (holy crap!)
R Thigh: 18 18 18 18 19
L Calf: 12 13 13.5 13 13.25
R Calf: 12.25 13 13.5 13 13.25
Weight: 113 117 117 118 118
So as you can see, I lost some inches, I gained some inches, and I put on like 5 lbs, which I’m not upset about. I’m not like crazy ripped, no six pack or anything. I was very pleased to have lost some inches in the hips in particular, but bummed that I also lost inches in the chestal region, as there wasn’t much there to begin with! And I don’t mind increasing everywhere else, because I realize that I am pretty small to begin with. Definitely got more booty now, heyo!!
So…does Insanity work? Am I happy I went through with it? Is it worth trying? Yes, yes, and YES!!! Here’s why:
- It is not too time-consuming.
- It is portable. That is, if you travel a lot, you can always bring it with you. All you need is some space to move around in and a laptop with a DVD player!
- It is not like you complete it and you are done for forever. I will always be able to push myself to work harder, to complete more exercises, to better my form, etc. Heck, at the end of these two months, I still can’t complete all the exercises in totality! And neither can the exercise professionals in the video! It really is all about self-improvement and challenging yourself against yourself to do better.
- I have never been in better shape in my life!
- The exercises are great for building functional strength, that is, the strength to undergo everyday activities with ease. It’s not pointless exercises just for the sake of muscles.
- I look better, feel better, and sleep better.
- It helps me a lot in reducing anxiety. I’m a pretty tense and anxious person.
- It meets you wherever you are at. Like I mentioned earlier, when I began I could not even finish the warm-up exercises. Now I’m doing the more difficult month 2 exercises, and month 1 exercises are for warm-up!
- It’s a great challenge to go through with a partner and a great marriage bonder. I could not have made it through without RJ, and he could not have made it without me. We’ve each had our moments where we’ve wanted to give up, but the other always convinces the nay-sayer to press on. And I believe we’ve grown closer as we sweated it out and spent this time together.
- You realize what you and your body are capable of. I just signed up for a 5k in San Diego (another 30 before 30!), which, even though is only like 3 miles, I never would have thought I would be able to do before. Now, after completing Insanity, I feel like I have it in me to do anything, especially this! (Don’t quote me on this…)
- RJ and I notice that we both are a little more turned off to drinking sugary beverages and eating really heavy foods now that we are in shape. Either we don’t want to undo the work we’ve done or we just realize how unhealthy and sluggish we feel afterwards.
- We have gotten into the habit of regular exercise. As I mentioned in another post, research has suggested that it takes about 60 days to implement a new habit. Well, as I usher in a new decade, what better habit to form than one of regular exercise?
So…what used to be here were the before and after pictures! I took them down essentially because I do not need the world wide web to have pictures of me floating around. =P If you want to see the pictures, just e-mail me and I’ll send them to you.
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So…what’s next for me now that I am done with Insanity?? Time to train for the
Thank You Run 5k that is taking place right in my parents’ neighborhood in San Diego, CA on Thanksgiving day! Any running and training advice, PLEASE send it along my way! I am not a runner at all!
I am also borrowing a pull-up bar from a student at UCR so I can begin working towards doing two pull-ups! Hopefully, it will be by the end of November.
And thanks for the encouragement, cheerleading, and support along the way. It has meant a lot to me and kept me going!
