Starting Insanity

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  • Mbeforethes
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    Something I saw on another post......

    " I'd like to share something I saw right around the time I started doing Insanity. I hesitated to share it earlier because I did not want it to have an adverse effect on the group.
    I was watching a morning show - don't remember which one - and they had several fitness products "as seen on tv" that they were testing with a group of people. One was an ab machine - it did not fare well, one was the weight thingie that you shake with your arms to get in shape - it did not fare well and there were several other devices. There was only one fitness program that the panel tested and it happened to be Insanity. It did not get a very high rating - on a scale of 1-10 I THINK it got about a 3. The reason for the low rating was that the test group found it to be impossible to do the routines. They said the exercises were so difficult as to be impossible for the average person. A statement from Shaun T. was read as rebuttle and he said that he had many satisfied customers and that the program was not intended for the average person who was just wanting to dabble a little in fitness. It was for the serious fitness person.
    Right then and there I decided that for once in my life I was not going to be the "normal" person and cop out by saying the routines were undoable. I was going to conquer one way or another. THIS ENTIRE GROUP HAS DONE WHAT THE NORMAL PERSON SAYS IS NOT POSSIBLE! Give yourself a pat on the back and stand proudly knowing you are doing what most won't even attempt to try. Kudos to you!"

    We should be incredibly proud of ourselves!! xxx
  • amberfranklin1
    amberfranklin1 Posts: 79 Member
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    After Fit test today I am done!!!!! I really feel such a sense of accomplishment! My husband told me how proud he was of me, and coming form someone who started Insanity and quit, it feels even better! He knows how hard I have worked. My body is in better shape than ever and my confidence is through the roof! Ive always had trouble spots that even as I was younger and thinner still bugged me. Now my "saddlebags" and unshapely behind are looking better than ever. Still mayeb not swimsuit edition good, but better than I have ever seen.

    HS- Even though the scale and the tape may not show, I have no doubt you have made huge improvments, there is no way a person could complete Insanity and not look better! Cant wait to see your pics, Im sure you look at youself every day and cant tell but we will be able to see the difference. I kick myself that I never took pics. I have one of me in my bikini in Cancun during spring break a couple of weeks before starting, I know it wont work for a T shirt, but i may did try to find it for comparison purposes. Enjoy your vacation, I guess if you have time to finish month 2 great, if not it will still be there when you get home. Im planning to completely take the week off after next when we have vacation, our bodies deserve a break! I agree with you, especially month 2 really takes it out of you!

    Mb- loved the other post you found, should make us feel better! Yesterday, I found out one the frinds of ours who started Insanity a couple weeks ago ended up going to the doctor after the first fit test! She was so sore and appearantly hurt her back. I had been exercising reguarly 5-6 days a week before starting Insanity so I didnt just go in it without at least a little used to working out from the beginning and I think that helped. I felt like I had been hit by a car the first few days, but got through it! Hope you got some sleep, I think that you must have been going on empty! Plus, as HS said, I just think that month 2 takes so much out of us physically, that getting plenty of rest and food is a must and sometimes we dont do as well as we should and I can tell!

    Well ladies, have a great holiday weekend, feel great about yourself, we have pushed our bodies beyond what I for me ever thought was possible and we finished (or will soon!) thats something many cannot say!
  • Mbeforethes
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    Well done Amber - you've made it!!! Am sooo very proud of you.

    Would be a shame to lose touch, are you a facebooker? If so, pls send me a request, tamsin henman, profile pic is me and my hubby.

    What are your plans after your hols? More insanity, something different?? I'm still not sure what to do. Fancied a bit of fun with hip hop abs but have been told it's no good. May go for another round of insanity.....really not sure yet..... xxx
  • amberfranklin1
    amberfranklin1 Posts: 79 Member
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    Thanks Mb! I am now officially and Insanity grad! Just finished fit test! My results werent great, but I have never put a whole lot into it anyway, just wanted to do it so I could say I completed everything on the calendar. Im sure the first test my form was horrid and who knows if I was really doing anything right, I know this last one I had good form and really concentrated on doing it right, so even a little improvement is fine with me, Im just glad to be done!!!

    I dont really do much on facebook, only have it really to spy on my 15 year old! LOL! I do have a page, although its blank! Ill have to check your out, I have never sent a friend request on here too, I need ot do that with you and HS.

    I am thinking about doing recovery and maybe some cardio abs next week bf vac then maybe repeat that again when we get back. I have thought about doing something a little different for awhile, but love my results form Insanity so much Im kind of afraid to lose it! I know a lot of people on here do the 30 day shred, its cheap, thought about that, have you done that?
    I worry about Insanity a little bc I have to do it in the garage, its the only place we have room and its getting so hot, yesterday when I started MCC and Cardio Abs it was 95 degrees in there! I had a fan on high, but still add Insanity to the heat and its a bad mix! I just thought that maybe something a little less time consuming may be easier.

    Have agreat holiday, maybe we could all decide on a date we are ready to start Insanity again and do it all over again together! Thanks for letting me into your group, it has been great!
  • amberfranklin1
    amberfranklin1 Posts: 79 Member
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    Finally getting back to "normal" today. Long weekends seem to take a while to recover from! Well after completing Insanity Friday, I took the rest of the extended weekend off and got back to working out yesterday. I only did CC&B and today plan to do CC&B and Cardio Abs. I did not make the best food choices over the weekend and Bud Select 55 was my drink of choice but was still able to go all weekend without gaining any weight. I have now lost a total of 26 pounds and am ready now to try and maintain my weight and just continue working on fitness. As I said earlier though, I go on vac starting this Friday so i will have 10 days of no working out and probably poor food choices so I may have to work a little harder once I return to get back into the same shape! I really want to restart Insanity, but keep thinkning of maybe swithching things up. I am leaning toward the 30DS that seems to be so popular. I dont want to lose my Insanity progress but worry about getting burt out. Would either of you ladies be interested in that? I saw that i can order it on Walmart.com for 8.96 free site to store shipping. I really thought about doing that after vac. Then it will be time to go back to school and I can start back up with Insanity and a more rigid schedule. Well again another coffee fuel ramble!
  • Mbeforethes
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    I'm on the home strait, single digits left of each workout...

    Had a late night on Tuesday and a few G&T's and glasses of bubbly to celebrate our wedding anniversary so didn't do yesterdays workout until 9.30pm and I...was...on...fire!!! My HRM bleeped at me for the first time ever ,during the last round of the warm up, my HR was up at 188, I was just a blur!! Managed to hold it together throughout most of the entire last MIC session, but boy did I collapse in a heap afterwards!! My husband was watching me and commenting on my form the whole way through, maybe that spurred me on? Caught up on a bit of TV eating some proatmeal and got to bed around 12.30am, wasn't asleep until 1am. Dragged myself out of bed for the last CC&B this morning at 5.00am, and it felt good!! Tho I did nod off on the train on the way nto work LOL. Can't believe that there's only two more sessions and a fit test left!!! Wow!!

    Hope you're both ok. Definitely going to do anotehr round but not sure when. Considering taking it down a notch through July and August and getting back to it after the summer Hols around September time? Still tempted with Hip Hop Abs to bring a little fun into it, but don't want to lose the progress I've made. May do a hybrid over the summer......

    HS - hope you've had an amazing vacation, shame the weather hasn't been so good.
    A - how are you getting on with the maintenance? Is it difficult to get motivated now you're not following a prescriptive plan?

    xxx
  • HurricaneShaunna
    HurricaneShaunna Posts: 61 Member
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    Hi you two! Amber- congrats on finishing!! 26 pounds is fabulous and it sounds like you gained a ton of confidence in yourself which is even better!

    M- Are you done? I see your last post was Thursday with only two days left, so you must be close! Awesoem jub pushing yourself through your final MIC. I always feel like I kick it up a notch when my husband comes into the room too since I want to jump higher or hammer out another pushup to seem extreme :)

    It's so true about the quote you found, M. Insanity is definitely not for the inexperienced exerciser. All 3 of us should be so pround that we stuck with it and dug deeper. I remember how hard it seemed to do the Level 1 drills at the start, and now that we've done so many Level 3 drills it is funny to look back and see how far we have come!

    I had a great vacation in Connecticut, the weather was great for the most part. I was so busy with the wedding stuff the first half of the visit that I went for a few short walks with my in-laws dogs, but otherwise didn't work out. The second half of the week I made time for some longer power walks which felt good. I came back yesterday and started Max Cardio Cond. I was amazed at how hard it seemed after 10 days away from Insanity! I did about half, decided not to kill myself since I was exhausted, and chalked it up as a good jump back in. This morning I did MIC, and I struggled but I made it through. My knees were killing like Week 1 again though! I was kind of disappointed that after a week and a half off it seemed like such a struggle for me. But I know I didn't sleep or eat well on vacation, and I definitely had a few too many drinks, so my body was probably showing how quickly it can be lost internally, even if I didn't seem to gain much weight visibly. Tomorrow morning I am doing a bootcamp class with my friend, which I know will kick my butt! I guess technically I'm considering myself done with the Insanity program. According to the schedule I still have a Max Plyo, Max CC, and CC&B left, along witht he final fit test. But given how much I struggled the past two days I don't want to do the final fit test right now. I don't feel like it will show my real results and that I'd need another solid week of Month 2 workouts to get back the fitness I lost during vacation. So I may do the test next week, maybe not, it all depends on how I feel. I'm really happy with my improvement at the 6 week fit test so I'm ok with not doing the final one before I leave for vacation #2 in London in 3 days!

    After I come back from London, I'm going to do a mix of stuff for a couple of weeks- P90x weight workouts, spinning/kickboxing/bootcamp at the gym, and some of the higher intensity cardio Insanity workouts. I just need some variety. I got really burnt out with Insanity after about 6 weeks (same time frame as how long it took me to get bored with P90x, guess I have a short attention span!).

    Amber- I've done Level 1 of the 30 DS a bunch of times since it is usually free On Demand with our cable. It's a decent workout, but I think that you'll find it really easy after Insanity. It is short, but I like how she incorporates the weight training.

    M- I think Hip Hop Abs looks really fun, and even if it is easy, it's a nice way to give your body a break and some variety.

    I'm not sure I want to start Insanity over again. Maybe once some time goes by I'll get over the boredom and feel like comitting again, but right now I don't see that happening. But if you guys do decide to do it again, maybe I'll do one of the months with you!

    Take care!
  • Mbeforethes
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    Welcome back HS, got mixed up with your hols and thought you'd ben in London hence the weather comment. Glad you had a great time. Amazing how quickly it can all go, think I'm going to hit the rowing machine for a week, maybe two then have another go, but not worry about timescales so much. If I don;t fancy it one day or am out and about I'll row or miss a day - hopefully will help me to keep my form without another 60 days of 6am and 5am starts!!

    But hey - I did it, I did it, I did it!!! I am officially an insane graduate!! Yay!!!

    Felt dreadful yesterday so didn't get my final Plyo done, so intended to do Plyo, Cardio and Abs this morning. Still felt awful so did Abs, then struggled through Plyo, no way I could have done Cardio too. Hubby had been on nights, so rather than use the ensuite shower thought I'd take a bath instead and fell asleep every time I laid down, not a good sign. Struggled through the day feeling dizzy every time I stood up, but managed to have a kip this afternooon for a few hours. Was touch and go all evening whether I'd do it or not..

    Despite feeling like crap I managed to get my final remaining Cardio in, just finishing at 11.45pm, so still made my intended timescales. Woo hoo!!! Fit test in the morning, measurements and piccies at some point tomorrow.

    It's been such a great journey that I wouldn;t have got through without you guys. HS - are you on FB too? Look me up...tamsin.henman@btinternet.com would be such a shame to lose touch after this incredible journey.

    Hopefully wil get piccies posted before your London trip. xxx
  • amberfranklin1
    amberfranklin1 Posts: 79 Member
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    Hi guys! Seems like I have been way out of touch this week getting ready for vacation. I am now sitting on the deck at our rented "lake home" while everyone else is out on the boats, so I thought i would check in.

    Mb- SOOOO PROUD! What a great feeling to be able to say you made it to the end!! The way you seem to be able to get on those late night workouts and then bright and early start in again is amazing! I think that you are alot like me, having a schedule to follow makes a big difference, I thknk of it like my never ending to do list, I feel great each time I was able to check off another day. Cant wait to see your pics, like I said, I didnt take any before and kick myself for not doing so!

    Hs- Gladto hear you had a good time on vacation, I am hoping I can do like you and try to get in a little exercise while Im here, walking back and forth from the cabin to the dock has alot of steps, so it may be all the exerxcise I get. Its supposed to be close to 100 for the next few days with heat indexes well over, so maybe I can just sweat! I have a feeling that it wont feel the same as a good ol soak your clothes Insanity sweat though! Thanks for the info on 30DS, I may try it just to change up a little, then restart Insanity after that. Ill let you know if I decide to do it and maybe we can chat about that too! How exciting to be going to London, I have only been to Cancun a couple of times, my only out of contry travel.

    I really struggled whether or not to bring my scale with me. This will be the first week since Jan that I have not weighed daily, Im not really obsessed with the scale, it just seems to keep me in check. I convinced myself not to and that one week will not ruin 6 months of hard work. Im gonna tell myself that i deserve to let loose! Im off to a pretty good start, I ate more at dinner tonight than I normally would and then enjoyed cheesecake and a few drinks! Life is short, you gotta live a little sometime! I guess that why we have vacation, to stray from the norm and relax!

    Ill try to check in later in the week, glad to hear from you both.
  • HurricaneShaunna
    HurricaneShaunna Posts: 61 Member
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    Congrats on finishing M! I just added you on FB. Can't wait to see your results! I won't be getting pics up before London b/c my husband already left (I'm meeting him there), and he took the camera cord with him. But I promise I'll post them when I get back!

    Amber- hope you are enjoying vacation and letting loose a bit! I think I let loose a little too much on my last one! Normally I'd reign it in and be really strict after a trip like that, but with London coming up so quickly afterwards I am scared of what the results of 2 weeks of letting loose will be! i'm really going to have to buckle down when I get back so I don't lose all my Insanity progress.

    I got in a great workout this morning at bootcamp. It's a mix of 45 minutes of cardio in interval sets, but non-stop between sets of different moves the whole time. I felt amazingly strong on the sets of 32 and 64 plank runs.... thank you Shaun T! Then it's 10 minutes of floor core work which was hard, but not quite as hard as usual.

    Not sure if I'll have time to check in tomorrow, if not have a great week and I'll post pics when I get back! :)
  • Mbeforethes
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    Well I've posted some pics but pretty hard to 'spot the difference', From the side you can see my middle is thinner, otherwise can't see any extra definition or anything.Haven't done my final fit test yet but took measurements yesterday. Everything the same except the following:

    Biceps + 3/4"
    Bust - 3/4"
    Thighs - 1"
    Tummy - 3 1/4"

    Feeling like I've finished exams and don't quite know what to do with myself.....think I may need to start again pretty soon, motivation is rapidly decreasing!!

    Hope you're both having/have great vacations. Speak soon xxx
  • HurricaneShaunna
    HurricaneShaunna Posts: 61 Member
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    I'm back! London was AMAZING! So much history and stuff to see. My husband went to Bath before I got there so I didn't get to see that (next time!), but he said it was awesome. We did spend a day in Huntington/Cambridge and I loved it there too.

    M, those are great results. I see a huge difference in the side view- your tummy for sure, but also in your shoulders and arms. And from the back you can see that your back muscles have more definitition. On the whole I'd say you look smaller and more solid, so I'd be very proud that all your hard work paid off.

    I forgot to bring the camera to work today to upload my pics but I will try to remember to do it tonight.

    What have you been up to in the past week? Are you enjoying the "graduation"? I took it easy in London, walked around a bunch but that's it for fitness. I drank quite a few pints (LOVE the variety of cider you guys have), but I think with the smaller portions at the restaurants I didn't do as much damage as I expected. In fact, I was down 1.5 pounds when I came back, which was a (very pleasant) surprise! I'm really buckling down and focusing on food for the near future- logging everything, sticking with clean eating, and limiting my drinking. For workouts I am doing a mix of stuff- some Insanity videos, some P90x, some gym visits. I did Power and Resistance last night and felt soooo out of shape. Amazing how the workout which should have felt easy after Month 2 was a challenge again. I felt like I was starting over- even though my muscles could handle it, my Heart Rate was soaring.
  • HurricaneShaunna
    HurricaneShaunna Posts: 61 Member
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    Hey- where did everyone go?! I finally uploaded my 'after' pics and made some comparison photos. I really don't see a huge difference, maybe a bit of toning, but nothing major. I did GAIN 4 pounds during Insanity because I didn't watch my food very well and I ended up eating a lot more carbs to fuel the workouts, but I don't think the gain was obvious, and I feel like I gained evenly, while toning my legs down still. I don't feel like my metabolism got "sped up" because with the 2.5 weeks of vacation I have gained another 3 pounds in the past month, so now I'm 7 pounds above where I was in April. I'm dissapointed that I didn't have more obvious results, but I am happy I did Insanity. I feel a whole lot stronger and have a much higher endurance now.

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  • HurricaneShaunna
    HurricaneShaunna Posts: 61 Member
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    I don't know why the pics are so small, sorry!

    How's everyone doing? Enjoying summertime? Our fridge died last Friday and the new one is supposed to be delivered tonight, so we've been eating out almost every meal. Between that and vacation, I am so ready to get back to home-cooked healthiness!
  • amberfranklin1
    amberfranklin1 Posts: 79 Member
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    Great to hear from you HS! I had not posted bc I thought that you guys had disappeared! I think your pics look great! I can really tell a difference in your waist and thighs. Your whole body looks more toned over all. I do agree that diet has so much to do with Insanity and I like you felt like in month 2, I ate a ton just to have the energy to do the wokouts. I though, lost during that time, seemed like what I had been eating must have been right bc my inches and weight both went down. However...the past month since finishing Insanity July1 has been a real struggle. I am actually up 3 pounds since then. I started the 30 Day shred last week. Although it is nothing compared to Insanity, after a week of vacation, it was just about right. I do enjoy that I can be done in less than 30 monutes, but I was so used to burning TONS of calories with Insanity. Like you said, we ate so much more with that, now I feel like I am starving without that much! I decided to do either Cardio Abs or CC&B also every other day to add to my calorie burn and also started to walk/jog in the evenings. I started last week walking for 5 min, jog for 2 for an hour and this week decided to shorten the walking to 4 and hope to continue until I can jog the whole time, we will see about that! But, even with all that, I am still not going back down on the scale! I think that Insanity is so intense and works your body so much harder and differently than any other exercise that even doing the same amount of exercise still does not compare. I will stick with this routine until I complete the 30DS and see what happens. If you remember I was doing Insanity in the garage and its just too hot! Calling for 104 today! I plan to start Insanity back up probably beginning of Sept. My husband is going Elk hunting in the mountains in Oct and says that he wants to try to do it again to get in shape for his trip. it may all be mental, but I just feel like I looked and felt so much stronger while doing it. Have a great day, maybe we will hear from Mb today!
  • HurricaneShaunna
    HurricaneShaunna Posts: 61 Member
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    Hi Amber! Thanks for your nice comments about my B+A pics. :)

    I did 30DS the other day beause I needed something quick in the morning. It is nice for a short workout! I agree that it is easy after Insanity, but mixing it up with Cardio Abs/CC&B/ and some running/walking is a great workout. I definitely would not want to be doing Insanity in the heat! I turn my AC on in the house down to 68 and have it blasting right on me during Insanity, and I am still dripping sweat!

    That is great that your husband wants to do Insanity with you this fall! I keep hoping to inspire mine, but at this point I think I'll be lucky if I get him changing his food habits first.

    I'm still doing my assorted thing: Insanity some days (Max plyo last night!), gym some days, some run/walking, etc. I've got Yoga tonight, which I typically hate cause it is so hard and doesn't have the calorie burn as a reward. But I know it's good for me! My food was great last week, and then our fridge died, and I spent the next 6 days eating out and eating carby non-perishables! Finally got the new one delivered and went shopping for healthy stuff last night so I'm back to logging food and being aware of making smart(er) choices.

    Take care!
  • Mbeforethes
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    Hi

    Sorry....have been MIA big time.

    HS - pics are amazing, your extra tone is fabulous!!!

    Once I'd finished Insanity I felt really out of sorts, I didn't ever do my last fit test or even bother to apply for my T-shirt. I've not done ANY exercise since, and my diet has been appalling!!! I did order Hip Hop abs in the end but haven't even had the motivation to start that. Is a real shame.....haven't put on any weight yet thankfully but the tone I'd worked to hard for has gone already. Every week I intend to start again healthy eating and exercising again but I just can't be bothered - as I've said before, I'm very much an all or nothing person. Think I was so disillusioned after putting so much effort into Insanity that the results weren't more extreme that I couldn't see the point of doing anything else. Not the attitude I know. Am very impressed with all of your continued efforts - I shall endeavour to give myself a huge kick up the behind and get back on the horse.

    Mb xxxx