Day 1 - Fit Test

What in the hell have I gotten myself into?  I'm sure that is a common question after day one.  I came in to this knowing it would be difficult, but holy crap.  By the end of it I was light headed and the closest I've ever been to puking after a work out and this wasn't even a full one!

Day one is the fit test. This consists of a warm up, followed by doing 8 different exercises for one minute each while you count how many repetitions you do.  This is a good workout but the main purpose is to establish a baseline that will show how your overall fitness is progressing.  The fit test is done on day one and then every 15 days and on the final day.  There should be an increase in the number of reps for each exercise as I get stronger.

The Moves
I'm not going to try to describe the moves because I doubt I'd be able to to it in any coherent way.  Instead I'll try to link a video of somebody else doing them.

Switch Kicks
I didn't have too much trouble with these since it was the beginning of the workout and my heart wasn't quite trying to escape my body yet. I was able to go the entire minute without taking any breaks.

Power Jacks
Again, not too bad.  I was able to do this without stopping but I was a little concerned about my form with the jumps. There is so much to concentrate on with the counting and trying not to jump on one of my dogs and trying not to die that my form may have suffered.

Power Knees
These look easy but this was the first move that I wasn't able to do for the entire minute.  It also seems weird to me that you on do it on one side.  It'd be pretty awkward switching back and forth but all the other moves are symmetrical.

Power Jumps
Wow, check out her abs!  This is where I went to shit.  I've read other people complain about this and for good reason!  I wasn't even close to doing them for the entire minute.  I'm a concerned about my form on this one as well.  I think my form pretty much sucks any time I have to jump.

Globe Jumps
I watched the fit test last week when I received Insanity in the mail to see what I was in for.  I thought these looked fun.  They weren't.  The power jumps really did a number on me and I just could not recover from them so any moves following them really suffered.

Suicide Jumps
The name says it all! Did you hear how she was suffering in the video?  (side note: don't search for suicide jumps on YouTube)

Push-Up Jacks
When I watched the Fit Test DVD from the comfort of my couch I thought that these looked the toughest.  They actually weren't too bad and I probably could have done more if I wasn't so close to death from the power jumps/globe jumps/suicide jump blitzkrieg.

Low Plank Oblique
These weren't too bad either, though I hate any exercise that requires me to get on the floor.  I wasn't sure how to count these because with the switch kicks, two kicks equals one rep.  I think with these, each "kick" is a rep but I could be wrong.  I don't think it matters as long as I am consistent with the counting during future fit tests.

Results!

Move	Day 1	Day 15	Day 36	Day 50	Day 63	Change
Switch Kicks	62
Power Jacks	38
Power Knees	70
Power Jumps	23
Globe Jumps	7
Suicide Jumps	11
Push-Up Jacks	16
Low Plank Obliques	37

I was kind of expecting to do better but that is the wrong way of thinking about these numbers.  My numbers on future fit tests are what I need to be focused on.

According to my heart rate monitor my average rate was 159 bpm.  Plugging that into here and here I came up with 400 calories burned.  Now I don't know how accurate these calculations are but that's not bad for 25 minutes.  Check out the graph:

The red line is the heart rate.  I thought it was cool how you could see 9 peaks.  The first one is the warm up followed by the 8 different moves.

What I've Learned
I stood in the shower for about 20 minutes, shell shocked about what I had just been through.  As I stood there, reflecting on the previous 25 minutes, I realized a few things.

1. I was doing the workout on carpet so I didn't use my exercise mat.  In the future I will!  The low plank obliques gave me a nice rug burn on my elbows
2. My dogs are going to be a problem.  I think they thought I was playing with all the moving around I was doing so they were constantly bringing me a toy or trying to lap up some of the sweat that was pouring off me like a monsoon. I might have to confine them to the kitchen if they continue to be a problem. I really don't want to land on one of them.
3. Beer=bad :-(  I didn't have to work today so I enjoyed a nice oatmeal stout and and IPA last night while I watched Boardwalk Empire and The Walking Dead.  It wasn't much but I do think it had a negative effect on my performance and had me feeling a little sluggish.  I guess it's time to put the plug in the jug going forward with the program.

That's all for today!  Tune in tomorrow for Plyometric Cardio Circuit.