Round 2, Weeks 2 and 3

Hello.
I don't have too much to say about week 2.  Mainly because it was so long ago and my memory sucks.  I did not miss any workouts and the muscle soreness has subsided.  Maybe I did miss a workout. I vaguely remember writing something about missing a day in my last update.  I'm not going to check.

I do know for certain that I missed two workouts during week three.  One was unavoidable due to a concert I didn't want to miss (it was the "rock" show, so no orchestra and choir, but still awesome) and I would like to say the other one was unavoidable but that would just be me making excuses.  I ended up rearranging the schedule a bit so that the missed workouts were running ones instead of Insanity ones.  I'll more than make up for missed running workouts when I get back into marathon training so I'm less concerned about missing those. Missing Insanity workouts would defeat the whole point of doing this so I make an extra effort to get those in.  If I do end up missing one I guess I'll just make it up after I get through my whole program.

The running days I haven't skipped have not been great.  Most of them are on the treadmill because I'm too much of a weenie to go out in the cold. I've also been having these strange leg stiffening problems about 15 minutes into the runs.  They make my form suck and force me to stop and stretch ever mile or so.  It is pretty annoying and I hope I figure out the problem soon.  It might be from shitty form and it might be because I'm a shitty runner.  It's most likely a combination of the two!  That does bring up one of my favorite aspects of running: its a learning experience. After every run I look back to see how it could have gone better and I look forward to trying to improve my next one.

Happy Thanksgiving, USA readers! Happy Hanukkah, Jewish readers!

Round 2, Week 1

I had forgotten how difficult Insanity was!  While it definitely went better than my very first week, I was a little surprised at how sore I actually was.  I shouldn't be surprised, of course.  I had been focusing on running so most of these moves were using muscles that have been sleeping for a few months.  I was most sore in my chest, abs and back.

I still suck at Plyometric Cardio Circuit and still do best at Pure Cardio.  PCC just has way too much upper body during the second routine.  Maybe by the end of this round I won't suck at in anymore.

One thing I forgot when I started round two is that I am on vacation (more of a staycation) during the second week (which I am halfway through now).  That's a bit of a problem because I am never healthy on my vacations.  I tend to eat out every night and drink more booze since I don't have to be up in the morning.  So far it hasn't been too bad but I do have some events that I'm attending in the next few days that might make it difficult to get my workouts in.

Halfway through week one I was considering dropping the running/Insanity hybrid just to get Insanity over with.  I'm going to stick with the hybrid for now, because what's the rush?  Week two and three are the first weeks with a fair amount of running but I have to be honest, I skipped the running workout at the beginning of the week.  I had a rough (but fun!) weekend and I needed a recovery day.

I think the biggest difference I've noticed so far is that I am in better shape which lets me focus more on my form.  It has improved considerably.  I think doing the workouts barefoot helps a lot too.

Round 2!

Hello again!

In the time since I last finished the Insanity program, I did a lot of training for a half marathon in April followed by a full marathon a month ago.  I was planning on relaxing for a month and then starting my second round of Insanity at the beginning of December.  That wasn't really working for me, though.  I tend to become very, very unhealthy when I'm not working towards a workout goal.  Therefore I decided to start round 2 a month early!

Things are going to be a little different this time.  Here's what's changing:

1. The biggest change is going to be with the actual workout schedule.  I have trained very hard to become the mediocre runner that I am today and I really don't want to lose that. I modified the program to create a running/Insanity hybrid schedule.  It looks something like this:

If you are familiar with the program then you might be able to pick up what I actually did.  First, I got rid of the recovery days on Thursdays because I hated them.  I replaced all those with an easy run.  I also got rid of the fit test because I hate those as well and don't give a shit if I improve my reps. I'm in the best shape of my life and I don't really need any evidence of getting in even better shape.  The proof will be in the before and after pics (I hope!).  I then alternate between running and Insanity for every other week of the original insanity schedule.  That changed this beast into a 3 month program instead of 2 but that actually works better with my longer term plans of starting training for my next marathon.  Oh, this might help: PCC=Plyometric Cardio Circuit, CPR=Cardio Power and Resistance, PC= Pure Cardio, Run=Run (DUH!), Abs=Cardio Abs, MIC=Max Interval Circuit, MIP=Max Interval Plyo, MCC=Max Cardio Conditioning, CCB=Core Cardio and Balance.  I think that's what all the workouts are called.  I don't feel like grabbing the Insanity workout calendar to check.

2. I won't be doing daily updates this time. Daily blogging was important to me during the first round to keep me honest and accountable.  Life was different back then and I had time to do that.  I'm a busy dude these days so updates will be far less frequent.  Maybe I'll shoot for a check-in on the Off days.

3. No shoes! I learned from Shaun T's blog that he doesn't wear shoes when he does Insanity at home. I gave it a shot back when I was doing Insanity workouts alongside my marathon training and it really helps with the form and landing softly. It will also be better on my poor carpet.

I believe that's it.  I think I actually lost a fair amount of fat during my marathon training so my goal with this round of Insanity is to get some more definition.  I do not want to bulk up because I am still a runner and don't need that added weight.

I did a nice and easy 3 mile run today.  Tomorrow is Plyometric Cardio Circuit! I'm excited!