Witness the Insanity

Watch me transform my body, one Beachbody programme at a time...

[witnesstheinsanity]

What happened? I did insanity at the same time as you. I really enjoyed reading your blog and then was looking forward to a repeat with t25 and it just ends at day 16 :(

I completed T25 and have been alternating various workouts since. I just got a really busy with other stuff (I'm a writer) and had to stop doing the blog. Sorry about that! Thanks for reading though – it was writing the blog that really helped me stick to the programme and kept me motivated. Hope your fitness journey has been a fun one! 

[witnesstheinsanity]

Focus T25 - Day 16

Last time I blogged I was a sneezy mess. I'm glad to report I'm back on form and have caught up on my workouts. The two new workouts I've attempted since my last post are Ab Intervals and Lower Focus. I like them both which is rather nice! Ab Intervals consists of some pretty hardcore ab work on the floor, broken up with odd bits of cardio. My abs felt nice and tender the next day which I think can only be a good thing. Lower Focus does what it says on the tin - it's all about working the legs and butt. As you'd expect there's lots of squatting and lunging but Shaun T manages to come up with enough different ways for you to squat and lunge that the time passes happily enough.

My most hated workout is still Total Body Circuit. The upper body section is Insanity-level tough (i.e. hellish). I'm not looking forward to week 5 when it features three times on the calendar (the schedule is slightly different each week, alternating the five workouts to keep your body guessing). However I am looking forward to moving on to the Beta DVDs in week 6. Yep, I'm officially an exercise nerd.  

Can I just mention how much I'm loving only working out for just 25 minutes a day? I have a little routine going on now. My alarm goes off, I fix myself a smoothie, put Food Network UK on and watch this programme called 'Unique Sweets'. It's basically a half hour of dessert porn. This morning's episode featured an ice cream sandwich where the sandwich was made from a doughnut. It was epic. Whether watching this stuff make makes me work out harder, I have no idea, but for now it works.  

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Focus T25 - Day 5

I'm ill. Poo bum. I have a summer cold. Trying to pin it on the boyfriend but he had his cold over a week and a half ago and claims I must have caught if off someone else. Hmmmm... Anyway, it means I haven't been able to workout the past two days. I knew something was up when my energy was zapped during Wednesday's workout. T25 comes with a calendar and you can pick one of two boxes to tick out after each workout - 'Nailed it' or 'Barely made it', and Wednesday I had to tick the latter which is not like my uber-competitive self at all! Anyhow, Thursday I woke up all sneezy and watery-eyed and pathetic and realised Ab Intervals was NOT going to happen. I considered having a go today but managed to talk myself out of it. If I don't have the energy to empty the dishwasher I certainly don't have the energy to get my sweat on with Shaun. Luckily, with T25 being a five day programme, I can catch up over the weekend. Fingers crossed...

So, let me fill you in on the workouts I have completed. Tuesday was Speed 1.0. I enjoyed this one! It's actually quite dancey in places with lots of fast foot work. The speed and agility work is broken up with dynamic stretches. It's a clever device that makes the 25 minutes zip by.

On Wednesday I tackled Total Body Circuit. This was the one where I struggled. I don't remember much about it apart from the fact there were quite a few press-ups! Oh, and squats! I remember lots of jumping squats. Yep, it's all coming back to me now, like a bad dream. 

Fingers crossed I'll be able to work out tomorrow. I'm such a grouchy ill person - I need my endorphin rush! 

[witnesstheinsanity]

Focus T25 - Day 1

For the uninitiated, Focus T25 is Shaun T's (the creator of Insanity) latest DVD workout programme. Dubbed the 'smartest' workout ever put on DVD, it consists of 25 minute workouts (no breaks!), 5 days per week. Having completed Insanity and Insanity: The Asylum I'm intrigued to see how T25 measures up. Will I be able to maintain my weight loss, and continue to tone and tighten on this reduced workout schedule? Let's find out! 

Focus T25 consists of three stages - Alpha, Beta and Gamma - each covering a month and increasing in intensity and difficulty. Crucially, one of the cast members (Tania) performs modified versions of each exercise meaning T25 is accessible for beginners in a way Insanity and The Asylum simply are not. 

This morning, my tired body (I ran 10k and 5k races yesterday!) tackled Alpha Cardio.  As you'd expect this routine is all about getting your body moving and your heart rate up. Shaun cleverly builds the moves so they increase in difficulty and effort, then leads you into a 'burn-out' round where you put them all together. After the 25 minutes (which fly by) there's a three minute cool-down. If I'm judging effectiveness by sweat levels, T25 is a winner - I was VERY moist by the end of it. 

Six hours later, I can barely recall even working out. That's the beauty of it. At 25 minutes, it's less than 2% of your day. Some people take that long in the shower. 

Tomorrow I'll be having a stab at Alpha Speed 1.0!  

[witnesstheinsanity]

Running Woman

Yesterday I completed the British 10k and the 5k Colour Run. In hindsight it was a bit much for one day but you live and learn! Not that the Colour Run is at all about running - it's totally about getting as messy as possible and taking lots of photos. 

I live in London and for the past 10 years summer hasn't really happened. Until now! We are currently in the midst of a bona fide heat wave! London heat is pretty humid so although it was a joy to run with the sun shining yesterday, it was also a rather sweaty and sticky affair. I've been training so I was confident I could finish the 10k in a decent time but also aware the heat might slow me down. The race route was pretty flat so I think that helped (I've been training on hills) although I swear I added some distance by weaving in and out the crowds of people running. In the end I finished in 52 minutes, two minutes faster than my PB! In fact all five of us (I ran with four friends) finished within nine minutes of one another. Check out our medals!

Quick trip back to mine for a shower and spot of lunch then on to the Colour Run. This was the UK's first ever Colour Run. Clearly they'd gone for the only location willing to have them as the route took us around a rather unpicturesque industrial estate near Wembley. Luckily, the novelty of chucking coloured powder at one another was diverting enough for us to forgive the fact we were running past skips and storage units. Anyhow, all good fun although we felt old (average age of the other runners - about 20!).

My next challenge is Shaun T's Focus T25 - starting today! 

[witnesstheinsanity]

Focus T25 is here!

I haven't posted in a while, but have no fear, I've still been at it! I've been doing two 10k runs per week in preparation for my race on Sunday, plus random Insanity and Asylum workouts. I also purchased Shaun T's Hip Hop Abs. Hip Hop Abs pre-dates Insanity. Shaun T is super-camp and jolly in it (he nearly has a heart attack when The Pussy Cat Dolls come on) and generally a million miles away from scary, yelly Asylum Shaun T (evil twin?). Anyway, it's dancey and fun and despite my reservations, it really does work your abs. I'm a horrible hip hop dancer though. I pity my neighbours who have to watch me attempt such moves as 'the freak' and 'the party bounce' (we have huge windows). 

Onto Focus T25. It's Shaun T's latest creation - 25 minutes (no rest!), 5 days a week. While Insanity was billed the 'hardest' workout ever put on DVD, Focus T25 is apparently the 'smartest'. I start the programme officially a week tomorrow (after I'm done with the race) and will be blogging the whole shebang here on tumblr. I've already had a sneak peek and tried out a few of the workouts and they're really quite brilliant. After 25 minutes I was dripping with sweat and the following day I felt pleasantly achey. The calorie burn is impressive too. 

More next week! 

[witnesstheinsanity]

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 30

I completed The Asylum (Vol 1) today! Reaching the end of this programme definitely lacked the euphoria I felt completing the 60 days of Insanity - partly because Insanity is that much longer, but also, because daily exercise is so habitual to me now, the challenge element isn't so prevalent. Not that I'm not pleased with myself (I am!), but things feel definitely a whole lot more low-key this time around. 

My verdict on The Asylum? I really enjoyed it. I loved the variety in the routines and the use of equipment. I was pretty fit by the end of Insanity but I reckon I'm even fitter now. I took my final athletic test today and the stats seem to back me up. I've included my day 1, 15 and 30 results and indicated my overall improvement in brackets. My cardio fitness in particular has shot up. Here's how I got on:

Agility Heisman: Day 1 - 10, Day 15 - 11, Day 30 - 11 (+1)

In and Out Ab Progression: Day 1 - 28, Day 15 - 31, Day 30 - 34 (+6)

Lateral Push-ups: Day 1 - 18, Day 15 - 20, Day 30 - 24 (+6)

Mountain Climber Switch Kicks: Day 1 - 55, Day 15 - 69, Day 30 - 81 (+26)

Agility Shoulder Taps: Day 1 - 4 1/2, Day 15 - 5 1/2, Day 30 - 5 1/2 (+1)

X Jumps: Day 1 - 29, Day 15 - 34, Day 30 - 40 (+11)

Moving Push-ups: Day 1 - 4, Day 15 - 4 1/2, Day 30 - 5 1/2 (+ 1 1/2)

Agility Lateral Shuffle: Day 1 - 12, Day 15 - 14, Day 30 - 16 (+4)

Agility Bear Crawl: Day 1 - 9, Day 15 - 1-, Day 30 - 12 (+3)

In terms of physical changes, these have been a lot less subtle than my Insanity Before/After. Having said that I have more definition in my stomach and back and have definitely built extra muscle in my arms and legs. I'm going to take some photos on the weekend so I can see for sure as I'm currently relying on my reflection in the mirror and the fit of my clothes for an indication of what's gone down!

In the meantime I'm figuring out what to do next! I'm really excited about the launch of T25. For those of you who don't know about it, Shaun T has developed a new DVD workout - 25 minutes a day, 5 days a week. It sounds like cake but I'm not fooled for a second as I imagine Shaun packs a whole lot of hell into those 25 minutes. Anyway, it's being released in July so until then I'm going to put together some sort of Insanity/Asylum hybrid and intersperse it with running training. I've also just purchased Hip Hop Abs, Shaun T's first ever DVD workout, for a bit of added variety. It's meant to be all rather camp and jolly, so will prove a good antidote to scary, shouty Shaun from The Asylum. I'll, of course, let you know how I get on. 

[witnesstheinsanity]

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 27

I'm a little behind schedule. I'm training for a 10k so I've been slotting in the odd run in place of an Insanity workout. Nonetheless, my release from The Asylum is imminent. And I've rather enjoyed it! Although several of the workouts are absolute killers, the variety of strength, toning and cardio routines means you only have to do the vomit-inducing style of workout every other day (as opposed to every day with Insanity). Having said that I would strongly advise completing Insanity before tackling The Asylum (read past entries for ideas as to why!). 

Last week I did my first ever 'Overtime' workout. Only 13 minutes long, it is designed as an extra for when you fancy digging that little bit deeper. Sounds pretty harmless, right? Wrong! It was horrible! It took all the hardest moves from the other Asylum workouts and made them even harder. 13 minutes of sweaty, hurty hell. I'm pretty confident this one won't be part of my future workout repertoire (unless I'm feeling in a particularly punishing mood).

On the cusp of completion, I feel stronger, fitter and full of energy. Best of all, this has translated to my running performance. I'm doing a 10k race in just over a month's time and I'd really like to make a good time. I ran 9.5k today in 53 minutes and it felt really good. I've been training on Hampstead Heath which is super-hilly so I'm hoping the race route will be pleasantly flat in comparison! I wore my Insanity t-shirt on my run for a little extra inspiration and looked like 'a big old nerd' (according to the boyfriend). Check out my quality sweat patch! 

I'll be back in a few days with the results from my final fit test. Thanks for reading! 

[witnesstheinsanity]

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 18

I've over halfway through the beast that is The Asylum! Since I last blogged I attempted my first 'Game Day'. Game Day is the longest workout in The Asylum and takes elements from all the other workouts to create an evil sweaty monster. Using various different sports as inspiration, you run a race, climb a mountain, surf, swim, play baseball, football and basketball (amongst other delights). All the time Shaun T is in full-on yelly mode, urging you to 'dig deeper' and not 'let your team down!!!'. It's all rather disorientating. I sort of enjoyed it although I felt a complete wally doing some of the moves.  

At the weekend I completed my second athletic assessment. Having done a rather dismal job on my first attempt, the only way was up! Here are my results compared with day 1:

Agility Heisman - 11 (+1)

In & Out Ab Progression - 31 (+3)

Lateral Push-ups - 20 (+2)

Mountain Climber Switch Kicks - 69 (+14)

Agility Shoulder Taps - 5 1/2 (+1)

X Jumps - 34 (+5)

Moving Push-Ups - 4 1/2 (+ 1/2)

Agility Lateral Shuffle - 14 (+2)

Agility Bear Crawl - 10 (+1)

Other happy news. I went for a run the other day and zoomed around Hampstead Heath for a full hour, getting barely out of breath (even up the hills!). I'm planning to up my training in the coming weeks as I've signed up for a 10k and a 5k in July. On the same day. I know. In my defence the 5k is the Colour Run and everyone knows the Colour Run is nothing to do with running and everything to do with getting pelted with rainbow coloured powder. 

Tomorrow marks my first attempt at the ominously titled 'Overtime'. This is on top of another Game Day. I predict some serious sweat. 

Finally, I tested my body fat for the first time yesterday. Body fat percentage monitors don't tend to be as accurate as using callipers but I was pretty curious so used my boyfriend's body fat gizmo anyway. I just wish I'd measured my body fat at the beginning of all this, back in Feb, as it would be great to track the difference alongside the lost pounds and inches. Anyway, my percentage came out as 18.5%. According to the internet (and therefore FACT), I am in 'athlete' territory. This is amazing yet hilarious. I am so not sporty. Apart from badminton. I am nifty on the badminton court. At least I was ten years ago.  

More next week. Thanks for reading!

[witnesstheinsanity]

Insanity the Asylum: Day 10

10 days in and I feel like I'm getting in the swing of things. I've now attempted all the workouts at least twice (apart from the dreaded Game Day and Overtime) and have felt marginally less clumsy. Indeed, I was a little more speedy and agile in Speed and Agility, and having upped my weights for the Strength workout I felt almost bad-ass! My biceps are definitely growing which is exciting for a girl who has always has weedy upper-body strength.

Back to Core is a nifty workout. It targets your back (as you would expect from the name) in a series of clever exercises. It's not much of a sweat-fest but you can feel there's lots of deep work going on and already I feel stronger. 

Vertical Plyo is a horror! I can only describe it as 45 minutes of jumping (aka hell). It safely makes up for the lack of sweat in Back to Core. There are tuck jumps, power jumps, one-legged (!!!) power jumps, stance jacks, jump-rope drills etc. Your legs get a complete battering. Beware if you live above people, this is a rather noisy workout. It made our drinks cabinet rattle. 

Luckily the day after Vertical Plyo you are rewarded with Relief. Finally, a stretch workout that is just that and has nothing nasty added in (Insanity Max Recovery, I am looking at you).

So, tomorrow is 'Game Day'. I have no idea what to expect. Apparently it's very sports orientated so I am bound to suck. Wish me luck!

A wee reminder that I have another blog all about healthy eating - Lisa Eats. Do check it out if you have a moment. 

Thanks for reading! 

[witnesstheinsanity]

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 2

And we're off! I'm officially an inmate of The Asylum. Friday morning I did my fit test and I sucked! The first move was an agility heisman. I had to rewind four times to work out how the hell to do it because Shaun T's feet were moving so fast. I fear the agility ladder and I are destined to have a tumultuous relationship. For those who do not know what an agility ladder is, see picture of me battling with it below (the concentration etched on my face is clear):

Anyway, here are my rather unspectacular fit test results (I'll be repeating the test on day 15 and day 30):

Agility Heisman - 10

In & Out Ab Progression - 28

Lateral Push-Ups - 18

Mountain Climber Switch Kick - 55

Agility Shoulder Taps - 4 1/2

X Jumps - 29

Moving Push-Ups - 4

Agility Lateral Shuffle - 12

Agility Bear Crawl - 9

Yesterday was my first proper Asylum workout - Speed and Agility. Despite being a pretty skilful skipper back in my youth (backwards crossover and everything!) I was really quite awful. At one point my legs just buckled beneath me in protest and I collapsed in a heap. Not pretty. Meanwhile Shaun T did the entire sequence whilst speaking coherently throughout. He must have lungs of steel. Following the skipping warmup we moved onto ladder drills. Shaun T is way more bossy in The Asylum. Every time you knock your ladder you MUST re-set it and start again. I therefore re-set my ladder about a thousand times. My sweat levels also hit new heights. There were beads of sweat visibly spraying off my head. Indeed if you look closely at the photo above you can see the droplets on the carpet (delightful I know). The rest of the workout is a blur to me now. All I know is that my ass got kicked. However I survived (see post workout exhausted/happy/relieved pic below):

Today I tackled Strength! I quite enjoyed this one. It was a nice change of pace from all the cardio craziness, as although still aerobic, it was, as the title suggests, more of a weight training workout. It worked out all the major muscle groups - arms, chest, back etc and felt like a really good all-rounder. I kept my weights pretty low but still felt the burn AND got a decent calorie burn too. 

My conclusions on The Asylum so far? It's really hard! Plus, you have to concentrate massively as some of the agility stuff requires real coordination and precision. However, I'm finding this is having a positive impact on my form as it's forcing me to slow down and really make sure I'm getting the moves right. I'll be back later in the week to report on my progress. Here's hoping I don't maim myself with the skipping rope before then. 

One last thing - did I mention I earned my Insanity shirt?!? Whoop whoop! 

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Earned my shirt! 

[witnesstheinsanity]

Countdown to Asylum...

I've been on a remote Scottish island for a week. As promised I took my Insanity DVD wallet and diligently completed daily workouts (mixing and matching month 1 and 2 workouts). However stuck on an island with the rain lashing down outside and the only real warmth coming from the Aga, I resorted to baking. And baked cakes need to be eaten. I'm just hope I didn't do permanent damage (more about all things food-related via Lisa Eats).

I am now back in London and the countdown to Asylum starts here! I'm really looking forward to having another calendar to tick off. Although my workouts have continued they've felt a bit aimless without a specific end goal. Also I'm a big old nerd who likes ticking boxes. Excitingly (or not) there is also an Insanity/Asylum hybrid plan for me to tackle after my first go at Asylum so I potentially have challenge projects to keep me out of trouble for the next 60 days (plus running training in prep for my 10k in July).

Now, for those unfamiliar, The Asylum is a follow-up workout plan to Insanity. It focuses on sports performance. This in itself is faintly alarming as I'm not the sportiest of creatures (although I did used to kill the obstacle course at school sports day). Nonetheless I shall do my olympic best. I shall be an athlete, I shall! I have no idea why it's called Asylum apart from the fact it sounds scary and clearly ties in with the madness theme. Again, I'll be doing before/after shots etc and monitoring my progress here in full gory detail. I'll be back on Saturday after my first workout to report on all things Asylum. Do join me! 

[witnesstheinsanity]

Life post-Insanity

Look what arrived today! 

I love the unnecessarily large box. I’ve only had a brief peek inside. I can tell you this much - there’s a skipping rope in there and something called an agility ladder… I’m off on holiday next week (armed with my Insanity DVD wallet of course). Before you start to think I’m a complete loon, I’m off to rainy Scotland, not some tropical beach resort so I won’t be doing suicide drills on the beach or anything like that. On my return home I plan to commence Asylum on Saturday 11th May. Naturally I will be blogging about my experiences along the way.  So, what have I been up to since completing the 60 days? Well, first of all I took a day off and celebrated with pizza and limoncello tiramisu (dreamy). It was my first pizza in over two months. Check out how happy it made me: 

Then it was back to business as usual. I had intended to repeat the recovery week but I got a bit antsy so after two days of Cardio Core and Balance, and seeing as it was a stunner of a day, I went out for a run. Back in January I was running a 4.5 mile circuit of  the rather hilly Hampstead Heath in 42 minutes. On Tuesday I shaved a full four minutes off that time. For good measure I banged out Cardio Abs on my return. Yesterday I was craving some sweat so I busted out Pure Cardio. It was still hideous but nowhere near as bad as I remember. Today, despite aching inner thighs (FROM THE RUNNING!) I went out for another run and shaved a further minute off my time - yay! I then had a bit of a gander on the internet and discovered a bonus Insanity workout called Insane Abs. 34 minutes of ab work. It was an utter killer. Some of the moves I just plain couldn’t do. As usual Tania-Robot was barely breaking a sweat whilst I flopped around on the carpet like one of those fortune teller fish things you get in Christmas crackers. Ah well, practice makes perfect I suppose. 

If you haven’t already, please do check out my sister blog - Lisa Eats. It tracks my ongoing search for food that is not only healthy but tastes yummy too. I promise only to post recipes I’ve tried out myself and judged delicious enough to share!

Thanks for reading and for all the likes and re-blogs following my results post - much appreciated. 

[witnesstheinsanity]

Lisa Eats

Lovely followers! I have a new blog all about hunting down healthy alternatives to my favourite naughty treats. I'd been so grateful if you could follow me. Thanks in advance.

http://lisa-eats.tumblr.com/

[witnesstheinsanity]

Insanity - the results are in!

Yesterday marked my final day of Insanity! Nine weeks of blood, sweat and tears (actually, just sweat) are over. I celebrated by purchasing a new pair of jeans. I haven't been in Topshop's cruelly-lit changing rooms in some time and while the lighting is still horrendous (sort it out Topshop!), I still had excellent fun trying on jeans in a brand new size, eventually going for a pair of Lee jeans (for the record, Lee jeans are awesome) which were pricey but worth it for the way my Insanity-drilled bottom now looks in them. But enough about jeans, on to the cold, hard facts - inches, pounds, photographic evidence etc. Read on...

Weight loss

This was never a weight-loss mission specifically. However, having spent the last nine weeks jumping around the living room, sweat spraying from my forehead six days out of seven, it was inevitable I'd see some change. I started out in the healthy range for my weight and height but was definitely carrying a little extra jiggle around the mid-section (where I tend to carry my fat). On Day 1 of Insanity I weighed 124 lbs (8 stone 12 lbs for all your Brits). Today I weigh in at 114 lbs (8st 2 lbs). Total weight loss - 10 lbs. I haven't weighed this little since I was 18. Kind of in shock (the good sort). Downside? My boobs have shrunk. Never mind...

Inch Loss

I have lost two inches from my waist, two and a half from my hips, one from each arm and one and a half from each thigh. Total inch loss = nine and a half inches! I have also dropped a dress size from a UK size 10 to a UK size 8. Woop Woop! 

Before/After Photos

Please see separate post below for my delightful photo collage! 

Fit Test 

Yesterday I did my fifth and final fit test. Further down you'll find my progress chart. I'll also summarise my progress from Day 1 to Day 63 here:

Switch Kicks- Day 1: 60, Day 63: 73 (+ 13)

Power Jacks - Day 1: 46, Day 63: 66 (+ 20)

Power Knees - Day 1: 90, Day 63: 119 (+ 29)

Power Jumps - Day 1: 32, Day 63: 49 (+ 17)

Globe Jumps - Day 1: 7, Day 63: 12 (+ 5)

Suicide Jumps - Day 1: 18, Day 63: 26 (+ 8)

Push-up Jacks - Day 1: 18, Day 63: 40 (+ 22)

Low Plank Oblique - Day 1: 40, Day 63: 82 (+ 42!!!)

As you can see, my fitness levels have soared across the board. Interested to see how this translates to my performance when I head out running next week...

Conclusions

Put very simply, Insanity works! Stick to the regime, eat right and you'll get results.

Thanks to all my Tumblr followers, the lovely folk who get my posts via facebook or twitter, people who have read this entirely by accident etc. Special thanks for the words of encouragement, the compliments (flattery gets you everywhere), and general interest in my crazy scheme - it's all kept me going. Finally, I would like to thank my boyfriend (eek, this is getting all a bit OTT a la Gwyneth at the '99 Oscars, apologies!) for inspecting new 'muscles' when instructed, being my 'official' Insanity photographer, sampling my new clean eating recipes with genuine enthusiasm and washing my stinky workout gear. You're the best Phillips. 

I'll be back next week to report on recovering muscles, my first post-Insanity running sessions, and my plans for the next challenge - Insanity: The Asylum - Vol 1 (gulp!). In the meantime I'm off to celebrate with a pizza and a big glass of wine! I will leave you with a picture of my newly acquired biceps! 

Bye for now!

[witnesstheinsanity]

The pics on the left were taken on Day 1, the pics on the right Day 64. Apologies for my 1940s swimwear contest pose in the 2nd pic, I couldn't help myself. These babies are now winging their way to Beachbody HQ to claim my Insanity 'I earned it' t-shirt. BOOM!