Countdown to Fitness

Due to my “insane” schedule of going out of town and having out-of-town guests almost every weekend starting toward the end of August, I’m way behind on posting.

On August 24, 2011, I finished INSANITY, a 63-day, intense, max interval, cardio, total-body conditioning program created by former track star Shaun T for Beachbody®. Because the end of August was the beginning of our weekend excursions, I finished the program 3 days later than scheduled.  (While the program actually says “60-days,” it really takes 63 days, assuming you stay on schedule.)

The first four weeks of the program helped improve my cardio and stamina while the fifth week was somewhat of a recovery week, which concentrated on exercises for stomach (core) strength and balance.

The real insane part were weeks 6 through 9.  Just when I was getting used to the first month, Shaun T. changed the workout for month two and upped the difficulty.  Actually, I did enjoy the new challenge.  In fact, the first workout of this last four weeks was called Max Interval Plyometrics, and it was by far the most challenging for me.  However, I also liked it the most, as it reminded me a lot of my kung fu classes.  I also burned more than 500 calories in the 55 minutes of this particular workout, which was many more calories than any of the other workouts.

All the workouts were mainly more intense forms of the first four weeks with some new items thrown in.  I highly recommend this for people who like short-term goals and boot-camp-style exercises.  BUT this isn’t for everyone.  If you have joint problems, I suggest you find a different exercise program.

INSANITY comes in different versions. I bought the DELUXE version with three extra DVDs because I wanted the Upper Body Weight Training (which requires weights). You can buy this set used on Amazon.com, for example, at a much cheaper price.  See my previous article on the first five weeks of this exercise. (more…)