Monday, February 21, 2011

INSANITY - Week 4 Completed

I've completed week 4, or 28 days of INSANITY.  I'm pleased with my progess so far.  Of course, it's nice to see some physical changes, but what's exciting me, and keeps motivating me is to see the health benefits increasing.  My BMI has dropped to 23.9, my BF is down to 13.9%, my weight is staying steady at 164lbs.  All in all, this is great news.  Saturday I turned 43, and Monday I'm going to see my doctor for the annual physical exam.  Here's a picture of my most current progress.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

INSANITY - Relevance

Some of my new friends who haven't known me for a while, and are just seeing the pictures I've posted on this blog often tell me, "You were already in good shape."  "I don't see the difference.  All I see is picture of day 1 like this, and picture of day 14 like this."  Let me bring everyone up to date.

I started working out last year on June 8, 2010.  I did P90X for two rounds, that's 6 months total, and now I'm doing INSANITY.  When I started P90X I was not in such a great shape. 

The way I was living was guaranteeing me a short life. I've always exercised throughout my life, but about 4 years ago I stopped, started drinking a little bit of alcohol, eating "good" food, and became sedentary. As a result, my blood pressure started creeping up, cholesterol levels changed, HDL decreased while LDL increased, my Body Mass Index (BMI) was 26.4 (overweight), my Body Fat (BF) was 24.5%, always felt tired, and lethargic. I needed to change my life, if i wanted to keep it. So I decided, committed, and now I'm doing these Extreme workouts.
As of today, I've lost 22 lbs, my blood pressue has gone down to normal levels, BF has dropped to 9.2%, BMI has dropped to 24.5 (Normal), I feel energized, and life seems clearer.

Currently I'm on Week 4, day 1 of INSANITY, have changed my diet to make healthier choices, and get at least 7 hours of sleep every night.  P90X or INSANITY are not magic pills to fix health issues, but if followed as presented will do wonders for anyone.

It's not vanity; it's health insurance.

These are pictures of me at Day one of P90X (back in June 2010), and my Day 180 of P90X (January 22, 2011), which I've used as my INSANITY Day 1 picture.  Can anyone see the differnce?

Monday, February 14, 2011

INSANITY - Week 3 - Done!

Week 3 of this madness is done, and I'm on my rest day.  Totally psyched about the workouts, and looking forward to week 4 tomorrow morning.  Is it getting easier? NO!  But I'm stubborn, and want to keep pressing forward to the end.  Here's my latest picture update; I don't see much change, but what the heck.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Ab Ripper X, and Whatever I can think of X

My goal is to attain that mythological 6-pack that only a few people can achieve.  To supplement my INSANITY (for fat burning), I've also incorporated the Ab Ripper X routine from P90X, and added a few other abs workouts to make those puppies come out their cave.

I've finally mastered Mason Twist, which is one of the hardest ab exercises to do.

Check it out:



also Hanging Knees raises

Friday, February 11, 2011

INSANITY - plus a little boxing

Wow the days are flying by, and the fat is melting away as the days come and go.  Today was a good workout, very ardous, but I had company to keep me motivated, and focused.  Thanks Erica!  Currently, I'm on Week 3, day 5, and starting to get addicted to this craziness; I actually look forward to doing it.  This is definitely the workout that will make anyone lose unwanted fat. 

The quantity of goo lost, of course, will depend on each individual's body fat (BF) content.  I started with a BF of 11.2%, my goal is to get down to 5-7%.  I'm seeing great results, thus far, and wouldn't be surprised if I didn't reach my goals by the end of this round, March 27.  In the event that I don't, I'm already mentally preparing myself to start another round right after.

As a child of 13 years of age, I trained for a while to be a boxer, got into a few fights, but left that once I came to the States.  Last weekend, I bought a pair of heavy-bag gloves.  Today, after INSANITY, I went down memory lane, and did a few rounds with the dumb bag.  I lost!  a few calories, that is :)

I'm unstoppable!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

INSANITY - The masses are beginning to join

This morning I was pleasantly surprised as 3 girls joined me to work out.  And guess what?  they kicked ass!

Working out with other people definitely gives one that little extra push that we may lack, otherwise.  We pushed hard, and kept each other motivated.  I'm hoping they'll keep coming....

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

INSANITY - Week 2 completed.

I just finished week two on Saturday, taken a picture of my ongoing progress, and now I'm on day 2 of week 3.

Monday, as part of the program, I took the fitness test again.  I did better in most of them, and two ramained the same.

On the start of the regular workout, all I can say is that this is not getting easy.  I'm getting used to the moves, but it's still grueling; nevertheless, the feeling of completing each workout is priceless.  My body is changing by the day, and that alone is enough motivation to keep me going, and digging deeper each day.

this is a picture of my two weeks progress, and a commitment chart for each week.