Insanity

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! I had a great time with family, friends and lots of good food. And not to mention, I worked out 3 out of the 4 vacation days, so I didn't feel so guilty for the extra helpings I had!

I've told a couple of you that I was going to post about the Insanity workout program, and now is as good a time as any, right? I got married just a few short months ago. After the engagement and the wedding date was set and the dress was picked out, the thing on any bride-to-be's mind is looking the best she can in that dress! From the time we set a date until the day of the wedding was about 9 months.

For the first couple months, my main workout regimen was running. It's what I was comfortable with and what I loved to do. The gym I belonged to had workout classes, but not many to choose from, and the times didn't work well with my schedule. So I would run and then lift some weights on my own. I didn't really lose much weight since I had already been running before that. My body was used to me running on a regular basis and I knew that I needed to confuse my body in order to really make some progress.

I had heard people talk about this Insanity workout, but I hadn't really looked into it. And then I was in Trinidad on a work trip and was getting ready one morning when this infomercial came on. It was for the Insanity program and it really intrigued me. Obviously, those infomercials are meant to suck you in and make you want to purchase right then. Well, it worked, because when I got back to the States, I ordered it! It was great timing because I had a month to try it before I was going to Hawaii for a girls trip. I didn't follow the program exactly, but I did lose a few pounds and I really enjoyed doing it!

We went to Hawaii and had a great time, but I didn't really get back into Insanity right when I returned. I would do it a couple days a week along with my running. And honestly, I wasn't eating great either. When it got to be a little over 2 months from the wedding, I knew I needed to kick it in high gear. In the first 6.5 months before the wedding, I had lost about 10 pounds. There were weeks I would lose a few pounds, other weeks I would maintain, and other weeks I would gain a couple. But it came down to about 10 pounds in that 6.5 months.

The Insanity program is a 60 day program and there are 10 DVD's that come with it. The 1st 5 DVD's are rotated during the first month and the 2nd 5 are rotated during the 2nd month. The program is set so that you work out 6 days a week. Now, I was really skeptical because I absolutely LOATHE home workout videos! I can't stand them because I get too bored. If I have to put in the same DVD over and over again, I won't do it. It gets too predictable for me. But I love how Insanity is set up. The 1st 5 DVD's are rotated throughout the 1st month, but you don't do Video 1 on each Monday and Video 2 on each Tuesday. It's kind of random and it never got boring. And by the time I was learning what came next on the videos, it was time for month 2 and a whole new set of DVD's.

Since the program is 6 days a week, I decided I would go way outside my comfort zone and not run at all. I would totally focus on Insanity, follow the workout plan and take advantage of that 1 day of rest each week (and I needed it for sure)! I won't lie, a couple times throughout the 2 months, I went on some short runs, just to get the feel of my feet hitting the pavement again - I missed it too much! The other thing I told myself is that I would eat healthier, which for me meant portion control and making good decisions.

After following the Insanity program for the whole 2 months and eating healthy along with it, I had lost 14.5 pounds (on top of the 10 I had already lost in the first 6.5 months). I also lost 10 inches all over my body and I felt great and had so much energy! And looking at the pictures from my wedding, I know that I won't look back and say, "I wish I would have worked out before the wedding to lose 10 more pounds." I know that I was insane and worked out like crazy and it paid off!

They don't call it Insanity for nothing. It is NOT easy. Some of the exercises are so hard that I'm glad no one was peeping in my window watching me do it or they would have gotten a good laugh! I had to modify some exercises because of my knees, and some of the time I couldn't keep up with the people on the videos. But, even the people on the video couldn't last the whole time, so that made me feel better! The first month's workouts were around 40 minutes long. The 2nd month's workouts were around an hour long, so you worked up to that. One thing that I loved to do was pop the workout DVD into my computer, turn the sound down (after I had done them enough times I didn't need to hear the talking), and I would watch my DVR'd shows on TV. It made the workouts go by faster when I was watching TV at the same time.

So, did I stop Insanity because I'm training for a half marathon? No. To be completely honest, if you want to get the major results, follow it closely and do it 6 days a week and you'll get those results. But, it's not the only way you can do the program. With my training, I am running 4 days a week, so I am using Insanity on my cross training days. It's great to get a whole body workout on those off-running days!

I am not getting anything from the Insanity "people" for this blog post, I'm not endorsing the product in any way, this is just my own opinion of the workouts and how much I loved them! If you would ask me if you should do Insanity, I would say YES! It doesn't matter how in shape or out of shape you are. You can go at your own pace and push yourself to where you feel comfortable. It'll give you the best all over body cardio workout you've ever had! Or at least it does me! Sorry this post is a little long and drawn out, but felt I needed to give the back story and my pre-wedding journey with Insanity! If you have any other questions about it, let me know!