Insanity Update - Fit Test #2

Last night was the second fit test (2 week mark) for the Insanity workout program. Here are my results:

I'm not entirely sure how I managed to decrease reps in Switch Kicks - or maybe I'm not sure how I managed to do so many on the first test.

Everything else saw a drastic increase. An even bigger accomplishment is that my heart rate monitor didn't alarm at me even once!

I took my body measurements when I finished the Fit Test. I use the Wii balance board with Wii Fit to weigh myself since we don't own a scale. Scales are evil and deceptive - it's best to just keep them out of the house. My weight didn't fluctuate at all. I showed a 0.00 weight change. I was pretty excited about that because I didn't gain! The last few times I've started the Insanity workouts, I gained weight in the first two weeks. I don't follow the meal plan that is provided with Insanity. I don't have a huge food budget and I don't eat horribly to begin with (mostly Tiers 1 - 3 on Michi's Ladder). The struggle is figuring out how much to eat. I started using the FatSecret calorie/exercise tracker app on my phone which has helped a lot.

As for inches - a total of 2.75 inches are gone around my body. The fact that I lost inches and not pounds just goes to verify that muscle really does weigh more than fat!

Here's the breakdown of inches:

Bust/Chest	-0.50
Waist	-0.50
Hips	-0.75
Thigh	-0.50
Calf	+0.25
Bicep	-0.50
Forearm	-0.25

My belt is back at the second notch and I'm feeling better both physically and mentally. I don't have any weird leg pains and my feet still feel good. I think I might just make it the entire 60 days this time! I'll update all my measurements again after the next Fit Test (Feb 18th).

#365 Day Projects - January update

I was going to update on a weekly basis in an attempt to keep myself accountable. I obviously didn't. So instead, I'm updating now.

I've been doing well with the #365BODY portion of the project. I was sick for 3 days and didn't do anything - not even meditation - so a bit of a fail on that one but otherwise I've stuck with it. It helps that I'm doing the Insanity workout program again. Sweetie and I walk together whenever we can as well. I love that the Missouri weather is holding nicely in the 30-40 degree range!

As for the other portions of the project (#365MIND and #365SPIRIT), I'm lacking considerably. I am reading *most* days but I feel like I'm cheating to consider it as a step forward to increase my knowledge. I am going to change #365MIND to consist of one chapter a day of Anna Karenina. It's completely do-able and the reading is difficult enough to make my brain work even though it's an enjoyable story line. 

I have no reasoning or excuses for falling off the wagon with playing a musical instrument. I mean, come on, it's freaking 5 minutes a day! Still, I haven't played at all for about 2 weeks now. I think I played seven days in a row and then just quit. I didn't intentionally quit. One day I just noticed that I hadn't done it in awhile and I didn't want to. *sigh*

So where do I go from here? 

I think I pick up and try again. I'll try to update on Sundays about my progress. Hopefully I'll have some accomplishments to share rather than woes of falling out of practice. 

Monday is the 2nd Fit Test for the Insanity workout program. I will try to update my results with a comparison summary from the 1st Fit Test. 

Please let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions for sticking with this! 

Insanity: Take Three!

This is my third (or fourth? I lost count...) attempt at the Insanity workout program with Shaun T.

In previous attempts, I had not gotten further than the 3rd week of this 60-day program. The first two attempts were thwarted by injuries. The third attempt was just good ole' lack of dedication and motivation.

This time around, I'm with a group on Facebook. I am tracking my calories to make sure I'm eating enough - and not too much. I have the heart rate monitor and have recalculated my max heart rate as 186.

This is a huge time drain on my already cramped schedule but I finally came to terms with what I needed - both physically and mentally. The winter months are especially difficult for me. I discovered years ago that complete and utter exhaustion after strenuous exercise usually helps keep me in good spirits.

Last night (Monday) was the first day. I did the Fit Test. I actually completed every move on the Fit Test! This is a first for me, so I was pretty excited. Something to note, however: after 4 Globe Jumps, I literally could not physically attempt another jump. My heart rate monitor hadn't beeped at me yet, and I was waiting on the next move, so I checked to see what I was at. I expected to see somewhere around 180 since it's supposed to beep at 185.

It was 203.

Holy crap! Obviously I did something wrong and didn't have the alarm turned on. In any case, I figured I'd gone this long without adhering to the monitor that I'd go ahead and finish without worrying about exceeding my max heart rate range. This is probably the only reason I was able to complete every move. I do remember on previous attempts at this program, the monitor had me resting throughout entire rounds sometimes.

Anyway, here are my results for Day 1: Fit Test

#365 Day Projects

Jules over at Pancakes & French Fries planted a bug in my brain to do a 365 day project. She broke hers into 3 sections: Mind, Body, and Spirit. 

I spent the first day of 2013 pondering what I wanted most to improve about myself that wasn't superficial. I've had the same goals every year for about 5 years or so and they never work out. This is not due to the fact that they are unattainable. I honestly can't pinpoint an exact reason why I let them fall to the wayside but I decided maybe it was time to try something different. I will keep the intentions on goals of years' past, simply because they are, realistically, something I should be doing anyway. In addition to continuing to work on those goals though, I am embarking on my own version of Mind/Body/Spirit. I will be using the Instagram hash tagging as accountability. My user name on Instagram is shainarue. 

#365MIND / #365BODY / #365SPIRIT

#365MIND: At least 5 minutes a day increasing my knowledge in some way or reading. I threw reading in there because I'll be honest, some days my brain is just too exhausted to think. I will likely always spend much more than 5 minutes but on those days when it's hard to focus on anything, 5 minutes seems like an attainable goal.

#365BODY: At least 5 minutes a day exercising and/or meditating. I will be starting the Insanity workout program on January 13th, and hopefully this project will keep me active when that program ends in early March. Again, 5 minutes because there are those days when it's just hard to sit up, and I don't want any excuses available for failure.

#365SPIRIT: At least 5 minutes a day playing any instrument. This was a tough one for me to pin down. Music feeds my soul. I remember a time when I would get lost in hours of playing guitar or piano, and felt so renewed. I haven't touched my guitar in almost 2 years, and only played about an hour total on the piano in as much time.

So here I go! I'll be working toward self-improvement a bare minimum of 15 minutes every day.