Monday, April 05, 2010

Day 63: JOURNEY'S END: Final Results

As I was not home yesterday because of the holiday, I decided to finish on day 63 anyway, and did both my final workout (Max Cardio Conditioning) and the fit test today. A perfectly insane ending. So I started today as I started day 1, with a bowl of pumpkin oatmeal, and went right into the fit test. Oh, and before we get into the final photos, just in case you're thinking this is all well-polished and lip-glossed bliss, here's me at right after the final workout. The REAL Insanity.

I lay on the floor and sobbed after the final fit test this morning. I'm not sure why, whether it was happiness, sadness, relief, or a culmination of all of the health stuff that's happened to me since last fall. This felt like such an enormous physical and mental accomplishment after such a serious illness that I think the fruition of it all was just overwhelming. I was nervous about taking this today after the holiday and all of the eating yesterday. I thought I'd be scrambling to match my day 33 numbers (note that I skipped the fourth fit test), but I killed it -- not only that, but I beat the participants on most of the exercises! Take that, Tonya. You have been served.
ExerciseDay 1Day 16Day 33Day 63Change (Since Day 33)TOTAL CHANGE
Switch Kicks11612112215023%29.3%
Power Jacks4853566719.6%39.6%
Power Knees911051101165.5%27.5%
Power Jumps2733344017.7%48.1%
Globe Jumps710111318.2%85.7%
Suicide Jumps171818195.6%11.8%
Pushup Jacks2024283214.3%60%
Plank oblique75748910214.6%36%
Note that this is an average of 14.8% improvement over my prior fit test during the recovery week, and an improvement of 42.25% overall!

I took a short break before taking on the final Max Cardio Conditioning, but even so, my legs just did not want to lift during those switch kicks. But it flew by and I nailed it, knowing I could collapse in torpor for days on end afterward if I so chose.

Here are the final photos (click to enlarge). I didn't weigh or measure today because I have a food hangover from yesterday, but I will try to do so in another day or two. I can tell you that I've checked on and off over the last week and my measurements have not really changed since Day 30. Not only that, but I've apparently gained about 2 pounds back. I assumed I'd just sabotaged myself with eating over the last month, something many of you know I've struggled with. However, my photos surprised me because I am clearly a lot more muscular than I was on Day 30. I wondered if it could be attributed to the lighting change or something, but I don't think so. See what you guys think, and what exactly happened here. I would think my measurements would have gone down with building muscle, even if the scale went up. It's kind of a mystery. Until I saw these photos, I figured my results were better at 30 days. I think I was wrong.

Over the next couple of days I'll post more of my final impressions and results. For now, I need a couple of days to recuperate and then yoga, here I come (back)!

To those of you who are in the middle of this -- KEEP GOING. The end is worth it. You have two choices about where you'll be at the end of 60 days.

5 comments:

  1. You're an animal!!!!! Big ol' high five sister. Those numbers are amazing!!! Congrats and enjoy a well-deserved few days off. I finished today too but didn't blow it out of the water like you did! My numbers didn't go up consistently, in fact they were highest on the first Fit Test. Regardless I had fun and feel great.

    Thanks for sharing your journey and I look forward to hearing more about it!

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  2. You too, woman! Thanks for following and posting -- it was great to know someone else was right where I was. What are your future plans?

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  3. You look great! Congratulations!

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  4. Sara, what amazing results! You kicked ass and took numbers the whole way through. You look great, I can't believe how much muscle you gained! Congratulations on joining the ranks :-)

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  5. Anonymous4:10 PM

    Hello Sara! Your results are amazing! I'm a yoga girl doing Insanity right now. Boy is it different than traditional yoga practice! It's challenging and I really like it. Thanks for your recipes! I'm going to make your tropical recovery drink.

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