Insanity Revisited: Day 16

After telling myself I would never, ever do Insanity again... I'm doing it again. I've kept the wall calendar up since April and after the holidays, decided I'd give at least month 1 a go again. Unfortunately, I'm starting out a bit higher weight-wise than I did last time, the product of beginning a full-time desk job and being extra merry over the holidays. The plus side of that is I got so tired of junk food I couldn't wait to eliminate it, and it hasn't been hard at all.

When I began Insanity last year, I was at 118.5 pounds. At the end of month 1, I was at about 115 and at the end of month 2, I finished at 116-117.

This time, I started at 122.5 pounds. On day 16, I'm at 120. I won't post a daily journal this time, just occasional updates. For now, here are some observations from my second round as I begin the third week:

1. NUTRITION: I'm following the nutrition guide much closer this time. I'm eating five 300-calorie meals per day, every three hours, plus a little extra and my homemade recovery formula, to make about 1,600 calories total. Even though I have a lot less time this round than I did the first time, it's been easy because I keep ready-made things around at all times that I can make add up to 300. I've become a big fan of Muscle Milk Light blended with fruit. I wish I'd followed the plan more closely the first time, as this time my energy has been much more stable and my cravings have seemingly subsided. I've eliminated by nighttime snacking urge just by eating these mini-meals (and therefore more calories) early in the day. Through force of habit and continual resistance, I've been able to avoid the cookies and crap at work, and it's to the point I barely notice it anymore.

2. RESULTS: Like in the first round, I've noticed immediate improvements in my skin and my overall outlook. I noticed muscular changes by the end of week one, especially in my shoulders, upper chest, and stomach. I was really tired and cranky that first week but I adjusted quickly, and now I feel great. I get up in the morning at 5:30 to work out before work, and to my surprise, I really love it. There's no way I'd have the energy to do it in the evening.

3. CHANGES THIS ROUND, BESIDES FOOD: In my first round of Insanity, I went a full month with no knee problems. This time, I felt twinginess in my second week. I've already started wearing my knee wraps again. This is one reason I don't plan to do month 2 (at least not as it's written and not without a lengthy break between). At the end of the month, I plan to do a full week of only yoga and rest, and then re-evaluate. I may do some sort of hybrid for month 2, as I do enjoy some of those workouts. I also can't get up any earlier for the longer workouts, as I already feel my sleep is suffering somewhat. And finally, while month 1 was magical for me last time, month 2 was a continual struggle and an exercise in misery and overtraining. While I wanted to finish to prove I could do it (and I did), I have no desire to repeat that experience. I also gained weight in month 2 last time, and while I'm sure it was pure muscle, I'm not looking for that this time. (One thing I'm keeping my eye on is the new Insanity: The Asylum that's due out in March. That might be a good followup for me.)

I'm skipping the fit tests for now, and I've jumped right in with the workouts on those days and adding Cardio Abs to Pure Cardio before the schedule indicates it. I've already done Insanity once, and even after 9 months, I haven't lost much of my fitness level even going back to only practicing yoga. These don't feel any harder than they did before (but they feel very, very hard... although last time I hated Pure Cardio and this time I really like it, and it's Cardio Power and Resistance that I think is the killer.) Finally, on recovery day, I'm going to yoga class or doing Max Recovery, which I like a lot more than Cardio Recovery. I'm going to give myself the option on the sixth day of each week to do the workout as written or to go to yoga if I feel like I've overdone it -- but so far, that hasn't been necessary.

So that's it, folks. More musings and recipes coming your way, and it's great for me to look back at my own experiences each day to gauge my progress, so I'm glad I've kept this blog up. I hope something here helps you as well.

About Me

To give you some background, I am a vinyasa yoga instructor who for some insane reason decided to try Insanity. I am partially curious about my fitness level (because I only practice vigorous yoga) and I partially was intrigued by the stories and can’t resist a challenge. If you tell me I can’t do it, I’m going to try. I am short and my body fat is probably in the normal-athletic range but I am by no means skinny. I have had two children. Gack, my “before” pictures look awful, but I guess I went out of my way to make myself look like that. First thing in the morning, no makeup, dirty hair, ugly sweatpants, relaxed belly.

My objective: Assess how using only yoga for exercise has affected my overall fitness level, how Insanity changes my overall fitness level, and how the use of Insanity affects my yoga practice when I return to it.

Another thing to know about me is that six months ago I developed a blood clot behind my collarbone and into my armpit. I am currently taking warfarin, an anticoagulant. As of now, the clot is nearly gone and completely stable, and I have been cleared by more than one doctor for intense exercise. I notice the affected arm swells ever so slightly after a lot of intense muscle work, but the doctor has told me that’s to be expected with the slightly labored circulation there, and to just work through it. With my condition, intense exercise is actually good, because it increases blood flow. When you have a clot or a propensity for them (I have a minor genetic condition), sitting around in the same position is what you need to watch out for.

Current stats:
Age: 33
Weight: 118
Height: 5’2”
Waist: 27.5-28””
Hips: 36” at widest part
Thigh: 20.5”
Pants size: 4

For reference, my weight has been pretty stable for the last five years since I took off the pregnancy weight and amped up my yoga practice (and STOPPED traditional Western exercise… as a gym rat I weighed about 124) and started eating slightly less. My average weight has been about 114 pounds, and I peaked at the end of 2009 at 119 pounds after Christmas and several months of recovery from the clot during which I practiced yoga but differently and definitely did some emotional eating. My all-time low is about 110, and that was the point that my friends and family started telling me I looked way too thin.

I also looked at the different workout descriptions and decided that I can do just about anything for 40 minutes a day. I am used to practicing vinyasa/ashtanga yoga for 60-90 minutes a day, so I figured, wow – doing Insanity will actually save me time!

You might wonder why my thinking is so twisted, but your opinion will be cemented when I tell you this: I am suffering from a sinus infection and I decided to start Insanity anyway. I don’t feel too bad other than the difficulty breathing, but I reasoned that I could try the fit test and if it’s too awful, as he says, I can take it as a sign that Insanity is not for me. So, yesterday I took a very leisurely rest day, started this morning with a bowl of pumpkin oatmeal, and dived right in.