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Thursday, July 21, 2011

Day 16 Vertical Plyo



Yesterday was day 16 in the Asylum. As you can tell I had vertical plyo. This workout get the lactic acid flowing more than any of the other workouts in this program. At least that's how it is for me. This whole workout is all jumps with and without resistance bands. It has some pushups in there as well. Some of the jumps are done with a jump rope. I chose not to use it as I have stated in an earlier post because I can get deeper into the squat type moves without it.

I do have a huge confession to make to everyone. I actually had to stop my workout with about 6 minutes left. I actually had no more in me to give. I started to cramp in my legs and really just bonk. So, I just stretched a bit and turned it off. One thing that you really need to get used to when you are on a fitness quest like I am. You really need to learn to listen to your body. It always tells you what it needs. Whether it be in your workouts or in your nutrition. It will never lie to you. That is something that it took me a long time to learn and really follow. Tonight I have the strength workout which I just love for some reason. Can't wait to get to it. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow. If you have any questions just comment below and I would be happy to answer. Have a great day and thank you for stopping by.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Day 15 Speed And Agility


Hey everyone, me again. Since i took a day off for some life events. I decided last night that I would skip day 14 which was relief. I didn't feel like i should be doing relief the day after an off day. I really felt like I needed to WORK. Well work is what I did in speed and agility. Last night i really had a while new level of "bring it" since I was coming off of a day with no workout. I found that I really pushed past that initial burn into the area of total failure. I worked until I would drop and could not work more. I took a few breaths and got back up and worked some more. What an awesome workout it was.

This workout once again uses the jump rope and agility ladder. I usually don't use the jump rope and just do the motions like I am. The reason I do that is because in the ones where you are doing a squatting jump rope and moves like that, I feel like i can go deeper into the move without the rope. That helps me to get a better burn. The lactic acid really flows that way.

The reason I am pushing it so hard right now is because I have hit a plateau in my weight loss and I've been here fo a couple weeks. That is something that would have really had me discouraged a while ago. Now i realize that it isn't the end of the world. It just means it's time to do something different. So what I am trying is adding some calories to my diet and pushing hard. Believe it or not, depending on what you're doing for workouts you sometimes need to eat more not less. We will see how it goes. I will try with the additional calories for a weeks and if it doesn't help, I will cut a few. I'll let you know how it turns out. Tonight I have the dreaded vertical plyo. I will let you know how that went when I write tomorrow. Until then, y'all have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

Monday, July 18, 2011

No Workout

Sorry everyone but I have to admit and be honest. Today should be day 14 of The Asylum but I have missed again. I had an issue with my vehicle that I was trying to fix and time got away from me. I do promise that I will be back to make up on day 13 that I also had to miss due to some business scheduling. I am sorry for the lapse and intend to be back to working my butt off tomorrow. I have come too far to not see it through. Also since I started working out, I have to keep doing it. I love the new me and will NEVER go back to the way I was. Be back soon to report on my workout tomorrow. I need to bring it extra hard. Wish me luck. Have a great night everyone.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Day 12: Back To Core



Hey everyone, I have to admit that I missed my workout yesterday due to some stomach issues. I was feeling much better today so I just picked up where I left off and went wild with day 12. I had back to core again today. One of the workouts that I really like and do very well with. I find that this is one that I can really push past the pain and achieve the best results since the gains don't really start until the pain does.

I did manage to stay on track with my nutrition even with not feeling well. I have to tell you all that going through the journey of fitness that I have been on I am so understanding that nutrition is 80% of the journey and the physacl aspect of the journey is only 20%. I used to think all I had to do was workout like an animal and I could eat what I want. Well, if everyone read my "about me" post, you would see that I was soooo wrong. If you aren't eating properly you are going nowhere. When I say eating properly I don't mean lean cuisine or weight watchers meals. I mean good wholesome nutrition with the proper mix of protein, carbs and good fats. I will get more into nutrition in later posts I promise. If you have any questions about nutrition and workouts please don't hesitate to contact me. You can inbox me in Facebook or comment below and leave me your e-mail. You can do the same if you can't decide on just what workout might fit. We will find you one. Beachbody has a workout for EVERYONE. I promise you that.

I would like to take a moment to thank everyone that is taking the time to read my posts and say that if there is anything else you would like to hear about like fitness or nutrition leave me a comment. I am just concentrating right now on the 30 days I have to do Asylum and what my thoughts are about it in case anyone else may be thinking about trying it. I can say that it is the hardest program that I have EVER done but I am loving the results I am seeing so far. Once again thank you for reading and I will be back tomorrow to talk a little bit about what my workout was. Have a great day.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Day 11 Game Day.



Good morning everyone. Last night was day 11 and I had Game Day. This was a 60 minute non stop sweat fest. I believe the sweat actually started about 30 seconds into the warm up. Of course it is about 120 degrees in my garage where I work out.

Game day is a workout that uses several sports like soccer, football, swimming, and baseball to name a few. There is a lot of movement. I know in what part of the workout you are running in place for about 5 or so straight minutes. I don't mean jogging, I mean running. I really surprised myself with that because I ran the entire time. The agility ladder is used a lot in this workout to keep you concentrating and sharp. There are way too many movements to go over them all. I can tell you one thing though. this workout is so intense that I drank 2 liters of water and still sweat off a pound.

All in all I had an awesome time in this workout. I was really worried about the length of it but was so surprised at how fast it went. If you have graduated P90X or Insanity, give The Asylum a try. It is truly amazing. If you don't have any of these programs and would like to try them, comment below and I will tell you how. I will also Coach you for free and help you get in the best shape of your life. Thank you for reading. I'll let you know tomorrow how day 12 goes.em here

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Day 10 Relief

Good morning everyone. Yesterday was day 10 and I had relief in the Asylum. I have to admit that I didn't even get a chance to do it. I had a lot of business stuff that I had o take care of that far outweighed the need for a stretch. I was so looking forward to it too. Sorry there isn't a video of it but I couldn't find one. Tonight I have game day which is 60 minutes of pure movement and is inspired by many sports. I am a little nervous about this one too but check back tomorrow and I will let you know how it went. Sorry again folks and thank you fro taking the time to read this.

Day 9 Vertical Plyo



Ok, I did my vertical plyo on Tuesday and what can I say about this workout? Well, it is brutal. The lactic acid that flows into your legs while doing these exercises is unbelievable. The burn actually stared for me in the warm up. I always thought I had very strong legs and they have always been like solid rock. The one thing I didn't think about was the endurance of my legs. Well, I found out all about that in this workout. Every time I collapsed. I realized I had no endurance.

In vertical plyo there is a ton of jumping in different variations and positions and some of that jumping involves resistance bands. Oh my God. This work out utilizes the jump rope for.... well you know about that. It also uses the agility ladder which is insane because you are doing these jumps and having to land in the boxes while you have the resistance bands around your ankles. There were many times I was on my knees believe me. Over all however this is really an awesome workout and is guaranteed to get soaked with sweat. I can't imagine how many calories I burned. I am still stuck at the same weight I was when I started which may be a nutritional thing that I have to look at tweaking a bit. Thank God I took my measurements before I started because I am sure I'm losing inches.

Tomorrow I have the relief workout which will be just that. RELIEF. I so need it. Check back tomorrow to see how that went. Thanks for reading and I'll see ya soon.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Day 8: Back To Core


Good morning everyone. Yesterday was Back to Core for me. Day 8 in the Asylum. As you can tell from the name and the video above, This is all back and core work. It starts out with a warm up that isn't too bad and then into the workout. I am really liking this workout even though there are some move I thought I would never be able to do because of a lower back fusion that I have.

In this workout I like the fact that you get to use some resistance bands and you can real feel the burn from them. There are no weights and really no fast movements at all but I will tell you that when you are done with this workout, you will be dripping with sweat and your core will be telling you that it just worked out. I actually lost a pound yesterday. I have been at a bit of a plateau lately and couldn't get past it. Finally I did.

One thing I want to say about losing weight and working out that I haven't said yet is, If you are doing a program and eating right, THROW AWAY THE SCALE! Or at least have someone hide it from you. It is an evil thing. With proper diet and doing these program such as P90X, Insanity and The Asylum, the quickest results you will see are the changes in your body. The way you look, feel and how your clothes fit. Take measurements. They won't lie to you like the scale can. Just a quick tip.

Tonight is a workout that I really don't look forward to. I have vertical plyometrics. It is by far the toughest workout I've done so far. Don't get me wrong, I love the results and how I feel when I'm done but it is brutal on the legs. I look forward to telling you how it went for me. I will see you then. Until then, have a great day and remember to make healthy choices and drink your water.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Day 7 Is Strength


Good afternoon everyone, today was strength training in the Asylum. This workout incorporates weights back into the workout and is the first time I have done resistance training since P90X. So far this is by far my favorite routine in the Asylum. Maybe it's because of the burn I get from using the dumbells again or maybe because it's the only one and can make it most of the way through without having to pause. Who knows but I l LOVE it.

One thing I have to say is that when doing this routine with the weights, form is very important. I actually pulled a muscle in my neck today because I didn't have my head positioned correctly and I wasn't focusing. I can hardly turn it which I hope goes away soon. I am also noting a great improvement in the soreness I felt over the past week.  Thank God.

One thing I am confused about so far is the fact that I have gained 2 pounds since last week. I'm not sure if it may be because weight have been re-introduced into the routine and I'm gaining muscle. I will have to keep a close look at it and find out. On the other hand I can say that the differences in my body in this past week have been surprising. As you can imagine, I have a lot of loose skin since I've lost so much weight. One of the things I notice is that skin is getting a little tihter already and that my lower abs are much harder than before I started a week ago. I'll take that over weight loss any day.

When I first started my fitness journey, My main concern was to get healthy so I could be here for a long time for my family. Basically that would require weight loss. I did that and said to myself that maybe having a decent body might not be a bad thing too. I am working very hard at that so far and I'm very pleased with the results that these Beachbody products have produced. I do not want to be that "fat dad" that my kids don't want to be seen with at school or around their friends. My kids have NEVER made me feel that way but I just don't want to be that guy.  I will be back tomorrow with how things go with my next routine. We have back to core in day 8 tomorrow. Should be interesting.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Day 6 Speed And Agility



Well folks, today was day 6 of Insanity the Asylum. I had speed and agility today. The past week of this program has left me so sore that I literally struggle to stand and to walk. That is no joke. And neither is this program. I hurt so bad when I started today that I fell out a few times just during the warm up.

Speed and agility consists of a ton of movement using an agility ladder and also uses the jump rope in the warm up. The agility ladder is used to help you with your coordination and is a lot of precise running and jumping. It takes a lot of concentration and can really wear on you. It's also used for progressive in and outs where you are in the plank position and progressively jump your feet into the first rung for twenty or so seconds and then the second for twenty or so seconds and then the third. Remember not to step on the ladder or you owe Shaun T some push ups.

Over all, this workout is awesome and will leave you dripping with sweat and knowing that you just did work. Tomorrow I have strength and I'm really looking forward to it. I am just hoping that this soreness goes away soon. I almost forgot what this feels like. It is just like the first week of P90X where I could hardly move. Please check back tomorrow and see what happened with strength training.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Going Insane With My Insanity Workouts.





Hi again, as I said at the end of my last post. I was going to tell you a bit about what came after P90X and what it did for me. Let me start by saying that the day I finished P90X I had a follow up doctor appointment to see how things were going with my meds. I had done my blood work the week before and was kind of excited to see if there were any improvement. I was not at all prepared for what happened next.

The nurse came out and called me back. We did the usual formality stuff. Weight, blood pressure, pulse and temp. She write it all down in my file. As she is leaving the doctor walked in. he opens up my file and starts looking. He says "blood pressure....good". "pulse.... good". Then he pulls out the sheet from my blood work and starts comparing to the previous one from 4 months ago. He goes back and forth. Then he starts shuffling papers in my file to compare them. All the while I am busting, waiting to see if there have been any improvements. He looks at me and says "oh my God, what have you been doing? your blood work is perfect and you are in perfect health. My goodness, your pulse is down to 60." Then the most wonderful thing happened. He took me off all my meds. I have to admit, I cried when he did. I never believed it would happen.

Determination set in strong after my doctor's appt. I started doing Insanity even though I didn't believe I was ready. Hell, I wasn't ready for P90X and I did it so what the heck. Insanity was a 60 day program and there were no weights involved. Just a ton of cardio and plyometrics. I pushed through the workouts and noticed that every couple weeks my clothes were fitting different and I was feeling different. I was almost discouraged because the weight loss wasn't as rapid as with P90X. Not even paying attention to the fact that my body was shredding fat and looking different.

The first 30 days was over and I had a total of 15 pounds lost in that time. To me not that impressive but once again I wasn't paying attention to my body. I should have thrown that scale away in the beginning. I moved on to the final 30 days and decided i would push myself even harder. I did and let me tell you. It was tough, but I did it. I graduated from Insanity with another 15 pound loss in the last 30 days for a total of 30 pounds lost in Insanity.

I was truly amazed at the changes in my body more than the weight. I had a very large stomach before I started working out so at the end of these 2 programs I have a lot of loose hanging skin. But under that I noticed that I had a rock solid 6 pack. I could feel all the lines of it and everything. I was super excited about that. Now I just need to get rid of or tighten that loose skin so I can show that 6 pack off. So I figured I would Purchase Insanity: The Asylum which is a 30 program and the toughest workout ever put on a set of dvd's I am really seeing that. I am currently 4 days into it and I am as sore as my first week of P90X.

Today is a rest day for me and I am taking it. I need it. We start back up on Saturday. I will try to post up daily how the workouts are and what I thought. This way all my posts arent this long. If you made it this far, thank you for reading and please leave a comment so I know you were here. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me. Also if you are looking to get in the best shape of your life, click here, become a free member and I will coach you for free. Have a great day and please remember to make healthy choices.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

About Me






Hi everyone, I am new to this and wanted to tell a little bit about me. I am a 45 year old husband and father of 4. A while back I was very overweight and diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and then high blood pressure and then high cholesterol. My highest weight was 300 pounds. On this 5'-6" frame you can imagine how big that really is. I managed to lose some of that and got down to about 250. Still way overweight and taking meds for the above mentioned health issues. I basically got to a point where I said I give up. I can't lose any more.

One day about 2 years ago, I would say about summer of 2009 I was watching the golf channel (which was all I ever did) when an infomercial came on for P90X. I could not turn it off for some reason. I remember thinking to myself, "I could do that". Well of course I didn't. I kept seeing that infomercial over and over all the time and I kept talking myself out of it. All of a sudden one day about a year after I saw P90X on an infomercial for the first time I saw a Facebook friend of mine (another thing I did all the time) post up something about the fact that he did P90X and his results were amazing. I started to see these posts more from him all the time. 

Fast forward a bit to about Christmas 2010 after I had been to the doctor again and all my meds had to be doubled. I contacted this friend and asked what P90X was all about. I thought these people on the dvd's were all just paid actors. He told me all about it. I finally said I'm in and ordered it from my friend who had such success with the program he became a Beachbody Coach. 

My package arrived the first week of Jan. 2011. I went through and watched all the dvd's wondering what I had gotten myself into and thinking there is no way I can do that. Well I set my start date for Jan 10th. I actually started on that day determined that it wasn't going to work. After my first workout that very first day, I could barely move. I mean I could not even lift a fork to my mouth. I was convinced that was how the weight loss comes in. Seriously though, it was tough. I kept going day after day. Every day it started to get easier and hurt less.

Before I knew it I was through the first month and down almost 20 pounds. I couldn't believe it so I kept going and going to see where it would take me. It almost seemed like over night but I finished the entire program. The very next day I got on the scale and I had lost 40 pounds. I went from 250 to just under 210. I could not believe it.

One thing I have to add to this is that I had a lot of help and support from my family and friends. 2 friends in particular were right by my side so to say through this all. The first is George Kucharo who is my coach. He was always there with the motivation and inspiration to get me through day to day. Thank you George. You are a great friend. The second is Karen Wilson. Karen was paramount in getting my diet and nutrition where it needed to be to get the results that I did. Karen, I love ya to death and I owe you so much. She also got me drinking Shakeology which is the best, most nutrient packed meal replacement shake available. Get some. If you would like a sample just e-mail me and I will tell you how. Or just click on the blue link.

Once I finished my P90X I really needed to keep going and keep losing fat so I decided to move it on to The Insanity workout. Wow, what an intense workout program this was. I loved it. By the time I finished my 60 days I Had been down another 30 pounds. That is 70 pounds in 5 1/2 months. I am now 180 pounds and about to start the Asylum. Wish me luck folks. I thank you so much Beachbody for saving and giving me back my life.