Real Life Fitness – Getting Fit With Brent

I’m writing this a bit earlier in the day than what I normally do, plus need to catch-up on yesterday (took time ti write about the Insanity Asylum nutrition plan instead of my daily update).  So here goes nothing:

Yesterday was Cardio Recovery.  Where I loved Yoga in P90X, I can’t say the same for Cardio Recovery.  I guess because it is not as tranquil and peaceful as normal yoga, but still focuses on weak spots, is why I don’t care for it.  One thing is for sure:  I’d rather get better on it, as those squats and lunges would definitely help with the plyometric nature of Insanity.

Nutrition was good.  Ate plenty of beans.

Today was Cardio Power and Resistance.  This routine is a beast!  You start squatting and jumping in the warm-up and the only time you stop squatting/jumping is when you’re working your chest, core, and lats.  My energy was back up today, but still feeling like I’m sputtering out towards the end.  Also had a bit of cramping today in my stomach, so I’m thinking about cutting my pre-workout banana in half and seeing if that makes a difference.

One thing I have noticed already in terms of results:  My jeans are starting to get a bit loose.  These are Old Navy 33″ jeans, and they are starting to become where I must wear a belt with them.  Still have not measured, and may not until after the first month (or I may take some measurements this weekend…we’ll see).

Of course, results never come as fast as I’d like, but glad to see some progress.  I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens over the next 2 weeks, and then see what goes into month 2.  Month 2 is a killer month, and where I seemed to shed a lot of fat last year when I did this.  This should be good prep for Asylum, that’s for sure!

Brent insanity insanity, insanity asylum, insanity cardio power and resistance

So at a crossroads: The last two days in Insanity my energy level has been way down. Thought it might be calories, but may also be carb intake.

Either way, pushing has been hard this week.

CPR was no exception. Can’t really describe it other than I was drained for most of it. So I may tweak nutrition slightly.

Tonight I ate bad. Long story but involves being at the hospital an hour away from home, and having to leave in a hurried manner for it. The only good thing is I was short in calories and I am still a long time from going to bed!

Brent insanity insanity, insanity cardio power and resistance

Didn’t get to blog about Insanity last night as my wife and I were with a ladies’ fit club talking nutrition and Turbo Fire.  So, here’s two days worth of updates in one blog post:

Yesterday – Cardio Power and Resistance.  WOW.  Legs were still feeling Monday’s workout, so the warm-up was a bit tougher.  It’s a short workout but not easy by any stretch of the imagination.  Nutrition was great.

Today – Cardio Recovery.  I swear that “Recovery” really means “Slow, agonizing torture.”  I mean, burpees, slow squats, holding squats and lunges, and then pulsing…not my idea of a recovery day, but I trust Shaun T and the folks at Beachbody to have a purpose behind this workout.  Nutrition was great minus supper.  I had pizza.  It’s the result of getting off work really late.  But, it was a controlled amount (and these slices of pizza are not calorie dense.  If anything, I might have under-ate by a bit, but I’ll take that chance).

So there’s my catch-up post.  Not sure about lunch tomorrow, so still have to figure something out there.

Brent insanity insanity, insanity cardio power and resistance, insanity cardio recovery, shaun t

Today was Insanity Day 19 – Cardio Power And Resistance.  I cannot believe I’m already 19 days into this.  It is going by fast.  This routine is brutal both in cardio and in push-ups.  At the end my arms/chest were a bit shaky from attempting so many.

I’ve got to do better at finding my pace on some of these things, though.   Sometimes I tire out quickly.

The other thing I learned today is the Insanity diet…I’m messing it up!  I’m taking in too few calories at this point.  With P90X, it was one thing, but now that I’m within 15-20 lbs of where I want to be, I need to be eating more.  I was taking in only 1900 calories, and the guide puts me between 2900-3200.

So my goal this week is to increase calories again.  I’m going to attempt to go up to 2200-2400 and see how I feel.  The goal is, although still at a deficit, to be able to push harder during the routines.  I’ll definitely be keeping everyone updated on this.

Brent insanity insanity, insanity cardio power and resistance, insanity diet

Insanity Day 12 was Cardio Power and Resistance for me.  This one took a bit out of me and made me question whether I ate enough yesterday.  Of course, I spent some time doing some yard work, which presented two problems:

1.  I burned more calories

and

2.  It kicked up my allergies

#2 was a problem because I woke up with a bit of a sore throat and feeling a bit dehydrated.  I felt the hydration issue in the warm-up when I got a bit cotton-mouthed in the third cycle.  I had to stop the warm-up with about 9 seconds left to get something to drink.  A bit disappointed that I did not make it through, but I’m okay with that.  I understood what the issue was.

This routine really burns.  It is all about explosive motions and is a fairly good lower body workout.  It does have a lot of upper body in it too, and the tricep work is really good.  At the end, getting through all of the push-ups was tough due to being winded from the workout.

So far today diet is good.  I chose to do another Shakeology shake at lunch.  I love the energy this stuff gives me.  I’m eating a bit more carbs today since I did muscle work and not just cardio.

Tomorrow is the last workout of the week.  Also, be looking for my P90X/Insanity fusion workout I’m going to be releasing (and doing after this round of Insanity).  It is all about shedding fat while working the upper body very well to build definition.

Brent insanity insanity, insanity cardio power and resistance, P90X, p90x and insanity

Today was Insanity day 8 – Cardio Power and Resistance.  I took a quick trip with family over the weekend and it happened to drain me a bit.  Did not eat well…at times, did not eat enough.  I was tired, dehydrated a bit, and not feeling my 100% when I did Power and Reistance.  But again, I subscribe the theory of pressing play and pushing your best on any given day.

Did take too many breaks, but that is okay.  Tonight I had a Shakeology shake to have something light, clean, and nutritious, going to hydrate a bit more, get a good night’s sleep, and get ready to keep some butt tomorrow morning!

For my diet this week, I’m going to scale back the calories to no more than 1800.  I was doing this with P90X and losing quite a bit over the last month.  I’m going to attempt to keep variety up to where I’m not consuming as much bread this week.  My goal is a bit more than 2 pounds a week…although 1.5-2 is my ideal range, I think with the intervals I can burn a bit more fat.

Brent insanity insanity, insanity cardio power and resistance, insanity diet