Category: Fitness
I want to start this with the proper statement to describe this workout. OMFG!!! This workout is downright EVIL! It is very different from ANY of the INSANITY workouts I have ever done, as it isn’t cadiotastic. But, your heart rate will be elevated the entire workout, and you will hit muscle groups in ways P90X, P90X+, One on Ones or INSANITY has not. Sure there are some tried and true dumbbell workouts, but there are a number of progressions I had never put together which really crushed my stabilizers and several main muscle groups. (This workout hits the core, the shoulders, the back, the quads, and a bit of glute and hamstring)
For this workout you will need dumbbells (I used dumbbells and kettle-bells) or weight bands, and a pull-up bar (Optional). Yeah, and be sure to bring a towel. (I feel like I was hit by a hose by the end of this workout) Just a quick piece of advice. If you think you can do the workouts with 35LB dumbbells, grab the 30′s. And have set of 20′s handy for some of the last few excercises. (Though I could have gone to 40′s or 50′s for part the chest workout, but only part of it) Also, this is a very fast moving workout, you have very little recovery time between sets, so keep your workout area clear and your weights handy.
As with the Speed and Agility workout, Strength forces you to keep your mind engaged the entire workout. You HAVE to know what is going on with your body the entire time, you have to focus on your form. The better your form, the more brutal the workout. If you can keep your form, you will work to exhaustion on every move, and if you don’t YOU ARE A BEAST! This workout is not for the meak, and I noticed that Shaun T DIDN’T dare me to do it again. It was that rough.
Good luck. You are going to need it.
If you would like to find more information on this or any Beach Body Product, please follow this link: http://www.beachbodycoach.com/FITLIFESFROB
So, day 1 for me of Insanity: Asylum consisted of both the Fit Test and the Speed and Agility workout. ”Speed and Agility” is SO very different from what “Insanity” brought to the table. Sure it is a brutal cardio workout, but you are forced to be mentally engaged the entire time. Form and execution are just as important as powering through the workout, and this simple change makes the moves that much more effective and that much more brutal. I completely expect to master the moves in time, but even with mastery the workout won’t become any easier. (I just wont be fumbling around as much) 
It is about a 45 minute workout, with about a 10 minute warm-up (lots of jumping rope) and a 3.5 minute cool down. This left Shaun T more than enough time to kick my ass. (for the math challenged that is 31.5 minutes of ass kicking) This program is HEAVY on Agility Ladder work, so be prepared to use your brain and your body. At the very end, just to spite me, Shaun says, “Hey, if you are tough enough, why not do it one more time.” (or something to that effect) The sad part is, had I not done the Fitness Test earlier, my ego would have kicked in and I would have done it again. (And that may have just killed me)
So, I give Speed and Agility a double thumbs up.
Side Note: The Agility Ladder that comes with the program is pretty good. It is lighter than ones I have used in the past, so you HAVE TO HAVE GOOD FORM. (else it goes flying) Also, the Jump Rope that BeachBody provided is pretty shoddy. It will work, but I like a good weighted leather jump rope. I use a leather Nike weighted speed rope. NICE! (and hurts a lot if you miss while barefoot)
If you would like to find more information on this or any Beach Body Product, please follow this link: http://www.beachbodycoach.com/FITLIFESFROB
Ok. I just finished the fit test, and it was really tough. I expected to be a lot easier, but maybe I let myself fall too far out of shape since my last insanity cycle a month ago. It was a really good assessment of my core strength, my overall co-ordination, and my stamina. Wow. I hit myself in ways I typically don’t and it showed. See my results below. The numbers below (2nd box) are my current measurementsm which were all taken “unflexed.” The first box are my Day 1 Fit Test Results. (If you couldn’t tell) Well, so much for stalling. Time for the “Speed and Agility” workout. wish me luck.
Be sure to check out our “How to take Measurements” article:
http://www.fitlifesf.com/2011/01/how-to-take-body-measurements/
If you would like to find more information on this or any Beach Body Product, please follow this link: http://www.beachbodycoach.com/FITLIFESFROB
Ok people. It is ordered, and ready to go. Insanity: The Asylum is a 30 day elite training program and I will be posting my results and thoughts over the next 30 days or so. I am using this program to prepare for my SAMBO conditioning camp in June. What is that? True insanity. I am going to an olympic training center in Alushta, Ukaraine (for the 2nd time) and will spend 10 days with Igor Kurinnoy. Igor is a 3 time world SAMBO Champion, and 4 time SAMBO World Cup Winner, needless to say, he is very good. (And last time I lost 15 lbs in 2 weeks, and I was in pretty good shape)
This year I am going as prepared as I can be. (How best I can really prepare for 8hr training days while working a real job…)
Monday I will take my “before” the program pic, in 30 days the “After The Asylum” pic will hit, and then after the trip, one final pic. If I don’t get hurt, I should be in the best shape of my life by June 19th.
For the record, I will be using Shakeology every day, I will be using P90X recovery drink, AND I will be maintaining a proper diet. Interested in joining me? (Well, doing “The Alyum”)
If you want to order the Asylum or just check it out, follow this link: http://beachbodycoach.com/fitlifesfrob
-Rob
Ah, the post that sunk a thousand ships over on the Yahoo! blog! I’m restricted in how soon I can re-post content over here, so I’m able to post it in its entirety now, but if you want to follow the drama, you can read the the comment thread on Yahoo! here, and my response to the comments here.
I’ll let you in on a little secret: I think the free classes included in most gym memberships, used correctly, can whip most people into shape just as well as one-on-one training sessions. And, certainly, there’s nothing like a little peer pressure to make you push harder than you’d ever push training on your own. Knowing how to navigate your gym’s class schedule puts you in control and means that you can still get expert guidance and accountability, even during periods of tight budgets, unpredictable schedules or flagging motivation.
If you’ve spent much time perusing fitness websites or even just standing in line at the grocery store lately, you’ve no doubt seen plenty of advertisements for diets promising to help melt away belly bulge. Nearly every women’s fitness publication, from Self to Women’s Health to Prevention has some offering marketed as a “bellyfat”- or “flat belly”-specific eating plan.
So, if bellyfat is your biggest concern, do you need to be on a plan specifically identified as a bellyfat diet? Or, if you are already on an eating plan that has you dropping pounds, will you see more loss from your midsection if you switch to one?
Our hats are off to Larry for kicking some serious butt during the 1st 90 days of the year. He lost over 20 lbs by controlling his diet, and adding some causal exercise to his day to day. The great thing is that, this is just the beginning. He is now ready to up the ante and add some real workouts to his routine.
Larry is now under 230 lbs and we will see him at 200 by the end of 2011! Awesome!
-Rob
Here's me all hooked up for the VO2max testing.
I’ve always loved any kind of medical testing.
When I worked in the back office of a pediatrician and had unfettered access to the hemoglobin machine, blood pressure cuffs, and urinalysis strips, let’s just say I was the most well-ironed, diastolic-aware, clean-peeing medical assistant that ever lived.
Which, I think is part of the reason I love running… I can hook myself up to a heartrate monitor and look at graphs and numbers and track fueling and hydration and all sorts of other data that gives a window into the thoroughly awesome stuff that happens inside the body.
So, needless to say, when my running buddy let me know that a grad student at SFSU was looking for guinea pigs who ran 30 miles a week, and that those guinea pigs would get VO2max tested, hydrostatic bodyfat tested and metabolism tested (twice!) for free, I threw my furry little rodent paw up! (Click the red “learn more” button for the rest of the story– we still need to fix that design flaw.)
Stand around any marathon finishline between 3:15 and about 3:50 after the starting gun and you’re sure to hear many finishers and spectators yell those words every runner wants to hear… “You’re going to Boston!” For many recreational runners, qualifying for the prestigious Boston Marathon is a years-long goal in the making.
Two years ago, I half-jokingly set myself the pie in the sky goal of qualifying for Boston my first time out in San Francisco, one of the more difficult courses in the country– and surprised myself by nearly accomplishing it. My qualifying time is 3:45:59 and I ran a 3:48:58. So, this year, my goal was to hear those words– YOU’RE GOING TO BOSTON!
Slight wrench in the plans.
Today, the Boston Athletic Association announced changes to the qualifying process. Now, I’ll admit the changes are necessary since last year’s field filled up, as the locals would say, “wicked-fast. “ The changes in a nutshell: Runners who qualify for the 2012 race will be allowed to register in waves, starting with those who beat their qualifying time by at least 20 minutes, followed two days later by those who beat it by 10 minutes, followed by those who beat it by 5, followed by the riff-raff who only just hit it by four or less. In addition to these changes, for the 2013 race, qualifying times for all age groups will drop by five minutes.
Personally, I’d almost rather they drop the times another 5 minutes to make it an even 10 across the board and do away with the waved registration… I want that moment of knowing I qualified for Boston, even if it takes another year or so, rather than having to say I “qualified with an asterisk.”
Like being “a little bit pregnant,” now it’s not so much “You’re going to Boston!” as it is “There is a mathematically not totally insignificant possibility that there could still be spots left when you are allowed to register for Boston!!” And that’s a lot to write on a sign or yell out after running 26.2 miles.
It does, however, make a nice eCard:
It might still be 22 weeks away (who’s counting?!) But I am definitely feeling that old familiar tickling in the bottom of my feets that can mean only one thing… San Francisco Marathon fever is about to set in!
I ran last year’s as my debut marathon and came within two minutes of qualifying for Boston. This year? Boston, baby! Well, Boston or another stress fracture, but I’m hoping for Boston.
Also, feeding the fever? Aron over at Runners Rambles is giving away a free entry! And, you know I love me some free. Even if you aren’t planning on giving SFM a whirl, check out her blog for your own running inspiration– she’s a fellow Bay Area woman runner who started the blog to chronicle her first go at SFM, and who has since qualified for Boston and forged an awesomely fit life with running at its core.
My mantra for SF Marathon 2010: "If you can, you must. If you cannot, you must try." Bikram Choudhury