Insanity workout-introduction and fit test!

Hi, well I know I don't normally post about things that aren't food, but as this is still all part of trying to lose weight/get healthy etc I couldn't resist writing a little post about it. Also I thought if I committed to blogging about it then it might make me more likely to actually complete it!

I had been thinking about trying insanity for ages after meeting up with an old friend who told me about it and how she had got amazing results from it- that she'd not particularly lost weight but toned up so so much and completely transformed her body. I hadn't really heard that much about it before then but then when I looked it up online I remembered seeing the adverts (infomercials) years ago when I used to do night shifts and thinking how awful it looked!

Anyway, speaking to her planted the seed in my mind, and I kept thinking about it on and off for the last few months, and also I seemed to keep hearing about it. 

In the meantime I also took up running, something i'd never really done in years. I found running so so hard yet was really surprised to see how quickly you can progress and improve, and that even though it literally felt like it was killing me, I was almost doubling the time I could run for each time I went to the gym. That gave me confidence and made me feel like I actually might be able to do insanity and so a week or so ago I took the plunge and bought it! 

Anyone that knows insanity will know it's very expensive, it's not your average DVD as it comes as a whole set and costs a lot of money. Also, anyone that knows me will know that I hate wasting money so having spent it I was determined to do it! 

I was (and still am) quite concerned about how to fit it into my life as I work very long hours, leaving very early in the morning and coming home very late at night, but I thought I had managed to find time for the gym so I would simply have to substitute the gym for insanity and find the time on the other days. 

So, day one came and I did the fit test... This is a test which is designed to be done before you start it and then twice more (two weeks apart). 

I didn't feel too nervous about doing the test as by that point I was feeling quite a bit fitter, I am running 5k quite  regularly (albeit slowly) and can lift quite heavy weights in the gym so I thought those two combined would mean that my overall fitness would be ok... how wrong I was! 

The premise of the fit test is that you literally exercise for only 8 minutes doing one exercise for a minute at a time as many times as you can, once the minute is up you write down how many reps you completed and that forms your baseline. Sounds pretty easy, and would be pretty easy if the exercises weren't so horrendously hard! Shaun T is accompanied by a woman and man, the lady-Tanya appears to be made of pure muscle and seems to thrive on pain, the man Chris is slightly less hardcore but still manages to do each exercise really well only stopping a few times. 

I started the workout, forgetting monetarily about the fact it was a test and felt like I was doing it all really well. It consisted of things like mummy kicks, jumping jacks, and high knees. When we eventually stopped for a break I was feeling completely exhausted and was dripping in sweat and out of breath but was so pleased with myself for completing that section untill Shaun delivered the devastating blow that we needed to stretch and then we would have finished the warm up!! I thought we were doing the actual exercises not warming up, never done a warm up like that before. And for what it's worth, his idea of stretching is not like any stretching I've ever done before either. It highlighted to me exactly how inflexible I am. 

Anyway, I moved on to the actual test and like I said above it is horrendously difficult, the exercises are called things like 'suicide jumps' (the name says it all really) a suicide jump for the record involves jumping down into a plank position, then jumping your knees into your chest and then jumping up, then repeating this over and over again. Here is Tanya midway through one: 

Anyway, I got through it which is the main thing and noted my baseline results, I am slightly concerned that not all my results actually count as I wasn't jumping as high as they were (my body literally won;t do that!) but anyway I also made a note of the ones I found the most difficult so I will be able to see whether I improve or not! 

Wish me luck!!!

oh and ps, the next day, pretty much every part of my body hurt! Better be worth it!