Day 31 – Continuing Recovery

If I have to look at Ariel’s perfect abs anymore, I am going to scream.  Another morning, another Core Cardio and Balance workout, another day of feeling depressed that I don’t look like them yet.

I made it through the entire workout with NO stops. I even did the hip flexors today without putting my leg down. I really had to push, but I made it! 

Day 30 – 2nd Day of Recovery Week

Today was the second day of Core Cardio and Balance. Again, it felt pretty good, up until the point of those hip flexor burners.  I had to stop the second two parts of each leg to rest for a second.  On my right leg, I had to even stop twice. Funnily enough, my left leg felt stronger.

Then came the shoulder burners. I got in the squat position, and after the first minute already started feeling the burn. I pushed through though and did not break form! I may not have been in the lowest squat, but at least I did it. I also did not lower my arms through the entire set of exercises!  So now, the new goal is to complete this set in a deeper lunge.

The people in this video crack me up though. There is one guy especially who is just drenched in sweat. Shaun T specifically says you shouldn’t be worn out after this workout because it is somewhat of a recovery week.  I mean, I worked up a little sweat, but nothing like some of the other videos. I am not sure what this guy was doing.  And Tanya…don’t even get me started on her. Her little smile/fake controlled breathing thing… Her workouts and emotions just really don’t seem sincere. Unlike one of the girls who says she “feels like sh*t” in the middle of an exercise. That’s my kind of person!

Days 28 & 29 - Starting the "Recovery Week" With Core Cardio and Balance

After the first month is complete, there is supposed to be a day off (Day 28). But since I took Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off from Insanity, I skipped it and went straight to Day 29 – Core Cardio and Balance. This is supposed to be a “recovery” week but I thought the workout was still pretty intense.

It began with a short warmup, using a couple of different exercises from the previous videos, but each was a full minute. Then was the requisite stretching section.

Then there was a series of one minute activities – most were slightly new takes on activities from the earlier workouts, and some were combinations. I actually enjoyed most of them. I really felt myself working my core, and while each was challenging, I found myself able to concentrate and really work my muscles.  Until we got to the hip abductor burners! 

Standing on one leg, you do three sets of 30 second exercises – lift your knee up and down, touching the floor; then holding it up in a high knee position, do pulses up and down; then holding in a high knee position, move the leg out and in (straighten and bend). Wow! These were tough, and I was shaky. I had to stop several times as the burning started.  But at least now I know what I need to work on.

The final set of exercises was difficult as well, mostly because you stayed in an outward squat position the entire time.  The concentration was Shoulder Burners though… Keeping your arms straight out, you first did pulses, then some circles, then over your head… You get the picture. The shoulder part was ok; I could pretty much work through that burn.  But the squat was the difficult part.

Overall, a pretty good muscle workout I think. Not so intense as the cardio sessions, but not as boring as the pure stretching days. We will see how I feel after 6 days straight of it though. Gym after work I hope!

Day 27 – Plyometrics, The Last Day of the First Month of Workouts

Well I made it through the first month.  There was just more day of round one plyometrics to tackle. Even though I was exhausted, I really tried to push through it all. And I did for the most part. The only pauses in workout were during ski abs and in and out abs (as usual). I tried, I really did, but my arms got tired from holding my body, and I was dripping sweat. I have pretty much conquered Level 1 drills now, which makes me proud, thinking how far I came with those. What I have also noticed is my feet start to hurt during some exercises. I wonder if that’s more to do with my old shoes though…

My tailbone still bruised, which makes the squats a little more difficult. The knees hurting again some, which is normal for me. But other than that, my body feels ok.

I hit the gym after work for 50 minutes on the elliptical and 10 minutes on the stairclimber. It definitely felt like a good workout day, which I totally destroyed by making lasagna (albeit with squash and zucchini) for dinner.

There is now a one week recovery of sorts, with Core Cardio and Balance every day. Seeing the times on the second month of workouts makes me a little nervous – an hour (or more) every day!  I need to decide whether I can get up earlier to do this in the morning, or if I need to switch the workouts around. Stay tuned for first month overall thoughts.

Day 25 & 26

Day 25 was supposed to be Cardio Recovery. I definitely need to do this on a day where I know I can hit the gym after work so I can burn some calories. Since I failed to get to this video Friday, Saturday , OR Sunday, I skipped it again. I don’t think I have actually completed this workout since the first week. Oh well. I will some stretching in somewhere.

So Monday morning, I hit it hard with Pure Cardio and Cardio abs (Day 26). I felt really proud of myself today. Attempted more squeezing of the core (still not sure if I am doing that right), and less pauses during workouts, even if it meant going slower.

Whew, some of these get tough. I really did do a continuous workout for the most part. I did take about a 2 second pause between activities while we set up for the next one. I made it through about the first 7 or 8 without stopping at all!  It was the frog jumps that got me.  Some of it might have to do with my bruised tailbone which STILL hurts with any squat activity.

I also had some pauses by the time we go to Suicide Jumps, which is the second to last exercise. The last one, Pushup jacks, were fairly constant (maybe one pause), but slow.

Next up was Cardio Abs.  I find tuck jumps and knees out jumps really difficult after completing Pure Cardio. Definitely took a few jumps off here and there. When it came to the ab work, I felt pretty good today. Concentrated on keeping my abs engaged and core tight. The last exercise, upper and lower planks with hip “pulses” hurt but in a great way.  No stops and I could really feel it working. I hope!

I will say I am tired after the workouts, but not like the first week.   I used to be really shaky and weak, but now it feels pretty good to finish. Maybe I am getting stronger, or maybe just getting used to it? 

Weekend, Hangover, and Laziness

Thursday night ended up being a rough one, so I didn’t quite get up early enough for a morning Insanity session.  I also somehow hurt my toe (I think I am falling apart at 31!), so I decided to go to the gym after work. I did the elliptical (mostly on my heels) for an hour, then decided to call it quits.

I had decided I would try to get back into Insanity on the weekends as well, with some additional cardio. Saturday would be a great time to start this with Cardio Recovery. But that morning, I decided I really needed some lazy time. By the time I finally got around to working out, I had to choose one or the other, so I headed to the gym. An hour on the elliptical and 10 minutes on the bike later, it was time to get ready to go out. I was a little gluttonous yet again at dinner, with drinks after. I need to be better about that if I am ever going to see any results.

Sunday brought a nauseous hangover, so I pretty much laid in bed and on the couch all day. It was one of those stay-in-pjs, watch-tv, and eat-toast kind of day. No workout….

Day 24 – Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Whew, did I work up a sweat. My A/C was apparently not working in the apartment, so it was a little warm during my workout this morning. I also really worked on pushing myself. I concentrated on not stopping or pausing on any of the workouts, and I was fairly successful. I even did the Level 1 drills without any stops, which is one of my toughest activities. I did have a few brief pauses during ski abs and in & out abs, but I tried to at least stay in a plank position. I do think I got a better workout than other days. I tried to “squeeze my core,” whatever that means.

The plan was to do additional cardio on the elliptical after work, but I got caught up with the maintenance guy to fix my air. I did get on my little stairclimber at home for 15 minutes, so I guess every little bit helps. Of course, with the amount of food and drink I consumer that evening, I think I could have used about 3 more hours of burning calories.

Week #4: Days 19 – 23

Thursday morning (day 19) was tough. I am getting tired of getting up so early, tired of doing the same workout, tired of not seeing results, just tired in general. But I plowed through and completed Cardio Power and Resistance. I don’t mind this workout so much because I think the intervals are a little shorter. I know I took too many pauses though.  I did hit the gym for a quick 30 minutes of cardio after work though, so I hope that helped.

I was off work Friday, but I still got up early and got on the elliptical for about an hour. We threw my dad a surprise 60^th birthday party (!!), but while we were cleaning up, I slipped and fell hard on my tailbone and wrist….  Not good for a lot of movement in the upcoming workouts.

Saturday morning, I headed back to the gym for elliptical (no Insanity again), but ouch!  I could feel that tailbone bruise… Ditto for Sunday.

Monday morning (day 20) started with Plyometric Cardio Circuit. I tried to push, but on all the activities that involved squats, I could feel the bruise. My knees are also starting to hurt, even though I have been using the braces again for the last week and half or so.  Sucked it up and made it through Insanity and 30 minutes on the elliptical after work. I would have loved to do more, but made myself stop so I wouldn’t hurt myself. Day 21 was an “off day,” but I skipped it, considering I didn’t do any Insanity over the weekend.

It was pretty much the same story on Tuesday and Wednesday – Pure Cardio in the morning, elliptical and Cardio Abs in the afternoon, followed by Cardio Power and Resistance (and afternoon elliptical) the next day.  Knees hurt, soreness in my tailbone. But I made it. I guess. I tried to really push myself Tuesday morning. Fewer pauses even though it was hurting. I think this will make a difference in the future. Going to need to try harder and harder every day and learn to keep myself accountable. 

Week #3, But Only Days 16-18

So the third calendar week of Insanity was not my strongest. I skipped a weekday, took one short day in the gym, skipped Friday…  The workouts themselves are running together. A slight ankle twinge there, a pull in a hamstring there… nothing really has distinguished one day from another. 

Thursday September 20^th was plyometric day, which continues to be my least favorite day. I did also make it to the gym that afternoon for some elliptical. Friday, September 21^st, I forgot to set my alarm, so I missed the morning workout. I started doing stuff around my apartment after work, so I didn’t do an Insanity workout OR gym cardio. But I also wasn’t just sitting there, so I guess it’s not the worst thing in the world.  

This was the first weekend I consciously skipped Insanity to get some basic cardio back in my routine. Saturday, I hit the elliptical for 90 minutes, the bike for 15 minutes, and the stair climber for 15 minutes!  It felt good to just work it out.  Sunday I did 90 total minutes, another successful gym trip.

After Sunday Funday and trouble sleeping, Monday morning came way too quickly.  But I made it through Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs, plus a short elliptical workout after work.  Tuesday was supposed to be the Cardio Recovery Day.  However, I had an event to go to after work so instead of doing a stretching, no-calorie-burning workout, I jumped on the elliptical for 30 minutes in the morning.  Unfortunately, I had a few too many glasses of wine that evening, so I was hurting too much to get up for Insanity in the morning. Aaaaaaand then I decided to just take a total day off and lay on the couch after work.  Uh oh! I cannot let myself get lazy. 

Schedule and Some Thoughts

So thanks to foursquare, the Insanity calendar, and some pictures, I think I finally figured out what days I did Insanity, which days I skipped, and which days I went to the gym instead.  I should really keep better track of this, so I can give my honest opinion about how I feel and any progress I make. I’ll work on that!

I started to feel like I wasn’t doing enough cardio. Yes, I know these workouts are cardio. Yes, I know there are benefits to interval training that I don’t understand. Yes, I know I am working my body. But I tend to look at numbers on the scale, which kept going up.

So I made the decision to try to do some elliptical work in the afternoons whenever I could. I also decided to skip Insanity on the weekends and get in some pure cardio on the elliptical, bike, and stair climber. Since I was taking those days off from the workout, I would skip the actual “day off” on the calendar and just go to the next workout.

Here’s hoping my body can take it!

Day 15 – Fit Test

Well, it’s time to see if I have improved at all! Below I listed the exercises, how I did the first time, and how I did this time.

• Switch kicks = 55, 45 (1 rep=two kicks)
• Power jacks = 56, 63
• Power knees = 90, 105
• Power jumps = 40, 43
• Globe jumps = 8, 11 (1 rep=4 jumps)
• Suicide jumps = 19, 20
• Pushup jacks = 29, 34
• Low plank oblique = 30, 37 (1 rep=2 legs)

So, as you can see, I improved in everything except Switch Kicks. I think (I KNOW) I can do better in that too. I think what happened is that I started slowly, as I do with the interval training. With the intervals, I know I am building up to the 2^nd and 3^rd sets. With the Fit Test, I need to go hard on every exercise from the beginning. I also didn’t look at that result before I started, so I didn’t know what I needed to work to.

I feel pretty good about my improvement. I am especially proud of the globe jumps; those are tough! I do feel like I really pushed myself, so I am scared for the next one. I am hoping I can keep improving.

Day 13 & 14 – Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs & Day Off

Well considering it’s about a week later as I am writing this, I can’t remember too many specifics about this particular workout.  I do know I was proud of myself for not having to pause the video this time! Of course I didn’t quite make it through with taking tiny breaks, but I definitely did better than the last time.

This was the first day of the addition of Cardio Abs. Interesting workout. A short jogging, high knees warmup is followed by some tuck jumps and squat jumps. The comes a series of floor work , sitting in a “c position,” including twists and leg lifts. Finally, you do several exercises in upper and lower plank positions.  I felt ok doing this.  I got a little soreness in my lower back, which I assume means I am not holding my body correctly.  One day maybe I will learn this skill.

Day 14 was supposed to be the day off. I think I skipped it and went straight to the Fit Test, but to be honest, all the days are running together. Sorry for being a non-attentive blogger!   Working on being a more attentive worker-outer!

Days 8-12

Well I have been slacking a little – both on blogging and working out over the weekend.  I will try to catch up here and find motivation to not skip any more Insanity days.

Day 8 (Wednesday) was Cardio Power and Resistance.  I had stayed up too late the night before so this workout was saved for after work (and a nap). It felt pretty good. I think this is the “easiest” of the workouts but I definitely tried a little harder and felt myself sweating more than the last time. I need to be able to speed up with each interval and really push myself. That is one of the challenging things of this workout – you have to be accountable to yourself.

On day 9 (Thursday), I woke up early with the ball of my right foot in a lot of pain, but I decided to work through it and just ice it down later.  I hoped it was just a bruise. It was definitely tender at first, but it stretched out a bit, and I learned to not put a lot of pressure on it.  It was Pure Cardio Day. And yup, this is still difficult but at least I made it all the way through! I did have to pause a few times for a water break. Overall though, it felt better than last time and the time *almost* seems to go by faster sine you are doing exercises only once.  I did hit the elliptical after work for about a half hour though for some additional cardio. I kind of went out to dinner and stuffed my face the night before!

Day 10 (Friday) brought Plyometric day… ugh! This is definitely my least favorite. The second interval set can still kiss my ass. Even starting the jogging, jumping jack, etc warmup gets me sweating and out of breath, although I guess that’s the point. I already have a good sweat working up by the time we get to stretching. My right foot still hurt but not quite as bad as the day before.  I did come down on my left ankle wrong for a second and felt a slight twinge.  I kept going though… (And ended up forgetting about it until the workout last night when it was still sore.)  The people in the video are starting to piss me off though, especially skinny Asian chick. Her facials and fake struggling need to go!

Day 11 was supposed to be Cardio Recovery. However, I was in Tunica and forgot my DVDs. Since it was just stretching I decided not to worry about it and would just skip it.  However, I got lazy on Sunday AND had to work, so I missed that entire day of working out as well.  I decided to make that my day off and to continue with Day 12 on Monday with Cardio Power and Resistance.

I felt pretty good starting.  I tried to push myself from the beginning, even the warmup. I did start getting a migraine towards the end but I decided to finish anyways. I had a weird tingling and numbness feeling in my left hand and parts of my left arm which started to freak me out. I am hoping it was just migraine symptoms though, and not anything more serious or side effects from this workout.  Pure Cardio AND Cardio Abs after work today! 

Day 7 - Rest

Right, like that was going to happen. I can justify skipping a workout if I have something planned, or I hurt, or I don’t feel well. But when I know I will be eating a lot of food the rest of the week and may be out of town the next weekend, I need to continue burning calories.

I got up early and hit the gym. It felt good to get on the elliptical for a half hour. I got a nice steady cardio workout in, mostly as a warmup for my muscles before finishing the Pure Cardio video that I couldn’t on Sunday. I used the elliptical as a substitute for the jogging, butt kicks, high knees, etc warmup that starts all the Insanity workouts.  I did do an abbreviated form of the stretches before popping the DVD in though. I have some tightness in the back of my right hamstring which was making me a little nervous.  All my soreness is finally gone through from my knees, so that is a good thing.

I had completed about 1/3 of the 15 minute hard core section of the video, so I had 10 exercises to go.  You can go on and put frog jumps into the category of Exercises I Hate. And if I thought Level 1 drills were tough, I was not prepared for Level 2 drills (bend down, plank position, 8 pushups, 8 second run, stand up and jump, repeat).

This workout is TOUGH. I did not make it through many at all without having to pause. I even had to stop the dvd a few times to get some water. The only thing that made me feel better was the people on the video kept having to stop as well. I am just going to tell myself they were not acting, and it really just is that hard! 

Day 6 - Plyometric Cardio Circuit

I hate plyometric day! I had hoped it would be a little easier the 2^nd time, since I have been trying to push myself in other workouts. I had hoped it wasn’t as bad as I remembered it.  I had hoped I could make it all the way through. NOPE!

I am getting a little bored with the same warmup and stretching each time, but I assume that’s never going to change so I’ll have to get over it. The first interval set was okay. I made it pretty much through with only a few very brief pauses. Sometimes I feel myself slacking off, especially when it comes to those power squats, but I tried to speed up each time regardless.

It’s that second interval set where I want to just crawl back into bed. Again, the basketball jumps to the level 1 drills to the ab work…  I can’t make it through one rep of one exercise on any interval without pausing and taking a break. I think I may have even been going at half speed on the level one drills - if I was moving at all. This is definitely the section that I need to work on most.

Thankfully my leg felt a little better when I woke up this morning.  I can still feel a little tightness, but not like yesterday where I could feel it pulling. I may have taken it a tiny bit easier today, but not much.  I am taking my heating pad to work to keep it loose.  

First week complete! 

Day 5 - Pure Cardio

Well I finally got my lazy self off the couch to workout. I was a little scared for today from the name of the workout alone. Interval training is hard enough, with just 30 second breaks. This main part of this workout was 15 minutes straight with zero breaks.

We started with the normal warm up.  I did try to push myself a little bit more and found myself sweating after just the first few minutes. Next was the stretching section, nothing new here. Except that Shaun T mentioned he was nervous about the upcoming workout. That didn’t make me feel ANY better. While introducing, he told us we would do each exercise for a full minute. The first two exercises were familiar; I think they came from the Fit Test. Then came some new challenging ones. I had to pause it twice to get some water and take a ten second break; this was tough! 

About 5 minutes into the 15 minute section, we started power jacks (basically a jumping jack but you land it in a lunge), and I felt a slight twinge in my upper right quad, right on the side of my leg. I tried again, but it was still hurting.  I paused the video, shook it out, massaged it a bit, and tested it out. It still hurt and felt really tight whenever going into that lunge position. So unfortunately, I had to stop the workout. I would rather take a day off then push myself and potentially get really hurt, delaying the entire workout.

I am icing it down right now, and really want to go to the elliptical. But every time I stand up, I get that tight feeling and I am scared to work it out any more. I guess I am forced to take the rest of the day off and try again tomorrow morning.  I will save the place in this video and finish it up this week. Crossing my fingers…

Day 4 - Cardio Recovery

I woke up a little less sore in my quads, although my knees still have some pain. But at least I could walk a little bit better and stairs weren’t nearly as bad. I felt a tiny feeling of working out in my glutes but other than that, not really any other soreness. I thought I would be hurting some in my shoulders from the Day 3 workout, but either it wasn’t as tough as I thought or I actually work those muscles every once in awhile.

Day 4 was an easy day. It was basically just a lot of stretching and squats. I guess we are supposed to let our body recover. I felt fairly flexible in most of the positions, although I cannot hold the poses through the burning.  That is definitely something I need to work on. This was not an all out heart racing, sweat kind of day, although I could feel some cardio vascular moments.

I also tried today without knee braces. I have floating kneecaps which causes inflammation and pain between my femur and patella. I am hoping that working through these squats and such will improve the muscles in this area to increase stability. Only time will tell.

But of course, I can’t have a day with zero cardio, so I hit the gym for a quick 30 minute session on the elliptical. Since the Insanity workout didn’t leave me weak as usual, it felt pretty good to back in the gym. I need to try to do this more often I think.

I am writing this as I sit on my couch on a lazy Sunday, looking for the motivation to get up for Day 5…  Still sore in my knees and a little in my upper back, I guess from all the stretching yesterday.  Wish me luck….   

Day 3 - Cardio Power and Resistance

My legs hurt!!  Specifically those quads, and especially right above my knees.  Wobbling out of bed to change clothes made me nervous to start today’s workout.   I am also slightly feeling the soreness in my upper and lower back.

Starting off with the normal warmup, I could already feel that pain in my legs but I decided to get over and push on through.  The warmup seemed a little easier than yesterday breathing-wise, but that could be due to the fact I wasn’t quite pushing myself as hard due to my soreness. The stretching section was still a welcome break, and it helped warm up those tight muscles.

Just like yesterday, there were two sections of exercises, each repeated three times with 30 second water breaks in between.  There was also an additional exercise in between and after the second section.   I felt like today concentrated more on jumping (I HATE fast power jumps by the way) and arms, rather than a ton of cardio. It wasn’t until more than halfway in the video did I feel the first real sweat come on.

Vertical pushups might be an exercise I keep even after this is over.  They say it is working the shoulders, which I don’t really ever do.  And I also felt it in that little area under my arms in front that I always feel like I want to tone more.  It’s not that fun while doing them, but I think I will see some progress there.

As Shaun T coaches, he always mentions keeping the core tight.  This is the thing I have never known if I am doing correctly.  With my back being sore (and not my abs), I have no idea if I am doing the exercises right.  Hopefully I will figure this out as I go along so I work the right areas and don’t hurt myself.

Again, S.T. is very motivating as he moves through the exercises.  Encouraging you to push yourself but also go at your own pace.  I am not going to lie, I took several pauses during most of the exercises.  I definitely need to work on pushing myself more to not take those breaks and increase my reps.  Hopefully that will come naturally as I move through the videos.  

Watching the others in the video is still a bit laughable.  You cannot tell me these big strong built guys need water breaks in the middle of a 3 minute set.  At least they make me feel a little better as I lag behind too!

So far, I think it is a good workout, particularly for toning. I have my doubts on the calories burned aspect of it.  I am planning to take a few afternoons on the elliptical to keep up that aspect too, if my body doesn’t get too tired.  It might be a few days though, I am walking pretty slow today!

Day 2 - Plyometric Cardio Circuit

I got up early so I could workout before work.  I was a little sore from the fit test, particularly in my quads and my back.  That makes sense, since those are probably the muscles I use least on the elliptical. It is two days later as I write this, so I am trying to remember the exact exercises, but I think I already blocked that hell from my mind, ha!

Day 2 started off with a warmup, which already left me gasping for breath and sweating. I was very thankful for the next section, which was stretching, for a little bit of a break.  Next up were two interval sections.  You get a 3 minute session with various exercises, then a water break, then repeat two more times, getting faster each time.

Level 1 drills, or whatever you want to call them, SUCK.  I think it went something like – stand up, bend door, go to push up position, 4 pushups, run in pushup position for 8 seconds, stand up, back down, and on and on.  Whew!  I wanted to kill Shaun T after this one.  In and out pushups were pretty rough as well, especially since they were right at the end of the set!

By the end of the workout, I was pretty sweaty and TIRED.  I was definitely shaky and needed to rest a few minutes before showering and getting ready for work. I felt ok, although my legs were feeling the pain the most.  Walking down stairs was particularly difficult, as my quads right above my knees were getting sorer by the moment.  By the end of the day, I was hurting pretty good in those quads.  Not in a bad way, but in an I-just-worked-muscles-that-haven’t-felt-a-stretch-in-forever kind of way.  Once I got home and sat down on that couch, it was tough to get back up. 

Day 1 - Fit Test

Well, as just about everyone says… I must be insane.  To get in shape (or at least attempt), I am starting the Insanity workout.  I have heard it can really work, so I am crossing my fingers and manning up. 

I am normally a cardio junkie.  I do the elliptical for about an hour every day, and the stair climber for 15 minutes.  I do not do a lot of weights, strength training, ab work, etc. So I chose Insanity because they claim that you are still doing cardio along with the muscle workouts.  My goals are to lose about 7 pounds, subtract several inches from my waist, hips, and thighs, and tone everything.  I will say though, I am just doing the workout part and not the eating plan, so we will see how that goes.

I was a little (ok, a lot) apprehensive and scared for Day 1.  After reading reviews, I heard even the first workout is an ass kicker.  The video starts with a warmup and stretch, then goes into the Fit Test.   There are 8 exercises, and you do as many reps are you can of each in a one minute time frame.  I don’t think there was even ONE that I did without stopping for a pause or four.  I tried to push myself, but this was rough.

My results were as follows:

•        Switch kicks = 55 (1 rep=two kicks)
•        Power jacks = 56
•        Power knees = 90
•        Power jumps = 4
•        Globe jumps = 8 (1 rep=4 jumps)
•        Suicide jumps = 19
•        Pushup jacks = 29
•         Low plank oblique = 30 (1 rep=2 legs)

Hopefully I will improve with every test, which takes place every two weeks.

After a cool down and stretch, I was finished!  Whew, that wore me out.  I drank two full bottles of water during the workout and another after.  I was definitely feeling a little shaky afterward, but in general felt ok.  I don’t necessarily feel like I got a ton of cardio in, but I know I worked my muscles.

Shaun T is a great motivator so far.  He constantly talks to you, explains the exercises, and keeps you going.  The two others doing the workout are interesting.  I mean, they are in AMAZING shape.  I am sure their numbers are much higher than they report. And seeing them almost struggle is laughable, although I guess they are just trying to make us feel better!

Overall, a somewhat successful first day.  1 down, 59 to go!