Blog Post #2

Hey everyone and welcome to the SECOND blog post on this blog about becoming insane. 

So my training regimen started on Monday (2/16) and I have just completed the first week of exercises.  The week went like this: fit test (Monday), plyometric cardio circuit (Tuesday), cardio power and resistance (Wednesday), cardio recovery (Thursday), pure cardio (Friday), plyometric cardio circuit (Saturday), and off day (Sunday).  It was a one heck of a week.  Every part of my body, and I mean EVERY part of my body, is sore and hurts every time I move.  Coming into Insanity, I thought it would be a challenge, but I would manage just fine since I am an athletically fit person and play many other sports.  I was sadly mistaken. 

Even the first day, which is supposed to be simply a fit test was, quite frankly, impossible.  I was expecting that it would be a nice and easy day that would give me a baseline for my athletic ability.  Instead, I was given one of the hardest workouts of my life.  The fit test is eight exercises that must be completed, and you mark down the number of reps of each one you do in the allotted time (one minute).  It does not seem that bad, right? There is really only 8 minutes of actual exercise.  Well, I accounted for neither the warm up, nor the difficulty of the drills.  The warm up was a challenge in and of itself.  By the time I got to the exercises that I tracked, I was exhausted!  After I finally finished the workout, I wanted to lie down on the floor and die.  Honestly.  I was beat.  These 8 exercises worked all of my muscles from my calf's to my thighs to my core to my chest to my shoulders.  I felt like I was doing the steroid version of "head shoulders knees and toes".  The next day after completing the fit test I struggled to get out of bed.  Everything was sore.

The following day's workout was no easier.  It was the plyometric cardio circuit which really was not easy at all.  I struggled through it just as much as I struggled through the fit test, however mentally I was better prepared for it.  I knew coming in that I would have to work as hard as I can to even finish the workout so there was no unfortunate surprise like on Monday.  I worked through the rest of the week with difficulty, but it was manageable.  Every morning I woke up sore but feeling good because I knew how hard I had worked the night before.  The feeling of being sore in the morning validates all the pain that is suffered the night before.  Even though it hurts to stand up from my couch, it hurts in a good way.  The pain of being sore is truly the joy of working out.

^^^this is me after every workout ("just gonna stand there and watch me burn but that's alright because I like the way it hurts")

One thing that I have noticed directly after starting Insanity is the changes in my eating habits.  I usually workout directly after school, which is around 3:15.  Before I started Insanity I would come home and do my homework while eating a TON of snacks.  I mean, I went through big bags of chips in merely two or three days.  It was pretty bad, to be honest.  I snacked way way way more than I should have and it was a terrible habit to have.  After starting Insanity, I don’t have time to snack right after school.  I come home and go straight to the workout.  Once the workout is over, I am miraculously not hungry!  I can't say I'm surprised, though.  I am a runner (cross country and track) and I noticed during those sports that I don't get hungry for a while after running.  This theory applies to Insanity and I don’t feel any hunger after finishing the workout.  Then, once dinner rolls along, I eat a larger serving of a meal and far fewer snacks.  This tradeoff is most definitely good for my health.  I am receiving more proteins, fruits, and vegetables while receiving less fats, carbs, and sugars. 

Another big thing I noticed throughout the first week of Insanity was the length of time spent of the warm up, stretching, and cool down.  Typically, Insanity take 40 minutes.  The first 15 are spent warming up and stretching, the next 20 are spend with the actual workout, and the last 5 are cooling down.  There is an astounding amount of time warming up* and I wanted to figure out why.

This is a demo of what the warm up looks like.

I knew that Insanity does everything for a reason and there is certainly a important reason why so much time is spent on the warm up and stretching.  I decided to look into the value of the warm up and stretching in biological terms.

From all the information I have found, one things stays constant: warming up and stretching is a MUST.  Warming up but not stretching is bad, as is stretching but not warming up.  Both need to be done in order for safe and effective physical activity.  According to FitDay (http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/exercises/the-importance-of-doing-warm-up-exercises-before-working-out.html#b), many people lump warming up and stretching together, but this is not true.  Yes, both are done before a workout, but they serve different purposes.  I may venture to say that warming up is helpful in more ways that stretching, but stretching is still vital to a healthy workout.  Stretching's purpose is to, well, stretch out the muscles of your body.  While stretching out, you decrease you risk of pulling that muscle during the workout.  You also increase flexibility and range of motion in those muscles (also according to FitDay http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/stretching/5-benefits-of-stretching.html#b).  Warming up has different benefits. 

When warming up, many things happen within your muscles and the overall effect is that the muscles becoming warmer.  Once this muscle is warmed, it can constrict more forcefully and relax quicker.  Range of motion is also increased through a warm up.  These also help in decreasing the risk of pulling a muscle.  Your blood vessels will dialate during the warm up and this is healthy because it lowers stress on the heart by lowering resistance in the blood flow.  By sweating during the warm up, your body allows itself to cool down faster and reduce the risk of overheating during the workout itself.  Finally, the warm up create hormonal changes within your body.  More carbohydrates and fatty acids are produced during the warm up which will provide the energy to complete the workout.  All of these benefits are according to Sports Medicine Expert Elizabeth Quinn (http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/injuryprevention/a/aa071001a.htm).

According to a study found at NCBI (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12762825), there is no conclusive proof about which stretches and warm ups work the best.  Instead, the best way to figure out which warm up is best is through trial and error and discovering which work for your body.  Everyone's body is different, and the warm up and stretching should reflect that.

Overall, this was a fantastic first week of Insanity and I feel as though I am already starting to take away benefits from the program.

Stay with me.

-Evan Kuo

*I should note that the warm up for Insanity is not some light little jog.  This is a high-intensity warm up that focuses on both aerobic and strength training.  Doing the warm up alone would qualify as a good workout for the day.