Insanity - Max Recovery

Hey, what's up everyone? Just going to do a short review today of the next Insanity workout, Insanity - Max Recovery. This workout was designed to really stretch out the lower body as well as get plenty of core work in. With the high amount of ballistic type movements that the Insanity workout series asks you to do, it is very important that there are designated days for the body to be allowed to recover. The stretching of the legs and groin area becomes especially critical because of all the squat type of movements that are done through out the different workouts.

TIP OF THE DAY/EXERCISE OF THE DAY:


The high/low plank, its a very challenging multiple muscle group core exercise. Core, shoulders, triceps and chest are the muscle groups that will be activated from this exercise



First start out in the low plank position. Make sure that your butt is in line with your back so you look like a flat board. The guy on the left side of the picture has his butt up a little on the high side but its not that bad. At this point of the workout, its probably the last 10 minutes out of a 45 minute workout. Make sure that your elbows are directly below your shoulder and that your elbow forms a 90 degree angle.



Push up one side at a time. In this example, they are pushing up on the right side first. Use the right side to push the torso up while making sure to keep the core tight. Your upper body can rotate to accommodate one arm being extended while the other arm is still bent.





Extend the other arm like the first arm so you are now in high plank position. This should feel like your regular push up stance but your hands are probably lined up very close to shoulder width apart.








Next, go back down with the first arm while maintaining a tight core and your stomach drawn-in. Again, allow your upper body to twist all while maintaining complete body control. Make sure to keep proper form through out this movement. Don't go faster than you can control.







Bring the second arm back down so that you are back in low plank position. Repeat this sequence for the desired number of repetitions. Allow yourself a short break. Then repeat the exercise starting with the other arm in the sequence so that both sides are worked equally.






This was a very challenging exercise for me. Maintaining proper form was difficult. I took several breaks. From personal experiences doing the low plank, sometimes its easier to balance when your forearms are parallel to each other rather than allowing your hands to come together. Try both ways and see what works best for you.

Well that's all for tonight. Get your sweat on and happy dieting.

- Joel via iPhone

STAY MOTIVATED!! Also Insanity - Max Cardio Conditioning

What's up everyone? Just got to say STAY MOTIVATED everyone. Today was a good day. I checked my weight mid-week because I knew I was getting close to the 200 mark. And I broke out of the 200s and I'm at 199.6. Its a really good feeling. So far, I've lost a total of 12.2 lbs in a little over 5 weeks. Still have a long way to go but I'm on my way. I'm not sure how far I can push myself but you never know what the possibilities are. I would like to get to the 160s. I think to get to single digits in body fat though, I have to down to the 150s. We'll see though.

Today we're reviewing the next workout in the Insanity sequence. The next workout is called Insanity - Max Cardio Conditioning. Its a 45 minute workout primarily focuses on exercises designed to get the heart rate up rather than focusing on powerful movements like some of the other workouts. I liked this workout, although I'm starting to notice that I like the power workouts more than the cardio conditioning workouts in this series.

TIP OF THE DAY/EXERCISE OF THE DAY:

Push-up abs, this exercise targets the oblique abs in a unique way. It also provides a challenging shoulder and chest workout. To be able to do this exercise correctly you have to be able to stabilize and control your upper body so you can hold it in the proper position to do the oblique crunch of the exercise.

First start off in the normal push-up stance. Make sure your core is drawn in. Use a slow controlled downward movement. Hold slightly at the bottom of the movement. Then bring your knee to your elbow and control the oblique abdominals. Bring your knee back to the normal down push-up position and then push back up to normal stance. Repeat alternating on each side every repetition.

When I got to this exercise, it was getting towards the last twenty minutes of the workout. My shoulders and chest were already somewhat tired and I was already sweating a lot. I think I was only able to do about 4 push-up abs reps before I had to stop, mostly because my form was severely compromised due to fatigue. I also noticed that my back was activating throughout this exercise to also help compensate for my muscle fatigue in order to stabilize my shoulders so I could hold the position to do the oblique crunch. All of the abs exercises in the Insanity series seem to shape your abs due to all the repetitions of different exercises that activate the core muscles. Because the movements are done with the cardio, it doesn't cause you to get as sore as you might normally when you do pure abs exercises. The nice thing about doing abs exercises with your cardio is that you are burning the calories to burn the body fat so your abs can start to show after all your hard work.

Well that's all for tonight. Get your sweat on and happy dieting.

- Joel via iPhone

Insanity - Max Interval Plyo

What's up everybody? Thought I would get my post done early today. I think I'll start getting my posts done early now. I used to wait til the end of the night before I posted just so I could update my calories. My calories are basically almost the same everyday now. I eat basically the same thing everyday during the weekdays. It works out well. I think the body becomes efficient if it gets the same kind of fuel everyday. That way your body doesn't get hungry at weird times during the day. Today's workout was really good. Did the Insanity - Max Interval Plyo. I think my body is finally starting to adapt to the intensity of these workouts. I still need to build up my endurance to finish every movement for the proper duration but its getting better slowly.

TIP OF THE DAY/EXERCISE OF THE DAY:

The balance push-up, another crazy variation that I learned from the Insanity workout series. Here are the steps to do it right.

Start in the standard push up stance. Make sure your shoulders are slightly shoulder width apart. Make sure your butt is in straight line with your shoulders and your legs so you make a straight line with your body. You don't want to have your butt in the air.

Go down deep into the push up. While still maintaining your core drawn-in, make sure your body still is in a straight line like before. Keep the glutes activated.

On the push part of the movement, stabilize the core, shoulder and the hips on the same side and balance. After pausing for a second, come back down to your regular push-up stance and repeat.

This is a very challenging exercise. You get all the work of a push-up, plus the added challenge to the shoulder and the added challenge to the quads and glutes. The glute that is activated has to stay very tight, otherwise you will have a tendency to tip over. Keeping the shoulder tight and the abs tight is also very important to make sure not tip over. I've done similar exercises to this one but instead of rising the leg and arm on the same side, the opposite arm and opposite leg are raised. That one was easier to stabilize but that's not what was shown in this workout.

Well time to sign off. Get your sweat on and happy dieting.

- Joel via iPhone

Insanity - Max Interval Circuit

What's up everybody? Didn't get a chance to blog last night. Took the day off from working out so didn't have a workout to review. Today I did the Insanity - Max Interval Circuit. I found this workout to be very challenging. I definitely don't have the proper endurance to complete the entire workout. This is the 8th workout in the sequence of 14. I think you're suppose to spend a few days per workout to get properly conditioned. There are many high intensity moves that need a very high amount of conditioning. I'm still going to progress through all the videos once so I can review all of them.

TIP OF THE DAY/EXERCISE OF THE DAY:


The plank punch, this is good for shoulder stabilization and core stabilzation. Start in the push up position. Take one arm and punch forward so the up arm is level in line with you torso. This will cause your core to contract and your shoulders to contract as well.

Well that's all for tonight. Get your sweat on and happy dieting.

- Joel via iPhone

Insanity - Core Cardio & Balance

Hello everyone, how's everybody doing? Another great day in rainy San Diego. Just a quick review of the next Insanity workout. The next workout in the sequence is called Insanity - Core Cardio & Balance. I liked this workout as the movements were very controlled with a slower tempo. This workout is designed to be done as a recovery workout so you're still burning calories but you're not putting as great of a strain on the muscles as some of the other workouts.

TIP OF THE DAY/EXERCISE OF THE DAY:


Shoulder burners, an isometric squat combined with shoulder circles, front raises, lateral raises and reverse circles.

This was a very tough exercise that I liked today. The isometric squat really got the heart pumping as well as all of the shoulder movements. Shoulder movements raise the heartrate which proved to be very challenging. It was a great way to get the cardio going without actually doing cardio.

Well that's all for tonight. Get your sweat on and happy dieting.

- Joel via iPhone