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INSANITY Workout
The INSANITY workout and home fitness program is by far the most challenging workout program I have ever done. But, it is also my favorite. Initially, I thought P90X would be my post-partum workout routine that would get me back into my “skinny jeans”. I have no doubt that it would have done the job. However, INSANITY promised it in 60 days while P90X wanted an additional 30. Yes, you read that right. Shaun T, the creator of INSANITY, promised to get me in the best shape of my life (my interpretation: back into my pre-pregnancy jeans) in 60 days. Even more important, all the workouts range from 30-55 minutes. Time is something I don’t have a lot of these days with two kids so the shorter the better.
The INSANITY workout alternates between explosive cardio drills, power and resistance moves, and core and balance work , in a MAX INTERVAL TRAINING format. Instead of traditional interval training, where you perform moderate cardio-based exercises with short bursts of high intensity workouts, you will replace the moderate intensity with maximum intensity exercise and your short bursts of high intensity gets replaced with short periods of rest. Basically, it’s the reverse of traditional interval training. Hard, but quick! The first month you will rotate between 5 total-cardio conditioning workouts 6 days a week. At first I thought the warm-up was insane. But, 3 weeks into it and I can breeze through it with no problem. In the second month, you get 4 fresh new workouts to tackle. This is where you will discover true fitness and that long, lean body you claimed you would never have because you’ve had one, two, maybe more babies. Why it works As I have said before, interval training is the way to go when cutting fat is the goal. Intervals enable you to overcome the “stress adaptation response.” Our bodies actually adapt to long sessions of steady pace cardio in an effort to conserve energy. It gets used to the work load and, as a result, we stop improving and burn fewer calories. This is exactly why most aerobic weight loss plans don’t give you the results you want. The whole idea of the “fat burning zone” is my biggest pet peeves as a personal trainer. Anyway, during this high intensity exercise (80% of your max heart rate) your body recruits its fast twitch muscle fibers that are not normally used during cardio workouts. These fast-twitch fibers continue to use energy (aka calories) during the lower intense bouts of exercise and your body never has a chance to adapt. Therefore, you will experience a faster increase in your fitness and your body will burn carbs and fat more efficiently.
Embrace Your INSANITY I know what you’re thinking… “That’s too intense for me”. You don’t have to be in extreme shape to do this. If I can tackle this program 5 weeks after having a baby, so can you. Coupled with the INSANITY’s Elite Nutrition Plan (provided with the workout program), I am getting incredible results. Riley is only 8 weeks old and I can fit into some of my pre-pregnancy pants. I have a ways to go but I’m only 3 weeks into the program. I have no doubt that 5 more weeks of the INSANITY workout will me in the best shape of my life and wearing my “skinny jeans.” “You can only discover what is possible with your body if you first conquer your mind”.
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