It's a hardcore cardio exercise program based on max interval training. Here is the sales pitch from the official website:
ARE YOU READY TO DIG DEEP?
Then you might just complete the hardest workout program ever put on DVD. Your personal trainer Shaun T will push you past your limits with 10 workout discs packed with plyometric drills on top of nonstop intervals of strength, power, resistance, and ab and core training moves. No equipment or weights needed. Just the will to get the hardest body you've ever had.
Now, I'm not trying to get a ripped, hard body. I'm just trying to lose 40 more pounds and get rid of the post-baby fat pooch I've got going on in front these days. Would I love more toned arms and a tighter tush? You bet! But it's not the focus. Also, I'm not in as good of shape as most of the people in the before and after pictures you'll see on the website. I have more weight on me than most people who start this. I also don't have very good knees, and there is a lot of jumping involved in this. Fortunately the whole premise of this thing is for you to do your best. Whether you can do 4 reps or 40 of any particular exercise doesn't matter. What matters is that you push yourself each and every time. And if you keep up with the program you will see improvements over time. Make no mistake though, this is hard. I have only done 4 days so far and it's been the hardest 4 days of my life. Seriously - I have never worked this hard in my life.
When I first got the dvd's from my friend I didn't realize how intense of a program this is supposed to be. There is a workout calendar that comes along with the dvd's and it has a different workout scheduled each day, 6 days a week. 6 DAYS A WEEK!!! ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME?!? I told myself that I was just going to workout 3 days a week and pick whatever damn dvd I wanted to. I did decide to start with the first disc the schedule recommends, which is the Fit Test. It's basically a yardstick with which to measure your progress. You're supposed to write down how many reps you do of a bunch of different stuff your first time, and then do it every 2 weeks afterward. The idea is that your number of reps should go up each time, making your best even better.
So this past Saturday (let's call it Day 1) I got up at 6:00 in the morning and did the Fit Test. And it kicked my ass. I mean it just wiped the floor with me. By the end of it I was out of breath, sweating from head to toe and my legs were trembling. And they continued to tremble for the next hour. Now here's the funny thing: After my workout, with trembling legs, I shakily made my way upstairs to take a shower and wash the stink of out-of-shape patheticness off of me. As I was doing so I started to think about how hard I had just worked; how I've never strained myself that physically in all of my life. And then I started to feel proud of how hard I had just worked. I started to feel like I had really made an effort to change myself for the better. And then I realized that I was worth it. Where nothing and no one has ever been worth that kind of physical exertion, I realized that I am. I am worth it to me.
So along comes 5:45 Sunday morning, and I decide to get up and workout again, doing the dvd marked down for Day 2. I was even more pathetic than I had been the day before. Only this time I had the added bonus of starting with leg muscles that were increadibly sore from doing jumps and squats and lunges on Saturday. But once again, after the workout was over and I was drenched with sweat, I was feeling proud of myself for having done it. That's when I decided that I was going to do as many days of it in a row that I could, thinking that if I managed 4 days in a week I'd be doing good. Day 3 found me up and at it again, thinking afterward that maybe, just maybe, I can actually do this thing. Day 4 (today) was easier. Today's dvd was called Cardio Recovery - imagine my relief at that! Now imagine my chagrin to look at the calendar for tomorrow to see Pure Cardio waiting for me. I watched the Pure Cardio dvd this afternoon and I'm not going to lie to you, I'm scared. They worked SO HARD and SO FAST on there! When the whole thing was over Shaun T couldn't even get off the floor right away. If they guy who created this program got his ass whipped by his own workout, what chance does that leave me? And just when that little fat girl voice popped into my head telling me that 4 days is enough this week, I made my resolve. I told that fat girl to shut her freakin pie hole, pull up her big kid underoos and deal with the fact that I am going to DO THIS! I am going to do this program properly. 60 days, start to finish. No whining, no excuses. After all, I've already done Day 4; 2 more days and I'll be done with the first week!
So here it is world! I am throwing down the gauntlet at my own feet. I am committing myself to the 60 day Insanity program. Because I want to lose weight, because I want to become more fit, and because the thought of doing 60 days of this scares the bejeezus out of me. And you should always do something that scares you. Stay tuned.
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