One week ago on Saturday, I completed the hardest workout program I’ve ever done. And I wanted to share just how much my body has changed.
As I’ve blogged about before, Insanity is a 60-day interval training program. You workout 6 days a week, with one rest day. But it’s a DVD program, so you get to exercise at home. (No excuses!!!) I followed the program and ate a reasonably healthy diet and I am proud to report I am stronger for it!
I know it because of several factors (and I’m not talking about just how I fit into me clothes)! I’ve got real measurements for you. The first numbers I want to share with you are the two numbers that I think really show what happened to my body because of this program. I lost 3.3% body fat and gained almost 7 pounds of muscle. 7 pounds!!!! I think that’s the number I’m most proud of. When I said I’m stronger now – I meant it.
The great thing about this program is that you track your progress throughout the two months with a specific workout every two weeks – the Insanity Fit Test. In it, you perform 8 different exercises for 1 minute each and count how many reps you can complete during that time.
The difference between my first Fit Test and my last Fit Test is pretty huge. I’ve included my results, with a little explainer on the movement:
Switch Kicks: (elbows in, kick heel out at hip-height, alternate legs)
First Day – 70, Last Day – 110
Power Jacks: (like a jumping jack only the bottom of the movement is a squat)
First Day – 45, Last Day – 61
Power Knees: (weight on one leg, bring other to meet your hand at the waist)
First Day – 94, Last Day – 125
Power Jumps: (jump from squat position, touch hands to knees at the top)
First Day – 20, Last Day – 58
Globe Jumps: (jump from squat position to right, then back, then left, then front – 1 cycle = 1 rep)
First Day – 7, Last Day – 12
Suicide Jumps: (start from standing position, go down to plank position, jump up to complete rep)
First Day – 12, Last Day – 18
Push-up Jacks: (standard push-up, but on the way down, spread legs like a jumping jack)
First Day – 20, Last Day – 34
Low Plank Oblique: (elbow plank position, touch knee to back of arm)
First Day – 0 (that’s right, I couldn’t even do one), Last Day – 72
As you can see, my final Fit Test was a FAR CRY from Day 1. And I’m beyond proud of my improvements. I worked hard!!!! My trainer, Jerod, at 24-Hour Fitness was pretty impressed with these results too, because I'm naturally pretty lean. So body-fat loss and muscle gain like I saw is significant.
Two things you’ll notice strategically missing from this blog post. 1. No mention of weight. Losing or gaining weight was never a goal for me. I was focused on getting stronger and leaner. Fixating on weight can get in the way of both of those. 2. Pics. You don’t need to see pics of me in my sports bra to see that I got results. The results I posted above are proof plenty. I will, however, turn in before/after pics to the Insanity folks so I can get my Insanity t-shirt.
After all, like the t-shirt will say… I earned it!
