Oh. My. God.
It’s over.
Like. OVER, over. As in, after 74 days I pushed play on Insanity for the LAST TIME and I survived.
First things first: Month 2.
Month 2 confirmed to me that Insanity is the most aptly named program on the planet. Anytime someone asked me what it was like I couldn’t help myself: “It’s insane!” I’d gasp! The workouts increase from 30 – 40 minutes to 45 – 60 minutes but the intensity doesn’t go down at all. I was just starting to be able to get through month 1 with fewer rests when month 2 popped up and even more rests were taken! But I did everything I could and if there was a move (like power push-ups) that I couldn’t do, I would modify and focus on doing it really well!
Insanity has taught me a LOT about myself and about my body. Did I lose a massive amount of weight? No, in fact, I gained. How about my inches? For some reason the tape hasn’t budged either! BUT, I know I’ve leaned out because not only do I feel tighter but I’ve had more than one person tell me that I look like I’ve lost weight since they saw me at my wedding in October. This is further proof that relying on numbers and measures when it comes to weight loss and health goals isn’t always the best thing. If your gauge of success is in the numbers alone, you’ll quickly get frustrated and stop even though you’re body is actually changing, especially when you’re doing your workouts and eating properly (I followed the Insanity nutrition guide as closely as possible).
Secondly, I learned to really dig deep and push myself. I began to learn about how to really push past my limits when I trained for my half marathon and the subsequent last, painful 5k of the race but with Insanity I had to take what I learned from that experience and run with it. I had so many chances to quit. Not only was it the hardest workout I’d ever done and I was so paranoid of really injuring myself but then my challenge buddy fell off the face of the planet shortly after month 2 began so I had no one else to go through this with (re: commiserate with). Then, in week 7, two weeks before I was scheduled to be done, my brother was rushed to the hospital with an extremely nasty blood infection and I raced home and spent three days with him in the hospital with no thought to Insanity at all (it’s all good – he just came home last week) so I knew I was going to have to push week 7 to the following week. So because of my brother in the hospital, getting sick myself plus the holidays, I did not plan things out well and week 7 consisted of only a handful of workouts. At this point I just wanted to finish and I was so close to just throwing in the towel but I knew there was no way I was going to stop one week before I was done! What a waste! So week 8 finally came and I admit that every workout was a struggle, I was exhausted mentally and emotionally from being sick and the emotional toll of not having my brother home for the holidays (and at the time not having a clue when he’d be coming home) and the holidays themselves, I had to push myself to do each and every workout.
I also learned to be patient with my body. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I got frustrated with my lack of weight loss or numbers going down but I knew my body was changing and I was reminded that kick-ass bodies don’t happen in just 60 days, they happen gradually with consistent effort. I know my body is changing, regardless of the numbers because I feel it and I can see it and that’s far more important. My kick-ass body is emerging and I’ll keep working on it whether it takes another 60 days or another 365 days. I’m not in a hurry!
My biggest accomplishment in all of this? I actually did it and I am SO proud of myself which, to me, is worth more than any amount of weight loss in the world. Did I love it? No! It’s too bootcampy for me and I need some fun in my workouts but is it worth it? Hell to the yes!
I may not have gone down in sizes or pounds but I definitely leaned out, my muscles have become much more defined and my endurance is, well, INSANE! I can do so much more than I could before and I am so happy with that! I also get the bragging rights to say I completed the most difficult workout DVD on the market – and that’s nothing to laugh at. Above all, I’m proud of myself for not giving up when so many others have. Insanity is SO easy to quit but I committed myself, even when times got rough, and I showed Shaun T who’s boss! Now any other workout I do is going to be a piece of CAKE compared to Insanity.
My Final Insanity Fit Tests Results (Comparing Day 1 to Day 74):
Switch Kicks: 55/64
Power Jacks: 40/54
Power Knees: 76/101
Power Jumps: 24/35
Globe Jumps: 8/11
Suicide Jumps: 14/21
Push-Up Jacks: 9/26
Low Plank Oblique Twists: 36/66
So the big question is: Do I recommend it?
YES! But, and here is a HUGE “but”: I only recommend it for people who have been working out on a consistent basis for a few years. Beachbody calls it an “extreme” workout for a reason; if you don’t have the fitness base I can almost guarantee you’ll injure yourself or you’ll quit out of frustration. This is a program you definitely want to work up to and don’t expect to melt massive amounts of pounds unless you plan on doing it more than once. You will NOT get that ripped in only 60 days but you WILL gain endurance, muscle and get the clock on ticking on your metabolism which will blast through fat once you keep going.
I probably won’t do Insanity again (I think if it like the Japanese saying about climbing Mt. Fuji: “Everyone should do it once but only a fool would do it twice.”) but only because it’s not my kind of workout. I prefer fun music and a less serious (but just as intense) style of workout which is why my reward for finishing Insanity is to start the all new Les Mills COMBAT which I started yesterday and will also give you updates on!
What workout have you done that you’re the most proud of?
