Today was supposed to have been day three of the insanity workout here at the ranch, but as it turns out, jumping around after significant and painful dental work is something better avoided. So, off schedule today and perhaps even tomorrow, depending on how this dental business clears up for me. I’m hopeful tomorrow will be a better day for rattling my head around as I go through the workout.

Cardio power and resistance. A better name: “F&$&(ing cardio, pushups, and burning legs”

Seriously, the warmup alone would probably be enough for most people who are looking for a little light workout and some stretching afterward. Those of us who are crazy continue past this:

Jogging, power jacks (jumping jacks, except the down motion is a squat), log jumps (think of jumping laterally over a hurdle), 123 Heisman (three steps to the side, knee up, like you’re posing for the Heisman), butt kicks (run in place, kicking your heels to your butt), high knees (run in place, this time bringing your knees high to the front), vertical jumps (jump high, land in a squat position).

Three rounds of that, successively faster each time. Stretch. Then the real workout.

This session had a lot of different pushups: V pushups (butt in the air, as if you were about to do a handstand, but instead you do a pushup), moving pushups, where on the up motion you move from side to side, a pushup where you curl your knees up to your elbows and point your hands in toward one another, something that works your triceps, drills where you do hop squats and then do into regular pushups….lots and lots of pushups. And triceps. Quite a lot of jump/squats. Globe jumps, jumping from a squat position to the right, back, left, then front, touching the floor with both hands each time. More, more, more, and faster each time, although I couldn’t keep up with the third round pace and keep form, so I slowed down a bit. There is nothing wrong with going a bit more slowly, as long as you keep moving. The biggest problem most people have is getting off their ass and getting moving.

Almost 40 minutes of this, with several stops and some modification of exercises, and I was gassed at the end. It feels good to push yourself to the edge and then just a tiny bit past that. The only soreness I have is a touch in my right upper calf, but it isn’t enough to affect any activity.

Tomorrow: cardio recovery. It’s a focus on cardio, but not as intense as the last two days. From what I’ve seen previewing it, it’s still a good butt-kicking session. And that’s just fine with me, since I have a dentist visit coming in the morning to finish a root canal – it will take my mind off that.

My brother had mentioned that he was (with a group at his work) doing the Insanity Workout. I’d also happened across one of those informercials for it during a late night migrating accounts for someone, and it looked interesting, although not a “workout” in the sense of hitting the gym and weights has always meant for me. The workout uses plyometrics and body weight only, along with a metric assload of cardio, and looked like a challenge.

Challenge accepted.

Those who know me know that one thing I do not need to do is drop a lot of weight (5’4″, with a weight that fluctuates between 108 and 112, generally to the lower side). That said, ever since this cancer nonsense started, what I have found is that my endurance/stamina took a greater hit than I thought, even this far out from the first round and two years now from the second. I find when I do my outside work on the property, I work for a good period of time, then have to take a break – when I get really hot, my throat tends to start closing up, thanks to the surgery and radiation. I then go back out for more work, but the time I can spend on whatever task is at hand is less than before, with another break coming sooner than I’d like. Repeat a couple of times until it’s clear my body is signaling it’s ready to stop. So, I may work outside much of a given day, between 9 and 2 or 3, but almost a third of that winds up being rest/recovery.

Looking over this Insanity stuff, it looked quite a lot like the conditioning I used to go through when I played softball in high school. I can’t allow myself to even hope that I’ll get to that level again – too much damage thanks to cancer (fuck you, cancer!) but I can at least work to get to the best level I can be with the limitations imposed by the treatments I had to endure.

Today was day one: plyometric cardio circuit. The warmup is about three minutes and is fairly intense even by itself. If you’re not sweating a bit after the warmup, you’re not pushing hard enough. This is followed by a stretching session and lunges, and then the real workout begins. Suicide drills, power squats, mountain climbers, ski downs (think side to side mini squats, as if you’re a skiier weaving through a slalom), stride jumps, and football/basketball stationary sprints, basketball jumps (simulating picking up a basketball and shooting it, following through on the motion), pushups, ab work, and some boxing motions (jabs, uppercuts). Another stretching session to cool down, and then it’s over.

Equipment needed: none, although a heart rate monitor would be a good idea, and a pad for the floor if you tend to slip around on certain moves. A towel is also massively helpful, as this will bring out buckets of sweat.

Caveats: if you have chronic knee problems, this is probably not for you unless you manage those issues well. I have knee issues from my softball days, but keeping excellent form prevents most problems from cropping up and rendering me unable to walk. There is a lot of jumping around in this, as well as quite a lot of lateral movements, and it may not be suitable for everyone because of the stresses these moves will put on the joints.

Overall, I only had to stop for a few seconds a couple of times, and during the third round of each group of exercises, I could not go as fast as the trainer. That’s fine, though, as form is better than speed in this case, to avoid injuries. Some of the exercises proved to be very difficult, due to the slice and dice they did on my back  and side for the lung removal and from the muscle/tissue removal from the neck and shoulder: the last round of pushups, for instance, I simply could not complete, managing only one instead of the complete round. I expect this to get better, and I was pleased with the first day’s effort. When I’m working outside and my body is telling me it’s time to stop, I try to go just one step further before doing so: pull one more line of weeds, haul one more load of mulch, or do one more whatever. That attitude helps when attempting workouts like this.

So, is it worth it? After only a single day: yes.

Tomorrow, something called cardio power and resistance, which should prove interesting.