DAY 1: CARDIO PLYOMETRIC
Starting back to the beginning of the disc in week two really allowed me to see how far I had come in just one week. I have definitely gotten stronger. Well..at least I was able to go further into he video before feeling as if I was totally going to die. ha ha. I was able to push a litter harder. NEMESIS FOR TODAY: Floor drills. My knee truly hates these up and down drills: In and Out, drill 1 or 2. I just can’t do them without feeling pain for the remainder of the day. Will have to find an alternative exercise.

DAY 2: PURE CARDIO
Today I challenged myself.  I decided to only take the designated water breaks unless absolutely vital. I was able to push through 1/2 of the video before taking any longer pauses…which is a huge improvement. If I felt tired I did what the participants did…do a two second side to side walk and then get right back into it. TIP OF THE DAY: Know the difference between pushing yourself past your comfort zone and hurting yourself. I went further today without pauses but, I didn’t feel like I was in any danger: no dizziness, pain or nausea. I just listened to my body and went from there.

DAY 3: PLYOMETRIC CARDIO CIRCUIT
The warm up for these videos are starting to become a little easier. When I first started I was a ball of sweat before I even got to the end of the warm up. Now, I am able to get through the warm up feeling warmed up but, not exhausted. I continued the challenge of pushing through with minimal stops or shaking out my limbs before going right back to the exercise. My knee was really killing today with these floor drills. So I decided to do push ups, power squats, and mountain climbers instead. Not quite the same but, my knee thanked me.

DAY 4: CARDIO RECOVERY
This time around this video ACTUALLY felt like a recovery day. Yes, the slow squats and lunges still burn like hell but, after two weeks of doing them almost daily has made my lower body stronger. At 33 minutes this video is also one of the shortest in the line up. TIP OF THE DAY: Embrace the burn.

DAY 5: CARDIO POWER & RESISTANCE
The no pause button challenge for myself has been paying off. I made it through this video with only needing to pause once…which is a huge improvement. I needed six or seven breaks the first time around. I feel into a puddle of sweat and exhaustion at the end of the video but, I am assuming that is the point. ha ha. NEMESIS OF THE DAY: Power Jump Squats. I am going to have to find some kind of knee brace for these videos. I was warned that existing knee problems would be of concern with these videos..and they are right. I haven’t injured myself but, some of the moves I just refuse to do as hard or fast as the tapes.. or I modify to make it better for my knee.

DAY 6: PURE CARDIO & CARDIO ABS
The amount of sweating I did today alone was absurd. My bandana was totally drenched. At one point I had sweat dripping down into my eyes and rolling onto the floor. Right at this moment I am BEYOND exhausted.  The Pure Cardio alone generally makes me tired. But, today we added the Cardio Abs portion to the work out. So my strategy was to watch the 17 minute first to give myself a tiny reprieve and to check out the required moves. Then I did the work out. Shaun T kept bragging that there would be no sit ups or crunches in this video…but don’t be fooled. The C-sit/stand position is NOT easier. You have to have strong core muscles to do these without straining your back. TIP OF THE DAY: Keep your core tight and do not slouch into the moves. If you try to be lazy in these moves you will put unnecessary pressure on your lower back. C-sit require a lot of strength and concentration. I modified a few of the positions when my form started to wane because of fatigue. IE instead of doing a full C-sit to do the tricep dips…I simply put my feet on the floor and hands closer to my butt or could do it on a chair/bench, etc.

DAY OFF
My day off wasn’t truly a day off. It was a 13 hour trek cross country to Ohio. I packed all of my stuff from storage, drove to Ohio, and unpacked. Tomorrow will be my actual day off. Then next week I will work out again.

UPDATE:
So my Insanity videos haven’t arrived. I had been using my husbands…which I left in NJ so he could continue using them. I purchased my own set from a friend…which were suppose to be here when I arrived. No such luck. It appears I will get them back on Thursday. So for now I will have to work out on my own. Hmmm.