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Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Barbie's Preliminary Thoughts on Shaun T's INSANITY


Dear Boys and Girls,

I bet you've been waiting for me to write about Insanity, haven't you? To be honest, I haven't decided what I think or feel yet. I have my good days (I love it!) and bad days (Ah, it's "okayyyy").

One thing is for certain: this program is not for the undetermined. It is not for people who are not already fit.

If you are someone who tends to quit easily, then this program is not for you. Really, save your money, and get something else.

If you like to jump, sweat, and curse (um, ya!), then Insanity might be perfect for you.

Someone asked me if Insanity is more difficult than p90X. They are two different animals, both extremely challenging, but differently so. Insanity is more cardio-based, more explosive, more non-stop. You only use your body for resistance. The workouts are shorter, ranging from 30 something minutes to 54 minutes. P90X workouts are almost an hour long. You use weights. They are intense. Only Plyo-X compares to Insanity, but even that is less intense.

It's only been 7 days, so I am impatiently awaiting some results. I want to see the falling pants, the shrinking waist that the folks on the video speak of. Right now, I don't see any of that, so I am still skeptical. At the same time, I have learned to trust the process.

There is one thing that has been bugging me: the jump training has my plantaar fasciitis acting up, which is making it somewhat challenging for me to do some of the moves.

We'll see what the future holds for this body. I just finished watching the full Insanity commercial and am feeling hopeful, inspired...

Your friend in fitness,

Barbie, PhD

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Barbie, avid reader of your blog. Do you find yourself having to take breaks in Insanity? I did 1.5 rounds of the X (because I wanted to try Insanity, I didn't finish round 2.) I like it, but man does it kick my butt, I'm taking breaks but I'm afraid I might be taking too many. My heart rate is consistently in the 170's, if not low to mid 180's. I'm a 27 y/o male.


Thanks for your advice.

Adam

Coach Barbie, PhD said...

Hey, Adam,

If you go to my barbie's Slim spot, someone just posted an article on heart rate, really detailed. You might want to look at that.

It seems that if you are consistently in the 170's, then you ARE working hard.

I pause when I can't go no more, but otherwise I keep going. I DO NOT HIT THE PAUSE BUTTON. I just rest for a few seconds and then go.

I mean, you be the judge, go by how you feel. I would say check out the article ALISON posted on the Slim Spot. It'll give you an idea of where you should be in terms of hr.

And I remember you, you are in love with TOny. ;p

screwdestiny said...

You don't really want to lose a ton more weight, do you? It seems like that's the only way your pants are gonna fall off, and it doesn't look like you have much more to lose. Anyway, good job on sticking with it so far! I'm sure you're gonna get some killer abs.

Anonymous said...

Ha I'm glad you remembered me Barbie. I do have the mancrush on Tony. I like Shaun T alot, his style is much different than Tony's. He seems to yell more to get you fired up. Thanks for your response, I'll go check out the thread now.

Thanks, Adam

Coach Barbie, PhD said...

Screwdestiny: no, I just meant I really want to see results. I'm 135 right now and would like to get down to 130lbs. I just want abs more than anything. But like you, I like pleasure! Darn weekend nachos and drinks keep getting in the way! ;p But, really, my goal is to hit 130 by August 22nd. Stay tuned!

Coach Barbie, PhD said...

You're welcome, Adam. I am starting to feel that I would like to slow it down with Insanity. I think it's mostly because the high impact is aggravating my feet. It's why I stopped running even though I love it. I won't stop insanity unless it really becomes an issue. I hope not! I really do enjoy it and believe in its power!!

screwdestiny said...

Ah, that sounds reasonable. It's funny, we're actually the same weight, and I don't think you're taller than me, but I think you look more fit than I do. I want to get down to 130 as well.

Anonymous said...

Honestly my (boy) shorts almost fell off me this morning and I had to pause Pure Cardio to a smaller pair! mabye it was the sweat making them slippier ;