Dig Deeper

The name says it all. It is quite literally the most insane workout I've ever done. I originally started the program last fall, after finishing round 2 of P90X-2. Probably 2 weeks into it, I was bored and made the unfortunate decision to do the splits without being warmed up. Let me tell you, when you can hear and feel something inside of you literally tearing, it's a horrible feeling. Bad choice #2: I thought I could just work it off. Yes, I tried to continue doing Insanity for another week doing modifications (ex. one-legged burpees). I finally decided that wasn't going to work well, so I got it checked out, and I surely had a 2nd-degree tear. AKA "it's not bad enough to be surgical, but it's going to take some time to heal, and will probably never be the same." So I was banned from running, jumping, lunging, squatting to just upper body and a stationary bike. (Also PT.) It was a great day when I got permission to hit the elliptical (which I would normally hate). Probably the first week of January (the injury occurred during Thanksgiving break), I decided I could handle Chalean Extreme. I did some modifications at first...but I started having problems again. So I tried something crazy. I went to see a friend who does "healing touch" therapy. I will be completely honest. It is totally weird. It also totally works. I have no idea how or why, but it's amazing. My hamstring has been doing GREAT since then!

I ended Chalean Extreme right before heading to Mexico for Spring Break. The day I got back, I restarted Insanity. The first month was definitely challenging, but generally the workouts were just about 40 minutes (and probably 10 of that was stretching). I was like, "Yeah, I can hang. I got this." The program's "Rest Week" happened to be my graduation week, which was excellent timing. I had gotten into Zumba a couple of nights a week as well at that point (which is REALLY crazy). Then I started phase 2. Let's just say it's a really good thing I could not make it to Zumba during phase 2 (just too much going on). The first workout, you realize that now your workouts are 60 minutes long, and there's less stretching time. I was like, "What have I done?" If I wasn't such a 'stick-to-the-schedule' person, I may have actually quit. However, by the end of the week, I was feeling a lot better about it. By the time it was over, I was actually kind of sad about it.

Breakdown. It is INSANE. If you don't like working out or haven't worked out, I wouldn't recommend starting here. You must ENGAGE YOUR CORE in every workout, which I love. Seriously, you only do an "ab" workout 1-2 days a week, but you most definitely work your core every single day. On that note, on ab days, I liked to do the ab workout before the big one. Because after cardio conditioning, my first thought is not, "Hey, wouldn't it be great to do insane abs right now?" Don't feel like you have to keep up with them. They take breaks. Modify to keep moving. You'll get there. Know that the workouts are longer in phase 2. Be prepared to sweat like never before. Wear a heart rate monitor! Doesn't have to be super fancy, but I do recommend one with a chest strap for accuracy. I liked doing X2-Yoga on my rest days. Totally optional. Just always #DigDeeper