Recommendations for the Insane! - Beginners guide to Insanity

We've all seen the infomercials saying "Get the body of your dreams in just 60 days!" "Dig deeper yall!" but for some of us it says "I'm getting my knee replaced after just 60 days!".

Insanity is not a workout for the light hearted or for the weak hearted. When you buy the Insanity workouts they have many warnings telling you exactly what i'm telling you right now. Still people tend to move from their regular routine of 4 hours of couch sitting a day to starting a program that is meant for those who already have a workout history. This is where I come in.

My first goal is to give you few guidelines that will help you get from the couch to Insanity. Ask your self a few of these questions before starting up Insanity.

- Have I been on a regular workout program for at least 3-6 months? 

- Can I run a mile in 12 or less minutes? 

- Can I jump off both feet at the same time and land on a step? 

- Can I lift my knee so that it is level with my hip?

- Can you do 15 push ups with proper form?

If you answered no to any of these questions then you should just give up.

NO NO NO NO I'm just joking with you!! Don't give up! That's the whole point of this post silly. 

I would suggest being able to do these things before starting Insanity but if you still insist on going for it then lets talk about some ways to make it work for you.

First rule LISTEN TO YOUR OWN BODY! Chances are it's telling you something important. There is a difference between pushing yourself and killing yourself (literally).

Wear a heart rate monitor. Shawn T of course tells you to do this as well. If you can't afford a heart rate monitor (check amazon - they have great deals) then feel your heart rate, watch the clock for ten seconds and count the number of beats in that time frame. Multiply that by ten and boom you have your heart rate. If you have worked out for many years you probably have a good idea where your heart rate is just by how you feel.

When Shawn gives you a break to recover it's important that your heart rate recovers all the way. If you're new to the program this means you take as much time as you need. That could be 1 minute or 10 minutes. Let me say this again, take as much time as you need!

All of this is pretty basic and pretty much applies to any workout program. On Recommendations for the Insane part two we'll talk about alternative exercises, especially for those who have knee or back problems.

I'M BACK!

It's been an entire year since I last posted on this blog! After 2 moves,  2 different job changes, a life of h@$% living in a mortuary (that's a story for another time), having a baby, adjusting to mommy-hood  and my own weight loss journey....I'm back!

After becoming a fitness professional, which is just a big fancy way of saying personal trainer, my sister gave me the recommendation of getting fat. I guess since I've never really had to lose a lot of weight myself she thought it would be good for me to actually know what my clients have to go through. Well she got her wish. Throughout my pregnancy I gained a total of 50 lbs, something I swore would not happen. During my seventh month of pregnancy I was placed on partial bed rest due to high blood pressure and BOOM I gained weight. After having my beautiful baby girl I dropped 20 lbs almost immediately, leaving me 30 more pounds left to work off.

Since starting to work out 5 months ago I have lost 22lbs and I'm here to tell you that all I did was all you're supposed to do! Work out, eat less.

 + calories out - calories in = weight loss!

Now I'm not saying it has been easy or fun in the least. All I'm saying is that it is possible. VERY POSSIBLE! Weight loss isn't a race, it's a journey! Journeys don't happen over night, or in a week, or in a month. Weight loss is about making habits that change you for the rest of your life. If you have 100 pounds to lose, or 200 pounds to lose, you can bet it is going to take a lot longer than 5 months but  promise it will happen.

For anyone  whocares here is the exercise path I took to get where I am today. I started off slow with walking for about 4 weeks, next I did a run-walk, then I did more running than walking. After getting my cardio back to a normal level I started strength training on the TRX because you can easily control how hard or how easy the intensity is. After about 6 weeks of working out on the TRX I started doing weights and interval training. After about 3 and a half months I decided to join the insane and try INSANITY! Insanity's name fits the workout but I will say this, it does work. Maybe not to the degree that they show you on the infomercials but I would say that is how I lost the majority of my weight. Currently I am training for a half marathon which will take place in March (my first ever!).

I still have about 10 more pounds to lose, which I would like to do with you guys! Stay tuned for more to come on that!

I guess all I wanted you to get from this post is that I'M BACK!  and that weight loss is POSSIBLE!!!

 My next post will be "Recommendations for the Insane!" -a beginners guide to the popular workout known as Insanity

Be safe, be happy!

Myth or Fact?

"By only lifting 3-8 pound weights I will achieve my goal of getting a toned body"

MYTH or FACT?

MYTH

I always want to giggle at the women who come into the gym, lift their 3 lb weights and expect to get "toned". How much does a can of soup weigh? How much does your 3 year old weigh? Probably more that 5 lbs. To build muscle you need to place stress on your muscles, stress that your muscles are not used to. So if you lift your 3 year old kid 15 + times a day, lifting a 5 lb weight 10 times at the gym isn't going to cause your muscle to adapt and change to the stress placed on it. Make sense?

Women should not worry about "bulking up" unless you are taking steroids. The key to being fit and looking toned is building lean muscle mass, you are going to have to lift heavy weights in order to accomplish this.

The number of repetitions, sets, days of the week you work out, and how your program is developed will help you to achieve different results including Endurance, Power, Stabilization, and Hypertrophy (muscle bulk).

This is just an intro to how women should be using weights to gain lean muscle mass so if you would like me to post more specific ideas such as example work out plans let me know and I would be happy to go into further detail. Let me know what your goals are and I'll try to get into more depth on how to achieve them.

Early Morning Workouts: what to eat

I usually like to get up and eat something about a half hour to an hour before my workouts so I make sure i have energy to get a great workout. Eating before hand worked well when I used to workout around nine or ten, I had plenty of time to eat and digest something.

My sister and I have recently started working out with each other in the mornings around 6 am. So this means I'm dragging myself out of bed around 5:55, throwing my clothes on, and running wildly out the door with no time to eat. This has not been great on my body, I get into the gym and I'm practically already shaking before my work out. This has lead me to write this post about what to eat before an early morning workout.

As a general rule, Carbs digest faster than Proteins or Fat so I'm going to say that eating something rich in Carbohydrates is going to do you well if you're just waking up and running out the door to your workout. As well Carbohydrates are easily converted by your body into energy.

Eating something before you workout that is high in fat or sugar can actually make you sick, and slow you down. As well remember that yes it is important to eat before you work out but don't eat too many calories, which as well may be hard for your body to digest.

Snack Ideas:

Whole grain toast with peanut butter

A banana and low fat yogurt

Cereal and Milk

Power Bar and Water

Everyone is different and so eating some of the things listed above can have a bad effect on you. I know many people that cannot eat dairy before their workout with out feeling sick. So i'd say try out a couple different things and notice how you feel before, during, and after your workout and go from there :)

Homework!- What do you eat before your workout? Do you eat before a workout? When (how close to your workout) do you eat?

Winner!

The winner of the giveaway is......

drum roll please....

Lori!

Thanks to everyone who entered, I'm sure there will be more giveaways to come in the future!

Follow this blog!!!!

Follow my blog and be entered to win a FREE FITNESS CONSULTATION including Body Fat % testing, Fitness Evaluations, and a 30 minute Personal Training Session. You must enter by Thursday September 22 at 11:59 pm.

Get entered twice by posting my link and the giveaway on your facebook page.

Be entered again when you leave a comment on the blog about your favorite way to exercise.

Who, What, When, Where, How?

Who:Hello! I'm Laura Titensor. I'm a gall who has a passion for wellness, fun, and adventure! I'm a Fitness Professional (aka a personal trainer), a TRX instructor, and a Zumba instructor.

What: I've created this blog as a tool to family, friends, colleges, strangers, and everyone who wants to improve their "wellness". I like to use the word Wellness because if i were to use the word fitness we would be ruling out any mental aspect of our bodies health.

Wellness is consdidered to be an active process of becoming aware of and learning to make choices (healthy choices) that lead toward a longer and more successful existence.

I don't know exactly what this blog will be, maybe exercise ideas, recipes, interesting articles...my goal is to simply be a source, to spread the word, to influence, and to educate.

When: ALL THE TIME! Your wellness, your health, your happiness is a constant on going Action.

Action is an act that one consciously

wills and that may be characterized

by a physical or mental activity.

Where: Anywhere and Everywhere

How: I will work as hard as I can to supply reliable, up to date, information for you here. Your homework is to try it out. Tell me if it works, what doesn't work, something different that worked for you. I want to know YOUR SUCCESS STORY, your struggles, your goals, and your passions.