Beachbody Thread 3 (Insanity, T25 etc)

[Jacksterbear]

New thread for an (almost) new year, and almost exactly a year since the start of the original thread!

Purple I agree with you about that one. I am on 150g protein a day, and I have always found that when I focus on protein everything else falls into place so I don't seem to need to count calories. If only it wasn't so damned expensive!! I do work from home though so it is quite easy for me to go and roast a salmon fillet or fry a steak for lunch. Not so easy if you are going out to work.

Slightly disheartened about Chest, Shoulders & Triceps last night. Still can't do so many of the moves, mostly the weird push ups - plyo push ups, sliding push ups etc. and I don't actually seem to be getting any better despite it being the third time I've done it. Definitely improving at Ab Ripper though. Roastie I am considering Body Beast next as well. Do you have it? Dh is doing it and I think it's pretty good (the reviews on Amazon are excellent) but Sagi is SO ANNOYING with his "ooh I'm going to have to get a bigger shirt" macho crap. It puts me off that's it's all men doing the workouts even though there are before and after pictures of women in the book. Unless you take a heap of steroids, as a woman you're not going to get massive muscles doing weights and I'd like that to be acknowledged more.

Welcome back yumy!

Good afternoon! My workouts have slipped over the last week, I've been productive though - am slowly redecorating the bedroom so the last week has been all about moving into the spare room so I've got a nice empty room to work with! I have also been bad and had a few takeaways

So imagine my surprise when I stepped on the scales this morning to assess the damage only to find I've actuall lost 0.4lb!

Back on it now - ran 5k last night, I've promised myself new trainers if I can get back up to 10k as motivation. Today I'm feeling in need of weights so I'm going to have a go at NMTZ, then the plan is a week of T25 Alpha before going onto Beta.

And any evenings I can't do T25 due to the TV being used I have no excuse not to go for a run instead now I know I can still do it!

Just had a quick skim through the thread, the only part of Insanity I ever skipped was Max Recovery - and I LOVE the stretches in the actual workouts! I found it all kinds of stretchy hell and decided after the first attempt I was never going to do that again!
Totallly agree with whoever said they've started to hate the warm-up - one of the workouts (I think possibly Max Cardio Conditioning) has a SLIGHTLY different warm-up and it became my favourite for that very reason.

Eleanor you're sounding very well motivated, keep it going for the new trainers!!

Caitlin I haven't got or ever seen body beast but I've heard good things about it. Are the workouts really long? I imagine they are a bit like the weights workouts in p90x only led by a body builder type, am I way off the mark?

800 calories? When I read thepost initially I thought you meant 800 calories for one meal not a whole day and I was thinking that seemed a bit steep for one meal! I couldn't cope on so little in a day, I'm always hungry!

Just had quinoa, tofu, and vegetable salad for lunch .

That'll be the refeeding Eleanor! It bloody works. Well jell of you doing NMTZ, I used to love that one. I think my shoulders are still burning from the backward lunge/shoulder raise combination in the first circuit, and I haven't done it for over a year.

Roastie They are about 45 mins each I think, but quite slow from what I've seen. Quite different from P90X in that you use a bench a lot of the time, so more sort of serious weightlifting iyswim. You do get to sit down a lot though, which is a big bonus . Sagi is a proper bodybuilder - he was Mr Israel or something, and looks and sounds like a compete meathead, which is bit off-putting after the humour you get from JM/Tony/Shaun. The weights he lifts in it look like those comedy fake ones from a circus act, they are so massive. The nutrition plan is the best I have seen though and I am following it whilst doing P90X and getting really good results. I am not sure whether I could put up with him for a whole 90 days, I might try it but order Hammer & Chisel if I don't like it (which is still him, but with Autumn as well, so I am expecting her to tone him down a bit .

Hi everyone - really interesting about protein Purple and Caitlin glad its working. I am quite keen to focus a bit more on healthy eating and still lose a bit but slowly now.

Well done on painting Eleanor that defo warrants skipping a workout....its hard work! bit jealous of an emoty room to exercise in, our redecorating and new furniture has resulted in less room

Polishes Roasties halo I actually really like quinoa but seem to be in the minority!

800 cals isn't too bad you can get two decent meals and skip a meal. Boobz I lost about 20 lbs in the 8 weeks then a gap then another 10 or so in about 6 weeks lost so in total about 33lbs since mid jan. Unfortunately some of this is weight I have lost before on this thread about 18lbs is new though. I need to weigh several times a week now to stop this yoyoing from happening.

I couldnt be faffed with laptop so did my kettlebell dvd but hopefully another Gamma tomorrow.

Hi Eleanor! I'm with you on max recovery. I've done it twice. Will need to skip it this week and am not that sorry. Did cardio abs and cardio core and balance tonight. Shaun said at the beginning that you weren't supposed to feel too tired at the end which felt a bit wrong. I wasn't able to comply with that instruction and was dripping with sweat by the end. And cardio abs was a nasty shock. I thought it was going to be a few high knees and some sit ups. How wrong I was. No laughing for me tomorrow!

That is some bloody impressive weight loss poppy. It also sounds like you've learned what works for you which should help keep it off. Isn't there a period of time where if you've maintained for that period, you prob won't regain as you've made a permanent lifestyle change? (This could be ill informed straw clutching...) that has been my experience anyway - I may go up and down 3or 4 kg but I can't see me allowing myself to gain more.

Anyway - have a good evening all!

Wow Yum - that is massively impressive!

I am doing my normal Zone diet, but may try to throw in a bit of 800 Cals now and then to keep me on my toes.

Max Interval Circuits today I think...

Morning everyone

I love hearing all about your Insanity/P90 workouts - have no idea what you are talking about but they sound so hard

Caitlin What is this 'refeeding' that you mentioned?

Today, I am wearing my 'fat' skirt for work - I know that sounds bad but I call it my 'fat' skirt because it was always a bit big for me and when this skirt got too tight, I knew I needed to do something drastic Anyway, I am back wearing it and it is loose again so I am feeling happy again. This weight loss journey is so full of ups and downs (roastie how did you navigate it to keep it up?)

Oh yes, another high point yesterday. Went to metafit and one of the exercises is 'in out pressups' which is basically one tricep press then you move your hands out wide to do a pressup and then back in again and so on.

I normally do this in on my hands and knees in a box position - yesterday, I managed to do them all with all my weight forward (knees were still down obviously ) including tricep presses which I have never been able to do!

I am getting stronger!

Well done only that's great - I'm back to press ups on my knees at the moment as I'm turning into a weakling again!

caitlin what is refeeding? Does it mean I can order more pizza and chinese and be a size 8 by the end of the month?
It's the "surrenders" that get me in NMTZ - I can never keep my arms up for the whole time and it annoys me how Jillian acts like it's so easy.
I'm having to be good foodwise today - I was all set yesterday until I was at work and went to get my lovely healthy tuna and broccoli bake out - only to realise it was still in the fridge at home.
I was really hungry too so had to improvise from the tuck shop - ended up with an instant porridge, a kit kit, two bags of fish n chips (the crisps) and a couple of biscuits. Shaun T will sort that out for me shortly!

yum unfortunately the room has only been emptied so it can be filled up with new furniture when it's been decorated again, although building the new stuff will be a workout in itself - and demolishing the old manky built in wardrobe! I havde a feeling the wall behind it may need replastering so it might be longer than I thought before it's done.

Going to try a double T25 shortly - Alpha Cardio and Speed 1:0, I need to burn off those biscuits! I have hurt arms from NMTZ but I don't think there's much arm stuff in either so am good to go.

Oh God - had forgotten the surrenders!! JM's shoulder moves are all brilliant. She does have amazing shoulders herself too.

The refeeding theory I got from Thinner Leaner Stronger (thanks Purple). In brief, during WWII, there was something called the Minnesota Experiment whereby men were given a semi starvation diet (1500 cals per day) for 6 months. They all lost weight steadily at the beginning, but after that it became erratic. Essentially, although they were losing body fat, this was counterbalanced by water retention so they were not losing actual weight reliably. The extra water weight would flood out periodically, causing bursts in weight loss overnight. One of the triggers for this is a re-feed - a 2300 calorie meal was given to all the men halfway through, and most of them woke up the next day several pounds lighter. So yes, if your weight loss is stagnating, you might want to try a pizza!! The main triggers to try are reducing your sodium intake, upping your water intake, lowering your cortisol by taking a few rest days and getting plenty of sleep, and raising your calorie intake for a day or two. All of which sounds good to me and well worth a try!

Apparently bodybuilders call it the "whoosh" effect!!

I think I have avenged the crisps, kit kat and biscuits and managed both planned T25s and already well over my step goal. I feel all hardcore again now.

Does anyone else pretend to be Shaun T in the opening sequence just before the workout starts where he's jumping up and down boxing and doing bits of the moves, or is that just me?

Ooh Caitlin that theory sounds really interesting and I do actually believe it. I know my weight dropped suddenly after a weekend at centre parcs however it does require a massive leap of faith to do it. How often should you do it? Once a week?

Eleanor 2 cardio t25 workouts is proper hardcore!

Serious DOMS from Sunday's Les Mills workout. It only set in yesterday afternoon after Insanity Max 30. My god! Haven't felt a workout this much in ages. Thanks Roastie, I think!

Hello,

Miserable day here. Found out my assistant (quite elderly) has broken her arm so will be off work for a while meaning I'll need to do my job and hers so extra hours and stress with no extra money and my room at work (which is full of ovens) was so so hot it was unbearable and I got home completely stressed and dehydrated and frazzled I've actually skipped a workout (this rarely happens). It was legs and back today so I'll do it on Thursday instead and start week 4 on Saturday rather than Friday.

Only I weighed myself every day and I may have even logged it. Great work on the skirt. I wish I would have done more before and after/during photos to show progress, but I think getting six different wardrobes with six different sizes was enough excitement to show me how I was making progress!

Katie you're welcome!

I like this idea of the whoosh effect sounds like all the excuse I need!

Eleanor - that's hilarious re being Shaun t pre workout. I always laugh at the people on the DVDs doing fake squats and lunges pretending that they're doing extra warm up. I like to conserve my energy for the workout itself - I don't have any extra!

Lunch was a massive ham and cheese panini for me I'm out and about a lot with work and it's difficult to find anything healthy to eat (yes, I know I should bring lunch but it feels like a big effort...)

Roastie - that sounds rubbish and double bad that it stopped a workout too - makes it affect home and work

Well done on the press ups only. I love that feeling. Altho I sympathise with whoever said they feel that the plyo press ups never get better. I feel the same. I will be testing this for real when I do the fit test at the end of insanity in a weeks time. I'm expecting that I will find that I'm still awful at press up jacks.

Rest day for me today as not home from work till late. Unexpected social life is getting in the way of exercising for the next few days so not sure what I'll be able to fit in. Hopefully max interval circuits tomorrow night tho

Roastie that sounds very difficult with your work, is it your business?

Only fantastic about pushupy tricep things at metafit and skirt NSV

Eleanore for double, shaun T would be proud

In fact everyone deserves some, {sprinkles liberally}

Roastie I did Gamma Pyramid today, I really liked it {hifives Only} , am a bit sore now, including my neck it wasnt tooooo twisty but was a bit jumpy, but you could have a look on rutube and see what you think before you buy the dvd.

PS those of you thinking about hammer and chisel I think if you google the name of the workouts and rutube at least some of them are on there.

Boobz I think zone with maybe 1 day of 800 wouldnt be that far of the 5:2 version of BSD.

Enjoy your nights out purple!

Katie I have always found DOMS worse after Pump classes than any other classes - I quite enjoy the feeling

Roastie/purple don't you just hate it when RL interferes with your workout plans?? That is the main reason why I exercise first thing in the morning... I never have any plans at 5.15am (shocking I know) so I can stick to my schedule.

Yumy glad you enjoyed Pyramid I love the format and most of the exercises. However, even though I am modifying both the press ups and the pike ups, I struggle to complete all the reps

Quick question from you wise ladies...say you have to do a particular arm exercise with weights for 60 seconds, is it better to do both arms at once with a light weight or alternate arms with a heavy weight (doing both arms with a heavy weight is not an option ) What do you think?

I'm always shouting things like "C'mon yo - LET'S GO!!!!" before Shaun says it, on the credits. DH thinks I am a major Saddo.

Did Max Interval Sports yesterday, and then DH's Goliaz work out on top (only 15 mins extra, but was all abs).

Today I will do Pure Cardio and Then Max Cardio Abs I reckon - that should be an hour in total.

So guess what.... Was changing my top when I got home from work last night and suddenly saw that I had proper abs! Not a 6 pack, but definitely a 2 pack (is that a thing?!) must have been cardio abs that did it!

And on life/work out jnterference I do sometimes wonder if I'm getting a bit obsessive (this is my nature) - Getting a workout has equal priority to social life and arguably given that I don't get much opportunity to go out, I should prioritise social activities really. I wish I could do the 5.15am thing - that would solve the problem!

Only - thinner leaner stronger would say do the biggest weight you can do for 10 reps. So definitely one arm at a time and big weight. Think Popeye!

And a message for bargain hunters - insanity asylum is £30 on Amazon down from £80. I bought it. Yay. I love a new workout to look forward to

Oooo Insanity Asylum! Now there's an idea....

Thank you for the sympathies re work. It's not my own business. I could have done the workout despite the stressful day with assistant breaking arm but it was the dehydration thing. I was so dehydrated from sweating so much in such a hot room (lovely!) I knew if I did a workout and sweated even more I would just feel ill from il iykwim and if I drank loads before I then wouldn't be able to do the workout.

Purple I'm quite obsessive about getting workouts in too. I think you have to be to do it 5/6 times a week. I try to think of it as non negotiable like sleep and food.

That asylum if it comes with the ladder is an amazing price. A lovely mner gave me asylum DVDs a few years ago but not the ladder and I think I paid at least £30 just for the overpriced ladder.

Boobz DD loves to say 'come on y'all' at the tv when I do insanity!

Yoga class booked this afternoon in place of yoga X. I am shattered today as I couldn't get to sleep last night so just as well it's something not too physically demanding, I hope I don't fall asleep in the meditation bit!

Purple my instinct was that fewer reps with a heavier weight was better than more reps with a lighter rep. On that basis, I did 21-day fix Upper workout this morning and used the heavier weights and did as many reps as I could with both arms together then just alternated arms for the remainder of the time. I guess the DOMS tomorrow may tell me that I chose wisely

I really need to work on my plank holds though - can just about manage 30 seconds but it is supposed to be for 60 seconds

I am going to assume that Insanity Asylum is even more crazy than Insanity??

Purple well done on the abs - I am sure a 6-pack will be there if you squint Have you got that line down the middle of your stomach?

I don't talk to the telly other than to swear at Shaun T at various times (funnily enough, I don't feel the urge to swear at Autumn but her workouts are an entirely different format so I don't find them as challenging).