Day 9

Hockey today was garbage. Too many guys = too much s(h)itting around..

Duration

01:42:36

HR Avg

133 bpm

HR Max

190 bpm

Calories

753 Cal

Training Load

103

Insanity Workout on the other hand felt pretty good. Maybe i'm getting in better shape... I compared today's workout with last weeks workout and while it is pretty consistent and similar, it seems my recovery time have somewhat improved. So, that's good news.

Duration

00:34:02

HR Avg

163 bpm

HR Max

184 bpm

Calories

413 Cal

Training Load

65

Day 8

Bah. First bad training day.

Nobody at the pick up so it was moderate exercise at its best.

Duration

01:20:48  

HR Avg

120   bpm

HR Max

159   bpm

Calories

466   Cal

Training Load

57   

Sigh. And then the Insanity. Cardio Power & Resistance. I rather like this exercise, although there is this one move my body just simply cannot do (one-legged triceps dips). I'm not flexible enough. Pretty fun workout, not the hardest out there.

Don't know what happened there. Those drops on my HR shouldn't happen. I hope I'll improve physically so I could make these exercises on the intensity levels they are meant to be done. 

Devastating. 

Duration

00:40:00  

HR Avg

161   bpm

HR Max

184   bpm

Calories

475   Cal

Training Load

73

Day 7

Day off today, yay

New measurements after 1 week of Insanity already show improvement! (or my assistant lacks skills using the tape measure).

Weight: 105.1 kg (-3.2 kg)
Chest:   105 cm (-3 cm)
Waist:   111 cm (-4 cm)
Hip:       111 cm (-1 cm)
Bicep:    38 cm (+-0)
Thigh:    70 cm (+-0)
Calf:       42 cm (+-0)

---

Well, not exactly..

Got called to play couple of games..

Duration

02:30:24  

HR Avg

146   bpm

HR Max

193   bpm

Calories

1456   Cal

Training Load

179  

Day 6

No hockey today, just the Insanity Plyometric Cardio Circuit.

I felt horrible, as usual. Not the easiest workout out there. I did the same workout on tuesday and I couldn't finish the workout then, as I couldn't today. I was completely drenched and exhausted after 30 minutes and just couldn't lift myself up to do the last cycle. Just like on tuesday.

Well, we're here to improve fitness, yes? So just have to push through it and keep on working out!

Duration: 0.38.00
Calories: 457
HR AVG: 164
HR Max: 188
Training Load: 71

Weight: 105.1 kg / 231.7 lbs
               (-3.2 kg / 7lbs)

Day 5

Phew. What a day.

Started with hockey, as usual. Most of the kids are still on holiday from college so the level of skate today was better than normal. Skated as a goalie today so they definitely offered me a good challenge.

Duration: 1.25.00
Calories: 1106 
HR AVG: 153
HR Max: 183
Training Load: 127

Then, lunch and Insanity. As usual.

Today's program and exercise was Pure Cardio and damn that was tough. If you ever wonder what kind of workouts these are, this is a pretty damn good review from youtube.




So definitely tired after this. It only lasts 39 minutes and the Pure Cardio exercise itself lasts only about 15 minutes. But it's still tough! I wouldn't suggest you to underestimate this workout.

 

Duration: 0.38.00
Calories: 579
HR AVG: 166
HR Max: 184
Training Load: 75

My heart rate monitor seems to disconnect from time to time.. I wonder why. It is tightly around my stomach, so it shouldn't move enough to loose the HR. Have to look into that.

Day 5 summary:

Duration: 2.03.00

Calories: 1685

---

Weight: 105,9 kg / 233,4 lbs

              (-2,4 kg / -5,3 lbs)

Day 4

Gsus effin christ my legs hurt. I probably shouldn't have started this fast..

But what's done is done, so let's get on with it.

Hockey. Today. Not that great. A lot of guys on the bench so I got only 8 shifts which I really had to make count because there was a lot of downtime at the bench. Got my HR to 200 which is the highest so far. Felt tired, mainly because haven't gotten much sleep lately.

Duration: 1.33.00
Calories: 1238
HR AVG: 155
HR Max: 200
Training Load: 180

After hockey, went to lunch with friends and after that I started doing the Insanity workout. Today was Cardio Recovery which was just what I needed. Long and slow stretching squats and moves. I liked that. My shins actually feel a lot better now.

Duration: 0.35.00
Calories: 397
HR AVG: 143
HR Max: 170
Training Load 56

--

Pretty decent day, not the hardest (which I rather liked), gives me time to recovery for tomorrow.

Day 4 Summary:

Duration: 2.08.00
Calories:  1635

Day 3

I did suspect it would happen, and it did. Every single muscle in my body is so sore I can hardly stand. It's not used to this kind of training. So I concentrated on stretching and relaxing my body today instead of doing the Insanity workout. Insanity lets you keep one off day (which is always Sunday) so instead of keeping Sunday off, I kept today an off day and move today's workout to Sunday.

Every time you start working out, you should start easy or this happens. I never learn. But I think my body adjusts to this rather quick and keeping this day off helps me doing the rest of the week much more efficiently.

I have stretched before and after workouts (including hockey) but while you're suddenly exposing your body to this level of exercise, you'll be discovering and using muscles in your body which you haven't really used in a while so it'll take some time from the muscles to get use to it.

Weight:

106,7 kg / 235.2 lbs
(-1,6 kg / -3,5 lbs)

Day 2

Didn't get much sleep last night for some reason. Woke up three times in the middle of the night and unfortunately it left me a bit drowsy for the rest of the day. After I decided to wake up and forfeit my attempts to sleep, I ate a good breakfast and went to play hockey. Skated as a player today so it was more max interval training than moderate exercise unlike yesterday when I played in the net. I felt bad, my back is seriously killing me. The back started hurting about 45 minutes in and never really got better despite my tries to strech it at the bench. My lower body is still a bit stiff from yesterday so it might appear as lower back pain. And I got new skates (with new 9" runner profiles) which aren't really broken in yet so that might explain it as well.

(Have to say, I love the skates so thanks Niina for the amazing christmas present. You gotta love ebay, pro stock EQ5 skates which belonged to Rangers forward John Mitchell with custom tongue, holder and runner for nickles and shillings!)




Well, anyhoo.. Back to the point:

Well, at least my recovery was somewhat consistent throughout the skate so it means I'm not in terrible shape but I definitely feel my heart rate shouldn't be that close to maximum. (99%) I did feel tired by the end of my shifts but I never realized my HR went that high. Let's see if we can lower it during these couple of months.

Duration: 1.31.00
Calories: 1330
HR AVG: 158 bpm
HR Max: 193 bpm
Training Load: 183

I did the Insanity Workout about an hour after I had lunch. It felt as horrible as I imagined it would. I just lost all power in my legs twice during the workout thus I couldn't do it all the way. I cut the workout about 4 minutes short. I didn't even get my HR as high as I hoped. Well, the first couple of weeks are going to be hard. That's for sure.

Duration: 0.36.00
Calories: 586
HR AVG: 172
HR Max: 188
Training Load: 94


After this I took a little power nap and prepared myself for this nights hockey game. I slept pretty well actually and then stretched for half an hour. Still felt pretty damn sore and stiff after that, but at least it eased the pain a little bit. Throughout the game I felt pretty sore, but surprisingly I started to loosen up towards the end of the game and now, as I am laying here on the couch, I actually feel pretty damn good. It's been a really efficient training day and I'm happy I did it (more happy that its over tho, but happy nevertheless!)

Duration: 1.23.00
Calories: 1009
HR AVG: 149
HR Max: 180
Training Load: 137

--

Day 2 totals:

Duration: 3h 30 minutes
Calories: 2925
Weight: 107,2 kg (236,3 lbs)
(-1,1kg / -2,4 lbs)

Day 1

So. Day 1. Let's go.

Weight: 108,3 kg (238 lbs)
Chest: 108cm (42,5 inches)
Biceps: L: 36cm (14.1) R: 38cm (14.9)
Waist: 115cm (45.2)
Hips: 112cm (44.1)
Thigh: L: 68cm (26.7) R: 70cm (27,5)
Calf: L: 40cm (15.7) R: 42cm (16.5)

Holy crap.

I started the first day with a light hockey. There wasn't much guys playing so it was a moderate exercise rather than a real push. I felt pretty ok, tho my legs were killing me for some reason. I've been feeling a bit stiff lately, mostly because my back has been killing me. I think my lower body is paying the price for having a bad lower back.

988 calories and the training was in the zone the whole time so the whole exercise was pretty effective what comes to fat burning.

Duration: 1.26.00
Calories: 988
HR AVG: 147 bpm
HR Max: 181 bpm
Training Load:131

I watched the Winter Classic game and shortly after I started the Day 1 (Fitness Test) of the Insanity Workout. I felt horrible. 30 minutes after the test I'm still having trouble of standing up, my legs feels completely numb. This Fitness test lasted only 25 minutes, but it felt a lot longer.

Duration: 0.25.00
Calories: 431
HR AVG: 171 bpm
HR Max: 191 bpm
Training Load: 67

Fitness Test Result:

Switch Kicks: 60
Power Jacks: 40
Power Knees: 66
Power Jumps: 29
Globe Jumps: 7
Push-Up Jacks: 20
Low Plank Oblique: 32

Tomorrow another day at hockey and Insanity day 2 with Plyometric Cardio Circuit.

Yippee...

Introduction

So, here we are. The year 2012. It's time for a change.

Ever since I came back to States in  December 2011, I've been struggling to get rid of all the excess weight I gained during my trip in Europe. On a very rainy and dark day of December 15th I stepped on a scale and clocked an all time high: 115 kilos (250 lbs). - Needless to say my diet which contained nothing but unhealthy food stacked with carbs, fat and cholesterol without doing any exercises helped quite a lot in achieving that questionable goal. However, ever since the beginning of December I have made progress. Well, not the kind of progress I wanted, but progress nevertheless. During the month of December I lost 7 kilos (15 lbs) and the scale is now showing 108 kilos (238 lbs). It's still way too much, so it is time for more radical actions.

Tomorrow I am starting the Insanity Workout and if that wouldn't be hard enough I'm still keeping my hockey practices (4x1,5h) in my weekly schedule. This combined with a low carb diet should bring the results I want during the next couple of months.

The Insanity Workout is basically a Maximum Interval Training which has turned traditional interval training upside down. In traditional interval training you perform short bursts of maximum intensity exercises with long periods of rest or moderate training. With maximun interval training you perform long bursts of maximum-intensity exercises with short periods of rest and that is combined with plyometrics, killer cardio, sports drills, resistance training and core exercises. Sounds fun, eh?



Well, it's not. But i'm ready to take the biggest challenge of my life and work through it. And that is where this blog is stepping into the picture. As I'm doing the exercises, I am equipping myself with a heart rate monitor which sends data to my computer where I can track my progress and keep an accurate exercise diary. So, in a way, I am writing this blog for myself so I can track my progress and compare results and exercises but also making this for you and hoping it would support and encourage someone else to try this challenge as well.

So, here we go.

Good luck to me.