Tuesday's Workout

My hands are still bleeding, so I did the Insanity Pure Cardio workout this morning. I couldn't make a fist, though, so when Shaun T called for jabs, I did karate chops instead, which looked super-cool (naturally).

Round 3 / Day 86: Insanity Pure Cardio

I kept telling myself: This video is only 37 minutes long.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem to help make this workout go by any quicker.

Round 3 / Day 65: Insanity Pure Cardio

Thankfully, this workout ended just as I was about to crumple into a sweaty, quivering heap.

I'm probably just misremembering, but I could have sworn this workout used to be easier.

Round 3 / Day 16: Insanity Pure Cardio

Insanity Pure Cardio was a great change of pace today. But I have to confess that I skipped the Level 2 Drills and Push-Up Jacks -- my arms were just too damned sore. As expected, I woke up feeling like I was hit by a truck; yesterday's 30-15 workout truly massacred my upper body. On the plus side, with the start of Daylight Savings time,  I knew the kids would probably end up sleeping in -- and because I woke up bright and early, I had some extra time to exercise before I had to get breakfast on the table. I'm usually rushing to get the kids dressed and fed immediately after my workout, which means I usually greet my boys in the morning by sweating on them.

Round 3 / Day 9: P90X+ Interval Plus

The first few minutes of Interval Plus were deceptively easy. After a five-minute warm-up, Tony announces that we're going to do 15 different exercises -- each for one minute. That doesn't sound so bad, I thought. How's this going to be different from Insanity Pure Cardio?

(What are you looking at, Tony?)

More after the jump.

Round 2 / Day 42: Insanity Pure Cardio + Cardio Abs

Holy hell. Diving headlong into Cardio Abs immediately after the craziness of Pure Cardio isn't the easiest way to start the day.

Afterwards, I wanted to eat everything in sight. I downed a banana, a few heaping spoonfuls of peanut butter and fistfuls of almonds -- and then I saw this on my laptop screen: An article in the L.A. Times discussing the tendency to overeat after intense exercise (a.k.a., "the post-workout binge").

While compensation can be triggered by particularly intense workouts, in most people it appears to be driven by a misunderstanding of how many calories a workout actually burns, [Louisiana State University professor Timothy] Church says. "People greatly overestimate how many calories they've burned," he says. "Forty-five minutes to an hour on a treadmill only burns 450 calories. You can neutralize it with one coffee and muffin at Starbucks or two glasses of wine that night." But the desire to compensate is also physiological, says Church. "No doubt the body wants to replenish," particularly after a grueling exercise routine.

The widespread availability of calorie-dense, carbohydrate-heavy foods complicates the problem, says Leslie Bonci, director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Many people crave carbohydrates after a workout but, to a degree, that "taste" has been engineered by the marketing of energy bars and drinks packed with sugar, she says. "We've been conditioned, like Pavlov's dogs," says Bonci. "I don't know anyone who really craves a salad after working out."

And there's yet another complicating factor, says Brian Wansink, professor of consumer behavior and director of the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. Many people will choose low-fat or low-sugar foods in order to adhere to an exercise or diet routine, but then allow themselves to eat more as a reward for choosing such foods, Wansink says.

What a fucking buzzkill.

Round 2 / Day 35: Insanity Pure Cardio + Cardio Abs

Over the course of one holiday weekend, I downed about ten cookies (this one's my favorite) and three slices of cake, not to mention pizza, dim sum (ugh), a huge helping of homemade mac & cheese, and a big-ass Christmas dinner.

And yet I feel like I almost -- almost -- redeemed myself with one hard session of Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs.

Unfortunately, the workout also made me hungry, and now I'm eying some leftovers in the fridge. (God, that flank steak looks good.)

Round 2 / Day 28: Insanity Pure Cardio + Cardio Abs (Repeat)

To get back into the swing of things after a week-long break from P90X and Insanity, I decided to repeat Day 28.

"Jump down into a deep squat, and do a suicide." So says Shaun T when describing Stance Jacks, but his statement is applicable to the entirety of this workout. Although I managed to complete all of Pure Cardio without any extra breaks (for the first time ever), I felt like I committing seppuku.

Round 2 / Day 28: Insanity Pure Cardio + Cardio Abs

What's up with the Pulse Tucks from high and low plank positions? I'm confused: Am I just supposed to be clenching and releasing my sphincter? Am I seducing and humping the floor? What the hell is going on here?

Round 2 / Day 21: Insanity Pure Cardio + Cardio Abs

I woke up late and feeling lazy. The kids spent the night at their grandparents' house, so I enjoyed the luxury of dawdling over my morning yogurt and flaxseed in front of the TV. It took forever to bring myself to get off the couch and into the garage to start Pure Cardio.

Shaun T doesn't exactly ease you into the workout, either. Right away, I was panting hard as I tried to keep up during the warm-up routine. By the time the stretching began, sweat was already pouring down my face. And just a few minutes into the actual workout, I felt obliterated. But I followed Shaun T's advice to "dig deeper" -- it's my second-favorite Beachbody mantra, right after Tony Horton's "don't just kind of do it" -- and pushed through the remainder of the session. (I still had to take my usual mid-set breaks during Frog Jumps and Push-Up Jacks, though I tried to keep them as short as possible.)

Cardio Abs was painful, too -- especially the Wide Tuck Jumps and isometric C-Sit Hold. Part of me wanted to just stop the video and substitute Ab Ripper X in its place, but I reminded myself that Ab Ripper X is already on the schedule for tomorrow. The fun never ends.

Round 2 / Day 14: Insanity Pure Cardio + Cardio Abs

There's nothing like Pure Cardio to remind you that you're not as fit as you think. After having finished a round of P90X, I thought I was in pretty good shape, but I'm certainly humbled every time I attempt to complete this workout.

Once again, I had to take breaks during Frog Jumps and Push-Up Jacks. On their own, neither of these moves is impossible, but performed in sequence with the other exercises (and without breaks), I find both to be painfully difficult to sustain for a full minute each.

After Pure Cardio was done, it was time for a new workout: Cardio Abs. Cardio Abs is to Insanity what Ab Ripper X is to P90X; it's a relatively short (16-17 minute) session that targets your abs with a series of exercises that blast your core and hip flexors.

It starts with a brief warm-up (unnecessary if you're still having a heart attack from Pure Cardio) that flows right into Twisting High Knees, Jump Ropes, Tuck Jumps (like P90X Plyo Jump Knee Tucks), and Wide Tuck Jumps (with knees out wide to the sides).

Cardio Abs then transitions into a series of ab moves performed from a "C-Sit" position (which resembles the starting position for In-N-Outs and Bicycles in Ab Ripper X):

• Twists (similar to Mason Twists, but slower and with your heels on the floor)
• Twists with Knee In/Outs & Up/Downs (same as before, but with alternating knee in/outs and raises)
• A-Frame Ab Twists (similar to Mason Twists, but with heels on the floor, hands together, arms straight -- your arms go vertical between each side twist)
• A-Frame Ab Twists with Knee In/Outs (same as before, but adding an alternating knee in/out with each rep)
• C-Sit Hold (hold in C-Sit position for what seems to be an eternity)
• Single Leg Raises (pull knee straight in, then extend leg out, then raise leg up, then bring it down -- repeat for 30 seconds, and then do the other side)
• Double Leg Raises (same as before, but using both legs at the same time)

Next up is the plank series:

• From a high plank (standard push-up) position, pull one knee up to the side and to your shoulder; alternate sides to work your obliques;
• Do the same thing again, but from a low plank position resting on your forearms;
• Alternate between high planks and low planks; while in each position, do 8 hip tucks, contracting your core while shifting your pelvis and hips toward the ground.

Although I had my doubts about an ab routine that doesn't include anything resembling a sit-up or a crunch, Cardio Abs doesn't disappoint. It's intense and challenging -- especially after you're already sweaty and exhausted from Pure Cardio. In my opinion, Ab Ripper X is still the superior workout, but Cardio Abs is a great way to break up the monotony of endless Fifer Scissors and Oblique V-Ups while still blasting your midsection.

Round 2 / Day 7: Insanity Pure Cardio

It'd be an understatement to call Pure Cardio a killer workout.

Pure Cardio begins with the same so-called "warm-up" as the one featured in Plyometric Cardio Circuit: three increasingly intense cycles of Jog, Jumping Jacks, Heismans, 1-2-3 Heismans, Butt Kicks, High Knees and Mummy Kicks -- with no breaks. By the end of this ten-minute, 21-exercise sequence, your body's feeling more than just warm.

After a few minutes of deep stretching, the actual workout begins -- but not before Shaun T lets slip that he's "worried" about having to do this workout. What the fuck? How am I supposed to be able to tackle this when Shaun T gets butterflies before attempting these exercises?

This main section of Pure Cardio is only 15 minutes in length, but it's long enough to make you want to puke. During this 15-minute period, you don't stop, and there are no breaks. You just keep busting your ass until you collapse.

There are 15 moves in this section, each of which is repeated for a full minute:

• Suicide Drills (run/jump from side to side, squatting down to touch the floor each time)
• Switch Kicks (alternating jump kicks -- sort of reminiscent of a Russian Cossack dance)
• Wide Football Sprints (sprint in place with your feet wide apart, rotating and moving from side to side and front to back, then crouching down into a scrimmage-line stance before popping up to sprint in place with high knees)
• Stance Jacks (modified jumping jacks -- you squat down and twist your core, touching one hand to the ground as you jump your feet wide apart)
• Pedals (lunge with one leg, then the other, then sprint in place)
• Hooks & Jump Rope (8 hook punches followed immediately by 4 high jumps)
• Power Jacks (modified jumping jacks -- go into a wide squat as you jump your feet wide apart)
• Level 2 Drills (starting in a standing position, drop down into plank position, do 8 push-ups and 8 run lunges, then jump up to a standing position)
• Frog Jumps (starting in a low squat with hands on the floor, jump straight up and back, with your hands up in the air -- then jump forward the same way)
• Power Knees (starting in a side lunge position and your arms over your head, bring your hands down as you perform a knee kick with your back leg -- switch sides after 30 seconds)
• Mountain Climbers (high knees performed with an upper-body climbing motion)
• Ski Down (side-to-side jumps)
• Scissor Runs (scissor your legs back and forth while swinging your arms)
• Suicide Jumps (just like burpees: from a standing position, squat down with your hands on the floor, jump back to plank, do a push up, jump your feet back to your hands, jump up again)
• Push-Up Jacks (start in a traditional push-up position, but when you transition to the down position, jump your feet wide)

At one point, Shaun T goes up to one of the trainers and asks her how she's feeling. Her response: "I wanna leave."

I wish I could say that I pushed through all 15 moves without taking a breather, but I had to sneak in a few breaks during Frog Jumps and Push-Up Jacks. Still, I wasn't alone: A bunch of the onscreen fitness models had to hit their personal "pause" buttons to catch their breath. Shaun T makes a point of walking around during some of the exercises, tapping folks and telling them to "go sit down" and rest. By the end of the workout, most of the group is on the floor, exhausted. Even Shaun T is on his back.

I'm a big fan of Pure Cardio. It's tough, and (as with the other Insanity videos) Shaun T doesn't waste time with a lot of detailed instruction or introduce any modifications. But by taking breaks and scaling down the intensity level when necessary, I'm confident anyone can get through this routine and still get an awesome cardio workout. (In fact, M is sick with a cold, and never tried any Insanity DVDs before tonight, but she managed to complete Pure Cardio about an hour ago. Have I mentioned before that my wife kicks ass?)