Insanity: Max 30 Journey - Day 1

During the course of two months, I'd like to take you into my journey as I strive to retain a healthy lifestyle through a healthy balanced nutrition program and Beachbody trainer extraordinaire -- and Men's Health cover man -- Shaun T's brand new workout regimen Insanity Max 30.

Day 1: Cardio Challenge

Kicking off the journey is Cardio Challenge. Shaun T opens the workout saying this is essentially going to be our fit test to see where our fitness levels lie. Having no background knowledge of Max 30 except for that it is extremely challenging and it asks you to dig deeper than any other Shaun T program -- Insanity, Insanity: Asylum, Focus: T25, etc. -- I was just hoping I could make it through the warmup before maxing out.


I did make it through the workout, but not much longer. My Max Out Time was 5 minutes, 51 seconds. Not bad for a man who has spiraled completely out of shape in the past two years during the pregnancy of his wife and infancy of his daughter. We'll chalk this up to setting the barometer. As the weeks progress, I hope to take that Max Out Time and push it closer and closer to the 30-minute mark.

Still, regardless of maxing out just shy of the six-minute mark, I continued to push through as Shaun T introduced me to a slew of new, complex moves (at rapid speed). It wasn't until the 12 minute, 31 second mark that I began to moan and weep as my calves were on fire and my legs felt like two anchors keeping me grounded.

Modify! Modify! Modify!

Whatever it takes to make it to that 30-minute mark. And I did that. Shaun T of course attempted to make me fail at the end. Even my wife was shocked to see "Jab, Jab, Knee Tuck, Knee Tuck" as the final move of the workout: "He saved this move for the very end?!?!?!"

Yes, he did. But I buckled down and persevered and made it through Day 1 of the Max 30 Journey. Amidst the pain, soreness, sweat and tears I endured, there were a couple bright spots to take away from Day 1 of this journey: 1) I'm one day closer to my goal; 2) My 21-month-old daughter clapped for me and said, "Yay Papa!" before giving me a high five for completing the workout. That's enough energy to take me through the rest of the workout program for sure! Next up: Day 2 - Tabata Power.

Recap

Workout:                Cardio Challenge
Max Out Time:        5:51
Weep Time:            12:31
Weekly Weigh-in:    225.6
Monthly Photo: