Insanity: Max 30 Journey Day 8 - Cardio Challenge

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 8: Cardio Challenge

Back to the fitness test of Insanity: Max 30, AKA Cardio Challenge. If you were with me last week when I began my journey, you know it was quite the uphill battle as Shaun T challenged me (no pun intended) in this cardio test. Not your typical recovery day by any means.

But considering I was weighing in at roughly 225 and a half pounds, what did I really expect. All told, I'm probably lucky I even made it to the 5 minute 54 second mark before I maxed out.

As I embarked on another week of the Max 30 journey I set for myself, I knew a couple things: A)  I was bound to do better since I was able to stick to the workouts and eating plan and shredded a whopping 6.4 pounds, down to 219.2; B) I had a go with this workout before so the familiarity would make my muscles a little more prepared for the movements; and C) I'm always challenging myself and would have that time set in my brain -- to conquer.

With all that, I got through the warmup -- still burning in the calves as I was last week -- and made it through another couple moves before I was done in by those darn squat, leap kicks. I successfully went through one round of the first phase, but the second round got the better of me. My Max Out Time was logged at 7 minutes, 10 seconds. Not going to beat myself up. That's more than a minute's time improvement from Week 1. I would have taken a second improvement.

I also was able to improve on my Weep Time. On Day 1 of my journey, I clocked in at 12:13. Today, I was able to push through and keep from squealing until the 16:54 mark. More than four and a half minutes improved from last week. I'll take it.

One other change I made worth noting, I had my Shakeology on hand with me as I worked out, so during my 30-second break I took a swig of that and it gave me a slight uptick in my energy. Then I immediately chugged it when I finished the cool down. Totally worth it!

What to make of this cardio endeavor? Strides have been made. It works. All I really have to do -- you all included -- is stick to the plan. Stick to it, and you'll see positive results. Stray off the path and ... well, you don't want to go there. I've been there and it's not pretty. I think I'll follow the path to success. Next up: Tabata Power.

Recap

Workout:               Cardio Challenge

Max Out Time:       7:10 (1:16 improvement from Week 1)

Weep Time:           16:54 (4:41 improvement from Week 1)

Weekly Weigh-in:   219.2 (Loss of 6.4 pounds)

Monthly Photo:       Stay tuned for Day 30 of the journey