Insanity: Max 30 Journey Day 53 - Max Out Strength

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 53: Max Out Strength

It's been hot all week, so the short-term goal I had remained to workout in the early morning hours because it's too unbearable with the heat to workout in the late afternoon.

That didn't happen today.

No fret, I just shifted my day a little bit; got everything done I was scheduled to do; and scheduled the workout for around 8:30 p.m. when all my to-do list items were wrapped up. Nearing the end of the day can get a little dicey, so I took some Energy and Endurance formula about 30 to 45 minutes beforehand to get me going.

If you don't remember, my secondary short-term goal this final week of Insanity: Max 30 was to get a Max Out Time that exceeded my best time from the prior weeks. For Max Out Strength, that time was 14:25, completed in Day 46.

As always, the warmup and first sequence for the Power and Strength routines have become no sweat. (I don't want you to think they are easy to me; they are not. But my ticker isn't shooting all the way into the red zone; it's more in the yellow-orange area.)

Things got extra challenging in the second sequence, which was all upper body. Much like my challenges that I had to overcome to best my previous Max Out Time in Max Out Power, the same could be said for this workout. I was having the toughest time getting through the pushup round.

Today, with heat still emanating from the sun into the house, I was dripping with sweat pretty bad. All I had in my head was, "Get past that 14:25!"

And, what has come to work for me for many years that I recommend if you don't do it already, is pacing, breathing and form. I concentrate on all three, tightening up my core; breathe in when my muscles are not in use; exhale when they are being used; and slow down. It works. It's not easier, it's just my mind-over-body technique.

I got past the pushups and into the third sequence, which is where I hit a wall. My Max Out Time surpassed last week's by more than seven minutes though. I dropped to a knee at 21 minutes, 50 seconds. And, as I continue to get stronger, my Weep Time has gone away.

The final eight minutes or so were a relative breeze after the fact. I pushed it to the limit and took mini breaks to maximize the efficiency of each move. It was another successful, goal-achieving day. Next up: Friday Fight: Round 2 (The Final Workout)

Recap

Workout:               Max Out Strength

Max Out Time:     21:50
Weep Time:           30:00 (Can't get any better than that)

Weekly Weigh-in:   Stay tuned for Day 60 of the journey

Monthly Photo:       Stay tuned for Day 60 of the journey