Insanity: Max 30 Journey Day 52 - Max Out Sweat

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 52: Max Out Sweat

My last go with Max Out Sweat was a bit shaky at the get-go, but I was able to right the ship and improve from my previous best.

If you take a look at the upward trend in Month 2, there's a drastic improvement from when I embarked on the Max Out Sweat routine on Day 31, with a Max Out Time of 7:52; a week later, I added nearly seven minutes before maxing out; and last week, I was up to 18 minutes, 27 seconds before crashing.

Heading into the final go with Max Out Sweat, I was struggling to get up at 5:30 a.m. and do the workout. I wasn't there physically, but my mind was telling me all the things I need to do after work, and ultimately I got up. So, the warmup was the ultimate struggle. And the first power move (plank ups immediately following the four and a half minute warmup), I truly thought I was going to max out.

I was still not quite there yet as I went through the first sequence of cardio moves. It wasn't until the second power move at the 10:30 mark where I felt ready to go. The previous 10-plus minutes were me sleep-working out at top speed. I wasn't doing the modifier moves; just everything in my body was sore and burning and I didn't want to keep moving -- but I did.

Once I got past the hurtle, I was refocused on beating the 18:27 from a week ago to keep my short-term, last-week goals in tact. I was fortunate to get my energy for the second sequence of moves which, after the power move, brought me to 17:30, plus the 30 second water break. I only needed to get through the first move to best my time.

I was able to get though the three cardio moves once and then on the second round of the moves, I crashed at 19:47. I stayed strong for the final 10-plus minutes before maxing out at the 30-minute mark.

The last 10 minutes were brutal after taking myself to the limit and not having anything left in the tank. That 10 minutes was a bonus for me. But after the morning workout, I'm lined up to have a great, productive day! Only two more days left in my Insanity: Max 30 program.  Next up: Max Out Strength

Recap

Workout:               Max Out Sweat

Max Out Time:     19:47
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

Insanity: Max 30 Journey Day 51 - Max Out Power

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 51: Max Out Power

It was too hot out yesterday to even think about working out in the late afternoon again. With the temperature likely to hit the high 70s or low 80s again today, I made sure to get my workout in first thing in the morning.

Ain't it funny how a little cooler temperature gives you boundless energy? That was the case for me this morning when I battled Shaun T in Max Out Power.

At this point, I can complete that whole first sequence of squat jumps with relative ease. I am not bragging, it's just something apparently my body has figured out and it almost serves as an extension of the warmup. That takes me to 10 minutes and the first break, and then we get into the pushups, which is where I have continually hit my downfall.

Not today!

I looked at my previous two go-rounds with Max Out Power. On Day 37, I managed to max out at 13:25; a week later, on Day 44, I lost ground (the only time I have done so), and maxed out at 13:10. Today, my short-term goal was to get through the pushup sequence and see where that left me.

Practicing my pace, I was able to plow through that 14th minute move. After that pushup move, the final three were all with knees on the ground, which helped as the only thing burning was my shoulders and I fought through that.

I made it through the entire pushup sequence and got to the break and almost felt like I cheated, even though I got through each move fair and square. The next sequence were core moves with some pushups, which were a lot easier than the pushup moves a few minutes ago. I got through those quite simply.

It wasn't until the final sequence when I had to do a number of burpee moves that I was in danger. I couldn't make it the full 30 minutes. In my head, I had thoughts I would complete the whole workout without maxing out. Maybe that's what stopped me; it was weighing on my mind.

I hit my Max Out Time at 25:15, more than 12 minutes better than my previous time. I didn't have a Weep Time as I was in full-on focus mode. Another workout success as I aim to sprint to the finish line of the Max 30 program in my beginning phase of the journey. Next up: Max Out Sweat

Recap

Workout:               Max Out Power

Max Out Time:     25:15
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

Insanity: Max 30 Journey Day 50 - Max Out Cardio

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 50: Max Out Cardio

After resting and recovering over the weekend, it was finally time to get back to the intensity as the final week of my (initial) Max 30 Journey commenced with Max Out Cardio.

I want to proclaim now that my short-term goal this week is to surpass all my times from a week ago and end this phase of my journey on the highest of all notes. Going off that, I'd have to best a pretty solid time of 18:30.

One thing that was challenging me today that I hadn't dealt with in the previous 49 days was the immense heat. For so long it has been cold, or temperate, but never hot. Today, out of nowhere, the temperature spiked to nearly 80 degrees -- and I decided to workout after I got off work.

With the horrible humidity weighing me down, it felt like I wasn't even going to get past the warmup without crashing. I managed to get past that, however, and squeak by the first sequence before the break, and into the 10-minute zone.

The power moves proved extra challenging for me today as the jumping wasn't coming easy. But I paced myself and pushed through to get over the minute-long move.

As the workout evolved, I was able to get to, and surpass my previous Max Out Time. Ultimately, between the burning sensation throughout my body and coping with the heat, I hit a Max Out Time of 19 minutes, 11 seconds. (I wish I got to 20 minutes.) It wasn't knocking down the door, but I eked through and made decent improvements. Goal achieved!

Last week, I also opted to not weigh myself as I had taken several meals off throughout the previous week while we had a house guest. Two weeks ago, I weighed in at 215.4 and I didn't want to discourage myself so I refocused on the clean eating and felt better about my weigh-in today.

When I stepped on the scale, I was a little reluctant to look down. Even though my clothes are fitting much better and my appearance is clearly different, my scale takes some time to catch up to the rest of me.

With one eye closed, I peaked down to see the scale out of the corner of my open eye. I did a double take and needed to use my other eye to see right. It read: 210.8. In two weeks I dropped another 4.6 pounds. That's a huge surprise to me. As long as I stay focused for this week, I intend to drop below 210 (crossing my fingers) and then hope to get less than 200 by the first week of June.

For me, if I continue to set small, short-term goals, I'm setting myself up to succeed. When I set lofty goals, it's easier to get discouraged and fail. I'm not failing. Next up: Max Out Power

Recap

Workout:               Max Out Cardio

Max Out Time:     19:11
Weep Time:           20:08 (Can't get any better than that)

Weekly Weigh-in:   210.8 (4.6 less than weigh-in on Day 36)

Monthly Photo:       Stay tuned for Day 60 of the journey

Insanity: Max 30 Journey Day 49 - Rest

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 49: Rest

Today was the eye of the storm. I had a 100 percent rest day as I aimed toward crushing my final week of Max 30.

I did a number of things in and around the house, but opted to stay away from any workouts to allow my body to heal. I got some good sleep in, which I tend to miss out on with the hectic work weeks I am presented with.

No complaints of the day that was. Got some quality family time, errands run, relaxed and had a good meal for dinner. All-in-all a great rest day. Next up: Max Out Cardio

Recap

Workout:               Rest

Max Out Time:     N/A
Weep Time:           N/A

Weekly Weigh-in:   Stay tuned for Day 50 of the journey

Monthly Photo:       Stay tuned for Day 60 of the journey

Insanity: Max 30 Journey Day 48 - Pulse

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 48: Pulse

After buckling down and putting my body to the test this week, recovery was very much in order. I took this opportunity to get my 20 minute Pulse workout in and give my legs a good stretch (and slight burn) to get me through the final week of my initial Max 30 Journey.

It was ho hum of a workout. In addition to the Pulse routine, I also went for a walk around the block a couple times since it was a beautiful day and had an overall relaxing day. The focus now switches to the final week as I look to sprint through the finish line. Next up: Rest

Recap

Workout:              Pulse

Max Out Time:     20:00
Weep Time:           N/A

Weekly Weigh-in:   Stay tuned for Day 50 of the journey

Monthly Photo:       Stay tuned for Day 60 of the journey

Insanity: Max 30 Journey Day 47 - Friday Fight: Round 2

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 47: Friday Fight: Round 2

I've made myself pretty clear when I say I dislike this workout. Don't get me wrong, it is an incredible workout that most certainly get the job done. However, the pain and suffering that goes into this workout is beyond words.

With that in mind, I'll give you a scope of how I feel before and after this workout.

What a happy mood I am to kick off the workout!

 Now, fast forward 30 minutes and I'm covered in sweat.

What just happened?!?!

That's what 30 minutes of one-minute moves with no break in between does to a body. You go four and a half minute warmup to 10-straight gut-wrenching minutes with a 30-second break, then another 10 minutes with a minor break and go strong for another five and a half or so minutes.

It's brutal! But I know it's just 30 minutes and I'm going to get results so I dig deep and do it.

My goal for today was to get past that seventh minute (I had previously only managed to do 6:17 and 6:23 Max Out Times respectively). Today, with the power of pacing and mental wherewithal, I bested my previous Max Out Time by two minutes on the nose, to 8 minutes, 23 seconds. Goal achieved!

My Weep Time remained low, though, which is fine. It took a lot of energy and focus to get through that previous Max Out Time. Still, I upped the time by nearly 50 seconds.

So, truth be told, it's a success all around. Now with one week remaining in this part of the journey, my final goal for Friday Fight: Round 2 is to get past the 10-minute mark for a Max Out Time, and end on a high note. Next up: Pulse

Recap

Workout:               Friday Fight: Round 2

Max Out Time:     8:23
Weep Time:           11:52 (Have I mentioned I can't stand this workout?)

Weekly Weigh-in:   Stay tuned for Day 50 of the journey

Monthly Photo:       Stay tuned for Day 60 of the journey

Insanity: Max 30 Journey Day 46 - 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 46: Max Out Strength

After a day of late-night fury and anger in the form of Max Out Sweat, I decided, "Why not do my strength workout first thing in the morning?"

I love to challenge myself in whichever way possible, and, even though it wasn't a sound decision, I went with it. Frankly, every time the alarm goes off is its own experience in itself. Will I get up? Will I hit snooze? All I know is when my body says, "Do it!" I jump up and do it. Today, my body was all for it.

If Max 30 is all about just making the slightest of improvements, this was the one time where I literally made the most minimal of improvements. Well, I did spare myself a second, but it was the worst improvement in my second month. My Max Out Time today was at 13:25, two seconds better than a week ago.

If Shaun T says he is just looking for at least a one-second improvement from workout to workout, I'll take it. Being so early in the morning, I'm stiff, it takes a little longer to warm up, so I don't know how it would have been had I waited to workout later in the day. All I know is I got through the workout and I don't look back.

My biggest issue with this workout has always been the pushups. It's literally five pushup moves in a row. I'm going to max out no matter how you look at it -- whether I crash to the floor or I just take a nano-second break. Forty-five seconds of pushups is not easy to do just on its on accord. Compound that with 45 seconds on, 15 seconds off and times that by five. How do you do?

I'm not making excuses. I'm frustrated with my inability to get through that second sequence and I want -- nay, need -- to get past it to make me feel like I achieved something with this routine. I have one more shot at it. If I don't succeed, hopefully I improve. Then I'll keep doing the workout until I do get through. At that point, I'll check in with you all and let you know how I did it and how many times it took me to succeed. (That should be a fun challenge.)

Meanwhile, I got through the workout without hitting a Weep Time, unless you consider my Max Out Time and Weep Time simultaneous, which today, it felt like. I'll give myself the benefit of the doubt on this one. I got one more HUGE challenge left in the week before transitioning to the fourth and final week of Month 2 -- and the last week of the Max 30 journey. Next up: Friday Fight: Round 2

Recap

Workout:               Max Out Strength

Max Out Time:     13:26
Weep Time:           30:00 (Can't get any better than that)

Weekly Weigh-in:   Stay tuned for Day 50 of the journey

Monthly Photo:       Stay tuned for Day 60 of the journey