Insanity- Where No Workout Program Has Gone Before

I’ve been defined as a jock for most of my life. Sports were always big in our home. I played baseball, basketball, and soccer.

Baseball was for me felt boring to play. Though I was a speed demon and a solid fielder and hitter, I didn’t want to play baseball anymore after I won first place in third grade. I felt like Michael Jordan when he retired for the first time. I’m walking out on top.

My dad coached me to 2 basketball titles. We played like the Chicago Bulls of the 90’-s one year, going undefeated all season. The other was bittersweet when he coached my brother and me in a “Disney Movie” comeback-like game. I never wanted to play for our high school basketball team. I hate dressing up. Our team was required to wear shirt and to all of ou games. I found a way to enjoy basketball after school, and found a group of friends to play in our morning intermural league senior year, - which we won. Like baseball, I “retired” on top- 3 championship trophies along with an intermural championship t-shirt.

Soccer was the one sport I did not get to leave at my peak. I went from most improved player my first year to an all-star every year after. My rec teams overall took three third places, two second places, and two championships. My grammar school did not have a soccer team, so I was eager to play in high school with a regular team. I was used to winning. My high school soccer team was pathetic. We lacked motivation. While I can accept losing, it’s how we lost that bothered me. We had one practice I’ll never forget. Another player and I were practicing a defensive drill. We stopped our teammates 2-2,3-2,4-2, and are you kidding me 5-2! Eventually our coach said,

“Take five.” I lost interest in soccer fast after one season. Our team complained, blamed, and lacked interest. This was not what I had envisioned, and didn’t want to endure this for another three years. My only memories I kept from high school soccer were playing on some great fields, and pulling off amazing slide tackles, which I never was able to do with the mediocre fields I played on growing up.

College came and although I thought about trying out for their soccer team, without playing for three years I felt I would have lost my edge. I kept in touch with a lot of high school friends and we would meet at our old park to shoot hoops twice a week. Once the games stopped, I had no exercise outlets besides walking/running on my own. I needed another outlet for staying in shape. That’s when I joined a fitness center.

While I enjoy working out, it became mundane. I would do the same routine without much change. Weight lifting never really interested me. I wanted some muscle, but never wanted to be super buff. I liked the elliptical, but found it tedious. Like most casual gym goers, I lost interest. I was also never interested in hiring a personal trainer. The only thing that could keep me engaged was when I could work out and watch football. Joining a social sports league crossed my mind, but I never signed up.

I never wanted to be out of shape. I saw a lot of my high school friends let themselves go. Many of my fellow jocks inherited beer bellies and poor eating habits. I was a big eater, myself, though, so I knew I would have to keep moving so I wouldn’t gain too much weight. I wanted something I could do at home.

When the student is ready, the teach will appear.

A friend of mine mentioned she did Insanity workouts. I had no idea what that meant, but she said she was constantly jumping around, and her legs were sore after the workout. My brother told me he had picked up a copy of Insanity, which he told me is like P90x. I had seen P90x. I thought that trainer was a cocky jerk.

My grandmother died in February 2014. I spoke with a grief counselor during that time. I told him I wanted to try some new things out and told him about Insanity. I wanted it to be a goal that I actually start and finish. It’s a 60-day program, and since it was winter in Chicago, I decided the time was right to work indoors.

The trainer, Shaun T, was different than other trainers I had met or seen. I could feel his passion and energy. He wanted to push me. It felt like he was in the room next to me. I liked that these workouts didn’t require free weights. Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday involved multiple jump variants with a focus on the core. Thursday was a yoga day. Friday and Saturday were replays of the previous days exercise programs.

It was a tough 60 days. I never successfully completed a full workout from start to finish. I would need tons of breaks to wipe my sweat and replenish my body. These workouts disciplined me to increase my daily water intake and change my diet. I didn’t like feeling sluggish during the exercises, so I eliminated junk food. I noticed changes in my body. My energy levels felt like a child after downing 5 pixie sticks. I smile more. I looked forward to exercising. I loved the challenge. I loved hearing my trainer’s motivational quotes. I used Insanity as my winter workout for 7 years. The definition of Insanity is doing the same thing expecting different results, however, this version of Insanity provided different results!

Unbeknownst to me, Shaun T has created multiple workout programs. I was thrilled to find Insanity Max 30! I love Insanity, but I was starting to become a little bored with the hour workout. Insanity Max 30 is only a half hour and includes new exercises. I was psyched to give it a whirl.

Max 30 is the rare Hollywood occurrence which a sequel is as good as the original. The background was more vibrant. The moves were all fresh. The workouts are all loaded with more motivational Shaun T quotes such as my personal favorite, “Attack your body. Attack your life.” He makes these workouts damn near impossible to finish. He wants you to write down the minute you cannot go anymore – which he calls Max Out Time, and then compare your score from today to last weeks.

I joined a few groups related to Shaun T workouts to see other success stories. I noticed people were getting shredded after the 60 days. I was confused as to why I could never get to that next step. I did the workouts daily, and while my body was in good shape, it wasn’t pristine. Shaun T always preaches, “Digging Deeper.” And that’s what I wanted to do from head to toe. Get fit in the gym, lose weight in the kitchen.

I added more vegetables into my diet. I bought veggie shakes at grocery stores, experimenting with which flavors I liked. I then bought my own blender, a Vitamix- to make my own shakes. I lost some weight, and noticed that I was also not getting sinus issues when I made this update to my diet.

I started paying attention to nutrition labels. I monitored my sodium and sugar intake, and I became leaner! I was finally starting to see results I desired!

I reached out to friends who took their health seriously and for go-to meals. I started learning how to make them, tweaking them to my own style. More positive results! I was shocked when I looked at older photos of myself from two years ago, and could not believe the difference.

I’ve started a new Shaun T workout: Focus T25. The workouts are 25 minutes, and they are perfect for sculpting my core. I will finish this program around Halloween, and am excited to see my results.

I plan to try Shaun T’s other workouts down the road. I love hearing this man speak while I’m working out. “We’re almost there. Finish strong. You can do it. The hardest thing to do is push play.” I will continue to push play, dig deeper, and by doing so will see “Insane” results.

Royal Resources

DVD- Insanity Program

DVD- Insanity Program (If other link expires- this one is just pricier)

DVD- Insanity Max 30

DVD- Insanity Max 30 (If other link expires- this one is just pricier)

DVD- Focus T 25