Tag: Shaun T

Made it through the first seven weeks of Insanity. I think that means I will make it through the last two!

Here are the results of today’s fit test.

I almost didn’t bother with the fit test this time, because I was disappointed by the lack of progress in some areas last time over the time before (we do a fit test every two weeks). But as I look at the progress from the start of the program, I cannot help but be pleased.

The results speak for themselves. Insanity works, if you are trying to improve your lower body and ab strength, as well as your cardio fitness.

During the fitness test DVD, Chris and Tania compare their results, using their start-of-program and end-of-program numbers. Mine are better than theirs as far as percentage improvement, so I’m okay with my results. They’re pretty fit people. (Yeah, I know they could be fudging their numbers to make me feel better about mine, but emotion is a huge part of any fitness program, so I’ll take it ;=)

The toughest part of Month Two of Insanity is doing a second workout on Fit Test day. That’ll be later. I need to recover a bit.

Wow. Two weeks into Insanity and, yeah, it’s still challenging.

You know what else? You can pull stuff doing this!

Well, strain, anyway. I strained my lower back last week. Worked through it, it’s fine.

Today I strained my right oblique. How? I dunno. Trying to push too hard, I suppose, probably on those moving pushups. I’ll work through this, too.

Working through injuries. Is that the way to go? I’ve sort of addressed that subject before when I gave you some P90X tips, and I stand by the idea that a minor injury should not — cannot — stop you from working out. If it does, you are just looking for an excuse.

Does that mean you don’t work around the injury? Nope. You do need to work around it.

Does that mean you sacrifice form to work around the injury? Nope. You should not sacrifice good form to accommodate an injury.

So, then, with a strained oblique, how can I continue training with Shaun T’s Insanity program?

Well, fortunately, it is a strain, and not a pull or tear (I think!), so I will just do the logical thing and take it easy! If I need to do a move, and I feel pain in the injured area, I will modify the move if the pain is too intense. I will still keep good form, but modify it, such as by doing pushups from the knees.

This is all part of knowing your body. Pain is not bad. It’s a reminder to you that something is wrong. However, you can feel pain and not give in to it. Could this lead to further injury? Sure, if I overpush it. Again, it’s part of knowing your body.

I know mine. I know how far I can push it!

(Okay, you got me, if I knew exactly how far I could push it, I’d never get injured, right? It’s not an exact science. But you get the idea.)

The point is simply this: Don’t let a minor injury cause you to seat your ass. You have made a commitment to work your body, don’t use a simple muscle strain as an excuse to keep you from your commitment.