Tag: The Asylum

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Okay, so I got sick …

Shaun T's AsylumI don’t know what happened. I so rarely get sick that it always surprises the hell out of me when it happens.

I felt fine when I went to  bed on Sunday, but I woke up around 4:00am on Monday and I was not well. I’ll skip the details.

That little virus — I assume it was — put me out for Monday. I mean, I slept almost all day,  joined the land of the living for six hours or so, then slept from 10:30 to 6:00 the next morning.

I felt a lot better on Tuesday, but when I started my workout, I could barely make it through the warm-up. So I stopped, not wanting to push my body too far.

It seems my trek through The Asylum has been aborted by a virus!

Yeah, I have a big weekend of traveling and partying coming up, so I cannot pick back up when I’m back to 100% (which should be tomorrow). I guess I will have to try again in the future.

You know what? That’s okay. Truth be told, I was really burnt out, anyway, and I think I know why.

I tend to work out in a 3-weeks on / 1-week off pattern, with the off week consisting of some aerobics and yoga. Sometimes I stretch it to 4-weeks on, but not beyond that. I learned this routine in P90X, and it’s served me well. The off week always seems to come at the right time.

When I started The Asylum, I did it on a whim, not thinking about my previous schedule. As I look back, I had already been on for two weeks, and that was when I started the hardest workout program I’d ever been through.

Not smart, and it’s no wonder I broke down. In fact, that may have very well been why I was susceptible to that virus that hit me.

Anyway, this experience will make me more mindful of proper rest in the future.

As for The Asylum, I enjoyed pieces of it — “Strength” especially, and “Vertical Plyo” — quite a bit, but much of it I found just too  cumbersome, with my needing to move the ladder, readjust my foam pad, too often. If only I had a bit more space, but I don’t.

From a physical standpoint, wow, The Asylum really does reach beyond Insanity! There is so much full body stuff going on, and great back work, which was missing almost completely from Insanity.

I would highly recommend The Asylum, if you are trying to push your body to extremes and want a program that will take a body that is already in great shape … and … make … it … even … better.

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Insanity: The Asylum – DAY 25 – “Game Day” + “Overtime”

Shaun T's AsylumOh, wow, I demolished “Game Day” today. I will feel this tomorrow.

I did not, however, demolish “Overtime”. I was so wiped out by the time I finished “Game Day”, that I pretty much just dogged it through the “Overtime” part. No matter.

As I’ve said before, “Game Day” is a very difficult workout. It is an hour of non-stop aerobics, with deep moves that work the whole body.

So I’m good with having killed that hour, even if it was at the expense of the extra moves.

I need to stay within myself, while still giving everything I have. I accomplished that today.

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Insanity: The Asylum – DAY 24 – “Strength”

Day 24 of The Asylum, “Strength”. Last week I was not sure I would make it here.

Shaun T's AsylumI upped my carbs to 20%, so I’m at 50% protein, 30% fat, and 20% carbs. I think my body likes that ratio. We’ll see.

I know there are people who get by without many carbs at all. I have a friend who is one of those guys. But, you know what? He’s is a really low energy person. Extra-low. That’s not me.

So, I’m at 20% carbs.

Yesterday I was talking about how worn out I feel. Now we can see what the numbers say about that.

I used the same weights as last time through:

  • Warmup: 12.5-pound dumbbell
  • Progressive Dumbbell Rotations: 15-pound dumbells
  • Back Exercises: 12.5-pound dumbbells for Hip Flys, 15-pound dumbbells for Row-Pushups
  • Chest Exercises: 20-pound dumbbells

Here are my reps:

CARDIO DUMBBELL ROTATIONS

  • Progressive Dumbbell Rotations
    • Level 1: 9 (+1 from last time)
    • Level 2: 8 (+0)
    • Level 3: 7 (+0)
  • Shoulder Presses – 24 for each level (+0)
  • Rotating Jump Squats
    • Simple Jump Squat: 22 (+3)
    • Curl Jump Squat: 13 (+2)
    • Curl-and-Press Jump Squat: 9 (+2)

BACK EXERCISES

  • Hip Fly: 12 for each level (+0)
  • Jumping Pullup: 36 (+4)
  • Fly-to-Pushup: 10+10 (+0)
  • Alternating Low-Plank-to-Plank-Fly: 8 (+2)

CHEST EXERCISES

  • Chest Press with Head Up and Legs In-Out: 30 (+3)
  • Alternating Chest Press with Head Up and Alternating Leg In-Out: 20/20 (+6)
  • Chest Press with Head Up and Legs Up: 40 (+9)

FINISHING EXERCISE

  • Frog Jump with Single-Leg Plank Kickback: 6 (+0)

Holy crap! The numbers are up quite a bit. There was no improvement for many of the moves, but the moves that did improve were up 13% to 25% to, in the chest section, 30% and 40% for the last two moves!

This is very interesting to me, because I did not expect this kind of improvement, especially because, not needing to write down the move names this time, I was not pausing as often.

Is it coincidental that my improvement came with increased carb consumption? Hmmm….

Needless to say this motivates me. My body is apparently not as worn out as I thought it was. Maybe that worn-out feeling was more a carb depletion phenomenon.

I’m sure there are low-carb people who would say I just need to continue low-carb until my body gets used to burning fat instead of carbs for energy. Maybe they’re correct, but I just don’t have time to find out right now.

Anyway, even with the extra carbs, I am taking yet another day off tomorrow, partly because I’m sure I could use it, but mostly because I have to do an on-location video shoot all day. That will put a huge strain on me, so I’ll wait for Sunday to do “Game Day” and “Overtime” for the last time.

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How “in shape” do I really need to be?

Yesterday, Day 21 of The Asylum, was “Back to Core” again. Nothing exciting to report there, except that my lower right back pain is a bit more noticeable than usual today. This is a dull pain that is kinda like a bruise, in that it only hurts when I move a certain way, and it’s more annoying than actually painful. That pain has been there for about 18 months now — I first noticed it about 4 weeks into P90X — so I don’t worry too much about it, hoping someday it’ll just disappear.

Today, on Day 22, I have come to only the second (and last) “Rest” day of The Asylum. This day of rest has me thinking seriously about my relationship with this type of training program. Why do I do it? Will I continue with future volumes of The Asylum? (I assume there will be future volumes, because this one is called “Volume 1”.)

Shaun T's AsylumIt was pretty obvious to me from the first few days of The Asylum that this program is made for people who want to be in top shape. Of course, I would have thought the same thing about Insanity — in fact, I did think it, when Month 2 of that program started — but that program was primarily aerobics with a little bit of strength training. The Asylum, on the other hand, is more about sports skill development, and really — once you are already in Insanity shape — pushing the envelope of what your body can endure.

In all honesty, now that I think about it, this program would not be so difficult if there were more rest days. Pushing, pushing, pushing, every day, resting every three or four or five days — that’s rough for a desk jockey. Even an in-shape desk jockey. But, then, I think that is part of the point of The Asylum.

Whatever. That may be what professional athletes need to do. Keep pushing, even in the face of extreme fatigue. It is not, however, what I need to do.

The other side of the coin is that I had entered The Asylum, hoping that it would help melt away those last 10 pounds of gut fat. That is not happening. I am beginning to wonder if anything short of starvation would make that stuff go away. I’m eating right, exercising like a demon, but still it persists.

Having said all that … hell, yeah, I will continue with future volumes of The Asylum!

I just get too much of a sense of accomplishment from going through these programs. When I completed  P90X, I really felt as if I had done something meaningful for myself. Same with completing  Insanity.

When I complete The Asylum, I don’t think it will be the same feeling. It will be more of a sense of having survived something that few can endure, and being better for it. I mean, I’m in the best shape of my life, so I’m going to keep pushing my body to the limit.

When I complete this program, and after a well-deserved week off — actually, it’ll be about a week and a half of yoga and light aerobics — I’ll get into a hybrid of some sort, and start gearing myself up for P90X2, which should arrive in December. I already have a bit of an idea what P90X2 is about, because I subscribed to the One-On-One Volume 3 series, where Tony Horton tested out the routines that would become P90X2, so I’m pretty stoked to get around to using exercise balls, getting more balancing and core work in, and developing strength and more all-around fitness with Tony.

Yeah. This is all good.

I guess the answer to how “in shape” I need to be, is simply as good a shape as I am willing to push my body through. Not done yet!

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Insanity: The Asylum – DAY 19 – “Game Day” + “Overtime”

Yesterday was Day 18, “Relief”, of The Asylum, so nothing really to report there.

But today was something new. Sorta.

Shaun T's AsylumI’ve done the “Game Day” workout before back on Day 11. It’s almost an hour of non-stop cardio. It’s hard. But today Shaun T added “Overtime” to that. I didn’t know what to expect, except for more pain.

You know what? Not that bad! I mean, it was bad, but not as bad as I thought it would be.

“Game Day” was more enjoyable today than the first time through, probably because I knew the moves a bit better. The time really seemed to fly by.

So, what is “Overtime”? It’s simply an additional 12 minutes or so of … impossible … moves.

I think that’s why it wasn’t so bad, because the moves are impossible, following on the heels of “Game Day”, so I only did about half of the reps. But it was very cool to be so worn out and then continue the workout. Talk about a feeling of accomplishment. Wow! I can’t believe I made it through.

“Vertical Plyo” is tomorrow. Got to love these weekend workouts.