INSANITY: THE ASYLUM - VOLUME TWO: Day 24 - POWER LEGS & AB SHREDDER

Hello you,

Well, day 24 of this amazing journey only contributes to the "fact" that this program gets harder every day, because of the following simple concept: with each week, you improve your stamina, strength and endurance,which makes you last longer and push harder which makes it eventually a harder workout!

That being said, I enjoyed doing the POWER LEGS just as much I did in any of the previous three weeks. I like leg workouts because that is where my strength relatively is, and because it helps me a lot with football (soccer).

The downsides I went through today is that I messed up the ladder more than I wanted to (Optimally, I would like to not mess the up ladder, but that's still difficult to achieve).

The upsides is that I managed to last longer in the squat pulses in the last burnout.

After finishing the power legs, it was time for shredding the abs. Now I must say that I took a short break between these brutal workouts because I was really hurting after the final burnout and it was a good move to do so.

I got better doing AB SHREDDER for the second time today and I managed to complete the V-Hold/In and Out Abs pyramid till the end.

I also did better with the elbow related moves such as the elbow rolls with the knee taps.

Tomorrow will be BACK & 6-PACK and PURE CONTACT, and it might be a crazy day if I show up for both volleyball and football practices. We'll see how it goes.

Happy new years!

Video highlights: http://youtu.be/uxDu9TlOdH0

INSANITY: THE ASYLUM - VOLUME TWO: Day 23 - UPPER ELITE

So today UPPER ELITE did what it did the last three weeks - It killed me!

The workout is so brutal for my weak upper body that I start feeling the burn from the very first exercise, of course, push ups.

There are so many different variation of push up moves in this workout that made me think of counting just how many reps I actually do throughout these brutal 60 minutes. I eventually did that and according to my count from the video footage, I did about 148 push ups.

I think I managed to stick around with the heavier dumbbells a bit longer, and I'm also glad that I managed to finish the triceps dips successfully for the second time in a row.

The burnout at the end however is still so darn difficult and I still struggle getting many successive reps in.

Something else that I did not progress with are the jump rope swings, I still tumble and rumble around trying to get it right but I just can't. However, every time I say "I can't", I try to remember Tony Horton's words in P90X in which he says "Don't say I can't, say I'm currently struggling with" or something like that.

I will not miss this workout in the short periods of time in which I'm not going to be doing volume two workouts in.

Tomorrow's workout will be my dear POWER LEGS.

Stay tuned.

Video highlights: http://youtu.be/iav6Ijc8R58

INSANITY: THE ASYLUM - VOLUME TWO: Day 22 - X TRAINER

Week 4, the final week of the program begins with the epitome of the athletic matrix, the mighty X TRAINER itself.

Now I was aiming at going all in on this one seeing it's the last time I'm doing this workout (for now), and I did feel like I was doing better on the agility work in the beginning but I was hurting at the end.

I lasted longer in the moving push ups matrix which is always a nice thing, and also managed to do more in and out ab reps and did not mess up the ladder while shooting back into plank position.

However, by the time I reached the final agility sequence I was dead, I started deteriorating so quickly and I was so slow and out of breath, and this reflected on my lateral jumps in the end in which I did not do as well as I did last week.

 To conclude, I got better in some moves and worse in others, but that's how life is.

I guess I did not have enough to eat today, I felt that throughout the day.

Tomorrow is UPPER ELITE which I'm never excited to do.

See you.

Video highlights: http://youtu.be/suvp-pv93Eg

INSANITY: THE ASYLUM - VOLUME TWO: Day 20 - CHAMPIONSHIP (SUDDEN DEATH OT)

It's CHAMPIONSHIP day baby and I went in to win this thing.

I felt good going into the workout with enough sleep and well rested after yesterday's stretches and good nutrition today, so I was really aiming at doing better and eventually breaking my record on the OT fit test.

But first let me mention this: this is the first time that I did one of my Asylum volume two workouts in a different setting than the one I used in the previous 19 days, and the reason being is that I did not want to be noisy and loud seeing that our house is full of guests these days.

That being said, it was pretty nice working out in fresh air, but the balcony floor however was not as friendly as in the indoor one (although they are the same material).

I was so excited today that I started doing the power jumps over the ladder right from the first jumping drill, in which you actually only should power jump in place. I stopped with the third time after realizing I was ahead of myself.

Looking back at the video footage I saw that I have better form on the volleyball, soccer and football drills which is awesome because that's what it's all about.

Now let us get to the main event of the night, the SUDDEN DEATH OT fit test yo!

Last week I managed to get exactly 8 rounds after tumbling over the ladder, while today I only tumbled once and I had to fix the ladder one time really quickly, I managed to squeeze just under 9 rounds, which I would have completed if I had not messed up the darn ladder.

I must say I'm pretty satisfied because the folks in the video averaged 8 rounds and I already surpassed that with good form (my power jumps are much better than last week's), so I'm aiming at completing 9 solid rounds next week, which by the way, will be week 4 and the last of this amazing program.

Tomorrow is rest day.

Enjoy.

Video highlights: http://youtu.be/PpGAhPnG3cE

INSANITY: THE ASYLUM - VOLUME TWO: Day 18 - BACK & 6-PACK and PURE CONTACT

Hello ya'll,

Today (25.12) I made the mistake of working out after my football practice that lasted well a over an hour.

I paid for this mistake during the second double day in a row, and the drawback was clear already during the warm up jumping jacks in the BACK & 6-PACK routine.

I think I had better form with the superman holds, but I still struggle with the superman dumbbell raises or what ever they are called.

Now after being totally destroyed and completely fatigued, I had to press play yet again with the PURE CONTACT workout which I did for the very first time.

It's aim is to train the athlete on how to contact the ground with proper form.

Shaun T goes nuts on the pike ups on this one, as if the abs weren't engaged enough in the previous workout!

I'm really extremely happy and glad that tomorrow will be OFF-DAY STRETCH because I'm very, very sore.

Peace out.

Video highlights: http://youtu.be/Mp5jWNDwsKA

INSANITY: THE ASYLUM - VOLUME TWO: Day 17 - POWER LEGS & AB SHREDDER

Crazy, crazy day.

After dropping my mother to the hospital and checking my sister in to the delivery ward at midnight , I got a call at 8:57 AM telling me that I have become an uncle.

I did not have much sleep yesterday, and today was a hectic long crazy happy day!

I finally managed to find the time to do my double workout at around 10 pm, and I just had my post-workout meal and looking at the video footage I took while working out and started to fall asleep sitting on my desk and that is when I decided to starting writing this post.

Now I was kind of tired already, but I pushed through and I did really well with the POWER LEGS routine. The last burnout is still very, very difficult and its amazing to see how Scott whom is Shuan T's "professional soccer player" is struggling with the pulses.

But that's not all - today was the first time featuring the AB SHREDDER and this workout is no joke!

Some of the moves like the elbow roll looks easy and it is not difficult to perform but very hard to maintain.

What I personally need to have is a better mat, a one that doesn't move around easily and sticks to the ground. My mat was basically all over the place and I had to eventually remove it from underneath the agility ladder and do some of the moves over the rough floor.

Tomorrow's is also going to be a double day with BACK & 6-PACK and the new PURE CONTACT workout which I yet have to try out.

Happy holidays everyone.

Video highlights: http://youtu.be/AF8Q-b6iYAc

INSANITY: THE ASYLUM - VOLUME TWO: Day 16 - UPPER ELITE

Woah, this is definitely the toughest workout in the series for me, and the reason being is that I'm really weak in the arms and the chest.

First of all, I stated earlier that I was using 10 kg's and 7.5 kg's. Well it turns out that the 7.5's were actually 6.25's so you see how bad I'm struggling!

I upped the weights up to make it 7.5's and I managed to stick around with the 10's a bit more this time, but overall I don't feel that I did much better than last week.

One move I managed to complete this week was the moving triceps dips, I was really thrilled I got that one right.

I've seen some practitioners up their weights by five pounds (2.2 kg's) every week, wow, that's real dedication. I'm still struggling with the same weights I've been using since day 1!

 I haven't checked my video footage yet, but I have the feeling that I had better form on the single arm assisted push ups.

The final burnout is still a filthy monster!

Tomorrow will be my lovely POWER LEGS and will feature AB SHREDDER for the first time.

I'm excited to see how that goes.

Peace out.

Video highlights: http://youtu.be/U8gdiO3Q7qo

INSANITY: THE ASYLUM - VOLUME TWO: Day 15 - X TRAINER

I cannot stress how happy I am that I'm on a week off from university at the moment, because although I had enough rest and sleep yesterday, X TRAINER really kicked my behind today!

This workout is really one of a kind, it goes from speed to agility to strength to vertical in no time.

My footwork on the agility drills wasn't as I hoped it would be, I found myself getting tired and having a delayed reflex in couple of the steps.

One thing I still can't get right is the jump rope swings, I even watched YouTube tutorial on how to do it correctly but I still need time (and space too)

I did better on the Push-ups matrix today in the sense that I manged to last longer till I collapsed on my knees, and also did the push ups with better form.

The main thing that really made me feel the progress is the very final exercise with the lateral ladder jumps as I managed to complete the jumps without hitting the ladder on every level out of the four.

I agree with some of the Beachbody coaches that are blogging on YouTube when they say that this program does not get any easier, but in fact gets tougher as you become used to the routines because it only makes you dig deeper and push harder!

Stay safe.

Video highlights: http://youtu.be/-mTtOTJFOwU

INSANITY: THE ASYLUM - VOLUME TWO: Day 13 - CHAMPIONSHIP (SUDDEN DEATH OT)

Aint nothing like the CHAMPIONSHIP yo!

First of all I would like to state how thankful and great full I am that I don't have to do this workout during one of the week days.

Having done this workout twice by now, I think it's safe to say that Game Day from volume one is slightly more difficult. I mean when I reached the SUDDEN DEATH OT fit test today I was like "is that it?!!"

Yes, the workout is tough and its energy demanding, but I don't think its tougher than Game Day.

Something I don't like is that the warm up is straight up sprints, which is not optimal for the heart rate, but hey, I guess we're all used to pumping up the heart rate with Shaun T.

I definitely did better this time with better form after taking a peak on my video footage.

Regarding the SUDDEN DEATH OT fit test, I started doing it and then paused after one or two rounds to really take a moment and watch the sequence clearly so that I don't miss any move, and after doing that I must say I did really well not missing any move on the sequences.

 I did hit the ladder and screw it up badly during one of the rounds and that slowed me down, but I managed to get 8 full rounds this time (I got 6.5 rounds last week)

I'm really liking this program and I'm eager to see how week 3 will be like with the new two workouts (AB SHREDDER and PURE CONTACT).

Tomorrow will be rest day baby!

Video highlights: http://youtu.be/zio0Hwx-Hrg

INSANITY: THE ASYLUM - VOLUME TWO: Day 11 - BACK & 6-PACK

So today was supposed to be a lot more hectic than it actually was, due to the fact that football practice was cancelled and due to the fact that solving my structural geology midterm took longer than expected.

Nevertheless, it was a long, effort-needing day at the university and I was really done by the time I got home after all the traffic I encountered on my drive back home.

However, one does not simply skips an asylum workout, no no no.. we don't do that over here!

Today's BACK & 6-PACK workout was definitely better than week 1's.. I felt this during the all mighty superman dumbbell pluses/ mountain climber sequence.

The nice thing about this workout is that it engages you in a way that time really fly by and all of a sudden you're doing the cool down stretches.

One thing I do want to get better is the 5-count abs routine, as my V-sit position is still not in good form. The second thing is that my static hip flys need to get stronger and more stable.

Tomorrow, day 12, will be an OFF-DAY STRETCH and that will be very appreciated.

Peace out

Video highlights: http://youtu.be/LOJrUNOYvzg

INSANITY: THE ASYLUM - VOLUME TWO: Day 10 - POWER LEGS

I just got done with my day 10 workout, POWER LEGS.

It kind of feels that Shaun was like "Hmmm, yesterday I killed their upper body so today Imma destroy their lowers"

This and all volume two workouts are no joke, and the mental challenge is sometimes tougher than the physical one while doing those drills.

I did not have much to eat today so I think for some reason that I did better last week, but I'll have to review my video to see whether that actually applies or not.

All in all, I enjoy working my lower body more than the upper part because I'm not such a weak individual when it comes to quads and hams and calves, and the second reason being that I play football (soccer) so it really correlates a lot more than the upper body routines.

Tomorrow will be one of those ever lasting long days with long hours at university, volleyball and football practice which I'm kind of sure I'll have to skip one of those to be able to press play and do BACK & 6-PACK.

Let's see how it goes (Y)

Video highlights: http://youtu.be/efOuIF7IbfU

INSANITY: THE ASYLUM - VOLUME TWO: Day 9 - UPPER ELITE

DEAD.. that's how my arms feel after this brutal workout which showed me for the second time how weak my upper body strength really is.

I kept the weights on the dumbbells just like last week's (10 kgs and 7.5 kgs) but I'd say I lasted more with some of the 10 kg moves.

This UPPER ELITE is really starting to remind me of Terry crew's Euro training routine on "my wife and kids" and for those who have not witnessed this great comedy segment, click here.

I also regret not having press play earlier in the morning because I got football practice coming up in 45 minutes.

So I'll leave you with that,

Peace out.

Video highlights:  http://youtu.be/MAcuAhBi_m4

INSANITY: THE ASYLUM - VOLUME TWO: Day 8 - X TRAINER

WEEK 2!

So yesterday was day 7 in the books and I decided to go for a full on rest day with even no stretching.

Just 50 minutes ago I was done with my day 8 workout, the X TRAINER, and it did not get any easier, making it really fit Shaun T's description: "The epitome of the Athletic Matrix”

The "moving matrix push-ups" routine is still damn hard to keep up with, and so are the "leaping push-ups" with the single arm burpee.

I think I did better last week with the agility foot work due to the fact of me being really tired today after a long day at the university.

Also, the very final workout with the lateral jumps wasn't as I hoped it would be with me tumbling over the ladder when it came to the full 4 squares jumps.

Tomorrow will be one of the days I always fear, UPPER ELITE.

Peace!

Video highlights: http://youtu.be/SADdEhvN9ms

INSANITY: THE ASYLUM - VOLUME TWO: Day 6 - CHAMPIONSHIP (SUDDEN DEATH OT)

CHAMPIONSHIP: DONE!

This scary workout is finally checked on the calender, and boy what an amazing workout it was.

Firstly, I don't know if I was just too prepared and well prepared nutrition wise, but I was expecting be a lot more worn out by the end.

Don't get me wrong, I was pretty dead before starting the SUDDEN DEATH OT which is the fit test for Asylum volume two, and in this volume you do the fit test "when it counts, after your workout".

Okay now let me get into some of the drills on the video:

I personally liked embedding the new volleyball drill seeing I play the sport, but it is unfortunately not that long, I wish Shaun T would have made till eight counts instead of four.

Something I did not like that the football (soccer) drill was a goal keeper training move, and let's face it, the probability of a goal keeper doing the asylum is much less than of a field player which requires more foot work.

I felt that the workout misses an element, which are the swimmers exercises that work the back like hell.

THEN COMES THE FIT TEST, and that is when you have to dig deep, yet again.

I managed to do seven rounds of the sequence, but I cut it down to six and a half due to me missing a certain move (shuffle right and left) in the Agility sequence for the first rounds.

In general I'm really satisfied with my effort so far, tomorrow will be REST DAY on the books, but I might do the OFF-DAY STRETCH to loosen up my body.

Enjoy your weekend :)

INSANITY: THE ASYLUM - VOLUME TWO: Day 5 - OFF-DAY STRETCH

Refreshing.

This off-day stretch came in the right time as I really needed some relief after these long two days with all the active movements I've been doing (Mountain hiking and working out).

I really enjoyed some of twist stretches and the sound of the my back or knee cracking while doing them.

Tomorrow's workout title seems terrifying, as I'm going to take in the CHAMPIONSHIP!

Peace out

INSANITY: THE ASYLUM - VOLUME TWO: Day 4 - BACK & 6-PACK

Hey everyone,

I could not manage to write a post about yesterday's workout because after I was done having my post workout dinner I just collapsed on the couch!

The BACK & 6-PACK is a nice workout in the sense that it works on the core, which is a 360 degree body part not just 180 degree like many visualize.

The move that I struggled with the most was the dumbbell-super man-up to 16 pulses, that was a true beast!

Today again I had a field trip and but luckily my workout for today will be just stretching, but any one who knows Shaun T knows that even stretching is still real work.

Let's see how it goes.

INSANITY: THE ASYLUM - VOLUME TWO: Day 3 - POWER LEGS

Come on ya'll, lets go!

Day 3 in the books is done and I must say that I really enjoyed this burning workout, way more than I enjoyed Vertical Plyo in the first volume.

I think the main reason to this is due to the fact that my quads are the strongest part in my body, unlike my upper body strength which really needs work.

That however does not mean that I didn't sweat and struggle with today's workout, oh no, I did big time!

The last burnout with the different squat pulses and lunge pulses is straight up nut jobs from Shaun T.

Tomorrow will be a long ass day, as I'll be having a field trip with my major from 8.30 AM till 5 PM followed by a volleyball practice session for an hour, and then I should be doing my BACK & 6-PACK workout which I still have no idea on what it holds.

Keep on pushing!

Video highlights: http://youtu.be/m7ptF8pE02A

INSANITY: THE ASYLUM - VOLUME TWO: Day 2 - UPPER ELITE

Yo everybody,

I am through with the second day of volume two and what a great relief it feels to be able to cope with a lot of the moves on this video.

My greatest weakness in my opinion is my upper body strength, as my average maximum push ups reps are about 30, 35 on a good day.

I decided to have two weights on the dumbbells, 10 KG's and 7.5 KG's and this was a good move.

This workout is a true killer, I was really hurting in the burnout phase while doing the push ups/in and out abs pyramid and I'm extremely glad with the fact that I did it in the morning right after waking up, as I have a football match later in the night.

I like how Shaun T embedded the jump rope in the stretches, just a twitch to show how this man doesn't run out of creativity to keep his workouts new.

I'm excited and anxious to try tomorrow's workout, POWER LEGS. Vertical Plyo was definitely a beast, lets see what this one holds.

Peace.

Video highlights: http://youtu.be/B-ctlnbnB7M

INSANITY: THE ASYLUM - VOLUME TWO: Day 1 - X TRAINER

So it begins - the 28 days journey to a new athletic level is down to 27 days.

The first day on the books should be a double workout, the first being the agility tutorial but I though it was enough just watch it instead of actually practicing it with shaun T - I WAS MISTAKEN

The X TRAINER workout is an amazing hybrid of the three basic workouts from volume one: "Speed and Agility", "Strength" and "Vertical Plyo".

I had to pause and rewind the video a few times to get my agility drills in rhythm.

One of the toughest moments in the workout was definitely the leaping push ups with the one arm burpees, if that does not do it for you, I don't know what will!

I think it will be vital that I do the agility tutorial a couple of times to be able to keep with the agility drills on the video next time.

Tomorrow will be the dreaded UPPER ELITE.. OH BOY!

Day 1 video highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAiA4w6aBTQ

THE ASYLUM - VOLUME 2!

• Fruit Punch Gatorade Perform - ☑
• Green bell pepper and whole-wheat bread slices - ☑
• Rest - ☑

All is ready for the new challenge ahead of me tomorrow, which is starting INSANITY: THE ASYLUM - VOLUME 2.

Now let me back up a bit, recently and on the 28th of October to be precise, I was doing my final fit-test after completing my very first round of Asylum (volume one).

The results (I will get back to that later in a different post) were truly amazing. I looked better, I felt better, but most important of all, I performed better.

Over the past weeks I had decided to create a hybrid of my own, a 30-day P90X/Asylum hybrid that I managed to get 13 days through then started to get slimy and sluggish with.

So when I finally saw that I need an actual structured schedule, I decided to go crazy, AGAIN.

Tomorrow, the 8th of December 2013, shall mark day one of my Asylum volume two journey. 

My goals are definitely a leaner body, more abdominal and arm definition, and an overall athletic improvement in my two current sports (Football and Volleyball).

I'm 1.83 meters tall and weigh 70 kilograms, I don't really need to lose any weight, but shedding some fat won't hurt.

Decide. Commit. Succeed.