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Mar 29

Insanely doing INSANITY

Mar 29

I have held off on posting about Insanity because frankly, I didn’t know if I could stick with it. Now here I am on Day 23 and finally ready to say that I will not give up/die from exertion. Either of those things would have happened already… and they didn’t.

I must be insane.


For those of you not acquainted with the late night infomercial circuit, Insanity is an intense 60-day workout program that promises a better body by torturing you with 6 days a week of sadistic cardio workouts. The program was designed for people dissatisfied with their workouts who wanted to take things to the next level – and quickly. So basically, it was made for fit people who wanted to be insanely fit. As a couch potato who literally went from never working out to attempting this ridiculous regimen, it’s fair to say that it was a bit of a shock to my system. A bit.

The first three days I couldn’t walk. I mean that literally. If I sat down at work and let my muscles get cold, standing up to take trips to the bathroom became a lurching, Frankenstein-like freak show that prompted coworkers to ask if I had seriously injured my leg/foot/ankle. “Just Insanity,” I had to mumble while hobbling by. The second week was much better. Much better meaning that I was able to walk without any disclaimers – but it still hurt like hell.

The program is set up to include measurements, weigh ins, and a fit test every 15 days. After the first 15 days I assumed I would have reached my goals already. I mean, putting yourself through that kind of intensity should result in super fast results, right? Wrong. While I did lose inches (I think 4 overall and mostly in the boob area, of course), I looked exactly the same. Oh, and I lost exactly 1 pound. I know what you’re thinking: muscle weighs more than fat. Blah, blah, blah. But the reason that I’m doing this at all is because I’m sick and tired of not fitting in my cute jeans. I hate being “that girl” that gains weight after marriage, even if the marriage part had nothing to do with it. It’s the damn sitting-at-a-desk-all-day job. And maybe chocolate, just a little bit.

Anyway, I assumed that my body would be whipped into shape in no time. I was even considering posting pictures at every milestone since the program makes you take those horribly embarrassing “before” shots. At 15 days I was discouraged. Now at almost 30 days, things are looking up.

Almost overnight I noticed how much stronger I feel. My flexibility has increased dramatically and I’m finally starting to notice a difference in the mirror (though I doubt anyone else will yet). I have given myself a strict “no scale” rule except for milestone days, so I don’t know about weight loss. I don’t care about the number at all, I just need to slide my butt into those goal jeans. And that will definitely deserve a picture post.

So that’s where I am. Without doing it intentionally, it seems that I scheduled so that the final day of Insanity falls on my birthday. Fun, right? I have heard rumors that the second month is when the real work begins, which is a ridiculous concept if you’ve ever attempted the first month. Even with my improved physical condition I can only make it through 85-90% of the workout (and trust me, that’s a real accomplishment). So we shall see. At least I look forward to doing it every morning and feel even better after doing it. Now if I can just get Eric to stop making fun of me while I’m jumping around like an idiot…

Posted by amanda Leave a Comment
Filed Under: miscellany Tagged: cardio, fitness, Insanity, workout