Archives for July 2011

Day 11 – Insanity Asylum – Game Day

July 29, 2011 - Updated November 23, 2018

First time doing the Day 11 Game Day workout and it did not go so well.

A couple things I struggled with were not knowing most of the moves and this one needed a lot more space then the other Asylum workouts.

Kept having to move the agility ladder around to make room for the long jumps or just to get it out of the way. Became kind of annoying about half way through.

The moves were very tough. Each time there was a second round of it I had to modify them because my energy was low and I was out of breath. Shaun T definitely has some creativity when he comes to his moves though. The surfer move was different along with the jumping baseball swing at the end. I never would of thought of those.

Very much enjoyed this workout and am looking forward to the next time I do it. Gonna have to do it outside the next time so my small house does not limit me from doing the workouts.

Day 10 – Insanity Asylum – Relief

July 27, 2011 - Updated November 23, 2018

Nothing crazy about the relief workout. Its nice to have a easy day every week and Day 10 of the Asylum workout is a great place for it.

Most of the moves Shaun T has you do involves stretching and a little bit of balance poses. The relief workout kind of fly’s by because its less than 30 minutes long.

My cat enjoys these workouts because she can bother me the entire time without worrying about being stepped on or kicked.

Yes, that has happened before and she did not like it at all. Its only somewhat annoying because I think cats enjoying licking sweat. Well, at least my cat. She’s weird. Sometimes I have to push her away or she would lick me for as long as she wanted too.

I’d say the relief workout is one of the easier recovery type workouts from any Beachbody program I’ve done. It fits in nice with the Insanity Asylum workout as the other workouts are intense. Should be well rested for Day 11 now.

Day 9 – Insanity Asylum – Vertical Plyo

July 26, 2011 - Updated November 23, 2018

I pretty much called how Day 9 of the Insanity Asylum workout was going to go from the beginning.

My knee was hurting a little before I even started Vertical Plyo and I knew it was probably going to act up. Had to wear the knee brace again but it did not do that much for me.

There were so many times during the workout that I had to stop the dvd or do a modified move because my knee could not take the impact from jumping or a deep knee bend.

Did one legged squats to still do something similar to the move Shaun T wanted us to do. It also did not help that I missed two days prior helping a friend move and ate like crap. Still amazes me how one day of eating not so well can make that much of a difference in your energy level while working out.

You can see in a couple of the clips how I struggled with some of the moves. Sometimes my knee feels good and other days it hurts like hell. Does your prior injuries deter you from doing the Insanity Asylum Vertical Plyo workout?

Day 8 – Insanity Asylum – Back To Core

July 22, 2011 - Updated November 23, 2018

Day 8 of the Insanity Asylum Workout is done. Wasn’t feeling all that great today. My knee was hurting again so I had to wear the brace.

Plus, I was tired as hell. Had late double header softball games the night before. The sandbags under my eyes and my stupid hair remind me how tired I was.

Felt like everything was sore and my energy was low. Still managed to push through the back to core workout as best as I could. Had to take breaks here and there and even kicked off my shoes.

Something about those Nike Free running shoes that I really don’t like. There just does not seem to be enough padding in the soles for me. Makes my knees hurt more sometimes.

Those lunges where you hold the pose and move your arms are killer. With my knee hurting already it made it a little bit harder today.

You don’t see it in my YouTube video but I had to stop multiple times because my knee acted up before my legs started to burn. The tendons in my arms feel like they are going to rip out of my body when you do the reverse plank move while bringing your legs in. Has anybody else noticed that when doing the Back to Core workout?

Nike Free Review: Not My Kind Of Running Shoe

July 22, 2011 - Updated March 16, 2018

Its been about a year since I bought the Nike Free running shoes so I figured it was time to write up a Nike Free Review.

I was first turned onto buying the Nike Free’s from a couple health and fitness magazines sent to my house talking about how barefoot running is the latest and greatest thing.

Some of the articles talked about how these shoes would strengthen your feet and with the way they were designed to flex that the shock of hitting the pavement would be spread throughout the shoe. This intrigued me because of my bad left knee.

My running has dropped by 70% since I smacked my knee on ice learning to snowboard in 2004, ran the Detroit Marathon in 2005, and took a line drive off the same knee by my brother playing softball (on my B-Day) in 2009.

Running was something I use to like to do but it hurt too much now to go out on a run of over 4 miles. I saw the Nike Free’s everywhere. My favorite trainers Tony Horton and Shaun T were wearing them. So they must be a good shoe.

Nike Free Review – My First Impression

I am by no means an expert in running but when my Nike Free’s showed up at my house I saw how the soles were supposed to help spread out the shock. They were very lightweight and probably the most simple shoe I’ve ever owned. It was kind of fun bending them in half. I went with the all black and white soles.

Nike Free Review – My First Run

Excited to see how they were going to work I went out for a 4 mile run near my house. Nothing intense, just normal sidewalk running while dodging the occasional car or two. The first thing I noticed was how light they were. It felt like I had an extra step or two because I was not lugging around the heavier cross trainers I usually ran with. My time was about the same and I did not notice a increase or decrease in pain in my knees or feet.

Nike Free Review – The INSANITY Workout

Since I do not run that much anymore I still have to get in some cardio and I do that through the Insanity workout. There is a lot of high impact and athletic moves in this workout. Have not had any knee problems doing these workouts with previous shoes so I figured I’d be ok. That was not the case. My knees started to act up halfway through the workout due to the jumping. I even had to pause it a couple times and flex my knees to loosen them up.

Nike Free Review – The Pain Keeps Coming

I kept wearing the Nike Free’s during other workouts like P90X Plyometrics, running, and the occasional game. Again, my knees just could not take the pain. What I’m starting to notice is while the Nike Free is good at straight movements it is not good for me at up and down or lateral movements. The weight is not displaced through out the soles from jumping or side to side movements. It felt like I was landing on a rock because there is no gel or air pockets in them.

Nike Free Review – My Favorite Walking Shoe

After giving the Nike Free a valiant opportunity to win me over I have to say that this is not the shoe for me. Its not versatile enough. I remember trying to go for a run during the winter (I live in Royal Oak, Michigan) and there was a little bit of snow on the ground. Every time I took a step, the snow would pack in between the soles and started to freeze up. Ten minutes into the run I had an ice pond stuck on my foot. The lack of ankle support bothered me too. Felt like it could slide out of the shoe at anytime.

The only thing I liked using them for anymore was to do errands in. They looked cool and were better than wearing sandals. Let’s not forget about the rocks either. Took this picture to show I did wear them and sure enough there were two rocks stuck in the soles. The only fun thing about getting rocks stuck in the soles was dragging my foot over cement and drawing long lines.

Nike Free Review – In Summary

I’d say that over the year of owning these shoes I probably ran 50 miles, did 40ish Insanity type workouts, half of the Asylum Workout, and walked with them on twice a week to do errands. The barefoot running experience (I’ve read others say the Nike Free is not a true barefoot shoe) is just not for me. The shoes were pretty durable and I’m not sure if I put too many miles on them before replacing them. I can see how it would be a great shoe for somebody who is only about running and does not have knee problems. I use to be that person but not so anymore.

Its not that they are bad shoes but out of all the shoes I’ve owned these were the ones that reaggravated my prior injuries the fastest. Owning 4 different pairs of shoes to workout in is crazy in my opinion. I want one shoe that I can run, bike, play games, do Insanity workouts, and anything else involving more than a straight forward movement that does not get my knee acting up.

I still wear them from time to time but have already replaced them with an Asics Gel Platinum shoe. Things feel like I’m walking on marshmallows and my knees don’t act up anymore. Have you tried the Nike Free’s? What was you opinion on them? Hope this Nike Free review helps you in making a decision about trying barefoot running.

Day 7 – Insanity Asylum – Strength

July 21, 2011 - Updated November 23, 2018

Completed Day 7 of the Insanity Asylum workout. The strength workout is becoming one of my favorite Beachbody workouts. It has a little bit of everything in it. Legs, upper body, core, you name it, your working it.

One of my favorite sequences is when you do the bicep curl, squat, drop down into plank, do a push up, run it out, jump in and do it all over again.

Shaun T makes you do 3 variations going from easiest to hardest. Did a little bit better than the first time I did the Strength. Definitely starting to see some improvements.

My results from the Asylum workout are starting to show up at my softball games. Noticed a different level of quickness and endurance. What do you think about the strength workout?