Hockey after Asylum

It's been a while since I last posted on this. I have been pretty busy launching a new business along with keeping up with my commitments to the volunteer programs that I am involved with and traveling has kept me on my toes, not to mention my current workload and consultations with student athletes. However one thing I am proud of, I did not take a break on my workouts, I've kept doing something, anything, to keep progressing and moving forward.

I just recently took my after "Asylum" photos for Beachbody. I just want to share with you some photos that I've taken on my journey to getting into the shape I'm in today. Backstory: 654 days compounded into 5 photos, I've dropped 85lbs of fat and lost 32 inches across my body since day 1.

Sept. 2009

January 2010

December 2010

March 2011 

June 2011

45lb Green Bands. Holding them up
 for 5 minutes for photos was brutal,
 broke into a flop sweat.

It's been almost a month since I completed "The Asylum" using its regular schedule. I am now working through the Asylum/P90X hybrid program to work on strength while continuing to build speed and agility. I've also been tweeking the program, using a few of the P90X One on One with Tony routines to improve performance, such as UBX instead of Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps. Overall, still getting that old school P90X workout, yet continuing to build performance by working more muscles in a different manor. By the way, now that I've gotten a few of the Volume 3 P90X One on One videos previewing P90X2, I am super stoked for its release later this year. Combine INSANITY: The Asylum with P90X2, and sports performance will be off the scale. Anyone who does these two programs should be able to wear a shirt saying, "I'm an Athlete!"

Recently, I was able to put my results from "The Asylum" to the test. On one of my trips, I was able to get some ice time. I had been off the ice for two months and thought I'd be a bit rusty, and of course, with all the cross-training that has been going on, I did not know how my body would react. All I can say is WOW! I noticed slight improvements on the ice as I did INSANITY, however after doing this program, I was shocked at my overall improvement on the ice. I lengthened out my stride, was able to put the power to the ice because my core was tighter and stronger, my agility had greatly improved, and my speed was phenomenal compared to the last time on the ice. I felt great, and most of the people that I talked to said I looked great as well, even those at the conference that hadn't seen me in a year. I can say without a doubt, I am a better skater now than I was 2 months ago! Sorry, no photos on the ice this time around...

Lastly, I hold more confidence in myself and my abilities everywhere I go. I may not be the best, but I feel the best. I'm only like 5'10" but I stand up to people like I'm 6'10". And the best thing is, I'm positive when I'm around people. I try to be a good influence, get them to laugh and have fun, and share my positive attitude with others. Granted, XanGo and Eleviv may be helping with that, however I believe that the tools I have now, exercise, supplementing correctly, eating correctly, and positive influences both on the outside and inside are what makes me a better person both mentally and physically. I am now able to help others to find and achieve what I have found and achieved.

As I constantly tell people now, only you are holding yourself back. If you want something enough, set your sail and get moving towards it. Positive actions lead to success! Dig Deep Everyone! Until next time..

Finally released from the Asylum

Thats right, I've finally hit day 30 of INSANITY: The Asylum. It was Athletic Performance Assessment day (aka Fit Test) and boy was it off the hook. It was like 8:30a.m., super warm and humid already. But I took it like a champ, gave everything I had, held back on nothing, and was almost sick after I got done. You have to work hard to get results, and thats what I did. So without further waiting, here's the results:

                                                      Day 1:     Day 15:     Day 30:
Agility Heisman:                              5 reps       6 reps     6.5 reps
In & Out Ab Progression:                21 reps     35 reps     42 reps
Pull-Ups/Lat Push-Ups:                  12 reps     17 reps     3+18 reps
Mountain Climber Switch Kicks:      35 reps     40 reps     55 reps

Agility Shoulder Taps:                     4 reps     5.5 reps     5.5 reps
X Jumps:                                      27 reps      32 reps     34 reps
Moving Push-Ups:                        3.5 reps     3.5 reps     4 reps
Agility Lateral Shuffle:                     8 reps      14 reps     15.5 reps
Agility Bear Crawl:                           4 reps       5 reps     7 reps

This extra heat and being used to the cool temperatures adds another element to the mix and you have to balance your work with breathing and smarts. Its relatively easy to overwork yourself, become light headed or dizzy, or even make yourself sick. You have to stay within your level until you are ready to move on! Thats what I did, I got results, and I probably could have done a bit more, but I risk getting hurt, getting sick, or serious injury by crossing that fine line where my limits are and going above my limit. Always be mindful of what your body is telling you, especially if you are not used to something. You can work hard, but work within your limits. 

So here is my video from this morning's fit test, enjoy.... 

Days committed to The Asylum: 25, days committed to this marathon of health and wellness: 632

You are probably wondering why I have a picture of Tony Horton on an Asylum blog post?? Well there is a small story to go along with it...

So yesterday was just an all around crazy day, was all sorts of busy and it seemed like I was everywhere. On top of it all, I didn't get my workout in, beings that it was sunny outside, I figured it be best to work on some farm equipment and make a few repairs before it got crummy out and before bees had a chance to make hives, especially those european hornets. After I got done with everything, spent some time in the shower washing all the grease off and got changed for night, I figured I'd jump on the scales just to see what if anything happened over the past few days. I read it the first time, was stupefied, walked off to fill my water bottles up, came back, got on again, still puzzled, walked off and did some more errands around the house, came back for a 3rd time, and once again, weighed myself. Each time I set foot on that scale, it kept reading 200lbs. I was stunned by that!

I remember a long time ago when I was a very different person, I had said to myself, "Gosh it would be nice to become skinny!" This thought was back when I was in college full time, seeing my fraternity brothers and how good they looked compared to me. I was envious, it was something that I wish I had, but didn't. Well, when I wanted to make a change, at that time, life got in my way and I didn't have the tools to deal with it like I do now. So I went on, doing what I did best, drinking beer, eating bad food, and being lazy. It wasn't until June 2009 that I would come the repercussions of that choice, when I went to my orthopedic doctor to have some hip pain looked at. I had injured them about 10 years before that playing football and a side effect of the injury caused a bone spur to grow across the top of the femoral arm on both sides to support that slipped epiphysis. It was a bad injury, was down for a year an a half and lost all eligibility to play sports in HS. Having remembered this, I was left with 2 choices, I could undergo another surgery, be down for a year, possibly 2 again, or loose weight, become more flexible, and learn to deal with it.

I sat on those decisions and finally on Sept 5, 2009, I made a choice, I was watching a info-commercial for P90X, and saw what they were doing, listened to Tony Horton talk about the program, and more importantly, it was like he was talking to me motivationally. It was at that moment, I made what I feel would become one of the most life changing decisions I have ever made. 632 days ago, I went out of my comfort zone, I reached out, and I set my first goal. At that time, I was 285 pounds and probably on the verge of a heart attack at 30. My first goal happened to be that by the time I was done with the program, I wanted to be down to 200 pounds. 200 pounds, did I fall on my head or something. You might wonder why in the heck I set my goal for the moon? I knew that if I kept my eye on the moon, and kept pushing for it, eventually, I would get there. If you really want something that bad, you'll do whatever it takes to get there. Shaun T reminded me of that fact along the way continuously when I started INSANITY and The Asylum.

Well, the magic number was 632. It took that long to reach my first goal, granted, I had other small steps along the way, sometimes even doubting myself, but I had this nagging need to push through and strive for my potential. And thats what I did. I proved that a guy like me, who has struggled most of his life with weight and sickness can change the tides with his bare hands. I shown that with effort and the right frame of mind, you can do ANYTHING that you set your mind to!! (Thanks again Shaun T for setting me straight!)

I've also had this pursuit to survive The Asylum, and I'm doing pretty good with it as well. It's been 25 days since being committed and it was my best and worst Gameday yet. Some things I was very good at, like the track stuff, the wrestling, the soccer drills, and surfing. Others, not so much, just struggled with the tennis drills, swimming, and rock climbing. Its just the way it goes sometimes, everyday cannot be easy. There will always be challenges for you to deal with. Overtime was rough too, but I made the best out of it and gave it my all. My control has come along way from day 1, my lungs have opened up a bit more, and my endurance is amazing. Now that I have better agility, I can work on my speed in the ladder and my control on the jump rope. Its amazing how you can change in such a short time.

I wish I would have got video today instead of having to type, but the weather didn't want to cooperate here in Michigan. Oh well, in the meantime, think really hard about this.... You can be your own biggest diehard fan, pushing yourself to the goals that you want to succeed, or you can be your own worst enemy, holding yourself back from achieving your potential and your goals... Which one would you want to be?

20 Days in the Asylum...

Believe it or not, jumping is an integral part of any hockey players training program off the ice, and sometimes is needed in game day situations. As Herb Brooks said, "The legs feed the wolf." This phrase is so true with this sport. Strength, speed, and endurance are all vital to hockey players at every level. Without the strength, there is no speed and no endurance. Strong legs are the most vital tool to a hockey player, if you cannot skate, there isn't any need for puck-handling because you will always be out of position. This is why plyometric training is such a vital tool in a hockey players arsenal.

Today was day 20 in the Asylum, having done Vertical Plyo, which is a beast having done Game Day & Overtime the day before. Instead of writing tonight, I decided to do a video for everyone to watch since its been 11 days since my last. Enjoy!

Asylum: Gameday + Overtime = Falling over...

Imagine that you are playing your favorite sport, whether you watch it or actually play it. Imagine that its the biggest game of your career, do or die in the playoffs, game 7. You are giving it your all, playing as hard as you can, laying it all out there for your shot at glory. You come to the end of regulation and the game is tied. You are beaten, battered, scared, and tired but somehow, you have to dig even deeper than you have ever before. Its overtime, it's your team's last chance to win. You have to push and leave it all out there on the field, on the court, or in the rink. 

This is the idea behind Gameday & Overtime is similar to the situation above. You work hard all the way throughout your game, and then at the end of regulation, you go into overtime and push for the win. Those of you who played sports or still do, you realize that the game can change in a heartbeat. You may be ahead one moment, the next, you're behind. In hockey, coaches get so irritated with their teams when they get a comfortable 2 or 3 goal lead, then a few seconds goes by and the game is now tied, all because they let their guard down or they relaxed. 

In Gameday, your are constantly told to push, give it your all for everything you do within that 65 minutes. You're tired, but you still have to keep going. You have to get that frame of mind that you cannot stop, you may be tired, you may be feeling the burn, but you have to dig deep and push. And when you think its over, there is overtime, another 15 minutes that forces you to give it your all. 

Overall, today (Day 17) was my best day so far, I noticed my strength and agility have improved immensely since day 1 and my speed is slowly coming up. I was able to do 8 reps of the mountain climber pull-ups in each 2 minute set, which is impressive since I couldn't do any when I started. However, when it came to overtime, I was whooped, I was dragging, I was trying so hard to stay with it. BTW Shaun T, that was BS at the end, saying that we're done, then go no wait, we are not, 12 straight up pull-ups and 25 push-ups right now, which btw, I got 8 pull-ups without assistance (which is my personal best) and 22 push-ups in the time allowed. Luckily, the camera wasn't rolling because when I got done, I was on the floor for a good 5 minutes trying to pull myself together to do relief since there isn't a cool down as part of overtime. It would have been embarassing....haha.

So is this short program working?? Heck yeah it is! All you have to do is get your mind focused on your goal and keep working towards it. You may stumble, you may fall, and thats life, just get back up and jump in...

Half way up the little mountain...

You are reading that right, the little mountain. That's what the first 30 days of Asylum really is, its the little mountain compared to what's to come. This is how the journey works, think of INSANITY and P90X as the training to get ready to climb the mountains, then comes INSANITY: The Asylum, which is like a little mountain that you have to go up in order to get to the ones you want to actually climb. Only after this, you've reached the base of Everest and can start the real climb, a 60 day hybrid fusion of Asylum with either INSANITY or P90X. You think 30 days was tough, how bout another 60 that pushes you to the max! 


So as I stare at the large mountain in the horizon, I look onward and upward an refocus on the mountain that I am currently climbing. I've had a few stumbles, some near falls, but I'm still here hanging on and driving to the top! 


Ok so enough with the philosophy, moving back to reality. I completed days 15 and 16 of the Asylum, having done my Athletic Performance Assessment (Fit Test) and Vertical Plyo. Here is the assessment from day 1 and day 15.




                                                     Day 1:      Day 15:
Agility Heisman:                           5 reps       6 reps
In & Out Ab Progression:             21 reps      35 reps
Pull-Ups/Lat Push-Ups:               12 reps      17 reps
Mountain Climber Switch Kicks:   35 reps      40 reps
Agility Shoulder Taps:                   4 reps      5.5 reps
X Jumps:                                    27 reps      32 reps
Moving Push-Ups:                      3.5 reps     3.5 reps
Agility Lateral Shuffle:                   8 reps     14 reps
Agility Bear Crawl:                        4 reps      5 reps




So as you can see, I have shown improvement. On the scales, I have dropped 5 pounds, which is awesome, and my BMI has dropped 2% which is excellent for only 15 days. The combo of the program and the diet is absolutely excellent! I've changed my eating habits once again, having my starches in the morning or midday at the latest, and eating proteins/veg in the afternoon and evenings, and as we speak, Shakeology at night an hour or two before bed. I'll post a video up on the bottom of this about what it is since I don't want to go too in depth about that right now. Overall, I'm seeing success and people are noticing that I'm looking a bit more cut.

As for today's Vertical Plyo, things are still getting better, granted, the Plyo Push-Ups are still BS...lol. However, I noticed my agility in the Active Recovery Jump Rope exercises was a lot better. I also saw a lot of improvement in the tuck jumps and power jumps, I'm getting hang time! I still struggle with the double jump rope tuck jumps, but I'm making progress, at least I can do every other jump rope exercise now with some control. By the way, this Active Recovery is now joke! Remember when Shaun T says stop, take a rest for 30 seconds in INSANITY, you do it. Not in Asylum, your rest comes in the form of the jump rope. Its about getting ready for Game Day, whether that's in the Asylum, or on the court, on the field, or my personal favorite, in the rink. You recover and work at the same time, thats how it is in sports and thats exactly how you train in Asylum!

So to go back to phylosophy, we are all climbing mountains, some with obstacles in the paths, some more slippery than others, some that seem like they are really easy but are way harder once you are on, and some that seem to fight you all the way to the top. However, with the right frame of mind, the right skills, and the right tools, you can climb ANY mountain that you set your mind and goals to! Just got to hang in there, get your mind right, and push through!

Dig Deeper!!

Game Day in the Asylum

I'm going to keep this short today, I did Game Day on Friday and all I have to say is WOW! It is 65 minutes of fun and craziness! I can't believe how hard I worked through it and yet was still having fun doing it! I haven't been running for a long time, yet I hung with it, did the six and a half minute run and finished strong! It was great having a variety of different sports to do, doing wrestling, tennis, swimming, surfing, football, soccer, and more. I was super proud of myself, I was able to do 6 pull-up mountain climbers, which if you are doing them with good form and for the entire minute plus, you are insanely strong all the way around! Overall, Game Day in the Asylum is a great workout and it builds from what you are doing in the regular workouts. Go Team Asylum!

Asylum Week 2

It's been a few days since I've posted on here, so before I go into my Asylum workouts from the second week, I've got a few notes from the previous weekend. Last weekend, I had the opportunity to officiate both lacrosse and hockey games, so I got to see how this training is affecting my games. I noticed with the hockey that my core strength had improved and I was able to hold a better posture on the ice during my stride. I also noticed some improvement with my ability to jump up on the boards when the play had come towards me and I am unable to get out of the way of it and hold myself up there for extended periods of time. With Lacrosse, I noticed slight improvement in my speed running. I also noticed a little bit more endurance in the legs, since I was on the field for 6 hours. It may have been the first week of Asylum, but improvements are being made.

I started week 2 of Asylum going into it with an open mind. I know the moves now so I should be able to better keep up with the workouts. And thats exactly what I did. Asylum: Strength was a good workout this week, I went from the 20lb dumbbells to the 30's for most of the workout, except for the hip extension work. I was also able to do a couple wide-fly pull-ups before I had to use the dumbbells to finish. My favorite moves in that routine come at the end with the chest and ab work.

Another big improvement came from Back to Core. I was able to get my mind set correct and push through the pain that my shoulders were in and fight to hold the positions the best I could. I was also able to do the reverse plank work a lot more effectively this time around. With this workout, its all about form and having the right mind set. Don't be hating on Shaun T, just embrace the workout.

I finally got my video camera out and did a bit of footage for Vertical Plyo. I'm super happy that I got the jump rope issue figured out, half way through, I shortened it by about 4 inches and it finally works. I was thinking that maybe I just wasn't agile enough or coordinated enough to use it, it was getting frustrating. I made that adjustment, and I was able to keep up during the second half of the workout. Although I still need more work on the double jumps. Speaking of which, this active recovery is no joke! You work really hard doing a few moves, and then you hop on the jump rope and you get the legs on fire. Shaun says that your going to get a lot of lactic acid building up in your legs, and that is really the case, you have to embrace that burn. Enough on that, here is my video...

As a final thought, keep in mind that the real work doesn't begin until you are already tired.

Day 6 "...not my best aspects.... yet!"

I made a comment on facebook earlier, and after doing some things for a few hours, I reread it and now I'm actually being humbled by it. I said, "Speed & Agility are not my best aspects.... yet!" I've received a bunch of feedback from just one small word, yet. Unless you are a natural athlete, Speed & Agility take time and a lot of effort to make gains. You have to get inside of your own mind and push yourself, telling yourself that you can't quit, that you have to keep going, keep pushing even though you are tired, you are sore, you are out of breathe. Its all about getting that idea that you can do it! That's what Speed & Agility is all about in the Asylum. The first time I did it, I was trying to keep up with the moves and learn them. This time, it was about making gains and improving my body and form.

Here is my short video log from todays workout, with my out of breath message at the end.

Vertical Plyo Day 4

What a rainy day we had in MI today? I didn't have a whole lot to do today outside, so I put some time and effort into making a highlight video (although it wasn't my best performance after being murdered by the warm-up) of my Asylum: Vertical Plyo workout. I tried to pick out a mixed bag of clips to show those that have graduated a program such as P90X or INSANITY that you should not underestimate this program. Granted, I'm not the most agile of people, as you can see in the video, but I'm hoping to see it improve by day 30. Also my back was incredibly sore when I got up this morning, however it got better after the workout and Relief. Now down to business...

Vertical Plyo is the most brutal workout in the series thus far. Shaun T has taken plyometrics to a new level with this workout. The biggest change from this plyo workout and those within INSANITY and P90X is the idea of active recovery, which targets neuromuscular patterns while recovering from the explosive strength portion of the workout. Essentially you are working, but your heart rate is still recovering, although it doesn't feel like it. Shaun T comes out right in the middle of the workout during plyo push-ups and says, "This is *****" (You can here him say it in the background on the video). Right off the bat in the warm up, he says that, "This is not INSANITY," and he is right, its more than what INSANITY was. You spend a lot of time jumping in this workout, although I spent a bit of time on the ground at the end pumping out 20 pushups for hitting the ladder during the side long jumps (you would have seen this if my camera hadn't ran out of space). Overall, this workout, I think, is the toughest one put to DVD from Shaun T to date! He said it himself, "Shaun T is getting murdered here," and so was I!

Today I also went to the store and purchased some of the foods necessary for the 14 day Asylum diet plan. Spent $90 on a galore of different dishes picked from the diet plan. Some of these dishes look really awesome, such as the Toasted Pecan and Beet salad and the Sweet Potato Hash with Turkey Bacon, and others I am going out of my comfort zone to try, like Chermoula Tofu, Eggplant, and Red Pepper Skewers. I have also made the change to my diet to align it like the one in the manual, having my starches and largest meals in the morning and smaller protien-veg meals at night. I'm up to 6 meals a day now, having a shakeology around 10pm before I hit the sack.

After today's workout, I already am feeling my legs getting sore, and my body is all over sore, but it should get better soon. Rest day tomorrow, although I may do Relief once again.

Remember, we are "In it to win it!" Pay it forward!          

Back to Core

Wow is all I have to say about today and its workouts. Today was a hard working day. I'm 3 days into Asylum and I'm feeling it like none other. I don't remember feeling like this since I did my first round of P90X back 2 years ago. I'm going to put this out there, the Asylum is no joke!

With that said, today was Back to Core, a workout that I found to be very effective for working your back all over without the need for a pull-up bar. The real key to this workout comes from the use of the bands early on in the workout to really heat up the lats, then the real work begins with the iso and pulse warrior 2 type lunges. I noticed tonight as I was playing hockey how sore they were. Further into the workout you transition to working the mid and lower back along with the lats that are already on fire. Finally the focus transitions to the mid/lower back to strengthen it while engaging your core, which you have been doing throughout the entire workout. I really noticed this tonight as well, my lower back was a bit sore on the ice tonight whenever I bent over.

Back to Core is meant to target the areas of the core that are neglected by normal core work, and beings that the core is not just in the front of you, your back is targeted in the areas that normal training doesn't target. Couple this with the constant dialogue you are having with yourself and your pain tolerance, and you've got yourself a great workout that isn't as explosive, but its tough both physically and mentally. Overall, it doesn't look intimidating, but man it should be because it's definitely the hardest back workout I've ever done to date!

Tomorrow, Vertical Plyo...... And hopefully some photos or video from my workout...

Dig Deeper!

Strength Training The INSANITY Way

Hope everyone had a happy Easter if you were celebrating! I had my first opportunity to use the Strength workout in Asylum. Having done my last resistance work about 6 months ago using P90X, I was excited to see what was in store. There are two versions of this workout on the DVD, one is for those who have dumbbells and the other is for those who use the bands. The bands do give you an equally good workout, in some aspects, possibly better.

This is also the first workout that you use the pull-up bar if you have one. The workout does contain ways to work your lats without having the pull-up bar. These other moves I found came in handy when you have troubles doing wide pull-ups. I can do 2 wide pull-ups before my form goes bad, so what I did was the wide pull-ups with good form, then moved to the dumbbell floor lat work. Maybe when I get stronger in the back, I'll be able to do more. The rock climber pull-up is crazy hard, I tried to do a few, lasted about 10 seconds before I lost my form completely and went to the floor lat move.

I found this workout to be a bit easier than Speed & Agility, but I worked just as hard, I was completely sweat soaked. I agree with a fellow coach, Jeff Gamet, a strength program like this is something that was missing from the original INSANITY program.

I also started working through the Asylum 14 day meal plan. I am also trying to follow Shaun T's schedule for meals. Its different, it felt like I was eating quite a bit more than I should, although I didn't pass my caloric intake. This idea of having 6 - 7 smaller meals in a day seems crazy, but the idea is to prevent your blood sugar from spiking then dropping, getting your metabolism up and stopping your body from going into starvation mode. We'll see where I end up in a few weeks and see where my results land me.

IN IT TO WIN IT!

Asylum Week 1 - Day 1

"Power through! When you get tired, thats when the real work begins!" I kept this quote from Shaun T within my mind all day. Today was my first day of training with Asylum, the newest program released from Beachbody. It was crazy, and it was even crazier having an extra workout added to the bill.

My brother has a friend up this weekend and wanted to workout this morning, saw me put in the Asylum Speed & Agility DVD, and asked to work out with me. After gauging her workout level, and finding out her only training was through Yoga Booty Ballet, this workout would have her on the ground within a few minutes. So before I did Asylum, I popped in INSANITY Plyo Cardio Circuit for both my bro and his friends to do. No doubt, I got involved as well, coaching both of them on how to do the moves and giving them that extra push they need to get through the workout. It may have been the easiest workout for me, but it was the hardest they had ever worked!

After a couple hour break, I came back to the Asylum and hammered out Speed & Agility. Granted, it was the hardest I've ever had to physically work for something, but I pushed through even while tired and finished strong. The ladder still takes a bit of time getting used to, I'm not the most agile person by any means. I also have some trouble using the speed rope, I haven't really used one so its taking time to get used too as well. I also have to deal with the ceiling in my workout space, and the rope hitting objects around the room, I could use a bit more space in my den, however I have to make do with the space I have. 

I took the recommendation of Steve Edwards and did Relief, a stretch and breathing program in Asylum, and a crucial block for change, growth, and the prevention of injury. Steve posted on his blog that it would be best to use the Relief program after every workout in Asylum. I'll guarantee that, "Relief" was much needed, I was tired and sore, however, I felt so much better after this short program. I highly recommend that you use the Relief program after every workout, its 20 minutes and will help you feel a lot better! 

I would post a few pics, however I have no idea as to how on this blog. If someone could tell me, I'd appreciate it! 

Until next time, stay, "In it to win it!"

P.S. Have a safe and Happy Easter!

Heading to the Asylum

Good Evening,

Today, I had a gift left at my front door from the mail man. I was getting ready to do INSANITY Upper Body Weight Resistance when my dogs started barking. Come to find a box from Beachbody outside with INSANITY: The Asylum in it. Big thanks to them for getting it out quickly and getting it here before the 25th as expected from fedex online.

Over the next 30 days, I'll be logging my experience with this program and the routines, along with how they effect my others activities, such as hockey, officiating, working, and sports activities. I spent a bit of time reading on Steve Edward's blog about the program, the routines, and what to expect. When he said something about this program being much harder than the original INSANITY, I was like, "How can Shaun T make a program that's even harder than the original?" Now that I have it, I can already tell that its raised the bar to a new level!

I started by reviewing the manual, wall calendar (which btw is really awesome, it has the Asylum schedule for the first month, and then hybrid calendars for both P90X and INSANITY on the other side), and meal plan. The meal plan I'll come back to at another time because I'm excited by it and can't wait to try some of the dishes within it. A nice thing about the program is that all of the DVD's have instructions for how to use the new tools that are needed for the workouts. In the original INSANITY, it was all you. This time, Shaun T incorporates some tools to use to force you to increase your overall performance, such as the agility ladder, speed rope, a few bands or dumbbells, and pull-up bar. A good plyo mat or yoga mat comes in handy for "relief," a stretch and recovery workout that I'm reviewing before I start the program tomorrow.

I managed to make it through the Athletic Performance Assessment (aka Fit Test) today, my results were not as good as I hoped, however, getting used to the ladder takes time even with the intro videos. My results don't include the numerous times that I hit the ladder and knocked it half-way across the room. All moves are 1 minute in the assessment.

Day 1 performance results:
   Agility Heisman:                           5 reps
   In & Out Ab Progression:             21 reps
   Pull-Ups/Lat Push-Ups:               12 reps
   Mountain Climber Switch Kicks:   35 reps
   Agility Shoulder Taps:                  4 reps
   X Jumps:                                    27 reps
   Moving Push-Ups:                       3.5 reps
   Agility Lateral Shuffle:                  8 reps
   Agility Bear Crawl:                       4 reps

Tomorrow starts the regular workouts, Speed & Agility, which looks tough, but as the motto for Asylum goes, "In it to win it!"

Push through, Dig Deep!

Moving up in the world...

Good Afternoon,

I was recently approached by friends and asked a simple question, "What's your story?" Of course, beings that I had no idea as to what they where asking about, I go, "about what?" They hardly recognized me, hardly knew who I was. They hadn't saw me in well over a year. I was well groomed, clean shaving, and skinny and buff compared to who I was when they last saw me.

Backing up a few years ago, as they knew me when I was in college at Michigan State University, I really wasn't active, except for playing video games, and I was pretty heavy set. While in college, I was around 285 pounds, 5'10", a 44 pant size, 2XL, scruffy/hillbilly looking, and pretty much the epitome of being the stay in doors computer gamer during the day and the drink all night with friends type of guy, usually landing me either in someone's lawn, deck, or bush in the morning. I look back on those days and wonder, "What the heck were you thinking in those day?" I answered my own question with a, "you probably weren't thinking!"

Let progress forward, September 2009, I thought it was time to make some changes and the doctors agreed. I was having some chest issues, hip issues, knee issues, and sleep issues. The biggest hit came when my orthopedist, Dr. Sudhir Rao, gave me an ultimatum. Backing up again, I broke my hips when I was 12, slipped the capitol femoral epiphysis on both sides. It healed, however, between the way it healed and my weight, a bone spur grew across the top leading to the joint. It was pinching nerves and the hip capsule. The choices I was left with were to either shed the weight and get more flexible or undergo a complicated and dangerous surgery, leaving me on crutches for a year, possibly longer. I already knew how it is to be down for a year plus, I decided to make the badly needed changes to become fit and healthy. At this time, I got a hold of Beachbody, and chose to commit to the change through P90X... However that is another story.

The beginning of the new year 2011, I made a resolution to make it through INSANITY and further push for that above goal of becoming the healthiest I can be. It must have paid off, cleaning myself up a bit and have got into the best shape I have ever been in. I'm down to 210 pounds, a 38 or 36 pant size, XL shirts (Large UA), however I'm still 5'10"(I haven't quite figured out how to make that one go up). I Succeeded!

Going back to the beginning, I shared my transformation story with them and which acted in a way to inspire them to go for their goals and become more healthy. After sharing this with them, one person asked why I don't share this with more people. "Why don't you share your story and insight with others?" This got me thinking and with a little extra kick from another friend (Thanks Caterina!), why not blog about my experiences and observations in the world of health & fitness?

I look forward to sharing my experiences with everyone! Good luck on your journey....

Decide, Commit, Succeed!