Which way to the gym *flex*

Back in November I acquired the complete Insanity DVD set from a friend. I didn't really know anything about the program except for the fact that it was supposed to be really hard, it took sixty days to finish and according to the infomercial it produced great results.

I didn't start it right away because I just wasn't motivated. Even when I went on a fitness kick like I do every January I still didn't give it a try. I think I was intimidated, I was afraid to fail.

I did P90X once for about 2 weeks a few years ago with someone else but they gave up and so did I. I hated working out in the house I lived in, everyone could hear me, the entire room shook when I jumped. I was working really long days with a really long commute. I surrounded myself with excuses. 

Since then the only other program I've tired was Jillian Micheal's 30 Day Shred. Honestly, I've never done 30 days of it. I always get bored and give up. 

So that's what I was dealing with going into this. I did cardio every day, I was also doing yoga and somehow I figured that wasn't enough of a base to take on Insanity but then I went thought a bit of an emotional time in my personal life and thought a distraction might be nice. 

So on March 19th I just randomly decided to start it. No preplanning involved, I just went at it. 

And you know what? It was hard, it was the hardest thing I'd ever done. No one, not even I thought I could get through it. But eventually one week turned into two and I started to love it. I wasn't miserable during my workouts I was focused, I was determined and I felt like a fucking rockstar every day when I finished. 

I'm not going to lie, I didn't love it all the time, towards the end of the first month I started to get bored with the repetition, but then it when up a level and I was fine and excited about it again. The same thing happened at the end of the program, that's part of why it took me an extra day to complete it. 

But that's what I did, I completed it. 

That smile of my face is of pure unbridled joy. If I didn't just get engaged I would say that it's been a while since I'd done something to bring out that smile. I even took to facebook where I hardly ever post anything to brag about it. That's how pumped I was. 

Everyone wants to know what my results were, like maybe if the results were good enough they might try the program to. *eye roll*

Well let me tell you something, the amount of awesomeness I discovered in myself is worth actually buying this program. It doesn't matter that my clothes are all too big for me now, it doesn't matter that I don't look like I'm being silly because you can actually see something when I flex, what matters is that I stuck to it and I finished it and I've got a bit more pep in my step because I feel like a certified badass.

What happened to my body might not happen to your body so weights and measurements are a non issue here. Getting hung up on that stuff will absolutely kill your motivation anyway.

What I can tell you is that the fit test is the ultimate in measurement tools. You do it every 2 weeks throughout the program and there's where you see your results.

I will share some of those results with you. Listed below are each of the moves that you perform for one minute each used to judge progress during the fit test. The number next to them is how many more I was to add to my first go around with the fit test.

Switch Kicks - 54

Power Jacks - 23

Power Knees - 41

Power Jumps - 24

Globe Jumps - 3

Suicide Jumps - 8

Push up Jacks - 17

Low Plank Oblique - 13

I'm not sure how good you are at math but that's 183 more moves. 

Oh Hell Yeah.

So yeah, I'll start my next program on Friday and I'm sure I'll be talking about it way too much to anyone who will listen and also posting the crap out of it on Instagram. Whoo Hoo! 

You Decide.

I love hats, I have a lovely collection of hats but it is deeply flawed because there isn't much in my collection that is winter appropriate. 

Sure I've got a great penguin hat:

And the Beef just got me this one:

I'd really like to beef up my winter hat collection but like I said yesterday "I'm terrified of change and sometimes I look like a bum" I was able to narrow down a few choices though and I thought I would leave it up to a vote from my lovely readers. 

#1 Super Cute Pixie Hat.

#2 Big Ole Slouchy Hat.

#3 Wicked Long Tube Hat

#4 Cat Hat with Ear Flaps

Vote away dear friends, I put my winter fashion in your capable hands. 

New Years Resolutions

I'm not usually one for making resolutions because I instantly forget about them until about 6 months later when it's my birthday and I'm taking stock in my life again. This year I thought that maybe I could try to use the blog to hold myself accountable. 

So here's what I'm going to try and accomplish in 2013:

1. Be more adventurous with fashion choices. I'm not going to go balls out trendy or anything but I need to be a bit less boring with my clothes and hair. I'm terrified of change and sometimes I look like a bum, that needs to change. 

2. Run 5K. I'm not even saying that I'm going to run in one, I just want to run that distance, not walk, not jog, run in 20-30 minutes. Truth be told if I said I wanted to run in a 5k it would probably never happen, just the thought of having to run around others scares the crap out of me, that would be no motivation what so ever. 

3. Get myself on a schedule. I've completely lost my groove, I have no structure, I need to get that back because if I'm not held to a schedule I'm a mess and so is the house and the rest of my life. 

4. Cook more often and blog about it so I can share my experience. I need to step outside of my cooking safety zone more often, though that might mean that The Beef will have to make his own dinner every so often.

5. I want to learn something new, I haven't decided what yet but I want to acquire a new skill this year. Any suggestions?