Relief
As i'm still doing abs everyday, i did cardio abs from Insanity, then went on to relief.
Its only a 25 minute stretch routine, but really sorts you out.
Shaun T, advises , if you need it, do this everyday.
Game day tomorrow, should be fun !
Cheers Andy
Asylum Day 6 - Pam
Strength
You may notice that the dates and workouts are now out of sync. This should be day 8. However, on Sunday morning I went for my first run in exactly two months. The intention was to run for 9 miles, which would have been pushing it for a first run. However, armed with a complete lack of a sense of direction, my friend who planned the route took me on a magical mystery tour which increased the distance to 10.5 miles. My legs seized up the last two miles and I was in quite a bit of pain for the remainder of the day, so decided it would have been unwise to do the planned strength workout that day or the next. Hence, I did it this morning.
I didn't get enough sleep or drink enough water prior to the workout and this effected energy levels. However, I fought through it and got the job done.
I learned from last week's raising of weights during the chest/ab section of the workout. I lowered them back down to 6.5kg each and felt the work happening in my abs, rather than my chest. This is more in-line with my goals.
As with my previous round of Asylum, this round seems to be passing so quickly. I would like to be doing an extra ab or butt workout in the evening but don't feel I can or should after doing my morning workout and then my 3.30pm fit club workout. I just need to spend less time messing about in the morning to try to fit in a little Athlean Extreme six pack workout.
I have back to core tomorrow. Glad to be having another day for my legs to recover prior to tackling vertical plyo.
Pam
You may notice that the dates and workouts are now out of sync. This should be day 8. However, on Sunday morning I went for my first run in exactly two months. The intention was to run for 9 miles, which would have been pushing it for a first run. However, armed with a complete lack of a sense of direction, my friend who planned the route took me on a magical mystery tour which increased the distance to 10.5 miles. My legs seized up the last two miles and I was in quite a bit of pain for the remainder of the day, so decided it would have been unwise to do the planned strength workout that day or the next. Hence, I did it this morning.
I didn't get enough sleep or drink enough water prior to the workout and this effected energy levels. However, I fought through it and got the job done.
I learned from last week's raising of weights during the chest/ab section of the workout. I lowered them back down to 6.5kg each and felt the work happening in my abs, rather than my chest. This is more in-line with my goals.
As with my previous round of Asylum, this round seems to be passing so quickly. I would like to be doing an extra ab or butt workout in the evening but don't feel I can or should after doing my morning workout and then my 3.30pm fit club workout. I just need to spend less time messing about in the morning to try to fit in a little Athlean Extreme six pack workout.
I have back to core tomorrow. Glad to be having another day for my legs to recover prior to tackling vertical plyo.
Pam
Asylum Round 2, Day 9 - Andy
Vertical Plyo
Up at 4.15 am, and i'll be honest, not feeling the love, quick shot of my pre workout drink, 20 minutes later,
I'm raring to go, hold me back, magic .
Now the warmup to this one is lots of variations of skipping, as mentioned before i do not skip (not enough room) so i invisible skip lol.
But bear in mind i'm still wearing a 10kg weight vest.
Any way this is designed, to attack your thighs and glutes, and give them a crazy burn before the main workout,
and i can confirm that it works !
So in this workout, it's all about jumping , and using the strength bands, the active rest parts are skipping and hopping on one leg .
The real killer is the push up jacks with bands around wrist and ankles, added with making sure your hands/feet make each ladder without moving it, spices up the intensity.
Now add a vest, and well that's just crazy.
All in all i'm loving everything so far, hard and tough, but i wouldn't want it any other way !
Cheers Andy
Up at 4.15 am, and i'll be honest, not feeling the love, quick shot of my pre workout drink, 20 minutes later,
I'm raring to go, hold me back, magic .
Now the warmup to this one is lots of variations of skipping, as mentioned before i do not skip (not enough room) so i invisible skip lol.
But bear in mind i'm still wearing a 10kg weight vest.
Any way this is designed, to attack your thighs and glutes, and give them a crazy burn before the main workout,
and i can confirm that it works !
So in this workout, it's all about jumping , and using the strength bands, the active rest parts are skipping and hopping on one leg .
The real killer is the push up jacks with bands around wrist and ankles, added with making sure your hands/feet make each ladder without moving it, spices up the intensity.
Now add a vest, and well that's just crazy.
All in all i'm loving everything so far, hard and tough, but i wouldn't want it any other way !
Cheers Andy
Asylum Round 2 , Day 8 - Andy
Back To Core
As said the first time around, don't be deceived by the fact that it looks easy, cos it isn't !
The band exchange section is a killer, but feel it in a good way, in the base of the back.
So far i'm loving Asylum, it's got a great mix of workouts, so your not doing the same thing all the time.
I don't wear the vest for this one, i don't feel it's appropriate.
Cheers Andy
As said the first time around, don't be deceived by the fact that it looks easy, cos it isn't !
The band exchange section is a killer, but feel it in a good way, in the base of the back.
So far i'm loving Asylum, it's got a great mix of workouts, so your not doing the same thing all the time.
I don't wear the vest for this one, i don't feel it's appropriate.
Cheers Andy
Asylum Round 2, Day 7 - Andy
Strength
Not worked out on a sunday for a long time, it's suppose be the day of rest, didn't Shaun T realise this when he created the workout calender ?
I suppose i didn't mind as Strength is one of my favourite Beachbody workouts ever !
As i said when i first blogged about this workout, the warm up in typical Shaun T style gets your sweat on, as you use a weight (which i recommend something light to avoid injury) you get the burn to all your muscles right away, so when the real workout comes , your already struggling .
The blend of lifting weights added with the cardio element , is nothing short of Genius in my opinion .
For all you Insanity grads, if you like Upper Body Weight Training (from the deluxe edition) , then you will love this.
Arms are like jelly at the moment, and i've told the wife, there's no chance of the grass being cut today ;-P
Cheers Andy
Not worked out on a sunday for a long time, it's suppose be the day of rest, didn't Shaun T realise this when he created the workout calender ?
I suppose i didn't mind as Strength is one of my favourite Beachbody workouts ever !
As i said when i first blogged about this workout, the warm up in typical Shaun T style gets your sweat on, as you use a weight (which i recommend something light to avoid injury) you get the burn to all your muscles right away, so when the real workout comes , your already struggling .
The blend of lifting weights added with the cardio element , is nothing short of Genius in my opinion .
For all you Insanity grads, if you like Upper Body Weight Training (from the deluxe edition) , then you will love this.
Arms are like jelly at the moment, and i've told the wife, there's no chance of the grass being cut today ;-P
Cheers Andy
Asylum Round 2, Day 6 - Andy
Speed & Agility
Today it was back to my nemesis, i had a positive outlook that i would do better than day 1.
I'm happy to say that i think i did, but this is by far the hardest cardio i've done in the vest.
The actual workout is only 28 minutes long, but if anyone knows Shaun T and Insanity, the warm up isn't
actually a warm up, it's a workout lol.
The big question that gets asked a lot from Insanity grads is " how does Asylum compare to Insanity "
Well this is my answer , Insanity is tough, it's hardcore, but Shaun T, tells you to take breaks, rest when needed, plus apart from the pure/max cardio workouts, you get breaks of 30 seconds in the interval workouts .
Asylum the breaks are not rest breaks there water breaks, and are few and far between.
In speed & agility you get two water breaks, and there not even 30 seconds.
Shaun T is more like a drill instructor in Asylum, he tells you to push, and push hard, you won't get results until your tired and push yourself, in what he says, he also motivates you so much, to push through the pain and the tiredness.
Basically in this workout, you do a move on all fours for a minute, mountain climber progression , moving push up progression and in and out ab progression to name a few, but you alternate with a standing up move using the ladder , agility stork torch (which is hopping through the ladder) , criss cross power jump and forward and back agility (which is sprinting through the ladder).
Now when your on two feet workouts, Shaun T calls this active recovery (your still working but not as intense) this is the time to suck that air in, and get your breath back, because you know in another minute your back down for the intense stuff.
Just when you think it can't get any worse he introduces agility plank (moving through the ladder in plank position) this will be the worst minute of your life, arms,shoulders and core are on fire, but you look at the clock 6 minutes to go including the cool down, nearly there.
I lied about the worst minute of your life, it's next . you don't go back to the normal,back on your feet sequence, you stay in plank and do agility shoulder taps, (moving through the ladder, but touching both shoulders as you go ) this is the last move, you were already toast about 15 minutes to ago, it's mental toughness, all the while Shaun T is shouting for you to go faster.
I'm a mess at the end big time, shaking, dribbling, sweat in my eyes, i know i gave it my all.
I can't be sure if Shaun T then turns his hand to comedy because the exact line is " it's time to stretch, but if your bold, and you want a challenge , i want you to go back, and i want you to do it again , i want you to focus, i want you to get through it, each time get better as you practise "
I'd like to say perhaps one day, i'll accept that challenge, but i'm a long way from that.
So that's it then, i hope if your thinking of doing Asylum, i haven't put you off, but made you aware of what to expect if you dare step in !
Cheers Andy
Today it was back to my nemesis, i had a positive outlook that i would do better than day 1.
I'm happy to say that i think i did, but this is by far the hardest cardio i've done in the vest.
The actual workout is only 28 minutes long, but if anyone knows Shaun T and Insanity, the warm up isn't
actually a warm up, it's a workout lol.
The big question that gets asked a lot from Insanity grads is " how does Asylum compare to Insanity "
Well this is my answer , Insanity is tough, it's hardcore, but Shaun T, tells you to take breaks, rest when needed, plus apart from the pure/max cardio workouts, you get breaks of 30 seconds in the interval workouts .
Asylum the breaks are not rest breaks there water breaks, and are few and far between.
In speed & agility you get two water breaks, and there not even 30 seconds.
Shaun T is more like a drill instructor in Asylum, he tells you to push, and push hard, you won't get results until your tired and push yourself, in what he says, he also motivates you so much, to push through the pain and the tiredness.
Basically in this workout, you do a move on all fours for a minute, mountain climber progression , moving push up progression and in and out ab progression to name a few, but you alternate with a standing up move using the ladder , agility stork torch (which is hopping through the ladder) , criss cross power jump and forward and back agility (which is sprinting through the ladder).
Now when your on two feet workouts, Shaun T calls this active recovery (your still working but not as intense) this is the time to suck that air in, and get your breath back, because you know in another minute your back down for the intense stuff.
Just when you think it can't get any worse he introduces agility plank (moving through the ladder in plank position) this will be the worst minute of your life, arms,shoulders and core are on fire, but you look at the clock 6 minutes to go including the cool down, nearly there.
I lied about the worst minute of your life, it's next . you don't go back to the normal,back on your feet sequence, you stay in plank and do agility shoulder taps, (moving through the ladder, but touching both shoulders as you go ) this is the last move, you were already toast about 15 minutes to ago, it's mental toughness, all the while Shaun T is shouting for you to go faster.
I'm a mess at the end big time, shaking, dribbling, sweat in my eyes, i know i gave it my all.
I can't be sure if Shaun T then turns his hand to comedy because the exact line is " it's time to stretch, but if your bold, and you want a challenge , i want you to go back, and i want you to do it again , i want you to focus, i want you to get through it, each time get better as you practise "
I'd like to say perhaps one day, i'll accept that challenge, but i'm a long way from that.
So that's it then, i hope if your thinking of doing Asylum, i haven't put you off, but made you aware of what to expect if you dare step in !
Cheers Andy
Asylum Round 2, Day 5 - Andy
Today is rest day in the Asylum guide
But i work abs everyday, so i did Insane Abs from Insanity.
It was Jason who told me to give it try, so the last six weeks, i've been alternating between
Ab ripper X, Cardio abs , Ab ripper X2, Insane abs and AthleanX six pack promise (which is an iphone app).
although the rectus abdominis is actually one big muscle, the secret is to work it differently every day, to avoid injury or strain .
I have seen great improvent in my definition , and my core always feels solid.
So thanks Jase, for some more sound advise :-)
Cheers Andy
But i work abs everyday, so i did Insane Abs from Insanity.
It was Jason who told me to give it try, so the last six weeks, i've been alternating between
Ab ripper X, Cardio abs , Ab ripper X2, Insane abs and AthleanX six pack promise (which is an iphone app).
although the rectus abdominis is actually one big muscle, the secret is to work it differently every day, to avoid injury or strain .
I have seen great improvent in my definition , and my core always feels solid.
So thanks Jase, for some more sound advise :-)
Cheers Andy
Asylum Round 2, Day 4 Pam
Vertical Plyo
This is a workout that I love. In my previous round I always looked forward to it as it made me feel so strong and accomplished. This workout has some great moves - one-legged power jumps, lateral jumps, x-jumps with the bands. Don't underestimate how tough it is though. The 'rests' are active rests, with a minute of skipping on one leg, or in a squat etc. It's not for the faint-hearted.
I'm not quite sure what happened today. From the outset, I struggled. It felt like my very first time in my first round. The warm-up is BRUTAL. It is a constant pummelling of the quads and it seems to go on for ever. Basically, I was rubbish today. I am not sure if the reason was food, sleep, muscle fatigue (from also doing a fit club every afternoon as well as Asylum) or just not having my eye of the tiger switched on. Either way, I did not feel strong or accomplished afterwards.
I could get annoyed with myself about it but there's no point. I will just look forward to my next vertical plyo and decide that it will be better. Simples! ;)
It is my first rest day tomorrow. However, I'm going to do Brazil Butt Lift High and Tight (I haven't done this for a few weeks and my butt really is my major-weak area), and an ab workout in the morning. Then in my afternoon fit club I have cardio (as with every day) and legs & shoulders.
Bring it! : )
Pam
This is a workout that I love. In my previous round I always looked forward to it as it made me feel so strong and accomplished. This workout has some great moves - one-legged power jumps, lateral jumps, x-jumps with the bands. Don't underestimate how tough it is though. The 'rests' are active rests, with a minute of skipping on one leg, or in a squat etc. It's not for the faint-hearted.
I'm not quite sure what happened today. From the outset, I struggled. It felt like my very first time in my first round. The warm-up is BRUTAL. It is a constant pummelling of the quads and it seems to go on for ever. Basically, I was rubbish today. I am not sure if the reason was food, sleep, muscle fatigue (from also doing a fit club every afternoon as well as Asylum) or just not having my eye of the tiger switched on. Either way, I did not feel strong or accomplished afterwards.
I could get annoyed with myself about it but there's no point. I will just look forward to my next vertical plyo and decide that it will be better. Simples! ;)
It is my first rest day tomorrow. However, I'm going to do Brazil Butt Lift High and Tight (I haven't done this for a few weeks and my butt really is my major-weak area), and an ab workout in the morning. Then in my afternoon fit club I have cardio (as with every day) and legs & shoulders.
Bring it! : )
Pam
Asylum round 2, Day 4 - Andy
Vertical Plyo
Went to bed last night aching , woke up even worse, shoulders, hamstrings and glutes .
All i can say is the foam roller is the dogs, if you haven't got one, i highly recommend you buy one right away,
You will be amazed how good they are (no i don't work for the foam roller company ) :-).
Back to the workout i love this one, lots of jumping around and lots of use of the bands, combined with the vest, intensity to the max.
The million dollar move in this one for me, is push ups jacks, in the ladder, with bands around wrist and ankles. oh yeah add the vest, destroys you , but for me , that's the point, if it was easy i'd be disappointed .
So far four days in, and it's tough, i knew it would be, when i planned it 8 months ago .
But challenge accepted ! HOWLLLLLLLL
Cheers Andy
Went to bed last night aching , woke up even worse, shoulders, hamstrings and glutes .
All i can say is the foam roller is the dogs, if you haven't got one, i highly recommend you buy one right away,
You will be amazed how good they are (no i don't work for the foam roller company ) :-).
Back to the workout i love this one, lots of jumping around and lots of use of the bands, combined with the vest, intensity to the max.
The million dollar move in this one for me, is push ups jacks, in the ladder, with bands around wrist and ankles. oh yeah add the vest, destroys you , but for me , that's the point, if it was easy i'd be disappointed .
So far four days in, and it's tough, i knew it would be, when i planned it 8 months ago .
But challenge accepted ! HOWLLLLLLLL
Cheers Andy
Asylum Round 2, Day 3 - Pam
Back to core is the most mentally-challenging Asylum workout for me. As Andy has said, upon first glance you think it's pretty low-key and not so tough but this is, of course, not the case.
Prior to trying this workout in my first round I thought it was an ab workout as we are so used to thinking of our core as the front of our mid-section. I was disappointed when I realised I wasn't getting a whole Asylum-style workout for my abs. I used to dislike working my back as I felt that it was not an area that you would see a difference in, or that I even had any desire to see a difference in. However, the big changes that I saw in my back when doing the first round changed my mind and I now really value the back-work.
Thankfully I was back at work today so my usual morning routine resumed: 5 or 5.30 alarm, BCAAs, pre-workout, protein shake, clothes, press play.
I enjoyed the workout. The warm-up is pretty low-key compared to other Shaun T warm-ups but it still manages to get you sweaty from the first minute. The rotator split lunges are evil! They get your back but also your quads. I have yet to do the iso-hold and the pulses the whole way through. That is a work in progress.
In my final week of round one, I broke the green band that comes with the Asylum set (my Incredible Hulk moment). I ordered what I thought would be good alternatives from eBay but they are too thick and have too much tension for my needs in the lat pull downs. Therefore I tried using the band provided with Turbo Fire. This does have a good amount of tension for me. However, since there is so much of this band, it really digs into the inside of my thumbs. I decided, half-way through to do it Ariel-style and lose the band. It is surprising how much this actually works your lats if you really concentrate on the muscle and keep good form. I will go between this and the band in my next workout.
All-in-all, a successful workout. It's strange how a workout routine makes a work-day seem like a positive thing. Strange but true!
Pam
Prior to trying this workout in my first round I thought it was an ab workout as we are so used to thinking of our core as the front of our mid-section. I was disappointed when I realised I wasn't getting a whole Asylum-style workout for my abs. I used to dislike working my back as I felt that it was not an area that you would see a difference in, or that I even had any desire to see a difference in. However, the big changes that I saw in my back when doing the first round changed my mind and I now really value the back-work.
Thankfully I was back at work today so my usual morning routine resumed: 5 or 5.30 alarm, BCAAs, pre-workout, protein shake, clothes, press play.
I enjoyed the workout. The warm-up is pretty low-key compared to other Shaun T warm-ups but it still manages to get you sweaty from the first minute. The rotator split lunges are evil! They get your back but also your quads. I have yet to do the iso-hold and the pulses the whole way through. That is a work in progress.
In my final week of round one, I broke the green band that comes with the Asylum set (my Incredible Hulk moment). I ordered what I thought would be good alternatives from eBay but they are too thick and have too much tension for my needs in the lat pull downs. Therefore I tried using the band provided with Turbo Fire. This does have a good amount of tension for me. However, since there is so much of this band, it really digs into the inside of my thumbs. I decided, half-way through to do it Ariel-style and lose the band. It is surprising how much this actually works your lats if you really concentrate on the muscle and keep good form. I will go between this and the band in my next workout.
All-in-all, a successful workout. It's strange how a workout routine makes a work-day seem like a positive thing. Strange but true!
Pam
Asylum Round 2, Day 3 - Andy
Back To Core
Well after a long weekend off, it was back to the normal 4.15 am get up this morning,
and to say i wasn't feeling the love, is putting it mildly , strong black coffee was in order.
Right i remember the first time i viewed this workout, " ha an easy one " i thought , how wrong i was,
so i knew today was going to be just as tough, but a different guide of tough.
From the off the warm up had me sweating , then the pull downs with the bands really work your shoulders and
back.
By the time the rotator split lunge pulses come, man i'm feeling it big time .
But by far the most evilest move for me, is the band exchange section, shoulders on fire big time.
Oh well, off to work now.
Cheers Andy
Well after a long weekend off, it was back to the normal 4.15 am get up this morning,
and to say i wasn't feeling the love, is putting it mildly , strong black coffee was in order.
Right i remember the first time i viewed this workout, " ha an easy one " i thought , how wrong i was,
so i knew today was going to be just as tough, but a different guide of tough.
From the off the warm up had me sweating , then the pull downs with the bands really work your shoulders and
back.
By the time the rotator split lunge pulses come, man i'm feeling it big time .
But by far the most evilest move for me, is the band exchange section, shoulders on fire big time.
Oh well, off to work now.
Cheers Andy
Asylum Round 2, Day 2 - Pam
I have got a great routine on the days that I go to work but today was a holiday for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Therefore I did my usual non-work-day procrastinating. I lay in bed too long and then had to eat a proper meal before I was able to workout. I then went through the usual 'I need to hold off a little after eating', 'I think I need to eat again to get a bit more energy' etc. This lasted until after 5pm and then I felt like I was in a good position to bring it.
Today's workout was 'strength'. This has to be my favourite workout of all time. I really do believe it is workout perfection. It works you hard in cardio, strength and balance. Not having done this workout for about 3 weeks, I couldn't quite remember which weights to use. Shaun T and the others in the DVD stick to the same weight throughout the warm-up but I prefer to switch weights so I am pushing myself in each move, but also able to keep good form throughout. It works for me! The warm-up is TOUGH! It seems to last a long time but the moves progress so it does bring you in safely, while warming up the muscles throughout your body.
I used 8.5kg on the chest/ab section, which felt like a lot heavier than I previously used. My chest in particular really had to work hard to avoid 'smashing my face'.
The endorphins released during and after this workout are incredible! It leaves you feeling so strong and capable. Shaun T's words of motivation make you push beyond what you think you are capable of. In a word: INCREDIBLE!
Today's workout was 'strength'. This has to be my favourite workout of all time. I really do believe it is workout perfection. It works you hard in cardio, strength and balance. Not having done this workout for about 3 weeks, I couldn't quite remember which weights to use. Shaun T and the others in the DVD stick to the same weight throughout the warm-up but I prefer to switch weights so I am pushing myself in each move, but also able to keep good form throughout. It works for me! The warm-up is TOUGH! It seems to last a long time but the moves progress so it does bring you in safely, while warming up the muscles throughout your body.
I used 8.5kg on the chest/ab section, which felt like a lot heavier than I previously used. My chest in particular really had to work hard to avoid 'smashing my face'.
The endorphins released during and after this workout are incredible! It leaves you feeling so strong and capable. Shaun T's words of motivation make you push beyond what you think you are capable of. In a word: INCREDIBLE!
Pam
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