Restart

This blog started out as a fitness blog. Then it evolved to photos of my cat and fitness. Then it transformed again into ramblings of my random hobbies, photos of my cat, and fitness. Needless to say, what started as my little corner of the internet world that served to hold me accountable for my 2012 resolution for fitness has changed into more of a living room of my life.

Just as I have evolved since starting to write here, so has my blog. So it’s time for a little reboot. I’ve decided to drop the “Runs Aground” part from my title. Because I’m doing, and writing about, more than just that.

I originally titled my blog the White Whale Runs Aground as a nod to an inside joke. I used to refer to myself as the White Whale, because I am basically a transparently-colored human who constantly battled my weight (poor whales, what a bad rap), but considered myself pretty strong and awesome (yay whales, what an awesome rap.) What can I say, whales are my totem animal. And in 2012, I challenged myself to lose a percentage of my body fat, so I decided to take up running, among other fitness activities, and write about them here for the world to read. Spoiler: I neither developed a running habit that stuck, nor have accomplished my original resolution to date. #Winning.

But despite the lack of goal attainment as well as the evolution (read: aging) of my body and mind, I’m going to keep The White Whale part. Because I think, aside from being a nod to my journey through health and wellness, it’s also a literary archetype to which, thanks to Herman Melville, we can all relate.

For those of you familiar with the White Whale from Moby Dick, hold tight. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, let me learn you a thing. Herman Melville wrote Moby Dick. In this story, a captain named Ahab is pissed at this white whale (Moby Dick) because it bit off his leg. Understandable. But Ahab wants retribution. His drive for revenge becomes consumptive, and Ahab spends every minute of his existence hunting down the creature. Spoiler: Ahab becomes blinded by his lust for vengeance, and it gets him killed. When he finally tracks down the White Whale, he is ensnared in a harpoon line and dragged to the depths. Poor Ahab dies in the hunt of the one thing he wanted most in life.

Woah.

So anyway, what I am trying to say here is that we are all chasing something. We all have White Whales out there that we pursue. Having a goal is great and reaching for it is even better, but the trick is balance. And mindfulness. And assessment. We all know that what we think makes us happy—what we think defines us—can sometimes consume us if we keep our eyes on a perceived “prize” instead of on ourselves.

While self-betterment is, in my opinion, honorable and necessary, somewhere along the line, we can lose sight of who we are in the pursuit of who we think we ought to be.

Boom. Philosophized.

So I’d like to shift the perspective. Am I going to chase after my White Whale of fitness and wellness? You bet your behind. And I’ll tell you all about it. But I’m also going to pursue and write about other whales. I want my blog to reflect more than just a journey toward a resolution. I want it to represent evolution. The pieces of me that make me whole, while I continue to grow into who knows what.

Well, that and adorable pictures of Hatch, of course:

Camouflage.

So here’s to your whales and mine. I hope you’ll follow along!

Path of Insanity

I’ve been radio silent for months! It’s sort of scary how quickly the weeks go by these days…

The upside of not writing, however, is that it was due to a productive and fun summer season in terms of working out and, you know, just living life in general. At the time of my last post, I was in the first two weeks of the Insanity workout program. I just didn’t say anything, because frankly, I was too exhausted to do the workouts and talk about it, too.

But last Saturday, I had the final workout of the program (and I also sealed the deal by running a 5-mile Spartan Sprint, on the same day, too.) So, just in case anyone is interested, I thought it might be interesting to share my thoughts on the program and my results!

Let’s start with the basics. Insanity is a 9-week program divided into two phases, and separated by a “recovery week” (by the by, it’s laughable that anyone would consider that week a “break.”). The program has a demanding workout schedule—a whopping six days per week. In the first phase, the workouts are between 30-40 minutes. The Recovery Week is about 40 minutes per day, and you do the same video for whole week. Phase Two ups the ante, and brings in 50-60 minute workouts per day, with some days requiring two different videos. So it’s a behemoth of a workout, but happily, you don’t need any equipment. You also don’t need a large space in which to do it. I completed every workout in a 6 foot by 4 foot area in my bedroom. I had to get spatially creative a few times, but it’s definitely doable in tight spaces.

                                                                                                                      

Now on to the workouts themselves. Insanity is the most aptly named program I’ve encountered. It is truly brutal. Every workout is hard. And every workout stays hard. My own explanation for this is as follows: you are certainly building strength and stamina every week, but as you get stronger, you both perfect your form and increase your reps. So, you start a phase with muscle exhaustion because the moves are new. And you end the phase with muscle exhaustion because you are getting better. It’s like a slap in the face and pat on the back at the same time.

The workouts are a beastly fusion between cardio endurance and muscular strength. And it’s high impact. Read: LOTS of jumping around. Each phase contains five videos that rotate throughout the four weeks in such a way to keep your muscles very confused and your lungs gasping for air. Imagine feeling, simultaneously, the cardio fatigue of running for an hour with the muscular fatigue so legit that even the weight of your water bottle could put you on the floor. That’s how I felt after every workout. Positively, blissfully unable to do anything. And soaked—literally soaked—with sweat. Like, to the point where it looked like I just got out of the shower because my hair was that wet. Mmm, a gritty, badass workout.

So, yes, the workouts are hard. And no, there are no modifications of the moves. I’ll be honest—there were several times during my workouts where I wanted to quit. And not just giving up on the video, giving up on the entire program. Six days a week for nine weeks is a huge commitment. Especially when you know you are either waking up early or coming home after work to get your ass handed to you day after day. For that reason, I think Insanity is as much about mental fortitude as it is about physical fitness. But even on the days where I wanted to throw in the towel, and pillage an entire town with my frustration, there was one saving grace: even the people in the video (Holla, Tanya!) cannot make it through a workout without needing to stop here and there. And they also look positively miserable at some points during the workouts. So even though I was hating life at some points during my workout, I knew that if these fitness dynamos are struggling, it had to be hard. And just having reinforcement that this is, in fact, very tough stuff was enough to keep me pushing through to the finish line. Misery loves company!

I think one of the greatest features of Insanity is the Fit Test. At the start of the program, you take a test that consists of 8 moves. You do each move for a minute and record your results. Then, you retake the test every two weeks.  And even though you feel just as tired and crappy in the last fit test as you do in the first, you watch your reps climb. And you know the insanity of this workout program hasn’t been in vain. That said, here is my fit test progress from Insanity start to finish, as well as some additional stats:

Insanity Fit Tests
Date	10-Jun	23-Jun	14-Jul	28-Jul	9-Aug	Progress First Test to Last
Switch Kicks	68	65	70	69	74	6
Power Jacks	47	50	54	60	63	13
Power Knees	77	100	110	95	95	18
Power Jumps	30	32	40	50	60	30
Globe Jumps	9	11	12	12	13	4
Suicide Jumps	15	15	17	19	20	5
Jack Pushups	17	20	22	24	27	10
Oblique Abs	54	53	60	74	80	26

 

Body Metrics Change First Day to Last Day
Date	10-Jun	9-Aug	Progress First Day to Last
% Body Fat	26.7	25.8	0.9% Loss
% Muscle Mass	37.8	37.2	0.6% Loss
% Total Body Water	51.6	52.6	1.0% Gain
Bone Mass	4.6	4.6	0% Change

Measurement Change First to Last Day
Weight	2.4 pounds lost
Waist	2.75 inches lost
Chest	0.5 inches lost
Right Bicep	0.75 inches lost
Right Thigh	0.5 inches lost
Thigh Circumference	1.5 inches lost
Body Total	6 inches lost

Some things I think about all the above:

·         I am psyched about my Fit Test improvement! Undeniable progress over the weeks, and I am feeling most proud of my Power Jumps and Jack Pushups numbers. Those were definitely the most difficult moves for me throughout the course of the program, and I’m really happy that I was able to get my reps way up by the end of it all!

·         According to my fancy scale, I lost muscle mass. I’m not sure I believe that. Mostly because I definitely feel stronger, and think my fit test results speak to my strength gains.

·         On the same front, I am surprised about the 1% body fat loss. I was expecting it to be higher for a few reasons. The first is that when I compare my before photos with my after photos, there is a clear physical difference in my body (For the sake of your eyesight, I have elected not to post these pics. You are welcome.) The second is that I would think the amount of total body inches lost would translate into a higher percentage body fat loss. Especially as, for the first time in my life, I can see my abs through the “protective coating” of my tum-tum.

I guess it just goes to show you that you can’t always trust the scale! Progress and success are comprised of a multitude of factors that aren’t always conventionally quantifiable—like how beast mode you can go on your power jumps or how much rage you can pack into a pushup.

So, thus ends my journey to and through Insanity. Am I glad I did it? Absolutely. Would I recommend it to others? It depends. I loved the program, but it’s really important that you go for it wholeheartedly. It’s a major time commitment, and a major physical and mental demand. But if you gun for it, you’ll come out the other end more fit than you’ve ever been and feeling like a powerhouse of capability.  Even though all days were brutal, and some days I wanted to quit, I’m very glad and proud of myself that I pushed through. The results of my efforts, both in how I look and how I feel, are just a cherry on top of making a commitment and seeing it through to the finish line.

And for that feeling, it’s worth going a little insane.

Hatch also has muscle fatigue.