"Home Exercise or the Gym?" Insanity: Day 17 of 60

Things have been kind of hectic lately.  When that happens, you have to work around certain priorities.  It isn’t easy.  What suffers?  A lot of time, it is the stuff you are doing for ‘you.’  Like Exercise.  It happens very easily.  When your day has been a little too long, and you’re tired and mopey, you can very easily rationalize that you can’t work out because you’re exhausted.  I was at that point last night.  Just too damn much running around etc. had finally caught up with me.

There was a time, when I would have listened to that inner voice and just cracked open a beer and sat down to watch television.  I would have good reason, too.  Not only would I have been tired, but to work out, I would have had to go to the gym.  Let’s see how that used to play out…

Thirty minutes to get my workout stuff together, hop in the car, get to the gym and get the treadmill warmed up.  Almost an hour on the treadmill, (forty-five minutes on light days), and then cool down and towel off.  Twenty minutes to drive home with Air Conditioner blasting in my face to cool off.  Ten to fifteen minutes to shower and fully dry out.  Let’s count it up…two hours.  Two hours had to be allocated to working out.  The treadmill did get old too.  It could be boring.

Back then, at 8 O’clock or even 8:30, no workout was going to be contemplated.  If I didn’t get out of the house by 7:30PM or so, it was really easy to convince myself that tomorrow would be better.  That happened a little too often.  Also, I was only running three to four days a week!  So you miss a day and the week goes from four days of exercise to three.  What was the culprit here?  My busy life.

Last night was different.  Why?

Yes, things had been hectic and I was tired.  It was 8:50PM.  My wife was already laying in bed reading.  The kids had finished homework.  All household signs and indications were that this day was over.  A year ago, this was an easy decision.  Not a great decision, but an easy one.  So, last night, what happened?

First I asked myself, how much time do I need?  Typically, with Insanity in the first month, it’s about 40 minutes.  If they throw in Cardio Abs, it’s another twenty, but let’s shoot for normal here.  I need about 45 to get my workout clothes on, push play, and do the routine.  In fact, I get dressed faster because I just throw on any old workout clothes.  Number one, no one on the DVD cares what I look like and they never judge.  Number two, these Beachbody workouts make you sweat so much that your clothes will have to be wrung out anyway, so they might as well not be your snazzy cute workout sweatpants.

So, by 9PM, there I was in front of the DVD player with Shaun T. saying, “Yo what’s up, this is Insanity!”  By 9:40PM, I was drenched in sweat and feeling pretty damn good that I had made the time and checked off another box on the wall calendar.  By 10PM, I was back on the couch with my Recovery drink and a mango (my new favorite fruit of choice).  A little over an hour was burned.

The second factor here is that, because I need to carve out less time for my workout, I do it more.  Doing it more (six days per week) actually gets your body in a cycle.  It becomes a rhythm where you get used to that flow of endorphins that comes with a rigorous workout.   In the back of your mind, with repetition, your brain begins to instinctively respond to thoughts of exercise with pleasure, not pain.

Home exercise versus the gym?  Seriously, it’s a slam dunk…home.  The reason most people don’t like home exercise is that they either don’t have a disciplined program or don’t have the equipment.  What if you had a disciplined program and didn’t need equipment?  That would work.  Know what?  It does work.

The other reason that people don’t like working out at home is that they get lonely and there is no encouragement.  I understand this, but I think it’s an excuse.  You either want to be in better shape or you don’t.  When I am at the gym, I don’t talk to anyone.  I’m not there to socialize, I’m about to run five to six miles on a treadmill.  I won’t even have enough breath to talk and run.  I do ‘people watch,’ but only when the bank of televisions has nothing of interest on.  With the home exercise programs that I have been using since February, there are enough people on the DVD’s to keep my eyes occupied.  You can count on them too…they are ALWAYS there!  Not to be rotten here, but they are all in great shape and easy on the eyes.  That is not always the case at the gym.  I am laughing as I write this.  I’m no Prince Charming either!  It’s just an observation.

Home exercise programs can be cheaper as well!  Some gym’s cost thirty to forty dollars per month.  That’s $360-$480 per year.  A Beachbody workout program (like P90X or Insanity, that I use) costs about $120 retail…but once you spend the money, you can use the DVD as often as you like.  When you take that cost and divide it by the number of times you use it, the cost efficiency is much lower than a gym membership.  Not to mention the online advice and support you get.  If you want to socialize about working out, do it online!  It’s what we do now anyway…why do you think they call it social media?

So, from my experience, home exercise with a great program that can’t be beat.  It takes less time, is enjoyable, will be repeated, and will bring you better results (if for no other reason than that you will use it more).  It also is cheaper than a gym and can be reused.

The best reason of all though is that it keeps your excuses to a minimum and the increased usage will bring you better health and fitness.

Isn’t that the real goal?  You do have a goal…right?

I’m smiling.  Now go work out!

Have a great day.

THE WORKOUT

The workout today was actually not a workout.  Okay, that’s not completely true because I was sweating when I was done.  Today was Fit Test Number Two.  You take the fit test before you begin Insanity and then you take it along the way to gauge your performance.  Last night was the first retake since starting Insanity.  My results were actually pretty good.  Keep in mind, I started Insanity on the heels of P90X and considered myself to be in the best shape of my life.  That said, in only two weeks, my results were somewhat startling.

Switch Kicks: 116 Kicks to 122
Power Jacks: 63 to 70
Power Knees: 86 to 118 (I was not using the right form on Day 0, so you can toss those numbers)
Power Jumps: 44 to 54
Globe Jumps: 12 to 13
Suicide Jumps: 17 to 19
PushUp Jacks: 39 to 48
Low Plank Oblique: 61 to 73

I was happy I beat all the people on the DVD. Except the suicide jumps. I still don't believe the girl beat me. Not cause she's a girl, but because I was keeping pace with her...I might just go back to the DVD and count her reps!

Where will I be on Day 60???

So, Insanity, like P90X, actually does what they say on TV and does get you in very good (okay, excellent) shape!