How sweet. I just got my invitation to google voice from a good friend and this thing rocks. I’m playing with every feature and still learning. You can read all about here. For now, I’m working on a widget that allows people from call me from the web. How cool is that! Go ahead and try it out. Who knows, I may even answer.
Life plays mind tricks on you. Two years ago, I found, or so I thought, the ultimate fitness conditioning program; P90X. Well, after two years and three full rounds, my body has changed, my life has improved, but I’m totally bored and need a changed. So, during a recent business event I met Steve Gable, CTO at the Tribune company. Initially we talked about the usual business stuff. A little time into our conversation I learned that he did P90X. He has a crazy workout discipline and runs long distances even during the scorching Texas summers, outdoors. He suggested that I tried Insanity to help with my speed, cardio and agility. I did my typical Internet review hunting and got hooked.
Today in the mail I got a pretty nice glossy box and beautifully packaged 10 Insanity workout DVDs, ready to pop into my basement’s laptop for a good can-of-whoop-ass. I rushed to do a quick scan of all DVDs. First impressions, mixed. This is clearly a cardio get-lean type workout. It’s ideal for women looking for that beach toned body. Guys looking for mass and strength… I don’t think so. My goals are to increase speed/agility and endurance, so this could be my ticket to a great beach volleyball summer. I did my leg workout today and then went for the fit test with decent results. Insanity is intense, short workout sessions, no equipment and little space necessary. Gotta love that! Just like most other packages, this one came with a nutrition guide. When you burn over 600 calories per workout, I don’t think diet should be in your vocabulary. Eat good, eat plenty and eat often. What’s not to like about this rule?!?
I’ll post my progress here as I did for P90X. The amount of information and opinions on comparing P90X, Insanity and Crossfit is overwhelming and most of it pointless since this they aim a different results. Exercise is a very personal choice and life is all about experimenting. So I’ll have fun with this one.
Fit Test Results
Switch Kicks / 62
Power Jacks / 42
Power Knees / 72
Globe Jumps / 9
Suicide Jumps / 16
Push Up Jacks / 25
Low Plank Oblique / 45
If you want to learn more about the program, Robert Harden has written one of the best reviews on Insanity in the Extremely Fit website.
Why didn’t anyone tell me about this creatine thing earlier? Oh wait, I google it and you get a gazillion hits. Learning; what a beautiful thing.
I like to stay natural. This is, quality foods, low fat, fresh and healthy stuff. My focus on supplements has been endurance and recovery. A protein shake, a recovery drink here and there, sometimes a boost of glutamine and that’s it. This year, as I increased my focus on leg strength and conditioning, I read a lot about what the big guys take for massive strength. Then I found creatine, and this thing is amazing!
I’ve been reading about this for about a week. Since there is so much out there about this magic supplement, I’ll summarize what you need to know so you can decide how much to take and whether this is for you.
What is Creatine?
Creatine is one of the most used supplements on the market and widely used by just about any athlete, from bodybuilders to cyclists and sprinters. It’s everywhere. Creatine naturally exists in your body. So it’s not some miracle synthetic drug or steroid created in a lab. It a safe physical and sports performance enhancer.
Creatine is found mostly in meat and fish. If you’re a vegetarian, you would tend to have less creatine than meat-eaters – simply because meats are a source of creatine. The average person use up about 2 grams of creatine each day, athletes, use up much more creatine. What you need is a concentrated source of creatine without the fat.
How does is work?
Simply, creatine increases the energy in your muscles. It does this by increasing the amount of ATP in the body. So creatine increases ATP, your strength depends of your ATP level. Bingo! It’s important to note that your body kicks energy for only about 10 seconds before more ATP is needed and produced. This is where creatine comes in and gives a phosphate kick to the ADP making another ATP. ATP then is used as energy. The more creatine you have, the more ATP you can produce. Since creatine works to boost ATP production, this helps your anabolic performance. This is, short term energy which is directly related to strength. You will not run longer marathons with this, you will sprint faster. For court sports like basketball, volleyball the bouts are short in duration and high in energy bursts. As you can see creatine seems like magic!
How much and which type of creatine to take?
Again, there is a lot of information our there on types of creatine. I’ll summarize it here. You only need the creatine supplement called creatine monohydrate. Don’t get sold with other fancy forms of creatine. Also, you should only buy the powder kind in micronized form. This is “finely or micro chopped” so that it can be diluted and digested easier.
If you are into bodybuilding, then you should follow this schedule;
If you are a casual, sport athlete or vegeterian then you should follow this schedule;
Creatine Benefits
Creatine Cons (Side Effects)
My creatine top pick supplements
Ok… so I’m starting my off season training with an all out P90X+ session. I’m mixing some alternative leg strength and jump training. Why am I doing this again? Some things in life cannot be explained, they just must be done! Do I like working out…? Well, here’s how I see it. I hate the time before the workout. I like the workout itself, and I absolutely love the feeling after the session and morning after. My mind plays lots of tricks before the workout. The loads of work, family responsibilities, friends, etc. often get in the way to help focus on thyself. This is especially more apparent when these worlds are somewhat apart. This takes extra energy to get going. Once I get going, the rest is easy. It flows and it goes with the ultimate reward of a relaxing steam room experience at the end. Ahhhh! And the next morning seems even more energized and productive.
I haven’t thought about goals for next year in terms of sand volleyball and the rest, but I’m sure that this will come next.
For now, it’s game on. Bring It!