Sunday, January 25, 2015

Blizzard Blast 2015 #racelocal

Today, I began my 2015 race season with the first #racelocal event on my calendar, Blizzard Blast. For those of you who didn't read my #racelocal blog post, this is a series put on my the obstacle course racing group I am a part of, the New England Spahtens. The #racelocal website defines the series by saying, "#racelocal is a movement to bring athletes and participants to high quality and proven New England owned and operated obstacle course races." I'm planning to attend around ten #racelocal events in 2015, most of them at Shale Hill. Blizzard Blast, however, was a new event for me.


Blizzard Blast is a 4 - 6 mile obstacle course race that takes place ever January in Dracut, Massachusetts. The venue is Four Oaks Country Club.


The team heat was at 12:40 p.m. I knew that there would be off site parking (cost $10), so I left myself plenty of time to travel. I ended up getting to Eastern Massachusetts in good time. Parking was a snap, and I was able to hop on the bus right away. Immediately, I was surrounded by fellow Spahten. In the spirit of team we all started chatting. I was having fun already. The bus ride from parking to the venue was maybe 10 minutes max, but it flew by. I should say that buses were plentiful, and I never had to wait either coming or going. This was all very well handled.

When I arrived at the event, fellow Spahten, John and I tried to find check-in. We failed totally due to our own lack of paying attention. Soon we were steered in the right direction. Check-in went well. There was a very short line and the volunteers were great. The check-in was in a tent outside, but the tent was well-closed and didn't feel very chilly.

That being said, I should mention though that I way overdressed for this event. It was probably in the mid-thirties, and I was dressed for cooler weather. I had on:

  • NE Spahtens team buff (wrapped around my ears)
  • My favorite Nike thermal base-layer
  • Another thermal mid-layer
  • An L.L. Bean windbreaker / light jacket top layer
  • Tights
  • Snow pants (like for snowboarding / skiing)
  • Darn Tough wool socks
  • Icebugs sneakers (with carbide tips)
  • UA gloves

Honestly, this was too much clothing. I have been feeling like I was getting a cold, but I would have been fine with out the mid-layer and snow pants. I will say that I didn't get cold or wet at all though. I didn't even get any snow in my shoes, so all the gear did it's job. However, I'm doing Polar Bear at Shale Hill in two weeks, and I will have to decide if I want to wear quite so much clothing. I'll probably bring everything just in case and can adjust as needed. 

After check-in, where I got my bib (which I didn't wear) and chip timer (which I did wear), we headed over to get our t-shirts, buffs, and goody bags. I was very excited to see custom "Largest Team" shirts and buffs for the Spahtens. The t-shirt was a long-sleeved t-shirt with Blizzard Blast on the front and the Spahten logo on the back. The buff had both the Blizzard Blast and Spahten logos. This was a very nice touch. 


The team also had it's own room where everyone was able to change and leave their bags. I headed to the team room, where I coordinated myself and changed my shoes. I then quickly headed out to join everyone for the team picture. From there, it was off to the starting line!


I gathered with a few fellow Spahten friends at the starting line. We were given details about how the course was quite slippery from the previous day's snow fall. I had on my Icebugs, so I wasn't too worried, but did make a note to move cautiously. The race, which had traditionally been a 5K (3.1 miles) was lengthened to 5.8 miles this year. With those few words, we were off. 

The race course, which was on what must be the Four Oaks golf course an nearby trails, had some rolling elevation. There were some sections where we were running along trails in the woods and there was quite a bit of spread between obstacles. Overall, the course didn't have a ton of elevation but any rolling hills and wood where you're trudging through the snow is work. A lot of the snow had been patted down over the course of the day, which was both helpful (less wading through snow) and not (more slippery).

I wasn't able to get a course map listing the obstacles, so my recounting of the course is from my own memory. I am sure I'm missing one or two things and have some obstacles, out of order, but this is how I can best recall the day. 
  • Pine Tree Weave: Weave your way under and through hanging Christmas trees. Climb over two side-ways trees. 
  • Sledding: Grab a sled, climb up the hill and sled down.
  • Keg Kingdom: The best obstacle ever! Okay, I needed assistance from Paul to reach the kegs, but after that it was so much fun. There were four hanging kegs. You had to swing from keg to keg, then do monkey bars and then swing from four more hanging kegs. There were hay bales between the kegs and bars, which helped a lot. This was a tough obstacle but very unique and loads of fun.



  • Under and Over: Go under a wall and then over the next. The second wall was probably around six feet. 
  • High Wall; This wall had kick boards, but I still needed a boost from Steve!
  • Paintball Target: Grab a paintball gun, put on your safety goggles and try to hit a target. Yes, I failed all three tries.
  • Peg Boards: So neat! For this obstacle there were peg boards attached to a tree. You had to take pegs and, using just your arms, climb the pegs up the holes in the boards to get up the tree. Hard! I made it about a third of the way up. I think I need to lobby to have the gym at work add peg boards so I can practice this skill. Very cool. Jess, who I was running with, completely nailed this obstacle. 



  • Sledding: Second bit of sledding for the day. I may have let my feet drag in front of me and gotten a huge face full of snow...
  • Christmas Lights Crawl: Like a barbed wire crawl but with Christmas lights! How festive. I really liked this one too. It's way more enjoyable to crawl through the snow under some dangling holiday lights than to roll across rocks under barbed wire. 
  • Hoist: This was a unique hoist. We had to haul up a small keg, but instead of just hoisting it, we actually had to wrap the string holding the keg on the pulley onto the handle we were using. Forearm strength was required. I actually preferred this to a traditional hoist.
  • Teeter Totters: Climb up and down a see saw. I actually skipped this obstacle. The only OCR related injury I've ever seen was when a teammate fell off a wet teeter totter and busted his ankle. Half of this obstacle was already closed down, and the see saws looked wet. I took my penalty of 10 snow angles instead.
  • Tunnel Crawl: Crawl through a short metal tunnel. 
  • Cinder Block Walk: You got two cinder blocks. While standing on one, you had to move the other forward. Then step to that one. You moved one block while balancing on the other to advance. As I stepped onto the block positioned at the finish I slipped off. Fortunately, the volunteer said I had made it. 
  • Kegs: There were kegs positioned at intervals through the next part of the course. We thought we had to step from keg to keg. Apparently, judging by this photo-evidence, we could have just weaved our way through. I did the first half stepping from keg to keg, with a bit of help from Aaron (thank you!) and then slalomed my way through the second half because the kegs were farther apart than my legs were long.


  • Ankle Biters: We had to make our way across an icy bridge criss-crossed with ropes at ankle height.
  • Football Throw: Take a football and throw it at a tire attached to a tree. While I didn't quite make it to hitting the tire, I did hit the tree right above the tire. Since I haven't thrown a football since high school gym class, I will consider this satisfactory. I throw like an uncoordinated person. 
  • Traverse Wall: This traverse wall was fantastic. We had a three panel wall and then a panel of tires. Everything was slick with snow, but I made it. I am back in my groove with the traverse wall after my awful one-time-only failure at the Spartan Beast.


  • Christmas Tree Carry: I usually am not one for carries, but I really enjoyed hauling this tree around. I was able to find a petite Charlie Brown-style sad tree that was just the right amount of challenge. I am still smelling the pine. I found bonus tree pieces nestled in my sports bra when I went to shower after getting home. 
  • Snow Mounds: After the carry, it was a quick jog over two mounds of snow and on to the finish line!


(Note: All of these images are taken from the NE Spahtens and Blizzard Blast Facebook pages. I was too busy running the event to take an photos. Some day, I'll have to get a GoPro...)

Blizzard Blast was a lot of fun. The course featured unique obstacles that I have not seen anywhere else. For people who have done more than a few races, such as myself, variety in obstacles is the most enjoyable part. There was a good winter-feel to the race; they kept with their theme well. Overall, the spacing of the obstacles was fairly good. My one bit of feedback would be that I think the race would work better as a 5K instead of a 5.8 miler. I would have liked to see greater density of obstacles -- parts of the course felt like a bit of a trail run; there was a section where we definitely went around a mile without any obstacles. I think if the race had been a 5K it would have felt much more obstacle-rich and overall been more enjoyable. The obstacles that were there were great, I just wish that they had been closer together so it didn't, at times, seem like we were just running through the woods without end.

The bottom line: This is a unique local race. I had a great group that I was running with and that really made the day fun. The race director did such a lovely job personalizing the race for the Spahtens. The devil is in the detail, and the details here were spot on. Everything on and off the course went smoothly. The venue was great. Though I didn't stay long to socialize it looked like people were having a blast at the after party. The course, the most important part of the day, was a blast (no pun intended) with a lot of attention paid to the winter theme. This made this race standout from the summer races I normally do. I wold definitely add Blizzard Blast to my 2016 calendar next year.

Monday, January 12, 2015

Insanity Max:30 Review: Friday Fight: Round 2

The last new workout in Insanity Max:30 is Friday Fight: Round 2. Shaun T starts the workout by saying it's the hardest that he's ever created. Furthermore, the Beachbody Max Out Guide says, "The new 'hardest workout ever.' Every move is a minute in this ultimate challenge between your body and your mind. Who's going to win?"

All that combined made me a little bit nervous about this workout. I've found that month two has increased the difficulty quite a bit and Max Out Strength kicked my rear the other day. As it turns out, Friday Fight: Round 2 is not that bad. Sure there are a lot of cardio moves and the intervals, as well as the time spent on each move, are all longer, but it's all moves that you know from earlier in the program. I was able to make it to the Genie Tuck Jumps at 21:53 before Maxing Out -- that's way better than I've done on other workout the first time through.


Friday Fight: Round 2 consists of a warm-up and three rounds. You go right from the warm-up into Round 1 without a break, which means that you're working for 15 minutes straight through. The next round is 11 minutes, leaving you with just four minutes at the end of the workout. As I've said before, each move is done for a full minute. This is similar to Friday Fight: Round 1 but is longer than the time you spend on each move in the other Max:30 workouts. The other cardio workouts, in general, have you move from move to move at 30 second increments. The Tabata strength-based workouts are 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off in month one and 45 second on, 15 seconds off in month two.

Below is the moves list for Friday Fight: Round 2. You'll see that with the exception of maybe one or two moves, these are exercises that were featured in other Max:30 workouts.

Warm-up:
Med Ball Twist:  Jack the feet and bring hands (together) up and over the head in an arc to the left and right.
Hop Hop Knee: Hop twice laterally to the right, then raise the outside knee. Return to the left, hopping twice and then raising that knee. Alternate side to side.
Mountain Climber: Run with high knees. As you lift one knee, lift the opposite hand directly overhead like you are grabbing a rock above you. Run legs and alternate arms up.
Hit The Floor: Move laterally side to side quickly and tap the floor with one hand and then the other. Keep in somewhat a low stance.
Plank Walk: In plank, move left then right.
Repeat Series
(Note: There is no break between the warm-up and Round 1. You move continuously for the first 15 minutes of Friday Fight: Round 2.)

Round 1:
Iron Legs: Start in a squat. Jump into a left lunge. From there, jump into a right lunge. Then do a scissor jump. Return to the squat and repeat all four moves, jumping from position to position.
Floor Hops: In plank hop both feet to the side of your body, left and right, back and forth. When you are lifting your feet for the jump, do so quick high almost like you want to kick into a handstand.
Scissor - "X": Do four scissor runs where you ski your feet back and forth on the floor. Then do two "X" jumps, where you jump vertically in to the air from a demi-squat position with the arms extended above and the legs below, making and x-shape.
Plank Jack - Front Raise: In plank, jack the feet out and in. As you jack the feet out, lift on arm straight out, directly in front of you. Bring the arm down as you jack the feet in. Alternate arms side to side for the arm lift as you jack the feet out and in.
Plyo Hook Lunge: Start in a lunge position, jump the front leg to the back and the back leg to the front to switch the lunge. Jump back and forth changing your lunging leg each time. As you do this, do hooks, left and right, with your arms.
Hit The Floor - Tuck Jumps: Move laterally side to side quickly and tap the floor with one hand and then the other. Keep in somewhat a low stance. After each move to the side, do a tuck jump by jumping and bringing you feet under your glutes and your knees towards the chest.
Free Runner - R: Jump up and kick the right leg front and left leg back. Repeat.
Free Runner - L: Jump up and kick the left leg front and right leg back. Repeat.
Power Jump Dive: Do a power jump (where you jump from a squat into the air bringing your knees in towards your chest). When you land in a squat, lean forward and dive forward so you are in a full plank with straight legs. Walk your hands back to your feet and stand up so you are again in a squat position and ready for the next power jump.
Ski Down Abs: Start in a c-sit position and lift your feet off the floor. Alternate your knees left and right. As you are doing that twist your upper body in the direction opposite the knees in a skiing motion.
Lat Push-up - Alt: Starting in plank, move your right arm to the right side. Do a push-up where you engage that right lat and have the right arm stay close to the body. After you push-up, walk your hands back into a center plank. Now move to the left side and repeat the move on the left. Alternate side to side.

Round 2
:
Low-High Switch Kicks: Start by kicking your legs left and right fairly low to the floor, on cue begin to kick your legs left and right as fast as you can as as high as you can.
Slap Back Jump: Starting in a squat position, jump forward. As you do this take your arms, which are in down straight in front of you and bring them behind, slapping your hands behind your glutes and returning them to the front. Do the same move jumping backward. Repeat, jumping front and back.
Plank Jack Tap: Start in plank position. Jack your feet out and in. As you jack your feet out, take one hand and tap it to your opposite shoulder. Jack your feet in and return your hand to the floor. When you jack your feet out again, tap the other hand to the other shoulder. Continue jacking your feet out and in and tapping right then left hands to the opposite shoulders.
Jab - Speed Bag - R: In guard position, with your right leg forward, do right jabs. Then switch to a speedbag while scissoring the feet. 
Jab - Speed Bag - L: In guard position, with your left leg forward, do left jabs. Then switch to a speedbag while scissoring the feet. 
Plank To Squat: Start in a squat position. Lower your hands to the floor and jump back into plank. Then jump back up into squat. (Kind of like a burpee.) Repeat.
Lunge Punch Kick - L: Start in a lunge with the left leg back. Hop and kick the left leg forward. As you do so, punch with that side. Go back down into a lunge and repeat.
Lunge Punch Kick - R: Start in a lunge with the right leg back. Hop and kick the right leg forward. As you do so, punch with that side. Go back down into a lunge and repeat.
Genie Tuck Jumps: With your arms cross one on top of the other in front of your chest, jump from a squat into the air bringing your knees in towards your chest.
Wide Burpee Jump: Do a wide bupree by squatting, putting your hands on the floor, and jumping your legs back into plank, keeping the legs wide. Jump back into the squat and the stand, jumping vertically at the top of the move. Repeat.
"X" Abs: Lying supine with legs straight out and about four inches above the floor and your shoulder curled up, your arms will start on your stomach and then reach out to make an "x" shape above the head. Legs open as your arms open. Alternate the arms and legs open into "x" position and then closed.
Tricep Push-up Jack: Do tricep push-ups where you elbows go back, scrapping against your sides instead of outward. As you go down, you jack the feet out and then return them in when you push-up.
Dive Push-up > Child's Pose: This is done with arms like they would be for a tricep push-up. When you start in plank, move so you are slightly back on your feet. As you go down into the push-up position, lean forward so you are moving forward and back as you move down and up.

Round 3:
10 & 2 Punch: Do a twisting jump where you jump both feet between 10 and 2 on the clock. As you are doing that, punch the front arm on each side.
8 Jabs - 2 Diamond: In a squat position, do eight jabs to the front, left and right. Then do two Diamond Jumps. To do a diamond jump, start in a squat. Power your self up in the air bringing your feet together under your body with toes touching (to make a diamond with your legs). While doing this, bring your arms all the way overhead.
Burpee Punch - Alt: Fo a burpee by squatting down and then jumping back into plank. However, instead of putting both hands on the floor, only put down the right hand. The left arm punches straight ahead as you go down into the burpee. Jump the feet in, still with the arm punched forward and return to standing. Repeat alternating the hand that's on the floor and the hand that punches on each burpee.
High Knee Abs: Jog with high knees. Have arms in "on guard" position and twist the torso so arms are meeting knees.


 I really enjoyed Friday Fight: Round 2. It was fun to see all the moves from previous workouts come together in a fast-paced cardio workout. This was definitely all cardio all the time, with less of a focus on working the muscles that in some of the other month 2 workouts. I felt like this was classic Insanity -- it reminded me a lot of the original program. 

In terms of difficulty, I would rate it as similar to a lot of what we see in the original Insanity program. I would also say that Friday Fight: Round 2 isn't much harder than Friday Fight: Round 1; the moves are just different. All in all, it has a great "final workout" feel, as it brings together lots of moves from the program and has you going hard the entire workout. This might be my favorite Max:30 program workout. Highly recommended.

Friday, January 9, 2015

Insanity Max:30 Review: Max Out Strength

I am four workouts into month two of Max:30, and I have to tell you that my body is definitely feeling the impact of a string of new challenging workouts. The forth workout on the calendar for month two is Max Out Strength. As the Max Out Guide says, "Max strength and max fat burn are what you'll get from this "45 seconds on, 15 seconds off" Tabata routine. Your arms, shoulders, chest, and core will be toast after this upper-body-focused strength workout."

This workout is the analog of Tabata Strength from month one, a workout that we waited two weeks before introducing. That meant that during week one of month one of Max:30, we got to do the same strength-based workout on Tuesday and Thursday of the first week. No such luck in month two where it's five days with five different workouts.


Max Out Strength pairs nicely with Max Out Power though. The Power workout focuses more on the lower body, while Max Out Strength is all about the arms. With all the push-ups and plank work in this workout, you chest and shoulders get a beating. My upper body was already sore from the rest of the new moves that I did this week, including the plyo push-up section from Max Out Power, and this led to an ugly session, the first time through Max Out Strength.

Below is the moves list for Max Out Strength. This is another Tabata-style workout with 45 second on, 15 seconds off intervals. In general, the rounds were approximately six minutes in length, though they kind of varied a bit. We went right from the warm-up into round one without a water break.

Warm-up:
High Knee Pull: Standing, lift one knee and pull it to the chest. Alternate left and right.
Jog It Out
Med Ball Twist: Jack the feet and bring hands (together) up and over the head in an arc to the left and right.
Mummy Kicks: Have your arms out straight in front of you and switch them side to side above and below the other. While doing this, do low kicks with your feet.
Lateral Lunge Kick - R: Lunge to right side by stepping out your right leg and then bending to sink into the right hip. The left leg is straight to the side. Return to standing by powering off your right leg. Then do a front kick with your right leg.
Slap Back Jack: As you jack your feet, take your arms, which are in down straight in front of you and bring them behind, slapping your hands behind your glutes and returning them to the front.
Lateral Lunge Kick - L: Lunge to left side by stepping out your left leg and then bending to sink into the left hip. The right leg is straight to the side. Return to standing by powering off your left leg. Then do a front kick with your left leg.
Heisman: With legs wide, run shifting your body weight left and right without twisting the torso.
High Knee Abs: Jog with high knees. Have arms in "on guard" position and twist the torso so arms are meeting knees.

Round 1
:
Split Plyo Lunge > Jog It Out:  Start in a lunge position, jump the front leg to the back and the back leg to the front to switch the lunge. Jump back and forth changing your lunging leg each time.
Plié Plyo Squat > Jog It Out: In a plié position, jack the feet in, so that you are in a narrow squat, and then back out into plié. Remain low as you hop in and out.
2 Hop Squats - 2 Lunges > Jog It Out: In squat position, do two hops, then turn to the right and into a lunge position, do two hops. Turn back to the left and do two hop squats. Now turn to the left so you are lunging on the opposite leg as last time and do two hops. Go back into the squat.
Hop Squat - Lunge > Jog It Out: This move is the same as the 2 Hop Squats - 2 Lunges except for you do 1 hop and 1 lunge.
Squat Thrust - Lunge > Jog It Out: Squat down, when you stand up do so and thrust your hips forward. Then turn and do a lunge. Alternate between the squat and the lunges side to side.
Squat Thrust > Jog It Out: Squat down, when you stand up do so and thrust your hips forward.

Round 2:
Push-up Jack Tap > Child's Pose: start in plank position. Jack your feet out and in. As you jack your feet out, take one hand and tap it to your opposite shoulder. Jack your feet in and return your hand to the floor. When you jack your feet out again, tap the other hand to the other shoulder. Continue jacking your feet out and in and tapping right then left hands to the opposite shoulders.
Push-up Jack > Child's Pose: Do push-ups, as you go down, you jack the feet out and then return them in when you push-up.
Plank Jack - Push-up > Child's Pose: In plank, jack the feet out and in. Then do a push-up. Repeat.
Plank Walk - Push-up > Child's Pose: In plank, walk your arm and leg to the right to do a plank walk. Do a push-up. Repeat alternating side to side with the plank walk.
Knee Push-up > Child's Pose: Do push-ups with your knees down instead of in full plank.
8-Count Knee Push-up > Child's Pose: Do push-ups with your knees down instead of in full plank. For each push-up, lower down for 8 counts and then push-up for 8 counts.

Round 3:
Floor Switch Kicks > C-Sit Hold: Start with a reverse tabletop position. Your feet are on the floor, legs bent, and your upper body is supported by your arms under you, like you are going to do tricep dips. In this position, alternate kicking your legs up in the air left and right as fast as you can.
Tricep Reach Kick > C-Sit Hold: In the same position as for Floor Switch Kicks, lift one leg and the opposite arm. Touch hand to foot. Leg should be extended straight. Alternate side to side.
Tricep Knee Taps > C-Sit Hold: This is the same as the Tricep Reach Kick except you lift your leg bent instead of straight. Your hand should touch your bent knee.
Tuck Extension > C-Sit Hold: From tuck position where you're in c-sit with the legs off the floor and hands on knees like during a tuck jump, open up legs and arms lying back completely on the floor. Stretch the arms overhead and the legs out in front. Arms and legs are four inches from the floor. Pop back up into tuck jump position. Repeat move over and over.
Floor Tuck Jumps > C-Sit Hold: Sitting in c-sit position, engage your abs and lift your feet off the ground with bent knees. Tap hands to knees as if doing a seated tuck jump.
Speed Knee Abs > C-Sit Hold: Start lying down on your back. Bicycle your legs back and forth. Touch your hands to the knee that is bent towards you, twisting slightly to engage your abs.


Round 4:
Tricep Push-up Jack > Child's Pose: Do tricep push-ups where you elbows go back, scrapping against your sides instead of outward. As you go down, you jack the feet out and then return them in when you push-up.
Dive Push-up > Child's Pose: This is done with arms like they would be for a tricep push-up. When you start in plank, move so you are slightly back on your feet. As you go down into the push-up position, lean forward so you are moving forward and back as you move down and up.
Lat Push-up - Alt > Child's Pose: Starting in plank, move your right arm to the right side. Do a push-up where you engage that right lat and have the right arm stay close to the body. After you push-up, walk your hands back into a center plank. Now move to the left side and repeat the move on the left. Alternate side to side.
Knee Push-up Pulse > Child's Pose: In plank on your knees, lower down into a push-up position. Maintain that position pulsing up and down slightly.
8-Count Knee > Child's Pose: Do push-ups with your knees down instead of in full plank. For each push-up, lower down for 8 counts and then push-up for 8 counts.
Low Plank Hold: Start in full plank and lower down until your chest is hovering just above the floor and elbows are going back. On cue, alternate between doing this on your knees and in pull plank.


Bottom line: This workout is hard. I Maxed Out early into the upper body intensive round at 12:32 and had to do some modifications the first time through, meaning that I did quite a few of the sections of push-ups on my knees. I am glad that this workout really challenged me. I think that getting a few rest days for the upper body, chest and shoulders especially, combined with going through this workout a second time will definitely result in better performance. In addition to tracking my Max Out time, and hoping to improve it, I also plan to track how far I can go before modifying. This was something that I did with the Tabata Strength workout, and it was great to see how I not only was able to make it all the way through the workout by the end of the month but also about to make it through without switching to modified push-ups (on the knees).

I am looking forward to the next time through this workout. It killed me the first time around. Now I can't wait to have another try at Max Out Strength!

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Insanity Max:30 Review: Max Out Sweat

The third workout of month two is Max Out Sweat. The description for this workout in the Max Out Guide states, "The more minutes you make it through, the more you SWEAT the the more calories you burn. You'll know why we say, 'twice the sweat in half the time' from this workout."

As with all the month two workouts, there is a similar workout in month one. For Max Out Sweat, the similar workout is Sweat Intervals. Judging by my first Max Out time in Max Out Sweat, 20:43, versus in Sweat Intervals, 26:20, I would definitely say that this workout is a bit harder. Both workouts are cardio-focused with some modest strength work. It seems that the Monday and Wednesday workouts of each month are the cardio ones and the Tuesday and Thursday workout are the more strength focused workouts. The Friday Fight workouts are an integrated workout that takes all the skills you have learned and ups the difficulty.


All of the month two workouts seem to have longer rounds than in month one. In the first month of Max:30, you were pretty much guaranteed a water break every five minutes. Month two increases the default time between water breaks to six minutes. While that might not sound like a lot, it's still an increase of 20% and certainly something that adds to the difficulty factor. In general, for each six minute round, you repeat the first three moves three times through, thirty seconds each. Then there is a bonus, Power Move, which tends to be done for a full minute.

Below is the moves list for Max Out Sweat.

Warm-up:
Low Switch Kick Punch: Start by kicking your legs left and right fairly low to the floor. Punch your arms front left and right.
Hop Hop Knee: Hop twice laterally to the right, then raise the outside knee. Return to the left, hopping twice and then raising that knee. Alternate side to side.
1-2-3 Clap: Side to side three times. Have arms at chest level and open to the sides. Bring up your knee and touch it with the same arm.
(Repeat series twice)
Speed In & Out Abs [Power Move]: In plank, jump the feet in towards the chest and then back out. Repeat as quickly as possible.

Round 1:
Plyo Hook Lunge: Start in a lunge position, jump the front leg to the back and the back leg to the front to switch the lunge. Jump back and forth changing your lunging leg each time. As you do this, do hooks, left and right, with your arms.
Wide In & Out - Knee Tap: Start in plank position with your feet wide. Hop your feet in, under your body. Take one arm and tap the opposite knee. Jump back out into plank with feet wide and bring your arm back down. Repeat and tap the other hand to the other knee. Repeat side to side.
Switch Kick Punch: As you punch your arms, kick your legs left and right as fast as you can and as high as you can.
Plyo Hook Lunge
Wide In & Out - Knee Tap
Switch Kick Punch
Plyo Hook Lunge
Wide In & Out - Knee Tap
Switch Kick Punch
Hit The Floor - Tuck Jump [Power Move]: Move laterally side to side quickly and tap the floor with one hand and then the other. Keep in somewhat a low stance. After each move to the side, do a tuck jump by jumping and bringing you feet under your glutes and your knees towards the chest.

Round 2:
Ab Attack - R: Stand in a sideways squat-type position with arms extended. Jump the feet in and lift the right knee. As you do so, bring the left arm in towards the right knee engaging the abs and twisting slightly.
Burpee Punch - R: Do a burpee by squatting down and then jumping back into plank. However, instead of putting both hands on the floor, only put down the left hand. The right arm punches straight ahead as you go down into the burpee. Jump the feet in, still with the arm punched forward and return to standing. Repeat.
Knee Switch Kick - R: Jump so that you left knee is raised towards the chest. Hop, lowering that knee to the ground and do a kick with the right leg. Then hop back onto the right leg again while raising the left knee.
Ab Attack - L: Stand in a sideways squat-type position with arms extended. Jump the feet in and lift the left knee. As you do so, bring the right arm in towards the left knee engaging the abs and twisting slightly.
Burpee Punch - L: Do a burpee by squatting down and then jumping back into plank. However, instead of putting both hands on the floor, only put down the right hand. The left arm punches straight ahead as you go down into the burpee. Jump the feet in, still with the arm punched forward and return to standing. Repeat.
Knee Switch Kick - L: Jump so that you right knee is raised towards the chest. Hop, lowering that knee to the ground and do a kick with the left leg. Then hop back onto the left leg again while raising the right knee.
Ab Attack - R
Ab Attack - L
Burpee Punch - R
Burpee Punch - L
High Knee - Switch Kick: On cue do high knees. When cued transition to switch kicks. Alternate back and forth on cue.
4 Jab - 4 Knee Punch [Power Move]: Jab left and right four times to the front. Then do four running high knees as you jab left and right.

Round 3:
Wide Fly - In & Out Ab: In plank, jump the feet in towards the chest and then back out. As you jump back, lift one arm directly out to the side. Lower the arm when feet jump back in. Alternate arm raises side to side. Repeat as quickly as possible. (Note: Balancing with the arms out in the wide fly position is a bit of a challenge here. You really have to engage your core to keep from rotating. The fly is more challenging than just a front raise with the arm because your arm is not in line with the body when it's raised, which means that your body has a tendency to get off balance. I had to do this move fairly slowly and will increase my speed as I get more accustomed to the form.)
Free Runner - R: Jump up and kick the right leg front and left leg back. Repeat.
Moving Push-ups: Starting in plank, step your left foot and left arm to the left side, moving your entire body to the left. Do a push-up. Repeat the move again to the left. Return to the center by doing two moving push-ups to the right. Alternate side to side.
Wide Fly - In & Out Ab
Free Runner - L: Jump up and kick the left leg front and right leg back. Repeat.
Moving Push-ups
Wide Fly - In & Out Ab
Free Runner - R
Free Runner - L
Moving Push-ups
360 Hop Squat [Power Move]: Start in a squat with the fingers on the floor. Hop clockwise four times, moving 90 degrees each time. As you hop try to maintain a low squat position. Reverse the move counterclockwise. Repeat alternating direction after four hops (to make the full 360 degree rotation).

Round 4:
Slalom: Start in a squat position with the legs together. Have one arms touching the floor and the other on the shoulder. Jump laterally in the direction of the arm that's on the floor. As you jump, switch arms, so that the arm on the floor is now at your shoulder and the other arm in touching the floor. Maintaining the squat position, jump laterally switching your arms with each hop.
Plank Jack Tap: Start in plank position. Jack your feet out and in. As you jack your feet out, take one hand and tap it to your opposite shoulder. Jack your feet in and return your hand to the floor. When you jack your feet out again, tap the other hand to the other shoulder. Continue jacking your feet out and in and tapping right then left hands to the opposite shoulders.
Scissor - "X": Do four scissor runs where you ski your feet back and forth on the floor. Then do two "X" jumps, where you jump vertically in to the air from a demi-squat position with the arms extended above and the legs below, making and x-shape.
Slalom
Plank Jack Tap
Scissor - "X"
Slalom
Plank Jack Tap
Scissor - "X"
Power Jump Dive [Power Move]: Do a power jump (where you jump from a squat into the air bringing your knees in towards your chest). When you land in a squat, lean forward and dive forward so you are in a full plank with straight legs. Walk your hands back to your feet and stand up so you are again in a squat position and ready for the next power jump. (Note: I had a bit of trouble with the dive part of this move. You ended up hitting the floor fairly hard, as you were supposed to be in full plank, instead of a plank with bent legs, after the drive. I am going to need to practice this one.)
Floor Sprints: Start in plank position. Maintaining that form, run your legs back and forth on the floor as fast as you can.


Max Out Sweat is definitely not as hard as some of the other month two workouts I encountered, especially yesterday's workout, Max Out Power. It was, in fact, my prefigured muscles from yesterday's Max Out Power session that made me Max Out on the Moving Push-ups at 20:43.

A lot of the moves seemed to be more complex in Max Out Sweat than in the month one workouts. There were more compound moves or moves where I had to watch them being performed a couple of times before I really got the idea of what the form was supposed to look like. There were a couple of moves like that in month one, but I feel like the complexity got ratcheted up a bit for Max Out Sweat.

Max Out Sweat is an excellent total body cardio workout. It's cardio that still makes you feel like you're using your muscles because of the bodyweight exercises you're doing, like burpees and all that plank work. All in all, this is definitely a good successor to the Sweat Intervals workout.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Insanity Max:30 Review: Max Out Power

Workout two of month two is Max Out Power. This workout is the month two analog to the workout Tabata Power, which we saw in month one. I would definitely say that this workout ups the difficulty as it moves from 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off intervals to 45 seconds on and 15 seconds off. As Beachbody describes this workout, "The intervals are longer in this 45 second on, 15 second off Tabata-style plyometric power madness." The description could not be more apt. The two overriding feelings I had while doing this workout were (a) the intervals feel so long and (b) everything is a plyo move. From jumps to a killer killer set of plyometic plank work, you are always doing jump training of some sort.


Below is the moves list for the workout. We started with a quick four minute warm-up before moving on to rounds that lasted usually around six minutes. For each move we did 45 second on and then had a 15 second rest where we jogged or when into Child's Pose or a c-sit, depending on the move.

Warm-up:
High Knee Pull: Standing, lift one knee and pull it to the chest. Alternate left and right.
Jog It Out
Med Ball Twist: Jack the feet and bring hands (together) up and over the head in an arc to the left and right.
Mummy Kicks: Have your arms out straight in front of you and switch them side to side above and below the other. While doing this, do low kicks with your feet.
Lateral Lunge Kick - R: Lunge to right side by stepping out your right leg and then bending to sink into the right hip. The left leg is straight to the side. Return to standing by powering off your right leg. Then do a front kick with your right leg.
Slap Back Jack: As you jack your feet, take your arms, which are in down straight in front of you and bring them behind, slapping your hands behind your glutes and returning them to the front.
Lateral Lunge Kick - L: Lunge to left side by stepping out your left leg and then bending to sink into the left hip. The right leg is straight to the side. Return to standing by powering off your left leg. Then do a front kick with your left leg.
Heisman: With legs wide, run shifting your body weight left and right without twisting the torso.

Round 1:
Slap Back Jack - Up/Back < Jog It Out: Start in a squat. Jack your feet and jump forwards. While doing this, take your arms, which are in down straight in front of you and bring them behind, slapping your hands behind your glutes and returning them to the front. On the next jack, jump back.
Slap Back Jack - Side/Side < Jog It Out: Start in a squat. Jack your feet and jump laterally to the side. While doing this, take your arms, which are in down straight in front of you and bring them behind, slapping your hands behind your glutes and returning them to the front. On the next jack, jump back laterally to the other side.
Slap Back Jack - Up/Back < Jog It Out: Follow the cues for when to do your jumping jack up and back. When waiting for the cue, maintain a squat position.
Low Squat Pulse - Up/Back < Jog It Out: With feet shoulder width apart, sink back into your glues like you are sitting in a chair. Hold your arms straight out in front of you. Do tiny pules up and down at the bottom of the squat position. On cue, jump from the squat position forward and then sink back into the squat. Pulse again until cued to jump back.
Low Squat Pulse < Jog It Out: With feet shoulder width apart, sink back into your glues like you are sitting in a chair. Hold your arms straight out in front of you. Do tiny pules up and down at the bottom of the squat position.
Chair Hold < Jog It Out: With feet shoulder width apart, sink back into your glues like you are sitting in a chair. Hold your arms straight out in front of you.

Round 2:
Plyo Push-up Jack < Child's Pose: Do push-ups, when you come up, you pop off the floor, as you go down, you jack the feet out and then return them in when you push-up and pop off the floor. (Note: 45 seconds of plyo-style push-ups may never be a possibility for me. It was a stretch to finally get through the entire push-up section in month one where we did plyo push-ups, though eventually I did. For the first time through Max Out Power, I Maxed out at 11:30 while doing this move.)
Arm Jack Push-up < Child's Pose: Go down into a push-up, as you come up, pop your hands off the floor and jack your arms in. Then go down into a tricep push-up. When you come up pop your hands off the floor to return to a standard push-up position.
Push-up Pop-up < Child's Pose: Push-up and then when you come up pop off the floor slightly lifting off arms.
Step Out Push-up < Child's Pose: Starting in plank, step your left foot and left arm to the left side, moving your entire body to the left. Do a push-up. Return to the center. Now go to the other side.
Knee Plyo Push-up < Child's Pose: On your knees, instead of in full plank, do a push-up, when you come up pop off the floor.
4-Count Knee Push-up < Child's Pose: Do push-ups on your knees, four counts down and four counts up on cue. (Note: 4-count push-ups on the knees would normally seem like no problem, but after around five minutes of intense chest work, I was practically collapsing on the floor.)

Round 3:
Pike-Up Extension < Child's Pose: Start off in plank. Do a pike-up by jumping your feet in towards your arms so that  you are in an inverted "v" then jump back into plank. Lower down onto your stomach and extend your arms and legs straight in front and a few inches off the ground. Return to plank and do a pike-up.
Wide Push-up Extension < Child's Pose: Start in plank with arms wide. Do a push-up. Lower down onto your stomach and extend your arms and legs straight in front and a few inches off the ground. Return to plank and do a push-up.
Low Plank Pike-Up < Child's Pose: Start in low plank, balanced on your elbows. Do a pike-up by jumping your feet in towards your elbows so you are in an inverted "v." You will not be able to get us as high as you would in a normal pike-up. Repeat.
Ski Down Abs < C-Sit Hold: Start in a c-sit position and lift your feet off the floor. Alternate your knees left and right. As you are doing that twist your upper body in the direction opposite the knees in a skiing motion.
"X" Abs < C-Sit Hold: Lying supine with legs straight out and about four inches above the floor and your shoulder curled up, your arms will start on your stomach and then reach out to make an "x" shape above the head. Legs open as your arms open. Alternate the arms and legs open into "x" position and then closed.
Backstroke < C-Sit Hold: Lying supine with legs straight out and about four inches above the floor, curl your shoulders off the floor. Take your arms and then do a backstroke motion. (Note: This move and the "X" Abs are both very challenging. Keeping your legs static and a few inches off the floor is very challenging. For my first time through this, I modified by occasionally having my feet down on the floor and then lifting them up again. This is a bit more challenging than what the modifier is doing but not as hard as having your legs lifted the entire time. I plan to keep doing this as I increase my core strength.)

Round 4:
Burpee Lunge - Alt < Jog It Out: Squat, put the hands to the floor and then jump back into plank (to perform a burpee without a push-up). Jump back into a squat and then jump the left leg forward and right leg back into a lunge. Repeat, this time doing a lunge with the opposite leg. Repeat, switching lunges from leg to leg.
Squat Lunge - Alt < Jog It Out: Squat and then jump your right left back and left leg forward into a lunge. Jump back into the squat and now jump your left leg back and right leg forward into a lunge. Repeat alternating lunging legs.
Frog Jump Burpee < Jog It Out: Start in a wide squat with the hands on the floor. Jump forward. When you jump forward, power up out the squat with the legs straight below and bringing the arms straight overhead. Then do a burpee, where you go back into a plank position. From the plank, hop the feet back in and then return to the wide squat with the hands on the floor. This time, jump forward from the squat position.
Lunge Pulse (No break!): Start in a lunge on the right side. Pulse. Mid-way through, on cue, switch legs. (Note: Because Shaun T got the timing a bit off on this move, we had to lunge pulse through the break so that both sides were even. Yikes!)
Wide Burpee Jump < Jog It Out: Do a wide bupree by squatting, putting your hands on the floor, and jumping your legs back into plank, keeping the legs wide. Jump back into the squat and the stand, jumping vertically at the top of the move. Repeat.
Iron Legs: Start in a squat. Jump into a left lunge. From there, jump into a right lunge. Then do a scissor jump. Return to the squat and repeat all four moves, jumping from position to position. (Note: This was pitiful to watch. My legs were absolutely toast at this point, and it seemed that the participants on the DVD felt the same way because everyone was doing the move once and then shaking their legs out. We had to do this for a full minute. It was a long minute.)


Overall, the workout was more lower body focused; however, the most challenging section was without a doubt round 2, which focused on push-ups. Plyometric push-ups are one of the hardest moves around. The workout nicely mirrors the month one Tabata Power workout but is clearly more challenging. I think the challenge difference between Max Out Power and Tabata Power is definitely greater than the increase in difficulty from the Cardio Challenge to Max Out Cardio, the other month two workout I have done so far. I have to say that in the two month two workouts, I have definitely seen more leg work in month two than what I experience in month one.

Max Out Power was definitely a challenging workout. I liked how the structure of the workout was familiar from the first month but the moves were different enough to be engaging and to make me feel like something new was happening. I'm looking forward to checking out my next new workout of month two tomorrow.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Insanity Max:30 Review: Max Out Cardio

This Monday began month two of Max:30. I was feeling pretty good going into the second month. I had been able to make it through every workout in month one at least once all the way through without Maxing Out and felt ready to tackle this next challenge. 

Month two starts with the workout Max Out Cardio. Beachbody describes Max Out Cardio this way, "This may be the craziest cardio workout you ever tried. Just wait till you get to the first Power Move. What minute are you Maxing Out at now?" Basically, this seemed like a new and more challenging version of Cardio Challenge from month one, an initial impression that turned out to be true. Overall, the month two workouts look to all be analogs for month one workouts with the intensity ratcheted up a bit -- think about the difference between month one and month two of classic Insanity, and you have a good idea what to expect. In my mind, getting started with the program is much more challenging than the transition from month one to month two. If you can do month one and have been following the calendar, you'll be well positioned to do well on month two.


 Here are the moves list. You pretty much do every move for thirty seconds. The rounds are longer in month two for Max Out Cardio than in month one Cardio Challenge. You go from five minute intervals to six. The main difference is the addition of a Power Move at the end of each round. Some of these Power Moves last a bit longer than thirty seconds. For example, I think the first one was a minute. The moves are high impact and similar to Cardio Challenge but with more of a strength endurance feel.

Warm-up:
Med Ball Twist: Jack the feet and bring hands (together) up and over the head in an arc to the left and right.
1-2-3 Soccer Juggle: Run side to side three times. Have arms at chest level and open to the sides. Bring up your foot and touch it with the opposite hand.
Hop Hop Runner: Hop twice laterally and then curl the inside leg up and back into a dramatic running motion. Hop and run to the other side. Repeat side to side.
(Repeat series twice)
Plank Jack Front Raise [Power Move]: In a plank, jack the feet out and in, when the feet go out raise one arm. Alternate front raises side to side as you jack the feet. (Note: Yes, this is as hard as it sounds. However, if you've been doing jack push-ups and the like, all of which you do in month one, you should be ready to do this move. Just remember to really engage the core so that you can balance in plank as you do the front raises.)

Round 1:
Balance Kick Back - R: Stand on the left leg and lean slightly forward. Kick the right leg to the back out and in.
Speed In & Out Abs: In plank, jump the feet in towards the chest and then back out. Repeat as quickly as possible.
Low Plank Side Punch: In low plank (on elbows), lift one arm, reach it under your torso and punch to the opposite side. Put that arm back down and reverse on the other side. Go side to side trying not to move the hips.
Balance Kick Back - L: Stand on the right leg and lean slightly forward. Kick the left leg to the back and out and in.
Speed In & Out Abs
Low Plank Side Punch
Balance Kick Back - R
Balance Kick Back - L
Speed In & Out Abs
Low Plank Side Punch
Genie Tuck Jumps [Power Move]: With your arms cross one on top of the other in front of your chest, jump from a squat into the air bringing your knees in towards your chest. (Note: Doing a Genie Tuck Jump is quick a bit harder than doing a normal Tuck Jump. During a normal Tuck Jump, you can use your arms for momentum to help bring you into the air. With the arms crossed genie-style, you have to completely power yourself from your legs.)

Round 2:
Low-High Switch Kick: Start by kicking your legs left and right fairly low to the floor, on cue begin to kick your legs left and right as fast as you can as as high as you can.
Plank to Squat: Start in a squat position. Lower your hands to the floor and jump back into plank. Then jump back up into squat. (Kind of like a burpee.) Repeat.
Moving Slap Back Jump: Starting in a squat position, jump forward. As you do this take your arms, which are in down straight in front of you and bring them behind, slapping your hands behind your glutes and returning them to the front. Do the same move jumping backward. Repeat, jumping front and back.
Low-High Switch Kick
Plank to Squat
Moving Slap Back Jump
Low-High Switch Kick
Plank to Squat
Moving Slap Back Jump
8 Jab - 2 Diamond [Power Move]: In a squat position, do eight jabs to the front, left and right. Then do two Diamond Jumps. To do a diamond jump, start in a squat. Power your self up in the air bringing your feet together under your body with toes touching (to make a diamond with your legs). While doing this, bring your arms all the way overhead.

Round 3:
10 & 2 Punch: Do a twisting jump where you jump both feet between 10 and 2 on the clock. As you are doing that, punch the front arm on each side.
Floor Hops: In plank hop both feet to the side of your body, left and right, back and forth. When you are lifting your feet for the jump, do so quick high almost like you want to kick into a handstand.
Lunge Punch Kick - L: Start in a lunge with the left leg back. Hop and kick the left leg forward. As you do so, punch with that side. Go back down into a lunge and repeat. (Note: My legs were toast at this point. The previous round with the many squats and jumps made me quite fatigued. I Maxed Out here and took a little while to recover my legs.)
10 & 2 Punch
Floor Hops
Lunge Punch Kick - R: Start in a lunge with the right leg back. Hop and kick the right leg forward. As you do so, punch with that side. Go back down into a lunge and repeat.
10 & 2 Punch
Floor Hops
Lunge Punch Kick - L
Lunge Punch Kick - R
Basketball - Dribble [Power Move]: Do four jumps like you are doing a jump shot in basketball. Then to eight dribbles, where you ski your feet back and forth, front and back, and do a dribbling motion with the opposite hand.

Round 4:
Oblique High Knee: Run with high knees, however, have the legs slightly open and twist your arms (which should be in guard position) left and right to meet the knees, thus engaging the abs.
Sprint - Jack: Run in place as fast as you can. On cue, switch to jacking your feet with arms in guard position. On cue switch back to sprinting and then back again to jacking. (Note: Overall, round four was a bit less challenging than the other rounds, especially rounds two and three. I think I feel this way because the legs got a bit of a break. It was a welcome change to transition to some simple cardio moves here.)
Pike-Up Oblique Knee - R: Start off in plank. Do a pike-up by jumping your feet in towards your arms so that  you are in an inverted "v" then jump back into plank. Now, do a push-up and bring the right knee out along the side of your body and towards the arm in front of you.
Oblique High Knee
Sprint - Jack
Pike-Up Oblique Knee - L: Start off in plank. Do a pike-up by jumping your feet in towards your arms so that  you are in an inverted "v" then jump back into plank. Now, do a push-up and bring the left knee out along the side of your body and towards the arm in front of you.
Oblique High Knee
Sprint - Jack
Pike-Up Oblique Knee - Alt: Start off in plank. Do a pike-up by jumping your feet in towards your arms so that  you are in an inverted "v" then jump back into plank. Now, do a push-up and bring the right knee out along the side of your body and towards the arm in front of you. Repeat from the pike-up and alternate oblique knee push-ups right and left.
High Jump Clap [Power Move]: Jump straight up into the air. As you do so, bring one knee up towards the chest and clap your hands beneath that leg. The other leg remains straight below you. Alternate side to side which leg you are clapping beneath.
The Attack: In a squat position, chop hands left and right in front of you -- kind of like alternating jabs but with the hands open instead of fists.


I made it to 19:08 before Maxing Out, which I felt was pretty good for my first go around. In Cardio Challenge I tended to Max Out because I was huffing and puffing from the cardio (and my cardio is pretty good). In Max Out Cardio, I Maxed Out because my legs were jelly. It made the last ten minutes of the workout pretty interesting. Max Out Cardio definitely seems to work your muscles a bit more than Cardio Challenge.

Throughout the workout, Shaun T keeps saying that Max Out Cardio is an endurance challenge. I am not sure that I entirely agree as I define endurance as running a half marathon or hiking up a mountain for five hours; however, I do somewhat get his point. Over the thirty minutes, we are hitting the same muscles again and again. A key example is how much work the legs get in the middle rounds. It was this fact, more than cardio, that was the hard part of this workout. All in all, definitely a fun and engaging thirty minutes of hard work!