More, Before & After Pics

BEFORE - 190lbs

AFTER - 150lbs

Before -After Pictures

<<<<<<<< Before 23.3% BF >>>>>>

<<<<<<<< After 14.8% BF >>>>>>

Fit Test 3 Results

Switch Kicks - 100
Power Jacks - 50
Power Knees - 95
Power Jumps - 28
Globe Jumps - 8 rotations
Suicide Jumps - 12
Push Up Jacks - 25
Low Plank Oblique - 40

Day 47 - UBWT + Ab Ripper X

Got my weight training in today. Since my energy levels were fairly high, I was able to up my weights without much issue. After the grueling 55 min, I decided to do Ab Ripper X instead of Cardio Abs. Ab Ripper X is still by far the tougher Ab routine.
I slacked big time.

Day 46 - Max Cardio Conditioning

I had to skip the fit test so I could get this one in. I'm amazed at how the folks in the video and Shaun T manage to finish this workout.

My fit test 3 results are still due, will get to that soon.

Day 45 - Upper Body Weight Training

I skipped Core Cardio and Balance and decided to go for Upper Body Training insane style. I have another week to go and want to get my bf% to 15 or lower (currently at 16.5%). I have a feeling that I'm plateauing, not sure where to look for answers.

At this point I'm more concerned about getting through this week, and leaving for my vacation.

I've also started looking into programs I want to consider after I get back from vacation. Options include

- Insanity p90x Hybrid
- p90x Plus
- Insanity Asylum (prolly not, dont care more about cardio)
- come up with my own.

Day 44 - Core Cardio Conditioning and Ab Ripper X

Core cardio is pretty badass. Since this is a weekend day, I decided to do this workout 4 ish when
energy levels are at its highest. It paid of fairly well. I put this one in the pocket and also squeezed in 20 min of Ab Ripper X.

Tomorrow is UBWT (skipping core cardio and balance for something more insane).

PIcs and Fit Test 3 posts and due.

Day 43 - Fit Test 3 and Max Recovery

So I decided to squeeze in the fit test with max recovery. I'll post results of Fit Test3 in a different post to show a comparison.

My body was pretty fatigued from the continuous beating and the additional dance rehearsals I"ve been going to. Barely 20 min into the Max Recovery (after the fit test), I was beat. And I mean
EXHAUSTED like I've never been in any of the workouts before. I skipped to the last 15 min of the recovery and actually had to take the day off to recuperate. I CANNOT afford to miss another day.

Day 42 - UBWT

Not much to report, besides a pretty good workout. I switched Max Interval Plyo with UBWT. The primary reason is to accelerate my fat loss. Since I'll be missing my last week, I need that extra boost. I've noticed my bf% not dropping as much despite the change in diet. I hope this change works out. Stay tuned

Day 41 - MAX Interval Circuit

So I had a conflict during my regular work hours ( 8 - 9) and decided to do this routine much earlier at 6.30am, badd idea. Max Interval Circuit is a full 60 minutes of cardio circuit insanity style. Requires lots of energy. I'm glad I've started taking a scoop of whey 30 min before my workouts, without this I would not have lasted 30 mins on this one.

Back to my format
Motivation Meter (0 - 5) - 5 - I usually try to sleep in an extra 15 min after the alarm goes off. Not anymore ;)
Sore -o- meter (0 - 5) - 2. Big drop here after I started incorporating ON whey pre workout
Nausea Meter
(0 -5) - 1 - surprising low

Ups - Kept the motivation, took enough breaks but finished the darn workout.
Downs - Keep running out of breath. Not sure what to do about that. Even if I take a longer break, the second or third set get exhausting.
Notes to myself -
A. Add some carbs to the preworkout.

Day 40 - Core Cardio Conditioning

With month2, I'm really struggling to keep up with the exercises. I had a 4 day break, lost track of the diet, but I'm back and want to make up by including salad in my evening meals.

I also have my dance rehearsals on Tue/Thu so that should help keep the calories burning.

My main issue with core cardio conditioning is there aren't any breaks so its hard to keep of the breaks that I do take. The other issue is since I do it every morning, I have no carbs for instant energy. I'm thinking of taking a preworkout shake (1 scoop ON) about 45 min before my cardio. I tried it today and didnt really puke so should be fine.

Given my upcoming vacation schedule I won't be able to complete insanity completely so I'll prolly be a week short. Sucks, but can't help it. Next time I'll make sure there is buffer time in my plan

Food/Diet Plan

Wanted to share with peeps what I do diet wise, groceries, market list. This is a combination of things I've learned from the BeachBody basic diet guide and the Insanity nutrition guide

I found the Insanity nutrition guide far easier to understand than the P90X guide. So I primarily used that to come up with MY DIET PLAN. This is customized to my food preferences. I love dairy, veggies and Chinese. Plus my wife is a helluva nice cook. So its tough giving all that up.

Starting with baby steps, here's what I slowly started removing from my diet
1. High Sodium Foods (you only need 2000mg of sodium everyday). Soda's, white stuff (bread, fast food, chinese) is an insignificant part of my diet.
2. All Beverages have been replaced with water and/or green tea. I used to be an avid coffee fan, now its green tea, all natural.
3. Processes sugars - donuts, muffins, cakes, baked goods etc


Here's what I've added to my diet
1. Every morning breakfast includes - 3/4 cup oatmeal + fat free milk + protein powder + blueberries. Thats what I do every day, 5 days a week.
2. Salad and grilled chicken breast. I try to get this in 4 times a week at least. Ideally I'd like to do it every night. But its tough.
3. Greek yogurt. 1 Chobani everyday gives me enough carbs and dairy to keep the GI tract happy.


Here's what I've read is the key to it all. PORTION CONTROL. Eat 400 - 500 calorie meals spread across the day (5+ meals). So ideally get in 2000+ calories depending on your caloric needs. Here's what my day looks like

Morning: Post workout, protein shake
Breakfast: (oatmeal recipe above)
Lunch: Left over dinner or a grilled chicken salad
Afternoon snack: Chobani or apple
Evening snack: tea with whole wheat toast or a PBJ (English muffin + cottage cheese + fruit preserves)
Dinner: Either regular dinner of grilled chicken salad.

Words that inspire me
Tony Horton, think Food as Fuel
Villegas', "Sacrifice or Regret" you choose.

Catching Up (Day 28 - Day 39)

I know I have a lot of catching up to do on my blog. After Day 25, I got into the recovery workout week, This is one week of Core Cardio and Balance. I really enjoyed the exercise, it was not as
gruesome as the Insanity month 1 exercises nor as easy as Cardio recovery (which is mostly stretches). Since I lost an entire week when I was down with flu, I decided to cut this week shorter to 3 days as opposed to six. I'm assuming I'm not loosing much by doing so. Unfortunately I don't have a choice right now if I want to complete my program before my vacation.

So I hopped skipped and jumped over the recovery week and landed into Month 2.

Month 2 - week 1 -- recollecting the horrors

MAX Interval Circuit - Holy Crap, Shaun T just upped the Ante. Month 2 is a totally different level than Month 1 ever was. By the time I thought I had barely gotten used to the Core exercises, I feel like a noob at the gym again.

MAX Interval Plyo - My energy levels were not that high due to a common cold. So I could barely finish most

MAX Cardio Conditioning - This will go down in history as the toughest workout I've ever attempted. Some of the pushups were actually pretty innovative.

MAX Recovery - Recovery day, MAX style. I will now make this a yoga substitute if I do P90X again.

MAX Interval Circuit - I decided to replace this with Upper Body Weight Training, since I felt like I had over trained my lower body the day before.

GTG, see ya tomm

Pics! Pics!

I've taken too long to post these. I've started month 2 on Insanity, and wanted to quickly update progress.

Day0: BF - 20.3%
Day28: BF - 17.3%

Day 25 - Cardio Recovery and Ab Ripper X

I took yesterday off since it was my 32nd birthday and I knew I was going to cheat on my diet. Today is day 25 and I'm seeing visible changes. I took some pictures that I will upload with my next post. I also did a BF% to see what and how much has changed. I'm excited to share the results, but will do so after I finish this week.
Today I combined Ab Ripper X with Cardio Recovery just to get some oomph.

I struggled a lot with Ab Ripper X, it is the most insane abs workout. Now I think I'm going to include that or replace cardio abs with it.

Its a friday and i'm going to push tomorrow and day after with plyo cardio circuit and Pure Cardio (holy crap again!)

Day 24 - Upper Body Weight Training

So I've altered my schedule to include at least 1 UBWT. Today I replaced Plyo Cardio Circuit with UBWT. I love this routine, the workouts at different, a combination of resistance training mixed with a bit of plyo like the power jumps, genius!!

I have a feeling that the change in schedule is working. I need to work my pecs so the UBWT will help me do just that.

Since I took 2 days off last week, I have been going non stop since last Sat.
I was planning to skip tomorrow, but since it is cardio recovery, its like a day off.

I should've seen my previous post on UBTW.

Notes to myself
A. UPP the weights, go for the 30 lbs on shoulder presses
B. slowly include weights in the weight push ups
C. Use 30's for arms.

Day 23 - Cardio Power and Resistance

Motivation Meter (0 - 5) - 4.
Sore -o- meter (0 - 5) - 4. I was actually quite sore from yesterday. I think because I'm out of whey and not able to recover well.
Nausea Meter
(0 -5) - 3.

Ups - Pushed myself although I was exhausted at 35 minutes.
Downs - not much
Notes to myself -
A. Dig deeper, and get your mind right before the workout.

Day 22 - Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs

Not the best workout for a Monday morning. I'm glad I did my previous workout 24 hours back on Sunday morning, this gave me ample time to rejuvenate. Pure Cardio is pretty tough especially since he takes fewer breaks after the "stretch". I'm just glad I did both workouts.

Motivation Meter (0 - 5) - 4.
Sore -o- meter (0 - 5) - 2.
Nausea Meter
(0 -5) - 2.

Ups - Not much today
Downs - sucked at cardio abs
Notes to myself -
during the workout.

Day 21 - Plyo Cardio Circuit

This morning I woke up fired up to do Plyo cardio circuit. Since I missed 2 days this week, I was hoping to kick this up a notch. Didn't happen, too many thoughts, frustrated with my diet plan, also noticing a little change in waist, I kept getting dragged away. Tony's words - "Clear your mind, stay in the moment" kept me on track a little bit. I did manage to finish 70% of the workout, but I'm surprised at how little progress I"m making especially during the drills.
At this point I'm going to focus on burning more goo. Here's a summary

Motivation Meter (0 - 5) - 4.
Sore -o- meter (0 - 5) - 2. Not sore after the workout but the pain during the drills kept me from finishing some workouts.
Nausea Meter
(0 -5) - 2.

Ups - Pushed myself although I was exhausted at 35 minutes.
Downs - Couldn't finish workouts.
Notes to myself -
A. find a way to stay energetic during the workouts.
B. Find a way to check how many calories were burned during the workout.

Fit Test 2 Results

After the break, I did Fit Test2. I was not expecting a huge improvement since my body is still weak from the viral/flu. Here's how I fared compared to Fit Test1

Switch Kicks - 93
Power Jacks - 45
Power Knees - 73
Power Jumps - 20
Globe Jumps - 8 rotations
Suicide Jumps - 10
Push Up Jacks - 21
Low Plank Oblique - 43

Day 11, continued

So I checked with the doctor and I'm okay to return to the program. I just finished day 11 - Cardio Power and Resistance. I like this workout, its a good blend of warmup --stretch --circuit training combined with push ups. Since I've still got some shortness in breath, I had a difficult time completing the circuit. Shaun T's words resonate all the time "When you rest make sure you recover completely before starting the circuit".

I'm fired up to hit it strong. I don't have results worth sharing. My fit test is coming up in 2 days, so you'll see that for sure.

I cheated a lot on my diet all through my sickness, but I wont beat myself about it anymore. Commitment is about standing up in the face of failure.

I'm coming back, with a vengeance.

Yet another breakdown

Things got worse after my last session - UBWT. I continued to experience shortness of breath, fatigue and muscle aches. My friends from healthcare asked me to take it easy and not do anything more aggressive than walking or light jog. I make another tough decision to take a break. I'm currently on day 3 of the break and still experiencing shortness of breath. I think its time to see the doctor.

So while I could've continued on with insanity, its not advisable during this condition.I'll see what the doctor suggests. I'm basically lost 6 days from my program and looking at a few more.
This is very disheartening since I did not have much buffer into my schedule. I was hoping to wrap up the program my May 22 (right before my May 24 vacation). New set of options

A. Double up? I have tried p90x doubles, but insanity doubles? May have to read up on this.
B. Skip the recovery week completely? - I looked at the video for the recovery week. Although it is not as intense, I think it is not a workout worth skipping.
C. Continue the program during my break?

None of these options appear appealing. I'll continue researching and evaluating. Stay tuned...

I'm Back!! - Upper Body Weight Training

I took a 3 day hiatus to recover from my flu. Although I'm not 100%, I decided to give it a try. I've altered my schedule a little bit to incorporate the Upper Body Weight Training.

...Just finished this routine that kicked my butt. I'm kinda glad I did this over the cardio alternative since my lungs still feel a little weak from the coughing and sneezing over the past few days.

About upper body training - Loved it. I was missing the weight training from P90X. This one fulfilled it. Although its the insane version of it. I took 1 min breaks and lowered my weights significantly since I'm new to the workouts. For the fly's I took 15's and squat curls used 20's.
Next time I'm going to up the weights.

I've decided to do UBWT once a week now. 2 Days to go before I do my next fit test, i'm kinda excited.

Down with Flu and Hating Itt.

Its official. After couple of days of fighting it, I'm down with flu. Runny nose, headache, sore throat and fever. I could've pushed myself to do insanity again today, but its not worth it in the long run. I'm really really pissed right now since I can't afford to loose a single day.
With a little bit of deliberation here's what I'm thinking

Option A. Repeat the week
Option B. Reduce my cardio recovery week (week 5)
Option C. Suck it up and do it.

Since I've ruled out option C. Option B is looking a little better. Not know how long it will take to beat the flu, option B definitely works. Its very easy to give into food temptations when you're sicking (I just ate 4 crepes for lunch). Something I'll have to watch for.

I'll keep posting, see how/when I survive the flu and perhaps post my revised schedule. My goal is to wait until I stop coughing/sneezing as much (thereby reducing my chances of dehydration) and get back into the insanity. Wish me luck!!

Insanity When Sick?

Yesterday I faced with the terrible challenge of doing insanity while having flu like symptoms. This was tough, I have been doing all the right things to stay healthy, vitamins, fish oil, plenty of rest, healthy food, hydration you name it. I sty (ill came down with fever and sore throat. I decided to take the day off. After couple of hours of deliberating I came across Coach Sean's blog on working out when sick. The thing that caught my attention was, moderate exercise is good even if you're sick. So I decided to give it a try. It was Cardio Power day so I decided to keep the intensity low. I've also changed my week a little bit. To help recover faster next day (today) I did Cardio recover instead of upper body training. This should help I think.

I'm glad I've done both. I'm still running some fever and have sore throat and will probably call in sick tomorrow. Not sure if I'll be fit to do insanity tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Week2 Day1 - Cardio Power and Resistance

Motivation Meter (0 - 5) -  4.
Sore -o- meter (0 - 5) - 4.
Nausea Meter
(0 -5) - 2.

Ups -
Downs -
Notes to myself - Push push, finish the sets

Day 6 - Plyo Cardio Circuit

It was a Sunday afternoon and I decided to hit up our empty gym hoping to end the week strong. I also decided to try out the plyo mat they have, see if that made a difference.
a. the plyo mat did not make much difference. Could be the concrete floor it was on. Given a choice I'll prefer doing these workouts on my carpet.
b. In the middle of the workout, I noticed my feet started hurting like really bad. Thannkfully I just loosened the shoe laces and that made a world of difference. Back to my progress

Motivation Meter (0 - 5) -  4.
Sore -o- meter (0 - 5) - 4. For later parts of the drill I tried using my glutes to launch, sure enough, I got pretty sore. But by using the bigger muscles you do relieve your lower back which is a good thing.
Nausea Meter
(0 -5) - 2.

Ups - Was able
to finish the first 20 minutes no problems
Downs - The last drill after the
stretch was HELL
Notes to myself - Push push, finish the sets

Day 5 - Pure Cardio

I skipped out a few days so I can't gather all my thoughts from the day 5 workout. However, middle of the workout (after the stretch) I vividly recall Shaun T saying, "Are you guys as nervous as I am about what's to come". I wasn't sure what he meant, until the drill came through. Holy crap! Pure cardio was INSANE. This has been the toughest by far. I checked back to look at my calendar and noticed there's a few more of these coming up next week. I can tell they're going to up the ante from here on.

Day 4 - Cardio Recovery

Loved it! It was not as intense and I kinda needed a mid week break. This workout routine was mostly stretching and some yoga. I think I finally found a substitute for P90X Yoga which although great is painfully loooog.

I'm going to skip the format for this blog, it simply doesnt apply. Although I do need the reminder to post my initial measurements

Day 3 - Cardio Power and Resistance

Since insanity does not emphasize strength training as much ( no weights etc), I'm guessing this is the substitute.
It was a fairly difficult workout, and the later half was technically slightly difficult to execute. Its harder to do push ups after 20 mins of sprinting. Here's my take

Motivation Meter (0 - 5) -  4.
Sore -o- meter (0 - 5) - 2.
Nausea Meter (0 -5) - 4. Got pretty bad towards the end of the workout

Ups - Was able to finish the first 20 minutes no problems
Downs - The last drill after the stretch was HELL
Notes to myself - Try to finish the drills. Take 45 second breaks instead of 30.

Market List, Meal Plan and more

So I finally spent some time coming up with my meal plan (based on the nutrition guide). Here's what I will be following for the first week at least.

Market List and more

Day 2 - Plyometric Cardio Circuit

I think I'm going to come up with a format to blog my progress. Here's a first crack

Motivation Meter (0 - 5) -  3.
Sore -o- meter (0 - 5) - 2. Surprising, could be the protein I'm adding to my oatmeal
Nausea Meter (0 -5) - 3. Got pretty bad towards the end of the workout

Ups - Was able to finish the first 20 minutes no problems
Downs - The last drill after the stretch was HELL
Notes to myself - Try to finish the drills. Take 45 second breaks instead of 30.

Day 1 - Fit Test

Yesterday was day1, fit test. Its a 20 - 30 minute exercise to gauge your fitness level. I did a preview of this last week just to test my knees (I'm still recovering my ACL surgeries in 2008). This time around the fit test seem slightly difficult given by 4 day binge during my vacation in Phoenix.
Here are the results of the test

Switch Kicks - 82
Power Jacks - 40
Power Knees - 60
Power Jumps - 18
Globe Jumps - 6 rotations
Suicide Jumps - 10
Push Up Jacks - 18
Low Plank Oblique - 30


So far these are just numbers and don't mean anything as far as how I'm tracking towards my goal. I do hope to see the numbers go significantly up.

Insanity - Decide Commit Succeed

So right before my vacation to Phoenix, I decided to do Insanity. Here's why
A. Its 45 - 60 minutes every day (P90x can be up to 90+ minutes)
B. Lots of Plyo - my biggest weakness that I hope to transform.
C. Diet program is lot easier to follow than P90X.
D. No equipment necessary.
E. I may be able to wrap it right before my second vacation to New York in May.

The Why's and What For's

Oct 2009 on my son's first birthday while the party was heating up and everyone was on their toes, I found myself running out of breath. While my son was blossoming with new levels of energy, I was 30, 35 pounds overweight and at my lowest lows. I needed to get back in shape, I needed to start exercising, I needed to be a role model for my kid. And so I joined a gym...

April 2010, six months later, my wife surprised me on my birthday by inviting all our friends over. I looked at the pictures the next day and thought to myself. The few days at the gym wasn't paying off, my diet was still terrible and I was still, 35 pounds overweight.

September 2010, I realized my biggest issue was, a lack of plan. How could I create goals when I lacked a program? How could I create a program when I didn't know what I could achieve? I start digging around and came across P90X. The information was limited so I decided to youtube it, holy smokes, people with incredible results.

After doing some research I decided to pursue P90X. Day after day, week after week, I continued to push play. I finally finished p90x on Jan 23 2011. Dropped 30 pounds and a decent amount of body fat. Went from 0.5 to 15 pull ups in 90 days.

As much as I enjoyed P90X, I was not able to make the same time commitment again. I started looking for something shorter with equal or greater intensity. That's when I heard of "Insanity".