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For the next exercises, do 20 push-ups and 20 bent-over lateral raises, alternating between the two exercises five times. You’re in luck — there’s the max interval plyo workout that. Yes, there are a lot of push ups and yes, it is tough but I know the results will be worth it. This warm-up is a lot like that of Max Interval Circuit. Rounds 1 & 2 are 4 minutes a piece and Round 3 is a little over 2 minutes for a total of 10 minutes if you like to do math: ) Here is the warm-up broken down: Jog Straight Arm Jacks 1-2-3 Heisman.
Today was Max Interval Plyo. All these max workouts have forced me to take not one, but two 20-oz. Glasses of ice water out to the garage for my workoutThe workout starts off with our new month 2 warm-up. That means 30 seconds each of the following:Jogging (no biggie here)Straight-arm jacks (I actually find these easier than regular jacks, no matter how hard I punch)123 HeismanSide-to-side jump ropes (MY GOD HOW I HATE THESE — for whatever reason, I find it incredibly difficult to maintain coordination here)High knees, arms out (TIP: if you are at all self-conscious about your upper arms, make sure you don’t do this in front of a mirror. I almost reduced myself to tears once this way.)Switch kicks (MY NEMESIS — but shockingly, they are getting easier!)Hit the floor (another one I hate because of how it burns my quads, but I find that as my abs get stronger, I can take some of the pressure off my legs and get more of a total-body workout)Side-to-side floor hops (not so bad if you take it into your core instead of relying on your quads)I find that the warm-up is much easier to get through if I concentrate on transferring energy to different body parts throughout each individual set.
![Push Push](http://www.buildahardbody.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Insanity_Max-Interval-Plyo-V-pushup-300x225.jpg)
For example, I can get halfway through hit the floor my relying mostly on my quads (still keeping my core tight); when I start to tire, I really tighten my core and focus on my balance, and it gives me a much-needed boost of energy.The warm-up is repeated a second time, and then a third time with each set lasting only 15 seconds.Water break (at which point I always convince myself that I’m going to install misting fans in the garage) and then a glorious stretch. Well, not so glorious when my back leg starts to slide on the hip flexor stretches. It’s at this point that I remember how my fiance was working on a project yesterday that involved spraying a piece of wood with a polyurethane coating. I thought the floor felt a bit slippery. Let’s see if I can get through this without killing myself.And so we begin Round 1.
We do three sets of Round 1 and Round 2, with a bonus move thrown in at the end of each set.Switch jumps: You start in a squat, jump 180 degrees, and repeat ad nauseum until either Shaun T tells you to switch, or until your quads start quaking. I find I can usually get through the first round at a pretty good pace, but in rounds 2 and 3 I reeeaaaally have to slow things down to get all the way through.Squat push-ups: Start in a squat position and lower yourself until your hands are on the floor. Do a push-up bringing your elbows back to your sides, concentrating on your triceps. Push back up into the squat position. Or at least attempt to, if you’re me.
Because I don’t have a whole lot of upper-body strength, I can only get a few good ones until I wind up modifying the exercise. And that’s the one pet peeve I have with Insanity: Shaun T doesn’t really give you suggestions for modifying the exercises.
I think that’s because he’d rather see you go all-out just doing one repetition, because you can build strength that way, but it’s still frustrating. Anyway, when I’ve blown my load on squat push-ups, I move into a ball tricep push-up from the old cardio power and resistance video.Wide in-and-out abs: Just like it sounds. Start off in wide plank and hop your feet in. It’s tough to keep good form in wide plank, but I’ve notice that everyone in the video struggles with not sagging their backs and sinking their hips into the floor. These are really not so bad, but again, take it into your core, or you’ll risk blowing out your quads and not being able to get through the remaining sets.Power jumps: Our old friend. Like the folks in the video, I can usually knock out about eight at a time, take a breather, then eight more, and then it all goes downhill from there. As long as you keep at it, though, you’ll feel the burn.Bonus move (after the third set): Remember those V push-ups from cardio power and resistance?
![How How](/uploads/1/2/5/6/125658453/549017282.jpg)
Well, they’re back with a vengeance. This time, lift your right calf, bringing it as parallel to your thighs as you can. Thirty seconds with the right, thirty seconds with the left. Your shoulders will beg you for mercy, and you will quiet them. You will pretend you are Missy Franklin.Round 2:Pogo right: Standing on your right leg, lift your left knee up to your waist and raise your arms straight above your head. SLOWLY bend at the waist and lower your arms and torso so that your hands are touching the ground; your left leg goes back, but try to keep it bent. Then, power up into a jump.
This is a simple move, but if you’re not familiar with it, you’ll stumble around a bit (lord knows I do). This is less of a power plyo exercise and more of a balancing exercise; keep your core crunched and you’ll get a great ab workout. During the second set, you’ll use your left leg, and during the third set, you’ll do 15 seconds of each.Power push-up: Excuse me while I break into a fit of hysterical giggles. You are supposed to do a regular push-up, then power up so that you are standing up, bent over at the waist, arms hanging towards the floor. You’ll notice that most of the people in the video can’t get themselves into a ramrod-straight inverted V position; they kind of jump into these modified squats with their legs bent. And for once throughout the entire duration of Insanity, Shaun T gives you a modification: if you can’t power up, just do regular push-ups.
Which I do, until I feel like my pectorals are going to bust through my chest and go scampering down the driveway.Globe twists: Start in the globe jump position (legs wide and in a squat). Jump to the right, raising your arms over your head. When you come down, land in the wide squat position, and use your obliques to slightly twist your torso to the right. At the same time, you bring your arms down to the right side, touching your fingertips to the ground, connecting the inside of your right shoulder with the outside of your right knee.
Not a complicated exercise, but it’s a tough full-body workout.Level 3 drills: If you’re like me, you can still barely get through level 1 drills. This calls for 16 push-ups followed by 16 floor sprints. Up, down, repeat. Do what you can – for me right now that’s only five to six push-ups at a time, but that’s five to six more than I could do when I started Insanity.Bonus move (repeat after third set): Two power lunges, followed by two hop squats.
They don’t take a lot of endurance, but they do burn!Round 3:Side push-ups: These are incredibly difficult because of the full-body strength it takes to maintain the form. Luckily, Shaun T takes his sweet time (and yours) explaining the proper form. Starting crouched down on the floor, position your hands in an inverted L-shape to the right of your body — meaning your left hand is perpendicular to your body (pointed left), and your right hand is parallel (pointed up). I usually need to modify these after a few, so I switch to regular push-ups or push-up jacks if I’m feeling extra spunky.Kickstand touch the floor: This one has enough momentum in it to actually make it kind of fun. Start in a runner’s lunge, right knee bent, left leg back. Power up so that you are jumping on the left leg with the right knee raised. Land back down in the runner’s lunge position, then touch the floor.
Do thirty seconds on each leg.8 power knees/4 diamond jumps: Power knees are an old standby, but diamond jumps are new. Do eight power knees on the right, then leap into four diamond jumps: starting in a squatted plie position, jump up, raising your hands and arms over your head with your elbows slightly out so that you’re forming a diamond with your arms. At the same time, tuck your calves under to form a diamond with your legs. Diamond jumps are much easier than power jumps, in my opinion, perhaps because they use a lot of momentum which — again — makes the workout fun.Balance push-ups: These look daunting, but they’re not so bad. Do a push-up, and when you come back up, raise your right arm and your right leg straight out and off the floor. Repeat, alternating sides.And you’re done! That’s right, there’s only one set of Round 3 exercises — which I always forget, which makes for a pleasant surprise when I glimpse six minutes on the clock and realize that there’s no time to complete any additional rounds.True to its name, this workout really burns your quads and glutes — it’s also the one that leaves me absolutely famished about an hour afterwards (Larabar!
LARABAR!) I love to walk around in a good pair of high heels the day afterward to really stretch all those sore leg muscles:)Remember, there is a payoff after the pain!