Insanity
From the looks of all the Snickers Cupcakes and Kit Kats wandering around this blog I'd bet you never knew a fitness craze has slowly but surely taken over our household. I think it began sometime just after we scheduled an 8-day beach trip with my whole family for this summer, but I can't be totally sure. Somewhere in there I became completely dedicated to my Pilates VHS tape from 1993. Every other day a bizarre and bendy lady in a blue turtleneck bodysuit guides me through an hour and fifteen minutes of crazy core exercises. I've gotten to where I really love it; except for the part where she folds herself completely in half and puts her ankles over her head. That's not really my favorite part. In fact, it kind of makes me wanna poke her in the eye.
To take the family fitness craze even further, my mom informed me the other day that she, along with her husband and my 16-year-old brother, have been working it out with P-90X. My mom has always been pretty active. She walks faster than anyone I have ever met. I can remember going with her to the YMCA when I was little so she could do aerobics. Remember in the '80's when aerobics were all the rage and people got all Flash Dance with leg warmers and leotards? That was my mom. She even had a matching headband and sweat bands for her wrists. Hot pink. P-90X is pretty hard-core, even for the aerobics queen.
My mom is so cool.
Not too long after my Pilates tape and I became friends again, I realized that neither one of my children can touch their toes. Since physical education is mandatory at school and my little guy plays soccer I was having a really hard time understanding this phenomenon. So I'm making the little boys do yoga with me every night. 12 poses a day, 7 days a week. I'll tell you a little secret... they really like it.
Then my sister called asking about the Insanity DVD's. Said she and a friend were going to try it and had we heard about it? Captain YouTube, I mean... Chad, looked it up. To give you a little background on my sister, I think she may be the most physically fit person I've ever met in real life. She has always been that way ever since we were little kids. I can remember her doing 300 sit-ups (I wish I were exaggerating but I'm not.) before bed every night when she was 11 or 12. Sit-ups always came right before she called me on the telephone from the next room to come and get the cat off her bed.
After watching a few clips of Insanity, courtesy of people crazy enough to post their work out follies on the Internet, Chad decided that he was feeling inspired. I should explain that Chad has a pretty physical job. He works in a welding shop that turns out gigantic creations that are bigger than our house (er... trailer) He's a big guy and routinely lifts things all day that should probably require a forklift. He can run circles around me (that is a literal statement) without breaking a sweat. It also hasn't been that long since he participated in amateur mixed martial arts training (MMA). So when my sweetheart decided that he was gonna go all Insanity in the living room I didn't think too much about it.
Enter Insanity DVD's.
The Fitness Test at the beginning had him bouncing and crashing all over the house. He almost kicked over the TV at least twice and I'm pretty sure he had to put an awful lot of effort into not accidentally jumping through the ceiling fan. When it was over he sprawled out face down on the bathroom floor for awhile. It was like he was fitness drunk.
I thought he'd had enough. I figured he'd go back to doing obscene amounts of push-ups and the occasional crazy yoga handstand pose, but no! He marched straight back in there the next day and did it again. I have to admire his Insanity workout tenacity.
So I tried it. Sometime around 2pm today, in the middle of what seemed like seventy billion power knees (but was actually only 56), I thought I was going to die. I didn't die though. That would have been too easy. I guzzled some water and forged my way through power jacks and low plank obliques (Chinese Water Tortures' cousin). When it was over I lay spread eagle on the carpet watching the ceiling fan go round and round over my head.
I still can't believe I did that. I also can't believe that it's after 9:30pm and Chad is poised and ready in front of the TV... he's going for round 3.
If you are feeling like you have completely lost your mind, you should totally give this workout a try. But if you have retained your sanity and would still like to pay homage to your summer wardrobe with a few calories cut here and there, I'm gonna tell you how to make low-fat potato salad.
- 2 pounds red-skinned potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 2-inch pieces
- ½ cup onion, diced
- ½ cup celery, diced (the stalk and the leaves)
- 2 tablespoons spicy mustard
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ cup Greek yogurt (more if you like a creamier texture)
- ¼ cup chopped chives
- salt & pepper to taste
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook until they are fork-tender (approximately 10-15 minutes).
- Drain the cooked potatoes and stir in the onions, celery, spicy mustard, paprika, and Greek yogurt.
- Add more yogurt if you feel like the salad is too dry.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Garnish with the chives.
- Refrigerate until you're ready to serve
Those insanity dvds sound hardcore! I recently started spinning, when I did the first class I thought I was going to die..the second class..yep, I still thought I might die. Or at the very least pass out. I have to admit though, the thought of getting a smaller butt is motivating me! Love potato salad..we can practically live on it through the summer months so a low fat version? yes please! 🙂
Nickki!! You're here, aww..
Hello Carrie! Yes, it's me lol 🙂
Super with the spinning class, Nickki! I'm totally working my butt off with the Insanity DVD's - they really are hardcore. But then I don't feel so bad when I eat cookies. Or pizza. 🙂 And low-fat potato salad makes Memorial Day weekend cookouts a little less guilty!
Absolutely! It's a win-win situation. I didn't feel at all guilty about the slice of grasshopper pie I ate tonight because of all the exercise 😉 Well done you! I'll have to try your potato salad recipe this week 🙂
I'll stick with the potato salad!!! O_o
You had me howling and wincing at the same time Heather!!! Hilarious,fabulous post and oh, how I admire you. I really, really, REALLY should start exercising properly. Managing food is easy, but breaking a sweat? Not so much...
And you are right, your mom sounds very cool 🙂
Thanks, Caroline! Exercise like that really does make me think I'm going to keel over and die, but I'm getting results! And I'm working so flipping hard that I'm a little less inclined to eat a big bowl of brownies with ice cream... mmmmm.
I love that you are watching a VHS haha old school!!! And I want your Mom's wristbands lol Those sound awesome!!! I never heard of those DVD's but I should look into it..the word beach completely terrifies me so you're my hero!!! lol Keep up the good work!!! I think it's great the whole family is involved, especially your boys!! Too cute~!!!
I'm all about my Pilates VHS tape. I can remember my sister and I trying it in my mom's living room back in the day. It quit working for awhile and then I fixed it and rediscovered it 🙂 My mom's wristbands were so freaking cool. I wish I had them!! Those DVD's live up to their name: they are INSANE. They sort of make you want to die. But everyday we get farther and do more, so I can see progress 🙂 Yoga with my boys is the highlight of my day. They are way into it. Evan did Insanity with us yesterday. It was so flipping funny I wish I had it on video.
haha wow what troopers!!! workout videos scare me...I can never keep up and always end up quitting lol That...and it sounds INSANE!!! haha P.S. I didn't even know you could still fix VHS tapes! lol
Love the potato salad...looks so delicious.
What I don't love? Any exercise that involves me bending my old and fragile knees. Kudos to you. And your mom! Being able to handle such intensity is pretty freaking impressive!
I broke my ankle running in December but I thought it was just a really terrible sprain. So I just stayed off of it and never had it treated and it didn't heal quite right. Pilates are zero impact 🙂 Insanity is MAXIMUM impact (like at the end I feel like I jumped out of an airplane with no parachute) so I have to jump up and down in a halfway handicapped fashion because I'm so afraid of hurting myself. I'm sure I look completely ridiculous. And my mom is so freaking cute! She's like a little bitty ball of inspiration.
Hurray for the potato salad recipe!
Kiefer used to do P90X, and he started Insanity, but he hurt his foot playing soccer, so he had to stop. Thank goodness because he wanted me to do it with him. I'll stick to my elliptical and pilates. Good for you two for trying it!
The potato salad is sooo good! You won't miss the mayo. Plus you get some protein from the yogurt- I love it. I really thought this would be a walk in the park for Chad. He's done P-90X and the MMA training was no freaking joke. Insanity is HARD. We're pushing each other, though. I'm kind of enjoying the fact that we both suck at it, not just me 🙂 Enjoy the potato salad!
Keep up the fitness routine my friend - while you do, I'll just finish off this big bowl of potato yumminess 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Haha I'm trying!
Yummy potato dish. I have to check out this insanity!
It is straight crazy. I you feel like participating in something called Suicide Drills, though, be my guest!