Insanity

Today begins my journey of Insanity. Not craziness of course (everyone knows that I am already crazy), but the start of an extreme work out regimen created by fitness trainer Shaun T. One of the hardest things I've found since I've been to college is to undergo the change from being a three sport athlete to essentially a "no sport athlete." The teamwork, social reaction, physical training, competition, and pushing your body to its limit that had once been just part of my daily routine, is now something that I have to plan for and put into my schedule myself. I love being physically active, but it is often difficult after weeks of monotonous runs on the treadmill, endless laps and chlorine filled ears in the swimming pool, and repeating one bicep curl after another at the gym not to get bored.

Working out is something that I want not only to look forward to every day, but to challenge me as well. Therefore, variety is key. After receiving the heartbreaking news that I have patellofemoral tendonitis in my knee, disallowing me to run for a few months, I began the p90x fitness program just borrowing DVDs from my neighbor. Although I had never done a fitness video before, and actually made fun of them quite often, I fell in love with it. About a month later my family got this crazy idea of buying a fitness video we can all participate in: Insanity.

The workout program is based on max interval training workouts, flipping the traditional style of interval training on its head, forcing you to push yourself to the limit. Although I am not an athlete on a competitive sports team here at Elmira, I can still find and nurture my love for competition by competing with myself. Together with my family I vow to push myself every day and get ripped before my trip to Spain on May 1!

Maybe it's not a coincidence that I begin my journey on the first of March, the month of NCAA basketball madness. Anything can happen, top seeds fall, half court shots swoosh through the net, and the team with the most drive will win. Let the insanity begin.