Insanity Max 30 - Actual Calories Burned??

Hello!  Welcome to my blog!  Tonight we are taking a look at my first four days of Insanity Max 30.  This is Shaun T's newest program which was just released by Beachbody.  I am a coach and am leading a test group who is doing this 60 Day program.  The workouts are all 30 minutes in length and you are running on a 5 day a week schedule with rests days on the weekends.  This weekend I will put together a blog entry that is a detailed recap of Week One.  That will include more details on the workouts themselves as well as some recipes from the Max 30 guide.  I have been keeping tabs on my calories burned during Max 30 and this is the subject of tonight's blog entry.  So, how many calories are actually burned during the Max 30 workouts?  Yesterday I did Sweat Intervals and the 10 Minute abs... you can check out the collage at the top for an idea of what that looked like for me!

I began the week with the workout called "Cardio Challenge".  That is the one assigned to Mondays during Month One.  I am personally not a big fan of cardio.  Or so I thought??  I don't know what to say!  I am loving this!  This program keeps you moving physically and mentally yet is not hard to follow.  Even for me - and I am not the most coordinated or the fastest learner with things like this.  :)  The whole idea of Max 30 is that you push yourself and "max out", as opposed to pacing yourself and taking it easy during parts of the program.  It is go, go, go!  When you can no longer go at your own full-tilt, you have maxed-out.  You take a tiny breather and then jump back in with the program.  All of the workouts have a modifier and I follow that person about 1/2 of the time throughout the workout.  This works well in accommodating my super-flat feet and current level of cardio fitness.  Anyways, here is what Cardio Challenge looks like in regards to calories burned. 

Day 2 (Tuesday) and Day 4 (Thursday) are both scheduled as "Tabata Power".  During Week Three we will begin to rotate in Tabata Strength.  Today is Thursday and after a couple of really busy days of running around with early morning appointments, I was thankful that today was a planned day to be at home.  This allowed me to do a little experiment after today's workout.  I am still new to my Polar tracker and am enjoying the opportunity to track my heart rate and calories burned.  My own coach (my sister!) mentioned to me about how it is interesting to see how many calories you continue to burn in an accelerated manner during the 30, 60, 90+ minutes after completing an intense workout.
 

 

WOW!?!?!?  Keeping tabs on this was fascinating!   I took a photo of my calories burned at the end of today's Tabata Power (307).  I snapped the next photo 30 minutes later! All I had done is make my Shakeology, start laundry, straighten up the kitchen, and then sat down in my daughter's room... WOW!!!  165 calories burned during 30 minutes of minimal physical exertion??  I am one who likes finding a deal.  Essentially taking my 30 minute workout benefit from 307 up to 472 calories burned was amazing!  I continued to check at 30 minute intervals until taking my final read at 10 AM - 2 hours after finishing the workout.  The total was 645 calories burned.  Considering we sat down shortly after 8:30 and began our day of homeschooling, this is pretty neat.

I was doing some reading this evening on the topic of workout after-burn in regards to calories burned.  The general consensus is that a more vigorous workout delivers the best result in ongoing calorie burn as your system returns back to "normal".  But why is this and how does it work?  Here is something that I found in a NY Times article:

"A recent book that Dr. Bouchard and a colleague edited notes two studies that found this effect. The researchers found that if subjects ran at 70 percent of their VO2 max or cycled at 75 percent of it, they could burn 300 to 700 extra calories after the exercise was over, though 700 calories was unusual.  It is not clear why extra calories should be burned after a bout of intense exercise, Dr. Bouchard says. Part of the effect may be due to post-exercise energy metabolism: the body starts using more fat and less carbohydrate after a hard exercise session. Several hormones that are released during exercise remain elevated in the blood afterward, increasing metabolism. And extra calories may be burned when the body replenishes glycogen, the sugar stored in muscles. But for the most part, the effect remains a mystery.  Whatever the cause, researchers say, the extra calories burned after exercise can help people lose weight. Unfortunately, those who may have the most to lose may have the hardest time doing the sort of exercise that gives them a calorie-burning bonus." 

I was just talking with my Dad over the phone earlier this evening.  We were talking about Max 30 and the life changes that I have seen in myself since beginning my health transformation in September 2013.  I told him several times that I am just plain thankful that I am able to do an intense program like Insanity Max 30.  I still have 25 or so pounds to lose as I work towards my goal weight.  Combined with clean eating and following the Max 30 meal plan, I can see myself making some great progress over the next 60 days and beyond!

Here is an interesting article about workout techniques that will burn major calories in less time.  It is neat to see how different Beachbody programs that I have done fit into some of these categories!  If you would like more info on a program that could be a match for you, I would be glad to chat with you!  You can find me on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jeanette.paradis. 

 

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