Day 30 
Tonight was my final athletic performance assessment for the Asylum. Although I am going to continue to do these workouts in a hybrid with P90X2 Strength, there was a sense of closure and finality to a program that I have grown to love so much. This was the program that promised to take the participant to the next level and it did exactly what I said it would do for me.
Throughout my fitness journey, there have been 2 goals that I have just never been able to accomplish. With jobs, kids, and other responsibilities, there has been a certain area of fitness that I have not seen in myself for close to 20 years. Some say this is just part of getting older, but where I would once have agreed and settled with that explanation, now I have to disagree.
No matter how hard I have worked or how clean I have eaten, I have never been able to lose those last couple inches and/or get my body fat percentage to 10% or even lower and I have always wanted to get in to that sub 7 min/mile range when it comes to running races.
I got in great shape with P90X, Insanity, and P90X2, I could get in good shape with lots of running and weight lifting, but for whatever reason I could never become that type of runner from a cardio standpoint or hit that magic 10% number when it comes to BF% that I wanted. I could get really,really, really close but just never could do it. The Asylum has done that for me!
In the last 37 days (I took some extra rest days here and there and my blog entry dates are not the same as the actual workout dates either) or so I have lost almost 2 inches off my waist, 6lbs of total body weight and my body fat percentage reached 10.86 %. Needless to say, I am thrilled with my results.
More importantly to me though, the Asylum has taken close to a minute off of my minutes per mile pace when running. Just a week ago, I ran a 5k time of 22:58 which is a 7:24/mile pace and cut close to 6 minutes off of my favorite 5.5 mile trail running loop that has about 800-1000 total feet of total elevation gain. Since I really do not enjoy 5k’s and road races, the trail running results and the difference that I felt in the climbing aspects of trail running iw what really excites me! I just seem to have another gear running up hills now. Both of those runs were in 90+ degree weather as well so they could possibly be even faster and with 30 more days of the Asylum they will be!
I have noticed huge improvements as well with my cycling/mountain biking, but MOST importantly, I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER. I am better with my kids, at my job, I am less tired, my cardio and core strength has not been this good since high school and maybe has never been quite what it is now. The Asylum did that!
In the graphic above, my sports performance assessment numbers all have increased and even doubled or came close to doubling in a couple areas. I even scored higher than some of the cast members in several of the moves which is shocking to me since they are usually kicking my rear in most of the workouts. Just to explain those assessment numbers a bit…each drill is 60 seconds, there is very little (seconds) rest in between moves, and the lower numbers of reps you see in some moves are ones that incorporate the agility ladder (moving up and then back down all the rungs equals 1 rep).
I never would have dreamed on Day 0 (My Initial Fit Test) when I barely managed 19 In & Out Ab Progression moves that I would eventually knock out 47 on my final day, but I never imagined such dramatic increases in all the moves and my fitness in general. The only number that didn’t change very much or at all is the “moving push up.” I think there may be a reason for that though…other blogs that I have read and people that I have talked to all seemed to experience the same thing as well. My personal take on this is because of what it follows in the lineup. The moving push ups come directly after the X-Jumps (a low squat move which includes a toe touch followed by a jump with both arms/legs spread in an “X” position) which just completely annihilates you while doing those consecutively. Where most of the schedule seems to flow smoothly, the transition between these two movements seems very difficult and almost impossible for me to improve on, but who knows? We will see after 30 more days!
A lot of the credit for my improvements goes to Shaun T and his approach to fitness. He pushes you beyond the level that you want to be pushed or that you would even push yourself. I work out hard, run hard, etc…but this is another level that almost puts dread in you before each workout. That’s how hard these workouts are, but that is what it takes to get better and reach that next level with your goals. The Asylum has taken me out of a fitness plateau that I have been comfortable in despite working out and running 5 days a week. There is always another level.
I highly recommend this program for anyone who wants to take their fitness to the next level. This program is NOT for someone that is not in at least above average shape with a background of exercise and an established foundation in overall fitness.
If you are a runner…you will be a faster one (and even without actually running!)
If you are a cyclist…you will be a stronger one!
If you are an athlete…you will be a better one!
If you are an just average Joe – middle of the pack type…you won’t be for long!
This program was everything that it claimed to be…A Game Changer!
I will continue to incorporate this program in my workouts until the Asylum Volume 2 is released. I love this program!!!
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