Week 5 will hit you like a shock after the gentleness of the Recovery Week, but if you’re doing things right you should be bursting with energy and ready to go. Still, this is going to be tough, so pay attention as I alert you to the dangers! Here are the top three challenges that will urge you to quit and just stop trying so hard. Recognize them and avoid them!

• Unable to transition Into the New Workouts: Perhaps you enjoyed Recovery Week too much. Perhaps you took too many breaks. Perhaps you let your diet slip, or didn’t eat enough, or ate the wrong things. Either way, if you didn’t handle Recovery Week right, then you will be in trouble this week. You need to be able to hit the new level of intensity without blinking, without panicking, and that requires maximum prep and will power.

• Getting Intimidated: You thought the first round of workouts were tough, and now here you are, being thrust into the heart of the toughest workouts ever. Are you mentally ready for this? Are you ready for new workouts that are longer, tougher, and even more brutal? If not, you may snap under the increased pressure. You may not be able to dig as deep as Shaun T needs you to. So get your head in the game, and hang in there. You’ll adjust soon enough!

• Having the Right Mind Set: If you were struggling to finish Month 1, if you were dragging and barely able to finish those workouts, then perhaps Month 2 will be too much for you. You need to stay focused and ready to go to war here. These workouts are tough, true, but you can do it. You just need to believe in yourself and all the prep work you did during month 1, because that work was all designed to prepare you for this week. You’re fitter, tougher, faster and meaner than you have ever been, and now you need to believe it.

So those are the challenges, what are the solutions? How can you make sure you don’t crash and burn and quit like most people do during this toughest of weeks? Check out my tips below for advice:

• Slipped During Recovery Week?: The urge will be strong if you slipped during Recovery Week to come up with reasons why you can’t start Week 5. Perhaps you will tell yourself you’re not ready, you need to repeat some Month 1 workouts, perhaps you’ll try and do Recovery Week again but properly this time. Don’t. Just press play, and go. You’ve got the core ready from Month 1, your strength is there, and you will adapt and grow faster than you can believe. Don’t quit, don’t make excuses, but rather dive back in and keep going as if nothing wrong had happened. The right diet, the right amount of sleep and water will see you through.

• Raise Your Calorie Intake: The new workouts are longer, tougher and harder to do. They will demand more from you, they will ask that you expend more energy than you ever have before. Paradoxically, even as you try to lose weight, you need to increase your energy levels so that means eating more. That means increasing your caloric intake. Don’t start to skimp out now, because otherwise you will crash and burn. So follow the Insanity Workout nutrition guide’s recommendations, and ensure that you are eating enough to cover your current caloric requirements.

• Share Your Success: One way to give yourself that fighting spirit that will allow you to kick Month 2’s rear end is to take a moment to acknowledge how much you have accomplished with friends and family. Remember Week 1, when you were setting out, unsure of how far you would go? If you were smart, you would have told your friends and family that you were trying to change your lifestyle and now, here at the outset of Week 5 is the time to cash in on that resolution and show everybody how far you have come. Hearing their words of encouragement, seeing how impressed they are and seeing how far you have come will undoubtedly give you all the boost and energy you need to keep going with verve and fire in your belly!

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