Insanity Workout Program

[DarkKnightH20]

Hey guys,

There was a P90X thread in here so naturally there should be an INSANITY thread.

Don't know what that is? Here's some link juice for them:
Insanity Workout - Extreme Home Workout DVD - Insanity Workout Reviews - beachbody.com

It is a 60 day workout program that more-or-less will destroy you no matter how fit (or unfit) you happen to be.

I'm on day 5 right now and while I'm pretty fit to begin with, this is a very effective, tiring workout.

The best thing about it? It requires NO equipment at all. However, I do recommend protein powder and a good multivitamin, as you will be pretty damn sore -- even after day 1.

Most workouts are around 40 minutes, but sometimes it's a bit more or less. Every 2 weeks there is a fitness test where you can compare your initial results and track your progress throughout the program. Basically, benchmarks for yourself.

Note that people usually do P90X and then move to Insanity (and have a hard time with it still since they are different). I, however, started this one first, which isn't a problem. I'll tackle P90X afterwards, which is actually a longer program than Insanity (it's a 90 day program) and has longer workouts (45-75 minutes vs Insanity's 35-45 minutes for first phase, then increases in length for second phase). Insanity is NOT less intense because of this so don't be confused.

To simplify -- Insanity is max interval training and P90X is muscle confusion. A good comparison of the two is here:
P90X vs Insanity - Which Is Best For YOU?

Anyone here do Insanity yet? If not, you totally should.

I have a feeling this thread will fall on deaf ears and stay in purgatory (because this section lacks activity, damnit!), but that's okay.

DK recommends it *flexes ass cheeks*

[MentaL]

[Retro!]

I've honestly been thinking for a while to try it out, I've seen a lot of infomercials about it.

[DarkKnightH20]

Doooo it.

It's tiring as hell, but you'll feel good about yourself afterward.

I just finished week one. Looking forward to week 2.

[Five]

I have personally done both P90X and Insanity. They are for 2 different purposes so doing each one helps another aspect. I like P90X better just because it got me more focused on tone as well as getting me bigger. It was slower paced but longer workouts & an extra 30 days to the program.

Insanity was a lot of fun but not my favorite cause it is always fast paced so you get your endurance up big time but I just don't like always being on the move. It's opinion on that matter so you may like it better if you are a fast paced type of person. I did both of these workouts in the summer during the day as well as my own workout at night and it gave me great results.

I was taking creatine and whey protein for recovery purposes as you most likely will need it until you get used to the tempo of each program as well as keeping up with the people on it.

[Sir Kidd]

Think I will give it a try.
I really need to get back into shape. After my chemo ended I really let my self go and I have been thinking more and more about getting my body back to how it was. I dont think I will bother with p90x and go straight to insanity as I want to lose weight and get ripped and not really gain a large amount of bulk.

Once I start I think I will post daily screenshots and we can see if I can be half the man I am now.

[SheenBR]

I always thought these kinds of stuff was all lie lol its amazing to see that people actually buy these stuff and more incredible, they indeed work lol

[DarkKnightH20]

I have personally done both P90X and Insanity. They are for 2 different purposes so doing each one helps another aspect. I like P90X better just because it got me more focused on tone as well as getting me bigger. It was slower paced but longer workouts & an extra 30 days to the program.

Insanity was a lot of fun but not my favorite cause it is always fast paced so you get your endurance up big time but I just don't like always being on the move. It's opinion on that matter so you may like it better if you are a fast paced type of person. I did both of these workouts in the summer during the day as well as my own workout at night and it gave me great results.

I was taking creatine and whey protein for recovery purposes as you most likely will need it until you get used to the tempo of each program as well as keeping up with the people on it.

Nice to hear you've done both!

My first goal was to get bigger -- but because P90X is a 90 day program, I thought I'd go ahead and do Insanity first since it's 60 days instead. Like you said -- loads of movement non-stop (except during the occasional 30 second break) since it's interval training. Great cardio.

I hear the cardio for P90X is actually pretty awful so some people substitute it for an insanity workout (I may end up doing the same maybe).

I'm actually doing the same -- creatine and delicious whey protein (chocolate - ON Gold Standard). Plus a good multivitamin and omega 3 fish oil pills. I have some casein protein by ON too for night time. Rather than using water for the powders though, I use milk since it tastes better.

Think I will give it a try.
I really need to get back into shape. After my chemo ended I really let my self go and I have been thinking more and more about getting my body back to how it was. I dont think I will bother with p90x and go straight to insanity as I want to lose weight and get ripped and not really gain a large amount of bulk.

Once I start I think I will post daily screenshots and we can see if I can be half the man I am now.

Sorry to hear about the chemo!

Both are great programs and will do you well. If you do Insanity -- don't be afraid to take breaks if you have to. Sean T (the trainer in Insanity) even forces a lot of the people in his videos to take breaks since they look like they're dying or their form starts being awful. He's a pretty awesome trainer.

I always thought these kinds of stuff was all lie lol its amazing to see that people actually buy these stuff and more incredible, they indeed work lol

I completely agree! I didn't have much faith in these type of videos at first, but then the P90X/Insanity craze hit and I thought "hey -- what the hell?"

Works wonders. They're wayyyyy overpriced though if you end up buying them though. Still -- less than a gym membership (in the long run).

[Sir Kidd]

I always thought these kinds of stuff was all lie lol its amazing to see that people actually buy these stuff and more incredible, they indeed work lol

The core concept for these are the same as going to the gym and putting in the hard work. They will work maybe not to the standard you see but then again they idea is to sell. In the end its be proven you can easily work your body from fat to lean in a matter of months if your willing to push your self .

Its just a matter of taking the extra effort. The saying No Pain No Gain is one that in true on so many terms.


Also it doesnt cost any thing. Thats what a warez site is for ^,^

[DarkKnightH20]

Yeah -- the more you push yourself, the more you'll get from it. For Insanity, what they do is they make you raise your heart rate like crazy, then drop it a bit during the 30 second break (then repeat). Those 30 seconds feel non-existent though. Insanity is a perfect example of what body weight exercises can do. This program in particular is pretty awesome for anyone who does sports or martial arts, boxing, etc. since it does wonders for your cardiovascular system.

[Thunda]

Doing 10 different kinds of pushups in totall of 600-700 reps a day is enough for me, at least for now, but this doesnt mean i cant take a look at this program ^^

[DarkKnightH20]

That's a lot of reps! Ever think of wearing a weighted vest? It'll lower that number a lot, but it'd definitely make that harder to do.

Insanity has pushup exercises as well -- you usually jump to the floor, do 4 or 8 pushups really fast (depending on the circuit), then "run it out" in pushup stance [and then repeat it all]. They also have something called moving pushups and pushup jacks. You don't reach even close to 600-700 reps though during that =p

[STREPS]

Damn, I will most def try this out.

[DarkKnightH20]

Going to post updates to this thread every couple of weeks or so (maybe!).

I finished week 3 of the program. There are 6 more weeks left.

I wasn't unfit to begin with, but I can safely say that this workout program really has helped me out. I can push myself harder than before, hold my breath longer (heh), and physically, I do look a bit better than before. These changes will be even bigger of course for someone who isn't fit and has been going through the program.

Unfortunately, my left ankle is pretty messed up right now. It isn't from Insanity though -- it's from some other exercising I was doing. This leads me to an important point that I've encountered because of this. If you have pre-existing injuries, then you may feel some pain with Insanity -- especially depending on what interval training is lined up for the particular day you're on. My injured ankle, for example, hurts like hell from some of the exercises. If you have knee problems (I personally do not), then you'll feel knee pain likely too. This can be minimized through the warm-ups and stretching provided in every single video, but you're going to still feel it. Insanity is, after all, a total body workout program. They also don't provide "easier" versions of the exercises on here like seen on many alternate workout programs, which are designed usually with injuries in mind.

Just FYI.

[ihatehaxor]

Hmm might give it a go.
I kind of gave up on P90x because couldn't find time to do it... But since it's summer now hopefully I can do the full 60 days.

[DarkKnightH20]

Just an update! I have 3 weeks left of the program. Since I'm now in the later half of it, the workouts have been lengthened and increased in difficulty. Basically, instead of 35-40 minutes, they're now all around 55-60 minutes. Some days are around 1 hour 30 minutes though (or 1 hour and 15 minutes depending on what ab workout you decide to do with the primary workout). It's getting pretty lengthy so if you don't have much time in the day, it can get a bit annoying. One of the great things about the first part of the program was how it doesn't take up too much time after all. Still -- it is only a 9 week program -- which only increases in duration the last 4 weeks. The first 5 weeks aren't too long.

I'll post another update probably when I finish the program. I know you guys are looking forward to it since I'm so kewl. It's not like I'm just secretly blogging to myself here :x

[SirEpicWin]

Shit I am fucking trying this (too much online can ruin stuff :P)

[DarkKnightH20]

Dooooo it! It'll be super tiring at first, but your body will get use to it pretty fast. I've actually noticed good results with this program too. The muscles throughout my entire body are more defined than ever and my cardio has definitely improved.

[DarkKnightH20]

I'm on the last week of this program! It'll end on Sunday for me.

I love this workout program so I've been thinking about redoing it after it's over too, but that'll have to wait since I'm getting surgery soon so that I can actually breath from my nose easily. Wooo.

Anyway, I'll post a wrap up once I'm done. It definitely has been a challenge.

[marukuzey]

This is going to be easy for me but I like the program. Thanks for sharing.

[DarkKnightH20]

Lemme know how "easy" it is when you start! ;) I was pleasantly surprised.

[DarkKnightH20]

Just an update and completion on this.

I finished the entire program MINUS the last fit test (which is 24 minutes or so in length).

I since then underwent surgery, had significant blood loss, and am unable to exercise now for weeks. So I can proudly say I finished the whole program! ... minus one day :x gg

It was a great program and helped me be in the best shape of my life. My muscles had grown and were well-defined, my cardio was fantastic, and it just overall worked wonders. I'll probably repeat it once I recover from surgery.

Just remember that you muscles won't get as huge as from doing something like weigh lifting -- so if that's your goal then hit the gym. If you think you can handle it, then you can try to do both in one day (time consuming and you'll be sore if your body isn't use to lots of exercise).

DK over and out.

[Z1ls]

I think that i can't handle anything from this program, because quited smoking 5 days ago, because my gf wanted me to quit and my lungs are shit now and my fitness isn't good either xD

I was thinking that i should start to make daily sprints and make them longer and longer :D
or is there any better way? :O

[DarkKnightH20]

You could still give this program a shot since you do it at your own pace. Also, they provide lots of breaks.

Sprints are good -- and so are jogs for that matter. If you want to kick up the intensity, you can do hill sprints, which are tiring as hell, but you will want to work up to that. Regardless, I'd make sure to take it easy at first so that you can gauage your current level of fitness a bit better.

You should use a map to plan out your run:
Google Map Pedometer / GMaps Pedometer for Running, Walking, Cycling, and Hiking

This way you can track distance easily and slowly work on increasing the length. Alternatively, you can bring a stop watch or use your cellphone to record your run times, and then work on improving them.

Jump rope is another good alternative if you have one -- and will help you build coordination with your body.