Insanity MAX 30 plus weight training, P90X3 or on its own?

JAT74

I am in week 9 out of 12 of Jillian Michaels Body Revolution and am fairly pleased with my results so far. Some of it has been hard, but a lot of it is doable.

Once I finish I want to take it to the next level and do Insanity Max 30 but don't know if there is enough of a strength training element with the body weight exercises to prevent me losing the little muscle I have while doing this or not.

For anyone who's done this what are your thoughts? I could alternate Max 30 with either strength training in the gym 2-3 days a week or do a hybrid with P90X3 or do it on its own without adding in anything else but not sure which option will get me the best results.

I'm trying to lose another 22lbs and I want to primarily lose body fat but I don't want to lose too much muscle along the way.

Yisrael1981

While I have never done max30 I did do insanity after p90x3 and had the same concerns. Shaun T claims (in a Q&A session I watched) that there is enough bodyweight exercises that you won't lose muscle especially if you eat enough protein.Take it for what its worth to you. I don't have a body fat tester so I personally dont know if it's true

JAT74

I have read a lot of reviews of Max30 and a lot of people said they lost a lot of body fat and weight which is great as it's just what I'm looking for. Some of the reviews I read said that they felt they had lost muscle, though I don't know if that was based on any kind of evidence they had or just their feeling about their body after completing the program.

I haven't looked at the schedule for Max30 yet so don't know how many days a week it is etc. but one of the reviews said they added in back/biceps and shoulders etc. from P90X and I also have P90X3 so I suppose I could do mostly Max30 and just add in a couple of days of P90X3 even if I have to double up some days.

I've read that Max30 is a real challenge and a lot harder than the original Insanity so maybe it will be enough on its own and it sounds like it will help me get lean but I don't want to end up lean and weak as opposed to lean and strong but doing so much body weight work I don't see how you possibly can. It would be good to hear what people who've completed the program think though.

TavistockToad

Have you done the whole p90X3 programme before?

Soundwave79

I actually gave up Max 30 early because there is to much upper body. Reason being I tend to follow a 3 days a week weights, 3 days cardio regime. So I usually do a hybrid Insanity/Body Beast schedule. While doing Max 30 just about every single video has a circuit where you are doing push ups, plank in/outs, burpees, etc. And my arms were just to dead from lifting to be able to complete the circuits in the videos. I wasn't getting the proper recovery time for my arms so I gave it up and went back to normal Insanity. Especially the Tabata videos in the first phase. So yes I think Max 30 has plenty of upper body to maintain muscle mass.

FitPhillygirl

I recently did Insanity Max 30 along with doing Stronglifts 5X5 program at the gym 3 days a week. It was tough doing both, but I got through it and definetly have more muscle definition now then before.

JAT74

To answer your question Tavistock Toad no I haven't done P90X3 before, I've got the possibility to do one or both programs but my goal is fat loss so I really want to do insanity Max 30 but also like the sound of P90X3 as I have been doing some weight training in Body Revolution so don't know if it will be better to do both together, or Max30 on its own.

Body Beast sounds a bit full on so not sure about doing that but I could either combine it with P90X3 or weight lifting in the gym, stronglifts 5x5 or another weights based DVD programme like Chalean Exreme.

Eileen did you do Max 30 as it should be followed ie. the schedule they give you but adding in/doubling up with stronglifts on some of the days or did you miss some of the Max 30 days and do stronglifts instead?

FitPhillygirl

@JAT74‌, I missed 2 of the Max 30 workouts due to the flu. But otherwise I did both workouts on the Max 30 schedule. I tried to do as many lifting workouts as I could on my days of from work in order to space the workouts a few hours apart from each other as well as doing one of the lifts on the Max 30 day off.

TavistockToad

P90x3 is a great programme, but fat loss is mainly about your calorie intake.

I found p90x3 was really good for improving my upper body strength and flexibility. And I did lose a few inches and pounds.

JAT74

Calorie intake isn't an issue, I'm eating the number of calories on average to lose at least 1lb per week as long as I burn off a minimum of 250 calories per day. I'm looking to maximise fat loss which I understand is more likely to happen the more calories I can burn off. Some have said that insanity max 30 can burn off as much as 450 cals per workout and on top of that I normally do a walk every day which burns off an additional 150-300 cals on top. That would mean in theory I could burn off up to 750 cals a day and therefore lose an additional 1lb each week which would be amazing. I just don't want to lose muscle in the process.

Marchmallow

I recommend progressing to P90X, lots of muscle work and some claim it's still the best from Tony Horton. I'm doing P90X3 currently and my strength is improving

JAT74

Thanks Marchmallow, unfortunately I can't do P90X due to time constraints, which is why I was thinking about P90X3 instead but really like the sound of Insanity Max30 so that's why I asked the question about whether to combine it with some weight training.

Still undecided about what to do for the best. I am terrible about making decisions at the best of times and it doesn't help when I'm looking for the best thing for my fitness!

jblacksher1967

To me too many people do hybrids I have P90x, P90x3, Insanity, and have seen Insanity Max 30. I recommend that you just commit to one program complete that and somewhat see how the program works for you then move onto the next program. Right now I am doing P90x even though it is kind of old I have lost a lot of weight. To me if you can't do the moves like Shaun T, Tony Horton or whichever program you are working you still have work to do. Just my .02 good luck with whatever you decide to do.

JAT74

I understand your POV but in my case I wanted something which would be a combination of strength and cardio using weights which is why I was thinking about doing P90X3 with Insanity as I really wanted to do Insanity.

Now however I have decided to do the Alpha Beta and Gamma phases of T25 to start with as a full program as it uses weights in a lot of the workouts and I can go heavier as I've now got some new 22lbs weights so have about 7 different sizes from 4lbs onwards.

When I finish all of that after 12-14 weeks I'll see how I feel physically and might do Max 30 on its own then but it will be early July and the temperature here is around 40 degrees and fairly humid so maybe not the best time to get started with Insanity Max!

misskris78

I just finished Max30 and I've never been so ripped in my entire life. I've done P90X, Insanity, X3 and T25 (which I hate with a passion). I found it very challenging, and I started it after completing a 1:45 1/2 marathon. Weights are good, no doubt and P90X3 is still my favorite all around program, but Max 30 was pretty good!

TavistockToad

JAT74 wrote: »

I understand your POV but in my case I wanted something which would be a combination of strength and cardio using weights which is why I was thinking about doing P90X3 with Insanity as I really wanted to do Insanity.

Now however I have decided to do the Alpha Beta and Gamma phases of T25 to start with as a full program as it uses weights in a lot of the workouts and I can go heavier as I've now got some new 22lbs weights so have about 7 different sizes from 4lbs onwards.

When I finish all of that after 12-14 weeks I'll see how I feel physically and might do Max 30 on its own then but it will be early July and the temperature here is around 40 degrees and fairly humid so maybe not the best time to get started with Insanity Max!

P90X3 is a combination of strength and cardio.

JAT74

I've been looking into it a bit more now and have finally decided on a double program of T25 plus P90X3. I can manage an hour a day and I've found some schedules so am going to start in a week. I will have around 2 days a week off the double workouts but will try and do them on the other days. I'm looking for fast results and something to really push myself and from what I've read it is doable and there are others who have done a similar thing before.