Insanity VS SL5x5 - Help?

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adelinue
adelinue Posts: 98 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello!

I've been doing 5x5 for a little over three weeks (would finish the first month this Friday). As far as powerlifting goes, I guess there has been some progress (Lifting +70lbs in my squat etc) but on the weight loss side? Not that much. I've lost around 4lbs doing this program, most of it I think because of nutrition. I won't talk about muscle gains because I didn't try it for a long enough period but I was hoping for more muscle definition by way of fat loss and that didn't happen either ...

I've begun thinking that I should've waited until goal weight before beginning weight training. I feel like i'm running in my spot; not losing fat or weight. Thus why I wanted to go back to what worked for me before then do weight lifting once I am at goal weight : BeachBody Programs; and in this case I wanted to try the first one I've bought but never done : Insanity.

Insanity is mostly a High Impact Cardio program I think, but it has been proven to work for fat loss (with the right meal plan) so I thought maybe it's what I needed to lose the last 10lbs and begin weight training -Plus, it's only 2 months long.

So what do you think, should I stick with 5x5 or do Insanity then go back to SL? Knowing that my primary goal here is not really building muscles but maintaining them while losing fat.

Thanks for the help :D

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    you've lost 4lbs in 3 weeks... not sure what more you're expecting but that sounds pretty spot on to me.
  • HamsterManV2
    HamsterManV2 Posts: 449 Member
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    I suggest you stick with SL5x5 as you build muscle and lose fat (IGNORE THE SCALE, look at body composition such as before/after photos, measure your waist/limbs, etc.). And you can throw in 20-30 minutes of HIIT after your work outs, such as rowing, hill sprints, etc.

    Don't fall into the trap of needing to do it all right away... 1 lb of weight loss a week is consistent, steady, and perfect for LONG TERM weight loss.
  • piperdown44
    piperdown44 Posts: 958 Member
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    3 weeks is hardly enough time to assess a weight lifting program and 4lbs of loss over 3 weeks is a good place to be.
    Lifting will preserve muscle mass while you're still on a deficit.
    Plus, the closer you are to a "goal" weight the harder it becomes to get there. Personally I threw out "goal weight" a long time ago. I'd rather look at body fat % and overall composition.
  • lindsayh87
    lindsayh87 Posts: 167 Member
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    4lbs in 3 weeks is pretty good. So you could stick with it for sure. I don't know a lot about weight lifting programs so I'm not the best for advice in that aspect. From my understanding it does burn less calories, which if you're trying to lose fat you need a calorie deficit. I have comepleted insanity and can say from person experience that it will help with fat loss. It does help with strength too but not in the same way lifting will. Here are my before and afters from the first time I did insanity. *also not a Beachbody sales person :)11m12x2etbn1.jpg
  • kwtilbury
    kwtilbury Posts: 1,234 Member
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    Do both!
  • terrie_k
    terrie_k Posts: 406 Member
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    I'm doing NROLFW, been at it since late November. Scale hasn't moved but my shape sure has. I was discouraged reading forums about my lack of weight loss or even BF% not going down. In the end, everyone is different and bodies will react differently. You need more time. Adding to that, I did the 30DS before the lifting program and I know people had major success, I have absolutley 0. No loss, no shape change, nadda. I was hoping I would lose 2-5 lbs to kick start my lifting but it jut wasted my time really in the end (I felt).

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