Insanity

Hi everyone,

This question is for people who have successfully and unsuccessfully completed the 63 days of the Insanity workout...

I am planning on starting it this Monday coming, but I have a few concerns. My knees are not the best at the moment, due to having overdone my gym cardio a few weeks ago. They are fine 90% of the time but sometimes ache after long periods of exercise.

I was wondering whether Insanity will prove impossible for me to do with suspect knees and/or will it make them worse? Do you think I should defer starting it? I understand from what i've seen, that there's a lot of jumping/impact. Should I see my doctor first?

Any advice would be appreciated, as I am very, very keen to do it but also don't want to injure myself again.

Thank you!

Dave.

Replies

  • mellynat
    mellynat Posts: 345 Member
    First off good for you for wanting to start. it's a great workout. Am finishing up round 2. You should definitely see your doctor first if u had something serious like surgery, strain, or what ever else can happen w knees. Insanity is hard on the knees. Mine hurt REALLY bad the first few weeks. But i noticed once I started taking fish oil my knees were not aching anymore and the jumping and lunges weren't effecting my knees as much. You can give it a try and may avoid the jumping parts if u don't' feel comfortable. There is still plenty of more action that will make u break a sweat.
    GOOD LUCk
  • snowmaniac
    snowmaniac Posts: 600 Member
    If your knees aren't 100% you would be wise to at least hold off until they are or until you consult your physician. Doing Insanity on bad knees will not make them better.
  • melissaka7
    melissaka7 Posts: 277 Member
    I'm 2 weeks from sucessfully completing Insanity. I haven't had any problems with my knees except for horrible bruising because I do my push ups on my knees. There are certain days that have jumping in the circuits, but I don't feel it's enough to hurt you. I would suggest starting it and see how you feel. You can always come up with your own modifications (that's what I do). Feel free to add me as a friend.
  • bkyoun
    bkyoun Posts: 371 Member
    I got 4 weeks into insanity and aggravated a knee injury so I switched to just strength training and walking until I lose more weight. Once I get down to about 250, I plan to switch back to Insanity. It is very plyometric heavy with a lot of jumping and knee impact. You are instructed to keep soft knees throughout the videos but that isn't exactly easy at 300+ pounds.

    I would say if you are able to keep "soft knees", you might be okay depending on how much you currently weigh. You might want to give it a try for a couple of days and see how it feels. I think you will be able to tell really quickly if it is too much for your knee.
  • DaveyGravy
    DaveyGravy Posts: 283 Member
    Thank you for the advice :)

    I am currently about 250lbs actually, I just don't want to aggravate my knee again. I have already waited a week to start it, so i'm super-ready to get going lol, but of course I am trying to be sensible also (For once...!)

    Hmmm...
  • DaveyGravy
    DaveyGravy Posts: 283 Member
    Anyone else got any advice? Still in two minds...
  • ChantelleFowler
    ChantelleFowler Posts: 208 Member
    Honestly, Insanity might be a bad choice for the knees. Have you done plyometric type exercises recently? If so, has that aggravated your knees at all? There is a lot of jumping in Insanity and if you're not doing the exercises with proper form, it could definitely wreak havoc on your knees. Heck, even if you DO do the moves with proper form, it can be hard!
  • I'm on day 41 and I have bursitis in both my knees. The trick is learning to land softly so you don't pound your feet on the ground, if you can do that then you won't aggravate your knees. There are certain moves that don't involve jumping that I can't do because it hurts my knees, so I just modify. So far I haven't had any problems, oh and I do it barefoot on carpet because I can land softer, I just put on pumps for stuff like planks so my feet don't slip.