Why Insanity?

Aaron_K123

Excellent question OP I've always wondered too. Especially how the people who post 'I've been doing Insanity for 4 weeks and eating 1200 calories and not seeing any result', because I have absolutely no clue how they can 'do' insanity for 4 weeks while starving themselves.

Yeah, that sort of post and the sort of post where a very overweight person who says they haven't exercised in forever is talking about starting up Insanity are the two types of posts that inspired this one.

I am probably fit enough I could hobble my way through it but I'd much rather do a program that still pushes me hard enough to be in my aerobic range consistently without making me want to vomit.

prettyfitchick

Insanity was the first true workout program I ever did. It was alot of fun I love Shaun T cant stand Tony or Julian. I did the alternate moves until can bulid my self to do the real ones and yes I little slower then video. As long as trying you can improve and your body is stronger then your brain gives it credit for I am sure you could do insanity as well. Workout programs are mainly about finding something that you can stick with and if can stick to doing insainty i thnk you should go for it my opinon

likitisplit

Excellent question OP I've always wondered too. Especially how the people who post 'I've been doing Insanity for 4 weeks and eating 1200 calories and not seeing any result', because I have absolutely no clue how they can 'do' insanity for 4 weeks while starving themselves.

Yeah, that sort of post and the sort of post where a very overweight person who says they haven't exercised in forever is talking about starting up Insanity are the two types of posts that inspired this one.

I am probably fit enough I could hobble my way through it but I'd much rather do a program that still pushes me hard enough to be in my aerobic range consistently without making me want to vomit.

You remind me of the guy who does pricing for my company and the alternate marketing schemes he comes up with and shares with me. They tend to be three words in black letters on a white PowerPoint, such as "Sell More Product". Simple. Clean. Direct.

Most people prefer a more aspirational vision of themselves and a bit more of a "story" and this does an amazing job of tapping in to that.

I don't think there are a lot of home videos that are that much more fun and motivating (excluding Rodney Yee's yoga series) considering that many people find Insanity to be amazing.

Aaron_K123

Excellent question OP I've always wondered too. Especially how the people who post 'I've been doing Insanity for 4 weeks and eating 1200 calories and not seeing any result', because I have absolutely no clue how they can 'do' insanity for 4 weeks while starving themselves.

Yeah, that sort of post and the sort of post where a very overweight person who says they haven't exercised in forever is talking about starting up Insanity are the two types of posts that inspired this one.

I am probably fit enough I could hobble my way through it but I'd much rather do a program that still pushes me hard enough to be in my aerobic range consistently without making me want to vomit.

You remind me of the guy who does pricing for my company and the alternate marketing schemes he comes up with and shares with me. They tend to be three words in black letters on a white PowerPoint, such as "Sell More Product". Simple. Clean. Direct.

Most people prefer a more aspirational vision of themselves and a bit more of a "story" and this does an amazing job of tapping in to that.

I don't think there are a lot of home videos that are that much more fun and motivating (excluding Rodney Yee's yoga series) considering that many people find Insanity to be amazing.

and yet I still manage to be fun at parties.

Yeah I do suffer from bluntness and practicality though, not just in how I approach others but also in how I approach myself and my body. I'm not a cynic or a naysayer really, I don't say "I can't do it" I would say I am "presently unable to do it" but I'd still admit that I'm unable to and wouldn't force myself to when I could pick something else that fits me better. Some might see that as a defeatist attitude but it serves me well and I tend to accomplish my goals.

stephe1987

I think you have the wrong idea. It's not that people trying Insanity are expecting to be able to run through the entire thing with few or no rest periods on their first day. They *know* they are not athletes and are out of shape! Heck, even the fit people in the video take their rest periods.

Insanity is about pushing yourself to your limit. Go as hard as you can for the set time period. If you need more breaks at first, fine. But do what they say and only stop long enough to catch your breath. Going slow is also fine. Form is more important than speed and you don't want to injure yourself. As you progress through the 60 days, you will notice you need less breaks and are getting stronger and are more able to keep up.

The other thing is, a lot of people in the ads/infomercials have done more than one cycle of Insanity. They saw great results from their first round so they decided to continue. Nobody is going to lose 200 lbs in just 60 days; they lost the weight because they kept going until they reached their goal.

Some people might prefer to try another exercise program or reach a certain goal before starting. But that just means they'll be able to keep up more and will possibly end up needing to do fewer cycles than someone who jumps in and starts with Insanity.

There's no way I'm doing Insanity this time of year (way too hot), but I'm thinking of trying it when the new year starts (January 1, 2015).

likitisplit

Excellent question OP I've always wondered too. Especially how the people who post 'I've been doing Insanity for 4 weeks and eating 1200 calories and not seeing any result', because I have absolutely no clue how they can 'do' insanity for 4 weeks while starving themselves.

Yeah, that sort of post and the sort of post where a very overweight person who says they haven't exercised in forever is talking about starting up Insanity are the two types of posts that inspired this one.

I am probably fit enough I could hobble my way through it but I'd much rather do a program that still pushes me hard enough to be in my aerobic range consistently without making me want to vomit.

You remind me of the guy who does pricing for my company and the alternate marketing schemes he comes up with and shares with me. They tend to be three words in black letters on a white PowerPoint, such as "Sell More Product". Simple. Clean. Direct.

Most people prefer a more aspirational vision of themselves and a bit more of a "story" and this does an amazing job of tapping in to that.

I don't think there are a lot of home videos that are that much more fun and motivating (excluding Rodney Yee's yoga series) considering that many people find Insanity to be amazing.

and yet I still manage to be fun at parties.

Yeah I do suffer from bluntness and practicality though, not just in how I approach others but also in how I approach myself and my body. I'm not a cynic or a naysayer really, I don't say "I can't do it" I would say I am "presently unable to do it" but I'd still admit that I'm unable to and wouldn't force myself to when I could pick something else that fits me better. Some might see that as a defeatist attitude but it serves me well and I tend to accomplish my goals.

The pricing guy, in addition to being the smartest person I know, is an extreme extrovert and really fun to be around. He just doesn't quite respond to fluffy marketing.

I'm all about slow changes, myself. One of the statements that has been a touch-stone during this go-round is from www.katysays.com: "you are not an out-of-shape version of you" You are who you are. The body adapts much better to small changes a hundred times a day than one big jump. You can't get a jumpstart and force yourself into shape. That results in injury. All the people who I admire physically have taken the TIME to get there. Muscles take years.

People don't want to hear that, and I get it. I used to look at my tummy and just pray that it was a bad dream and fall off overnight. If there was something that would work instantly without major health risks, I would have been all over that.

It took Couch to 5k, and eating at a moderate deficit and a progressive body weight training program to get me where I am today - all incremental and all focused on the basics. Not exactly the inspiration of the forums: 18 months and I consider myself about half way through my first phase. I'm not a newbie to fitness, but I'm taking a different approach this time and it seems to be working a lot better than anything I've done in the past.

Aaron_K123

This guy has a video that sort of touches on this in a way that I have come to agree with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXQ77KURFww

Some language so not really work safe just to warn.

likitisplit

This guy has a video that sort of touches on this in a way that I have come to agree with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXQ77KURFww

Some language so not really work safe just to warn.

Really? Elliot said that? I was totally not expecting him to be promoting low-intensity cardio.

Aaron_K123

This guy has a video that sort of touches on this in a way that I have come to agree with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXQ77KURFww

Some language so not really work safe just to warn.

Really? Elliot said that? I was totally not expecting him to be promoting low-intensity cardio.

He actually promotes the hell out of it. He can be a bit bro-sciencey at times but in general I really like his instruction and ideas and approach and its helped me I think.

Not to promote him to much but check this one out, one of my favorites.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqhCsgYkLJE

likitisplit

This guy has a video that sort of touches on this in a way that I have come to agree with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXQ77KURFww

Some language so not really work safe just to warn.

Really? Elliot said that? I was totally not expecting him to be promoting low-intensity cardio.

He actually promotes the hell out of it. He can be a bit bro-sciencey at times but in general I really like his instruction and ideas and approach and its helped me I think.

Not to promote him to much but check this one out, one of my favorites.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqhCsgYkLJE

It's funny how all the "right" answers boil down to the same thing: http://www.katysays.com/my-manifesto/

MilaCzech

I don't know why other people chose insanity as their first workout, all I can say is why I chose insanity.
First to say, I'm 25, 5'7 and about 210 lbs, so obese young female. I put most of my weight on due to thyroid problems but I was always doing all kinds of sports. I played softball and volleyball on high school, after high school I did some jogging, walking, swimming, bellydancing, aqua aerobics, power yoga, gym and finally one of my biggest sport interest long sword fighting (historical European martial arts).
While doing longsword, I lost quite a bit of weight due to the high intensity trainings. I found out, that my body reacts very well to high intensity workout, that I adapt fairly quickly and my aver all condition is improving fast while losing the excessive weight.
Now I moved back to my country and live in the middle of nowhere is small house. There is no gym nearby, and running is hard and discouraging (you can go either up the hill or down the hill, nothing between) since there are no good running paths.
I was looking for something what is high intensity, versatile enough for me not to get bored too easily and what I can do at home where no one can see me struggle through workout.
One of my friends offered me to borrow his insanity (he quit after first 2 workouts), so I gave it a shot and I love it now.
It's hard and intense but I know I'm nowhere near the condition of people in that video, so I'm nowhere near their speed and I'm OK with it. I do all exercises at slower pace, I'm being careful to keep my form correct (as Shan T says, form over speed) and listen to my body. If I need a break I take short time to catch my breath and then keep exercising. I hope to improve my overall fitness with this program, weight loss would be just a bonus.
I like that exercises changes quite quickly during the workout, I don't get bored of one move so fast. Also Shaun T is great motivator.

So that was just my 2 cents on your question.

hartmamp

I wouldn't pay for it myself, but I did a cycle with a friend who owned the DVDs. They are really, really hard which I actually like. It's really easy to measure improvements because you start by barely being able to survive.

I also think it's a GOOD concept to have it be SO HARD, that even the people on the DVD can't get through it, because then, you can continue to use it over and over and maybe never have it become "too easy". I loveeeeee Jillian Michael's DVDs, but I can't do 30 Day Shred or Ripped in 30 anymore because they're too easy.

perseverance14

I was in the best shape of my life when I did it and hated it. The videos were too long and repetitive for my taste. HOWEVER, I did have to modify a lot because of my bad knees, but as I kept pushing through, I had to modify less and less. I also didn't have to rest as long. It's a mindset thing; if you think you can do it and want to do it, you will.

Well yeah if I had to crawl through a field of broken glass to save my SO I probably would to, doesn't mean I'd voluntarily choose the field of broken glass over the field of grass if given the choice. I'm just not convinced that killing yourself in your cardio workout (elevating your HR way above the aerobic range) is really beneficial. There seems to be this prevailing belief that the harder you push yourself the better it is for you and I'm really not convinced that is true.

I think you are absolutely right. I do cardio 2 or 3 times per week, but lifting weights is my priority now, and the results I am getting are way beyond what I could ever get from just cardio.

perseverance14

If people lifted weights properly they'd look like Ah'nold did in his prime. Even the women. Or both your statement and mine are stupid.

That wouldn't happen unless they were intentionally trying to bulk up.

likitisplit

If people lifted weights properly they'd look like Ah'nold did in his prime. Even the women. Or both your statement and mine are stupid.

That wouldn't happen unless they were intentionally trying to bulk up.

And on steroids.

Aaron_K123

If people lifted weights properly they'd look like Ah'nold did in his prime. Even the women. Or both your statement and mine are stupid.

That wouldn't happen unless they were intentionally trying to bulk up.

That was that posters point. They posted one absolutist statement as a mirror to another absolutist statement in order to criticize it