chalean extreme vs. INSANITY vs. P90X - which is the best t

howardrw

Which is the best ones to get, I plan on buying 2 of these workouts, that is my Christmas present to myself and want to know whch would be the best 2 ro get. I wish I could afford all three, but just barely can get 2 of them.

I know about P90X and INSANITY, but have been hearing a lot about chalean extreme lately.

So can some give me some information on chalean extreme , I do know that Chalean is the Tubo Jam instructor (I have used Tubo Jam before).

tim_fitbuilt4life

All three are good and you can do both to keep your workout interesting. Extreme and Insanity would be good for toning and P90X Classic got for building muscle since it includes resistance training.

MisdemeanorM

watch for them used (though watch for pirates) and you can probably afford all three! Check ebay (be most careful here and check buyer ratings and see also how many copies of the program they have on line to see if they are possibly pirating or just really got it and did not use it), also craigslist, and Amazon. We got a used P90x (used, but not used... I think he did 1 day it was in perfect shape!) on Amazon for $75 shipped. Expensive... but when you base it on retail...

glfprncs2

I've done all three (3 rounds of P90X, 1 round of Insanity, 1 round of ChaLean Extreme and then a 20-week round of the ChaLean Extreme/Turbo Fire hybrid), though I have to say that I actually look forward to and enjoy ChaLean Extreme the most.

I find P90X and ChaLean Extreme to be similar in nature. They both incorporate 3 days/week of strength training and they both 'change up' the stength workouts each month in order to utilize the concept of muscle confusion. Both have 2 days/week of cardio (CLX has Burn Intervals which is alternating cardio segments with low weight/high rep toning and a 30 minute cardio interval workout, P90X has KenpoX--kickboxing--and PlyoX--jump training). P90X has a 90 minute yoga day and CLX has a 25 minute stretch/yoga type workout. The CLX workouts are generally 35-45 minutes per day plus another 10-15 for ab work several days per week whereas P90X is 60-90 minutes per day. IF you truly lift as heavy as you can with ChaLean Extreme, you will get fantastic results. IF you choose to not 'go heavy' your results won't be what you want. I assure you, lifting heavy will not make you bulky as a woman.

Insanity is pure cardio every day. It claims to have a strength component where you use your body weight as resistance, and there are some push-ups and other push up type moves thrown in here and there, I would NOT consider it to be sufficient for strength training. That said, it's butt-kicking cardio every day. You'll be amazed at your cardio recovery results after 60 days. That said, I found all of the jump training to be VERY hard on my knees. I appreciate the program for what it is, but won't ever do another straight 60 days of it.

Another thing you didn't mention, but that you might consider is Turbo Fire...if you liked Turbo Jam, you may enjoy it as well. It makes a great hybrid with both P90X and with CLX. Turbo Fire is like Turbo Jam on steroids. GREAT music, non-stop cardio with HIIT drills as well. Plus, it's FUN and I actually burn more calories in a 45 minute Turbo Fire class than I did an Insanity 45 minute workout. I didn't find Insanity to be fun..

There you have it...my experience and thoughts.

howardrw

Thanks, this was very helpful...