My Questions about P90X and Insanity

carlachristinewhite

I am on my Week 8 of P90X and I have a month left after this week until I start Insanity. I also have started sticking to the Elite nutrition plan of Insanity 2 weeks ago, so I can get used to it when I start Insanity. I am the kind of person who likes to prepare myself of expect the worst, so that if it turns out easier than expected, I get so motivated that I race to finish line.

My questions are:
1)if P90X is intense, how much more intense if Insanity?
2) I noticed, there isn't any weights on Insanity and generally a circuit training, how can you build your muscles without weightlifting?
3) Is Insanity purely for cardio and losing weight?
4) I'd be doing this with my bestfriend and he is trying to gain weight and build muscle, while I want to lose and also build leaner muscles which is more ideal workout?


I appreciate anyone who had done any of these workout to share their ideas or insights because I have to make sure I won't fail or quit when I start Insanity nor finish one round of P90X when I should have continued round 2 before doing Insanity.

Thank you!

Mike523

You're correct, Insanity doesn't include any weight training, so you're not really going to build any muscle with the program. It's pretty much all high intensity cardio, which will help you burn fat and reveal the muscle underneath, but you won't be adding any muscle.

P90X on the other hand is more focused on weights/strength training, so you can definitely build muscle. As far as intensity, Insanity is quite a bit more intense than the cardio workouts in P90X. Think P90X Plyometrics without the pauses between exercises, and you'd be close to Insanity.

If your goal is to build muscle, I would stick with P90X. But if the cardio days are not intense enough for you, you could start swapping in the Insanity workouts in place of Plyo/Kenpo/CardioX, etc. to make it a hybrid.

JamesBurkes

I agree. if building muscle is a priority then P90X is the best choice.

That said, Insanity gets an unfair rap for being "just cardio." The best way to think of it is like Bodyrock.tv workouts on fast forward.... lots of mountain climbers, burpees, moving push ups, squat thrusts and the like, done VERY quickly. Insanity is also great for the legs and core. Personally I don't think the first month's workouts are much harder than P90X's Plyometrics (if you're pushing it!); more frenetic certainly, but not particularly harder. The second month's workouts are, well, insane however.

Both are good workouts, but if gaining muscle is an aim, I'd stick with P90X (or do a hybrid of the two).

nailed479

Here is my opinion

1)if P90X is intense, how much more intense if Insanity?
It's intense, hence the word insanity.
2) I noticed, there isn't any weights on Insanity and generally a circuit training, how can you build your muscles without weightlifting?
You use your own body weight to build muscle. squats, jump, all the push up, ab work, you will gain muscle as well as losing weight

3) Is Insanity purely for cardio and losing weight?
Yes there is a lot of cardio, but there are moves that I stated in last comment, that you do use your body and gain muscle.

4) I'd be doing this with my bestfriend and he is trying to gain weight and build muscle, while I want to lose and also build leaner muscles which is more ideal workout?
And like James said they are both good, if you do have both programs, hybrid them!!!!!

olag00

My suggestion would be to do a P90X/Insanity hybrid. This way you get the muscle building from P90X and the intense cardio from Insanity. Around day 45 of my first round of P90X, the P90X workouts Kenpo and Yoga were replaced with Pure Cardio and Plyo intervals from Insanity. I moved Yoga to Sundays instead of rest.

I am in my first "recovery" week of this round.

nukehiker

i would give P90x cardio a 4-5 rating and insanity 8-9

ProTFitness

You're correct, Insanity doesn't include any weight training, so you're not really going to build any muscle with the program. It's pretty much all high intensity cardio, which will help you burn fat and reveal the muscle underneath, but you won't be adding any muscle.

P90X on the other hand is more focused on weights/strength training, so you can definitely build muscle. As far as intensity, Insanity is quite a bit more intense than the cardio workouts in P90X. Think P90X Plyometrics without the pauses between exercises, and you'd be close to Insanity.

If your goal is to build muscle, I would stick with P90X. But if the cardio days are not intense enough for you, you could start swapping in the Insanity workouts in place of Plyo/Kenpo/CardioX, etc. to make it a hybrid.

You wil and can build muscle doing body weight exercises!!!! You dont have to pick up a DB to do it!

coreykantola

P90x is for muscle building and insanity is for toning and cardio, if you want to build lean muscle do Asylum that is the next step after insanity. that program also has calenders to mix Asylum and P90x. asylum is awesome.

mamatoboys6219

Oh gosh..you all are scaring me with the Insanity LOL..I am getting it next weekend and I am doing p90x right now. I did the Pylometrics...and it kicked my butt!

JamesBurkes

Don't worry! When I first did Plyo X I couldn't get beyond the fourth round of exercises. The second time I did it I was determined to finish it, even if I had to pause after every exercise (which I did once I got halfway in! It took me 2 hours!). But within 6 or 7 weeks I was getting all the way through without pausing (even if I was huffing like a steam train).

Nowadays Plyo is hard work - I get breathless at times (such as during jump knee tucks) but I never have to pause it and I see it as a good, hard workout rather than as some kind of challenge for the day. At that sort of level of fitness I didn't have too many problems with the first month of Insanity workouts. They got me panting for sure, but I could get through them (just about).

The second month MAX workouts are something else, though. I still haven't gone all the way through without missing out the occasional exercise because I've been panting so hard. I think the second month is where Insanity really gets its name.

JamesBurkes

Oh, and I don't know what your knees are like, but Insanity can be tough on the joints. Good shoes are a must. And I always do my own warm-up prior to the workouts as the ones on the DVDs are a bit too frenetic to act as a warm up for me. (Then again, I do have slightly tweaky knees).

carlachristinewhite

Thank you guys! ALL your response is very helpful. the Hybrid seems like a workable routine for me. I still want to keep my sanity by doing P90X from time to time LOL. I will however do insanity for one round first (60 days) then do the hybrid! I will keep all your responses in mind!

AWESOME!