Insanity or P90X

victoriaannewilliams
victoriaannewilliams Posts: 64 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm thinking about getting either one of these workouts. Which ones do you like better and why?

Replies

  • kutastha
    kutastha Posts: 17 Member
    Unless you're already in fairly good cardiovascular shape, I would advise P90X first. Insanity is aptly named as it is full on cardio for 40-60 minutes. P90X is more weightlifting, but has some good lower level cardio workouts. I used P90X as a starting point for working out, then moved on to Insanity, Asylum, then P90X2.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    It depends more what you are looking for. Insanity is more of a cardio workout and P90X is more for strength/weight lifting.

    I'm doing P90X... was going to start today but my pull up bar doesn't work in my door frame... so I ordered a new one and I'll start next week I guess.
  • chelseelovesyou
    chelseelovesyou Posts: 109 Member
    P90X unless you are already in reasonably good shape. I did Turbo Fire/ Turbo Fire P90X Hybrid/ P90X & now Insanity. Makes my Turbo Fire (which used to kill me) look like childs play.
  • syradove
    syradove Posts: 12 Member
    P90x needs a full spectrum of weights. Unless you have a gym in your house or a DVD player at your gym, its going to be hard to watch and lift. Insanity is definitely insane. I did it 2 years ago and was in the best shape of my life. I highly recommend it, but watch the knees, its a little brutal at times. Just do what you can each day and get better and better. Good luck!
  • aweightymatter
    aweightymatter Posts: 222
    Unless you're already in fairly good cardiovascular shape, I would advise P90X first. Insanity is aptly named as it is full on cardio for 40-60 minutes. P90X is more weightlifting, but has some good lower level cardio workouts. I used P90X as a starting point for working out, then moved on to Insanity, Asylum, then P90X2.

    I think I agree! P90X *looks* hard but I enjoyed it a lot because it is really scale-able -- you can use lighter weights, do fewer reps, rest, etc. The plyometrics cardio workout is insanely hard, but it's only once a week. Insanity is awesome but man, you'd have to think the P90x plyo thing is easy to really enjoy it, lol. I'm filing it away as a future challenge!

    I really enjoyed P90x though. The only drawback frankly with any of these video programs is that you are stuck with the same video for three months -- by the end, I knew all of Tony Horton's little asides and jokes by heart and it drove me crazy, haha.
  • Tashry
    Tashry Posts: 151 Member
    I haven't done insanity, but I did do P90X and loved what it did for my body. I started it 6 weeks after having my second baby (my doctor okayed it, so let's not go there.) I lost 40 pounds and got my waist back. It was incredible.
  • TNGURL
    TNGURL Posts: 89 Member
    I have completed P90X and today is my 90 day completion of P90X2... I will be starting Insanity as soon as it ships. If you are in great physical shape, either one will be cool. If you're somewhat of a beginner, I would start with the orginal P90.... please be careful and modify when needed. You can and will get hurt... no joke! Good luck to ya girl!!
  • JBurger2066
    JBurger2066 Posts: 161 Member
    Like some of the others have said, it depends on what you want out of it. Insanity is definitely more cardio based than P90X or P90X2. I like P90X2 a lot better than P90X. Right now I'm mixing P90X2 workouts with Insanity workouts to get a balance of strength and interval cardio. You can work into the Insanity workouts if your cardio level isn't great. Just focus on form and worry about the number of reps later on. And if you're new to working out, Power 90 is a good option to get started.
  • roberto_vargas
    roberto_vargas Posts: 1
    Ill have to jump on the wagon with everyone and tell you its all up to you. I thought i was in pretty good shape and did insanity and it was a great workout that kicked my but. I did P90X also but it was boring to me after a while. I can tell you that doing insanity for 2 weeks i dropped 10 lbs.
  • victoriaannewilliams
    victoriaannewilliams Posts: 64 Member
    Okay with P90X i would need a pull up bar? I will not be able to put one in my house lol. Is it that crucial or have y'all found alternatives to the pull up bar?
  • cyclerjenn
    cyclerjenn Posts: 833 Member
    Depends on your goals and fitness level. I use P90X for the weight training and build muscle in the off season, I use Insanity for the Power muscles before races.
  • JBurger2066
    JBurger2066 Posts: 161 Member

    I think I agree! P90X *looks* hard but I enjoyed it a lot because it is really scale-able -- you can use lighter weights, do fewer reps, rest, etc. The plyometrics cardio workout is insanely hard, but it's only once a week. Insanity is awesome but man, you'd have to think the P90x plyo thing is easy to really enjoy it, lol. I'm filing it away as a future challenge!

    I really enjoyed P90x though. The only drawback frankly with any of these video programs is that you are stuck with the same video for three months -- by the end, I knew all of Tony Horton's little asides and jokes by heart and it drove me crazy, haha.

    Hahaha. Shaun T's jokes and comments get old too. After a while we just crank up the music and have the TV volume just loud enough for the ques.
  • JBurger2066
    JBurger2066 Posts: 161 Member
    Okay with P90X i would need a pull up bar? I will not be able to put one in my house lol. Is it that crucial or have y'all found alternatives to the pull up bar?

    I used the Iron Gym pull up bar my first time around. It was $30 And isn't perminant and doesn't leave marks. Now I have one of those pullup/captains chair deals. Haha.
  • victoriaannewilliams
    victoriaannewilliams Posts: 64 Member
    I haven't done insanity, but I did do P90X and loved what it did for my body. I started it 6 weeks after having my second baby (my doctor okayed it, so let's not go there.) I lost 40 pounds and got my waist back. It was incredible.
    That's awesome. I still haven't lost the baby weight :(
  • aweightymatter
    aweightymatter Posts: 222
    Okay with P90X i would need a pull up bar? I will not be able to put one in my house lol. Is it that crucial or have y'all found alternatives to the pull up bar?

    I couldn't install one either -- no permanent drill-in changes right now -- and the Iron Gym, for whatever reason, didn't really hold in my door frame steadily. Every time I started to put weight on it little pieces of paint flaked and it looked like it was going to damage the frame.

    P90X gives you a substitution option where you do rows, etc. with a resistance band - you just need a band with a door strap so you can close it into the door frame. I'm sure I didn't get the same results as I would have if I had done modified pull-ups but it was fine for my purpose, which was coming back to strength training.
  • parteegirl01
    parteegirl01 Posts: 84
    I gained 6 pounds doing insanity for 5 weeks, and didn't lose ANY inches. It's way too hard for someone who isn't already mostly in shape. It's for people who are trying to lose that last bit of weight. That being said I haen't done p90x, but have done power 90 and it helped me lose 20 pounds before I joined MFP. I'm doing Chalean extreme now, and I LOVE it!

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