Insanity vs. P90x

Skye_Light

i've been doing some research into insanity and p90x and the both seem like really good workouts. I'm just wanting some advice from anybody that has done either or both, what your opionins are on them.

phynyxfyre

Bump. I am curious, too!

jfan175

What are your goals? I did p90X and it really whipped me into shape. I dropped 24 of the 40lbs I lost doing that. Insanity just looked like way too much impact for the joints, and you'll read a lot about people getting sore knees from it. Insanity is mostly intense high impact cardio, and p90X incorporates cardio, resistance training and yoga. It's all low impact except for the plyometrics which you only do once a week. Both require a 6 day per week committment.

BeantownSooner

It's really about what your goals are for the most part. They both very challenging in very different ways.

P90X is a more well rounded program that is 90 days long with 3 Phases of exercise along with 3 Phases of Nutrition. It offers a mix of cardio and resistance based workouts with a slight emphasis on the resistance part. The ultimate goal is to build strong, lean muscles which generally speaking help burn fat. There are a couple very good cardio workouts built in as well as Yoga once per week which is very challenging but rewarding. You have no reason to be inflexible. Each phase is 3 weeks then a recovery week, then you start again with a change to the daily workouts. You're constantly changing the routines so that you never plateau. Most workouts are 45 - 60 minutes but Yoga is 1.5 hours. The nutrition takes you through a low-carb, fat burning phase in month 1 to a more balanced nutritional plan in month 2 then an endurance plan in month 3. What I liked is they have meals laid out for you but also a Portion plan which allows you to eat what you want as long as they fit into the Portions you're provided. One of the best things I got out of P90X was a really good understanding of what foods to eat and when and most importantly if you don't eat right you will not see great results. One of the downsides for some (not me) was it does require some weight, weight bands and a chin up bar so there's a little additional cost if you don't have anything.

Insanity is basically that Insane! It's a very cardio intensive program that last's 63 days...4 weeks on, 1 recovery week, 4 weeks on. Month 1 workouts are generally 40 - 45 minutes but month 2 they get near an hour. There are Fit Test's every 2 weeks to monitor your progress and a very good Nutrition plan that's very easy to follow. They have about 50 meals to guide you. Pick your favorites and stick with that and you'll have a very easy plan to follow. Unlike P90X you use your body with Insanity. Lots of jumping, pushups, and other quick explosive movements. If you've ever trained for sports think of explosive drills. There's a lot of that kind of stuff in Insanity. You literally bust your *kitten* for 3 minutes straight then get a brief 30 second break to recover (you will take longer breaks in the beginning...highly recommended). Then you go again and again, etc. In the end you're completely drenched with sweat and after a week you'll notice improvements.

So both programs are pretty difficult and I love them both. They absolutely work as intended but nutrition is critical. For me P90X is "easier" as I don't really love strenuous cardio workouts. But, Insanity I now have a love - hate relationship as it really does work if you put in the effort. If you commit and push yourself you'll become addicted.

The good thing is there are lots of Hybrid programs out there that combine the two after the fact where you get the benefit of the P90X resistance workouts and replace the cardio workouts with Insanity. Best of both worlds.

geeniusatwurk

What Beantown said ^

I've done both, and in my opinion I prefer Insanity as P90X's resistance isn't the low rep high weight style that I'm doing in the gym right now. Insanity as off-day cardio works best for my compound barbell workouts.

peachyxoxoxo

I have just two more days of Insanity and I've loved it. I like the fact that it doesn't require any equipment.

nicehormones

I have tried doing P90x. I lasted inconsistently a few weeks. In my opinion, the workouts are way too long for being six days a week if you work full time. I've heard the insanity workouts are more doable because they are usually an hour or under? I think they're also more cardioesque and use body resistance rather than weights, like P90X. I would give it a try.

CharisGtrs

I've done them both and pretty much have the same opinion as the others who have commented. It does come down to your goals and the style of workouts that interest you. Because I enjoy lifting weights, I do prefer P90x over Insanity, but they are different workouts all together. Insanity is an extreme cardio workout, but does incorporate strength moves using your bodyweight in the form of pushups, different kinds of planks, and other core exercises. You definitely will drop pounds faster using Insanity. But I found it wasn't a program I could stick with for the long haul. After completing the course, I wasn't motivated to do another round of it. With P90x you will also drop some weight and gain strength, but the workouts are longer. However, the second month of Insanity includes workouts that are just under an hour as well. Try a bit of both and modify when needed to see what you find interesting and challenging. You'll find you might like them both, or just like parts of them. You can download the worksheets free off of the Beachbody website and YouTube some of the workouts that people have posted. Good luck to you!

thoess

Ya, I've done them done too

Insanity is so hard - pure cardio - awesome workout - you will sweat
P90X is very good too though - strength training - you will build muscles
P90X does have more variety - workouts that focus on legs, or arms, or Kenpo, or YogaX, or recovery - than Insanity's strictly cardio focus
But if you survive Insanity, you will be so proud of yourself!

Really, you should do a hybrid of the 2 of them

Use Insanity for 2/3 days / week of cardio
Use P90X for 2/3 days / week of strength training
Use either one of their Ab training
Use YogaX or Max Recovery for flexibility

To me, it is the best plan - but hey, it costs a lot of money to buy them both

wlkumpf

I do some excersizes from both in fit club and have done videos from both. Depending on your level of fitness I would almost always recommend doing p90x first. I have heard of people ordering insanity and then having to exchange it if they aren't aleady in decent condition.
It is a great question, we groan at insanity days but dig deep and get through it, it might be easier for us to do p90x, but if you want to push yourself try out insanity, thinking about it I may even try it if we end up ordering one.


There are some walking push ups that I struggled with from insanity I can just now do. I have to admit that the recovery portion of insanity had every members legs shaking we had a hard time getting down a few steps to get to our cars a few weeks back. With a round robin (draw moves out of a hat) there were sweat puddles even during cool down Trying to think of other moves we do, but the hybrid push ups are what really stick in my head.

Good luck, there is no wrong decision just pure sweet hard work and awesomeness!