What is insanity?

SteveJWatson

Ok, so I see a lot of people doing this.

I have googled and read a few links, and it seems it is circuit-type training.

What I want to know is: How long are the intervals/sets involved?

How long does a workout last?

How many days a week do you do it?

On the surface, it seems a lot like the circuit training I do once a week - that goes on for an hour and starts 40sec effort, 25 sec rest for one go at each station (takes about 40 mins) and then 20 secs effort, 10 rest for one go at each station (excercises change slightly)

The exercises themselves look similar, except we dont do much of that 'kicky leg' business, its more; press-ups, bag squats/rows/clean and press/weighted crunches, box jumps, dips, shuttle sprints, weighted lunges etc.

Am kinda seeing if I can invent my own without shelling out for a DVD - cos I'm a skinflint.

ninerbuff

Basically it's people going another diet after the last diet failed and expecting different results.


Oh, you mean the "exercise" insanity.

Look up Beach Body..............................but don't fall for the cleanses and shakeology.


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

BigBrewski

Basically it's people going another diet after the last diet failed and expecting different results.


Oh, you mean the "exercise" insanity.

Look up Beach Body..............................but don't fall for the cleanses and shakeology.


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

LOL

SteveJWatson

Basically it's people going another diet after the last diet failed and expecting different results.


Oh, you mean the "exercise" insanity.

Look up Beach Body..............................but don't fall for the cleanses and shakeology.


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Unlikley I will be taking on anything that stops me eating normally.

I have teeth - I feel no need to make everything into some kind of weird smoothie. :bigsmile:

I was meaning the exercises.

jimmie65

Based on the concept of Muscle Confusion - intense circuit training utilizing different exercises each workout.

It works, but you can do something similar yourself.

hatethegame

I'm about 17 days in to the Insanity Program. I don't think it's like circuit training at all. So far, most workouts, including warm-up and cool down are about 42 minutes. You go six days a week with one day off. I'm about 20 lbs overweight and my goal is to shed the fat and then focus on adding some muscle. I also work in some heavy compound lifts every other day. So far, i have found it very challenging and it wasn't that long ago that I could run 5-7 miles three times a week.

I think it's a good program if you want something challenging that doesn't require any extra equipment (say like P90X) or even a gym membership for that matter. You can prob pick it up used on EBay for about half the price. I think it's a great investment. Message me if you have any other questions,

SteveJWatson

Does anybody know what the intervals actually are though?

As in; how many seconds effort followed by how many rest?

Edited to add: thanks for the help so far.....

Mokey41

Does anybody know what the intervals actually are though?

As in; how many seconds effort followed by how many rest?

Edited to add: thanks for the help so far.....

Insanity is thinking some who paid for the program is going to tell you exactly what it is so you don't have to!

jimmie65

Does anybody know what the intervals actually are though?

As in; how many seconds effort followed by how many rest?

Edited to add: thanks for the help so far.....

Sorry. I'd have to spend money to find that out.

EmilyOfTheSun

It's a two month program which has you working out 6 days a week. You get one rest day. Throughout those 6 days there is also a "recovery" day which is just another workout but it won't be as intense as what you're doing the other 5 days.

The workouts from month one are about 40 minutes each.
When you get to month two, the workouts are about an hour each.

Most of the time you do about 4 different moves, 45 seconds each, then get a 30 second rest before starting again.

sullus

Based on the concept of Muscle Confusion - intense circuit training utilizing different exercises each workout.

It works, but you can do something similar yourself.

Unfortunately, there's no such thing as "muscle confusion". It's just an intense workout.

k8blujay2

Doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result?

*reads whole thread* Oh!! You meant the exercise regiment!!! Sorry.... *leaves thread*

timvet

Let me see if I can answer this one
its about a 9 minute warm up usually doing 3 - 3 minute intervals of jogging, high knees, mummys, butt kicks and jumping jacks, each 3 minutes you go faster.
Then a 4 minute or so stretch
Then you start the intervals
usually 3 or 4 different exercises like burpees, suicide drills, up downs, frog jumps for about 30 seconds each exercies then he gives you a 30 second break then repeat a total of 3 times
Then you start a different set of intervas for 3 rounds with a 30 second break after each round. At the end of the first set of intervals he does add an extra minute of something else like jabs or tricep pushups
After intervals a few minutes of stretching
The first month the workouts are about 38 to 41 minutes total, the second month they average about 49 to 58 minutes. There is a rest day and a day of stretching.
I find this workout one of the hardest I have ever done, but it really makes your push harder. It made me really push to a level I didn't think I would ever get to but did. If you are really looking for a high cardio/endurance type of workout this is it! There is a reason it's called Insanity

contingencyplan

It's a bodyweight based circuit training program that has you doing high intensity, high impact cardio for long work periods and short rest periods. It does feature some bodyweight based strength training but that takes a back seat to the cardio. Personally I'm not a fan because the schedule has you doing high impact work too many days a week which is very injury prone, and on top of that the workout program has been heavily slammed by the American Council on Exercise because not one single person in the videos, including the instructor himself, demonstrate proper form for the exercises, and the overall format makes you more susceptible to injury due to too many days a week of high impact work and rest periods that are too short in comparison to the length of the circuits. Not only that, but it is incorrectly utilized by people as a weight loss program when the program has been deemed unsuitable for people who are overweight because the exercise selections consist of exercises that can damage the knees when done by overweight people even when form is good.

SteveJWatson

Most of the time you do about 4 different moves, 45 seconds each, then get a 30 second rest before starting again.

Ah! thats more the sort of thing I wanted to know, thanks.

amayaasn

Just google insanity and you will find the uploaded videos (youku, not youtube, youku). I bought the program, but you can find it on ebay for a discounted price. I have found it to be a very good exercise program. I have lost weight and inches and am only through the first month. There is also an eating plan, elite nutrition that goes along with the fitness aspect.

SteveJWatson

Does anybody know what the intervals actually are though?

As in; how many seconds effort followed by how many rest?

Edited to add: thanks for the help so far.....

Insanity is thinking some who paid for the program is going to tell you exactly what it is so you don't have to!

Well, I kind of garnered most of what it was about using google.

It seems much like the circuits I do already, but those are run by a trainer who simply calls it 'circuits' - except mine has less of a focus on the longer cardo bits, there are shuttle sprints, star jumps etc, and on the faster circuit, you have box jumps and squat jumps etc thrown in the mix, but what you dont do is the lengthy cardo bit before a short break - which I guess means you sprint harder on the runs etc.

azrrt76

There are many blogs out there that are very specific from day to day as to what is happening during their workout and how awesome/sucky it was. I've ready through many of them....just google something like, "insanity day 1" and start clicking.