Insanity vs regular cardio (@ ~300 lbs)

jyneefur

Hello again! I've been riding stationary bikes to lose weight for awhile. I'm currently doing about 15 miles in 60 minutes. It's a great workout and I keep increasing my time spent or I try to go faster. I'm a very competitive person, even if I'm just competing with myself. I'm about 298 lbs at the moment.

A couple of my friends and neighbors do Insanity and love it. I've seen a ton of success stories on here about it. I've watched videos of the fit test and the Plyometric Cardio Circuit and I love the aspect of self-challenge that they present. I'm very tempted to give it a shot, but I have a few concerns...

Being so overweight, I have a feeling I won't be able to do the workouts nearly as "intensely" (har har) as most other people. Even though I can ride a staitionary bike for an hour, this high-intensity cardio will kick my *kitten*. Realistically, I'll be taking frequent breaks throughout the 40-minute video. I can't do a pushup, so I don't think I could do a single push-up jack. Would I be better off sticking with my bike, which I can do at ~85% max heart rate for an hour+, until I lose more weight, or would I still benefit as much (if not more) from the amount of Insanity that I can force myself to accomplish because it's a better overall workout?

If I were to start Insanity on a regular schedule, could I also add additional strength training or cardio? How much cardio is "too much" for one day? Is it just when your body is sore? I've been doing about 80 minutes of cardio per day/5 days per week and I feel like I could do more each day and more days per week! (Perhaps not too much more at one time because my workouts are moderate-vigorous.. but an early workout and a late workout!)

Wanting to do every exercise available is difficult when you're so overweight, but I don't want to pass on something just because I *think* it may not be as beneficial at my weight as something else. Any thoughts, suggestions or success stories from others that did Insanity while so overweight would be greatly appreciated!

AmandaReimer1

I haven't done Insanity, but I'm just completed 30 day shred by Jillian Michaels. I couldn't do a push-up when I started,but 20 pounds later I can do a few. And I couldn't always make it through the video, I'd have to stop and catch my breath, but I kept going. That's what you need to do, because you will get there. Most exercise videos have modified moves for beginners, start with those.
(I started 30 day shred at 200 pounds).

piggydog

Try doing 'girl' push ups...or do something completely different during that exercise...

Insanity is hard but its only as hard as you make it... There is lots of stuff you can do! Who cares if you aren't very good at it or can't do it as well as your friends/neighbors?? Your still doing it and changing up your workout is great for you