Is Insanity a "shortcut"?

I imagine every workout is different for every person.

I run 5K here at home on a regular basis, but always get really sore hip, knee, and ankle joints afterwards.

I do Insanity in my carpeted basement and have yet to experience the same pain.

Insanity is for athletes, or for those who would like to become athletes. It reminds me of my track and field days and football practice. I can't see what the short cut would be. There are those of us who do it not to lose weight but to get fit and give the metabolism a healthy boost. Who doesn't love to be able to eat more? :-)

Yesssss!!

I don't see insanity as a short-cut to anything.

I've done insanity twice, and asylum once. and I plan to do the insanity/asylum hybrid program during September. It's not a short-cut to anything....I continue doing it because I love how powerful and strong I feel and it kicks my *kitten* (in the 45-60 minute videos) a lot more then I could kick my own *kitten* in the gym. Yeah, I could go lift weights and do cardio for 2-2.5 hours a day, but I would much rather get the same results from doing a 45-minute video at home and going for a quick run or hoping on the elliptical.
Especially for me because I would much rather spend those extra 2 hours at home with my dogs, then have to spend MORE time away from them (between full-time work, hour commute, etc.).

I think the friend of the OP is mixing up her examples. I think she is confusing something like Insanity with crash dieting or some type of unrealistic workout routine like you would see on The Biggest Loser.

She might also be responding to the overhyped advertising which, like most weight loss testimonials, emphasizes quick and dramatic results. The concern about people engaging in "heroic" short-term diet and workout plans just to lose weight (and then go back to their "nomal" lifestyle afterward) is legitimate, but I see nothing inherent about Insanity that promotes that approach.

Insanity is just a higher-intensity workout program. There is nothing magic or horrible about it. It's a higher-intensity program that will appeal to some people and be contraindicated for others.

I've done the first month of Insanity, but then I had to move for college and my apartment is much too small (plus the carpeting isn't ideal- rug burns HURT!). Honestly, Insanity, like any other DVD program, is only as intense as you make it. Some people use it unhealthily. They will be doing that and not keeping careful account of their HR, go far above their max, and push past physical injury, and then reduce calories a ton. However, the actual package comes with warnings and risks. I'm not in the best shape, but I was able to do most of the first month relatively easily- what I mean by that is I had ONE injury that month (a strained calf after the first day) and I could never keep up with the push-up type exercises (no upper body strength...). I'd get my HR into the high 170s/low 180s and make sure I was resting enough and getting that to drop back down during the rest periods- sometimes I'd have to take 5-10 seconds longer than what he gave us, but that really isn't the point.

HIIT is no worse on your joints than any other type of pylometric workout. HIIT simply refers to the fact that you're getting your HR up HIGH (like 85% of max HR) and then you rest so your HR goes down. The up and down stresses your heart more, which is why it is more effective. Is it any worse for your heart? Not really. People with heart conditions do need to be careful, but typically you will not see damage. It's when you get to maximal effort that you need to be careful. This is why Shaun T says you should check your HR frequently and why he lists minimum requirements. If you aren't going to check your HR and yet you try to follow him exactly, if you can't do the minimum requirements, you probably have not reached the amount of fitness required to keep your HR in a relatively safe level.

As far as being bad on the joints- like I said, any plyo is going to stress the joints. And truthfully, so is running. Running is TERRIBLE on the joints, actually. Many long-distance runners need hip and knee replacements before they turn 60. Tennis can be awful on the joints- think about the plyo involved there, or any sport, really. Basically, activity is going to be rough of the joints. There is no "perfect" activity that encompasses the greatest benefits in all areas without hurting you at all. Swimming might come close, though... If you want to look at Insanity as a "short cut," you need to look at any exercise as one, too. Running could be considered a "short cut."

I think the only problem with Insanity is that most people who do it have no idea what they are really burning and thus either over or under-compensate for the caloric burn. The problem isn't so much with the exercise, but that people use it to burn a lot of calories and then come across losing more than 1% of their body weight a week, which is where majority of weight-loss related problems start to kick in. But, that same negative effect can be achieved by, say, running 7 mi a day and not adjusting calories consumed.

Insanity is hard on your knees.
I do not think it is a "quick fix" You aren't going to do Insanity and all of a sudden have a great body or lose a lot of weight. You have to be eating right at the same time and then continue to exercise.
I dont think there are any shortcuts, and I dont really think your friend knows what she is talking about.
I did insanity. It was a bit hard on my knees, so I wont be doing it agian although I may add some of the workouts in with my P90x cardio days.

I wish I could do Insanity. But my first try of it killed my knees. I wish I could do it...we have a group of teachers after school who are starting Insanity workouts again tomorrow. But it's not worth killing my joints. My admiration to those of you who are able to do this VERY tough workout program!

Not quite sure that your friend has given an accurate representation of what Insanity is all about.

There are sprinters and marathon runners who train using the HIIT (high-intensity interval training) method, and I seriously doubt that they are taking a "shortcut".

The movement of low-impact exercises like elliptical trainers and others have made it to where a little joint pain is frowned upon.

I am a person who has had two knee surgeries and still battles with weak ankle joints and bone spurs in my ankles and I have done Insanity. Were my joints sore the day after doing an Insanity workout...........the first few weeks, you're damn right. My knees and ankles were both stiff and sore. The beauty was that after the first few weeks, I noticed that my body adapted, grew stronger, grew more resilient and the joint stiffness/soreness time became shorter and shorter.

Insanity is not a "shortcut". Try it for a few weeks, and you'll notice that it's one of the more challenging "shortcuts" you'll ever do. It's like having a gaping wound, and complaining that the path to the hospital that goes through the salt water lake is a "shortcut".