p90x or insanity?

Options
2»

Replies

  • momar74
    momar74 Posts: 56 Member
    Options
    If you already have both of them, why not do a trial with both of them for 2-3 weeks. I have done two rounds of insanity, so can only speak about that. For the first month, it is 3 workouts plus 1 recovery repeated over for the month, I am sure p90x has a similar schedule. Once, you have exposure to both then you can decide what works the best for you.

    For me, insanity was awesome but I had to work through shoulder & wrist pain due to all of the push-ups and knee pain from jumping around so much. I am getting the results I wanted, I did not follow their nutrition plan or get any of their products. I just made sure that calorie goals were met using mfp.

    Lastly, measure yourself for either one you decide on. For parts of insanity, I did not loose weight but got smaller.
  • tomcat941
    tomcat941 Posts: 47 Member
    Options
    I would go with P90x, because it does so much mroe than just weight loss. It allows me to focus on fitness, and not just on eating and weight loss which was bordering on a disorder. I haven't tried insanity, btu for me, i don't consider 45 minutes enough to get a proper workout. I am fit, especially when it comes to cardio, and that is unlikely to do anything for me. Also i prefer weights. I am doing p90x now, and i really am enjoying. I find that a lot of people say that the cardio workouts aren't hard enough (like Kenpo x for example) but i have learnt that if you do it without correct form, than yes, it will be easy. Do it with correct form and you're at risk of drowning in sweat.
    It does depend what your goals are. If i did insanity, i would have to add weights after the workout, but it feels like i would gain a lot more from P90x. You burn a lot of calories with P90x (i've checked this with a heart rate monitor, and tried an online calculator when i learnt that heart rate monitors might not be accurate with a exercise which involves a lot of strength) that on average (i added all the exercises together and divided it by 6, to get calories burnt in a week) i burn 420 calories. I know they say it burns 600 calories on average, but i'm 5ft 2 and a female, and i always make sure i say that i'm doing 10 minutes less than i am, to try and make sure it doesn't overestimate. With Insanity, it is meant to rbun 600 calories to, but from what i read online it only burns about 200-400 calories, depending on the exercise. If that is true you would probably burn less on Insanity than you would on P90x, not to mention your metabolism will lower a lot more if you don't add muscle. So, i would say that P90x would be moore beneficial, but seeing as all these are estimates, you'd probably lose the same, ti just depends on what your overall goal is. If you have more than 35 lbs to lose, i would start with Insanity, and than go with P90x. But otherwise i would stick with P90x, but my goal is as much strength and fitness as it is fat loss.
  • azwaa
    azwaa Posts: 81 Member
    Options
    I had a similar dilemma, what to do after 30 day shred. I chose to go with Jillian`s Total Body because it was basically the same idea and was only 30 minutes. After that, I tried P90x but just couldn`t get past the 35 minute mark psychologically. I would just give up. I switched to insanity which burns crazy calories for me and I could push myself those extra 10 minutes. Try a work out or two from both and see which one you like better and feel you can actually complete, because when it comes down to it, you are the one doing the work, and it won`t make a difference if you don`t do the videos, whichever one you choose.
  • cailinlowe
    cailinlowe Posts: 161 Member
    Options
    I did Insanity in the past and lost about 25 lbs!

    you lost 25lbs in just one round? 60 days?
  • Stacyanne324
    Stacyanne324 Posts: 780 Member
    Options
    I am doing Insanity and chose it because of the shorter duration (60 days vs. 90) and because you don't need any equipment. I absolutely LOVE it! It is fun, goes by so fast, and I feel great after (not so much during..lol). I'm doing it with my husband and we are keeping each other motivated. I just started it Tuesday and did day 3 this morning and will do day 4 tonight (we are dealing with sick kids in the house so I'm playing catch up a little). I haven't done my official weigh in which is Monday but when I checked this morning I'm already down 2 pounds since Tuesday. I'm not following his diet but I am logging so I stay within calories (and honestly burning this much I can't keep up with the amount I'm burning so I'm generally under).

    Good luck whatever you choose!
  • sarahc001
    sarahc001 Posts: 477 Member
    Options
    Here is a thorough comparison of both programs (and includes the lesser-known "rush-fit.") The review is done by a professional at the American Council on Exercise- ACE. "Founded in 1985, the American Council on Exercise® (ACE ®) is the largest nonprofit fitness certification, education and training organization in the world with nearly 50,000 certified professionals who hold more than 55,000 ACE certifications. Over the past 25 years, [they] have become an established resource for both fitness professionals and consumers, providing comprehensive, unbiased, scientific research impacting the fitness industry and validating ourselves as the country’s trusted authority on fitness. (from their web site)

    Now for the review:

    http://www.acefitness.org/certifiednewsarticle/1443/p90x-insanity-and-rushfit-a-side-by-side/

    This review was the single reason I did not want to try Insanity. Comments such as "High plyometric volume, lack of biomechanical coaching and knowledge, lack of understanding of energy pathways (i.e., appropriate work-to-recovery ratios) mean this program increases the risk of excessive fatigue, compromised technique, muscle soreness and possible injury" are worrisome, especially considering the fact that keeping my body injury free is crucial to my ability to both work (I have coached figure skating full time for the past 22 years) and enjoy life. I plan to resume the strengthening DVDs in p90x in December- I'm training for a marathon, that covers the plyo/kenpo/cardio component, so I plan to skip those dvds.

    Back to topic- they review is exhaustive and explores everything from "overall appeal" and "host delivery and style" to "physiological goals," "health-related parameters," "skill-related parameters," "program design and progression," "overall program safety- reducing potential for injury," "coaching cues and correctness," as well as a review of the dietary components of each of the plans. It's a good read....
  • clee369
    clee369 Posts: 101 Member
    Options
    Starting Strength
  • Rottiegirl06
    Rottiegirl06 Posts: 4 Member
    Options
    I haven't tried P90x, but I did do the regular P90. The workouts stayed under an hour and only required simple weights (or resistance bands) which was great. You alternate cardio and weight / strength training each day. The cardio is the same every day but is different in each phase, but the "strength" training is different each day. I enjoyed it when I did it. I did one full round then stayed with Phase 2 for a while. I looked into P90x, but it required pull up bars and some other things and the workouts were long. I just finished my 5th week of Insanity and I have to say, I am LOVING it. There is no "formal" strength training but I can feel the results with how my body is changing. I'm excited to see the changes to come in Phase 2. With any exercise program, you need to eat properly to support the workout or your results will suffer.
    If you order either one from BeachBody, they have a pretty good return policy. If for any reason you don't like it (within a specified time frame), simply return it for your money back. I haven't had to exercise this option, but I've heard they make it easy for you. You do still have to pay shipping both ways.
    Good luck!
  • RoadsterGirlie
    RoadsterGirlie Posts: 1,195 Member
    Options
    I'm glad I'm not the only weirdo who finds P90X too easy. I've been doing an hour a day of Jillian Michaels workouts 5 days a week for almost two years now, so perhaps my fitness level is higher than I thought.

    I borrowed P90x a couple of weeks ago from my coworker to change up my routine. I have heard all kinds of things about how insanely hard the workouts from from many different people, so maybe I was expecting more.

    I think the biggest difference is Tony Horton allows 30 second rests between the reps, while Jillian just keeps going and does not stop, whether it's weight training or cardio.

    My friend asked me what I thought of it, and when I told him the truth he looked at me like I had two heads...
  • kelly_e_montana
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
    Options
    Okay well i don't think we need to fight over words. It's stupid and unless you want to be a dictionary, it's not necessary.
  • Edwin_S
    Edwin_S Posts: 440 Member
    Options
    I had great results using P90X (and I started it after 30DS). I also have the Insanity DVDs but I don't like the impact of that type of training so frequently. I do think Insanity cardio is very good - just not for 6 days/week.

    I would suggest starting P90X. If at any point you feel the Plyo or Kenpo workouts are not getting your heart rate up enough, sub in an Insanity workout.


    I agree with this and can say that a mix of the 2 is what has worked for me and kept me from getting bored. I found P90X great for the weights session, ab ripper and Yoga and the insanity great for "kick it up a notch" cardio. The only drawback i found was if I did a chest and back P90X workout and then the next day forgot and did a Insanity workout with tons of pushups, it was pretty much impossible to finish the complete workout. ( pause...pause)

    It's hard to compare the P90X cardio with the Insanity cardio because i believe the Insanity is suppose to be a HIIT workout.

    Hope this helps, any questions feel free to ask :)

    Edwin
  • ashfuse
    ashfuse Posts: 224 Member
    Options
    I have done both programs. I started with insanity and loved it. I wouldnt say I lost a lot through that program though. But I wasn't following their diet plan or drinking their recovery drink. I am in the last two weeks of P90x and I must say that I am not for sure if it has done much. The DVDs are soooo long and in order to get half the sweat I was getting with insanity, I was trying to do two DVDs a day. Cardio with P90x began to get boring. So what I have done now is started insanity again while doing p90x. So now insanity will be my cardio and P90x will be my strength training. I dislike the yoga DVD just because it is slow and is a hour and a half. On those days I do Pilates instead.

    I feel smaller when I do insanity, but I was always soooo hungry, but according to my calorie burns, I wasn't burning more than 350 which I figured would be more with all the sweating I was doing.

    My opinion, I love insanity and only like P90x

    your initial burn will be small, but your overall burn for the day is HUGE b/c this program is designed to help your burn calories ALL DAY LONG. I tested it with my bodymediafit. I, too, had small initial burns, but I kept burning high all day...On days I don't workout I burn about 2400 cals. On days I lift weights it's about 2700 cals. On days I did insanity it was close to 3000 +. If you were HUNGRY..then EAT to fuel the burns. That is where the money is. (eat clean)
  • ashfuse
    ashfuse Posts: 224 Member
    Options
    I agree. I think there should be 2 rest days a week while doing this program. By month 2 I had no choice but to take 2 rest days (i'd skip max plyo b/c it hurt my knees). I wasn't eating enough (at the time) to fuel the workouts and I got burnt out (literally).