Les Mills Combat or Insanity?

tlatrice13
tlatrice13 Posts: 162 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm interested in trying these. My concern is that I'm 5'4" 239 lbs and worried I won't be able to do them. I LOVE Body Pump, but will admit that cardio is not my favorite. I DO like kick boxing workouts which I why I'm really looking at Combat.

Needless to say I don't want anything with too many high impact moves. :tongue:

What do you do when you can't finish one of the dvd's? Do you just do as much as you can and then hit the treadmill or do something else for the remainder of the hour or just do what you can and call it a day, with the plan to do a little more the next day?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

Replies

  • tlatrice13
    tlatrice13 Posts: 162 Member
    bump:smile:
  • Jaymefirst
    Jaymefirst Posts: 268 Member
    I've never done Insanity, but I've seen the results and wowza!! I have done Combat and I love it! It is cardio driven, but I find myself so involved with the set that I forget that it's work. I also love Pump. I actually alternate days with Pump and Combat. Good luck!

    Edit to add - You do as much as you can and go after it the next day. Building endurance with any workout can take time.
  • SMJ1987
    SMJ1987 Posts: 368
    I really like combat. My knees aren't awesome so I'm leery of doing a lot of jumping and that sort of thing but there really isn't much impact in this class at all. Other than some small hops and shuffles it is mostly a variety of kicks, punches, some lunges etc. The time goes by really fast and it's pretty fun! Don't expect to be really good at it the first time though...I sure wasn't! It definitely gets the heart rate up and burns mega calories too...I'm only 135-140 lbs and I burn 500-600 in the hour. Pretty good!
  • SMJ1987
    SMJ1987 Posts: 368
    Oh, and I also do RPM, Pump and my own heavy weights program.
  • RJ74
    RJ74 Posts: 37 Member
    I did Insanity but have never done Combat (looks fun though!). To be honest, Insanity kicked my butt (even though I had just finished P90X) and I didn't lose any inches/pounds at all. No visible results for me. If you are looking for something low impact, Insanity is not it. It wrecked my knees, a ton of jumping, etc. I know people who have done it and loved it. That wasn't really my experience, but to each their own! As far as what to do if you can't finish the video, just do your best. Your body will get stronger and you will notice you don't have to take as many breaks. Sorry if this doesn't help since I haven't done Combat, just wanted to warn you that Insanity is super high-impact!!

    ETA: Just re-read my post and realized it was kind of negative! So I just wanted to say that either one you choose, good for you for wanting to do something! Best of luck.
  • PeloMichelle
    PeloMichelle Posts: 100 Member
    Hi there!

    Just thought I'd chime in. Have you tried Turbo Fire or Turbo Jam? Love, love the kickboxing in them! I'm currently doing ChaLEAN Extreme and wanted to throw in more cardio. Tried Turbo Fire, was too intense (I'm currently in the obese category) so I dialed it back to Turbo Jam.....I'm in love :heart: Fun, doable and I burn about 400-500 calories per "Cardio Party"

    Good Luck in whichever program you choose and feel free to friend me if you'd like a workout buddy :smile:
  • tracybewick
    tracybewick Posts: 39
    Hi there

    I love both les mills combat and insanity!!!

    combat is certainly the easier option (although still hard) its prob a better way to go to start with.
    Once you feel you can manage combat try insanity but be warned it is very high impact and kills your knees. I have arthritis in both knees and can struggle after insanity, but manage combat without too much problem.

    saying that the results you get from insanity are much quicker but you are doing it every day and is time consuming.

    I did insanity last summer but still kept up with combat 3 x week as well (I love combat soo much I couldn't give it up,,,)
    I'm starting insanity again Jan 7th and like before I am still going to do my regular classes too.....mad!!!!

    Good luck........feel free to add me, I can help you with either workout you choose!

    Tracy b x
  • aliciab307
    aliciab307 Posts: 370 Member
    I'm interested in trying these. My concern is that I'm 5'4" 239 lbs and worried I won't be able to do them. I LOVE Body Pump, but will admit that cardio is not my favorite. I DO like kick boxing workouts which I why I'm really looking at Combat.

    Needless to say I don't want anything with too many high impact moves. :tongue:

    What do you do when you can't finish one of the dvd's? Do you just do as much as you can and then hit the treadmill or do something else for the remainder of the hour or just do what you can and call it a day, with the plan to do a little more the next day?

    Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

    I did Les Mills body combat and currently in the second month of Insanity. SW 234 and I did Body combat to start off, if you have the energy or strength go for insanity. But body combat was challenging enough for me then. I didn't do Insanity until I lost about 40 lbs. Also Insanity even now is challenging because you're always going harder than the week before because your endurance and strength grows.

    Both were challenging and I couldn't keep up with them, I just did my own pace as much as I could.
  • bbgughj
    bbgughj Posts: 219 Member
    Never done Les Mills Combat .
    I'm Just about to finish Insanity in 3 day , I can tell you that Insanity is very High impact and very intense .
    It can be tough on the knees .
    It's is very doable because you can modify the moves to fit your needs ,
  • Heather1899
    Heather1899 Posts: 179 Member
    I don't know about the programs you are talking about but I am doing Turbo Fire. She has HIIT workouts which require some jumping, though you can modify and she shows you how.
    I went out and bought some cheap Gym matts that look like big puzzle pieces and can be fitted together like a big puzzle. You can duct tape them to keep them sticking together. Mine were Gold's gym from Walmart and cost only $20...of course if you paid more somewhere else you could find better ones. But for now these are good.
    So when I do decided to do jumping jacks or high impact stuff, the cushioning of the matt feels alot better. I workout on concrete floors in the basement...
  • mamagooskie
    mamagooskie Posts: 2,964 Member
    I love combat, I do it whenever I can. I own insanity and I HATE IT.

    It's all personal preference. Try both and see what you think.
  • tlatrice13
    tlatrice13 Posts: 162 Member
    I've never done Insanity, but I've seen the results and wowza!! I have done Combat and I love it! It is cardio driven, but I find myself so involved with the set that I forget that it's work. I also love Pump. I actually alternate days with Pump and Combat. Good luck!

    Edit to add - You do as much as you can and go after it the next day. Building endurance with any workout can take time.

    Have you ever done PowerStrike (Ilaria Montagnani)? If so, is the kickboxing in Combat similar to it?

    Thanks so much for responding!
  • tlatrice13
    tlatrice13 Posts: 162 Member
    Thank you all so much for your responses! Combat looks so cool. I really want it, but I think I'm going to start with some videos I currently have and Combat will be my 90 day gift to myself. Meaning, if I'm consistent with the videos I ALREADY HAVE, then I'll buy Combat. Between the getting ready for a cruise March 10 - 17, and the fact that I REALLY want that set, I should be motivated to work out and eat right 1st quarter.

    Thanks again!!!
  • whittlelauraann
    whittlelauraann Posts: 175
    I just did day one of insanity and couldn't barely do the fit test! I am 5'7" and 180 lbs and have done the 30 day shred and jogging in the past but this is my first high intensity cardio.... it is hard but I guess you can do it at your own pace and rest as needed.
  • tlatrice13
    tlatrice13 Posts: 162 Member
    Thanks for responding! Hopefully it'll get better for you. And congrats on your progress so far!
  • jasonmeurer
    jasonmeurer Posts: 16 Member
    The wife and I have both done Insanity, I am week into Combat and my wife has done TurboFire. I love Combat in the same way the she loves TurboFire. The variety within each set just melts the time away. I hate the classic repetitive move for 60 seconds and switch to another repetitive move for 60 seconds, rinse and repeat. TurboFire and Combat each create set of combinations that keep the mind engaged with a bit more concentration. I do not feel that I am working as hard as did in Insanity, but my HRM is telling me I am sustaining a higher intensity with Combat.

    Additionally, with the extra Combat disks, you add in a better muscle strengthening element as opposed to the straight cardio aspect of Insanity.

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