A question for those doing Insanity

T0M0
T0M0 Posts: 250 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm on my 1st week of the insanity programme and really enjoying it (in a weird painful way). I'm also a keen runner regularly running 10-12 mile runs each week.

My question is on my Insanity rest day, would it be foolish to go out and run, even a smaller 5-6 mile run?. Should a rest day be a proper rest day with no exercise?.

My worry is that if dont run for 60 days will i loose form?, will i struggle running ?

What would you recommend ?

Replies

  • Rachel_Leigh84
    Rachel_Leigh84 Posts: 120
    A SMALL run of 5-6 miles?? Are you mad hehe!! Im not actually doing Insanity but personally i would say a rest day should be exactly that. Give your muscles a little break. Thats just me though.
  • T0M0
    T0M0 Posts: 250 Member
    I kind of expect everyone to say a rest day is a rest day with no exercise but I'm just worried that after the 60 days my running will have suffered. I'm sure my joints will enjoy the rest from running though.
  • stephaniegcoffey
    stephaniegcoffey Posts: 26 Member
    I know this may sound like blasphemy, but what if instead of adding a 5 mile run on your rest day, you replaced one of the insanity workouts with a run each week?

    It would then take you a bit longer than 60 days to complete insanity (gasp!) but you could still do all the workouts in the recommended order, and you'd be able to keep running which seems to be something that you enjoy and is important to you.

    It's not that a rest day is supposed to be a sedentary day, but insanity is a heavily cardiovascular workout so by adding a run on your rest day (depending on how fast you run) you'd be doing vigorous cardio every single day of the week. If you were adding running to a weight training regime I'd say there's no problem running on a rest day. But I think it's good to give your body a break by either rotating workouts or taking rest days.

    I also don't think there's anything magical about doing the insanity workouts on the prescribed days, I think you could get the same results by doing the program in order but bumping one workout per week to the following week, so you would still complete all the workouts by the end. . However, I know some people would be bothered by not following the exact schedule provided. To me, it'd be more important to keep up with an activity I love than to follow a schedule provided by a DVD to a t.
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    So you're asking if it is OK to add even more cardio to a cardio intense program and not have any rest days? :huh:

    I agree with the above poster about possibly swapping out a video for the running if you want to do that. You don't have to follow the program to a T for great results. Remember that it is just cardio, afterall, and all cardio does is burn calories no matter what kind of cardio you do. You won't get "worse" results from burning 500 calories during a run then you would from burning 500 calories from an Insanity video. But it's obvious that you want to run and that you enjoy it, so go running...but yes, you need your rest day too. Recovery is an awesome thing that helps protect you from injury.
  • allysonvb
    allysonvb Posts: 236 Member
    I did cardio with insanity, but I would take rest day as a rest day. I did insanity in the morning and cardio at night twice a week. It's all about what your body can handle! Good luck!
  • T0M0
    T0M0 Posts: 250 Member
    Thanks all. I think I'll take the advice on here and from friends that a rest day should really be a rest day. I'll make a decision in alternating a DVD with a run or just skipping running during the programme completely.

    Obviously with the amount of cardio involved with insanity it will be silly to complete more on rest days. What about a small weights session?. That's ok right?. I can't see how insanity will help build large amounts muscle so adding a little muscle work won't hurt too much.

    T0M0
  • Jami313
    Jami313 Posts: 13
    I have been replacing one workout a week with a small run. I was not a runner before and I am improving my times and distance just going once a week. It is taking me a bit longer to finish Insanity, but I like running, so that's what I do. Take the rest day though! Just my opinion!
  • ilovetoskiatalta
    ilovetoskiatalta Posts: 1
    I went out for a 19 mile Bike ride on my rest day of the first week. I usually ride more miles but I just wanted to spin. I hope I do not regret this LOL.

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