yeah, I'm just now addicted to keep on moving. I'm already noticing little things after a week and I just want to keep it moving beyond a normal day's routine. Jody, I would workout on the carpet if I could. Unfortunately, we have hardwood floor, so it ain't easy on the joints. I Almost always have to drag an area rug with me when the guys on Insanity use those rubber mat things. Wear shoes (and socks!), I tried getting away with just shoes, but the socks make alot of difference to me, even though they are thin.

I have heard that staying sedentary on a rest day is one of the WORST things you could do. ... I want to let my muscles have a chance to recover before jumping in again. What I have read on insanity is that it is designed the way it is to provide max interval training and rest and recovery days are essential for the muscles, but at the end of the day we all know our bodies best!

I agree, to each their own, since no one knows their body more than themselves. Thanks for the reminder of how Insanity works. I'll probably just walk the 4 miles (or do 3/4 walk and 1/4 jog on each lap).

I would LOVE suggestions from people who have HRMs. I have been thinking of getting one but have no idea where to start!

For HRM's, I've searched the forums for suggestions and most keep pointing towards the Polar and Garmin Brand. Sportsline brand seems to have a problem with breaking within the first month, so I wouldn't suggest that. Mine hasn't come in yet but if you go with Polar, I wouldn't go any higher than the FT7 if you're crunching money (the FT40/60/80 seems geared towards the hardcore athletes who want Fit Test function built into the HRM as well as a personal training schedule according to their input.). Garmin Seems to be the choice for those who want built in GPS in their HRMs.
If you do go with Polar each HRM has a "Male" and "Female" version, I'm not sure if those are preset genders (since men and women are a little different) or if it allows you to input Gender regardless of the "gender model" on the site. Supposedly we are able to input Height, Weight, Age, Gender, HRMax, and Gender(not sure on this, refer to previous sentence or I can tell you after mine comes in). Either way, I strongly suggest buying your HRM from Amazon and not their official Retailers. My HRM is valued at $119.95 on the official site, but I got mine brand new from Amazon for $63.99.

Here's a Forum link where it talks about some of the things I've stated above: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/984362-question-about-hrm?hl=HRM#posts-15042182

Is it a good idea to do two workouts at once??...What do you reckon????

I'm on the fence about this one personally. Hopefully I won't miss a day, but if I do, I would consider the following options:
<1> Double up the next day to catch up on missed day
<2> I would follow the "Prescription Medicine" principle. i.e. if you miss a dose, don't double up, just pick up normal use with the next dose (or in your case, workout) essentially "pushing back" the entire schedule by each day you miss.
> Or, I would replace the day I missed with my "Rest Day" and end up Working out on the normal Rest Day (this messes up the recovery formula that the program was based on, but it'll only potentially affect 1 day.)
Me, personally, I would double up the next day to make up for my missed day. However, only you know how you can handle the program by shifting it slightly to help make up missed days. Hope this helps

p.s., if you're meaning "two workouts" as in two completely different routines, There are alot of Hybrid programs out there to pair up with Insanity. It's generally not a good idea to pair up a Cardio Based Program Day for Day with a Strength Training Program (ex. Les Mills Combat with P90X, or even Insanity with P90X). My assumption of the "generally not good idea" with the cardio and strength training pairings comes from me having yet run into Hybrid programs where two workouts follow, Day by Day. (I have ran into one with P90X and Insanity [Insanity in AM, P90X in PM] but it seems real hardcore. I'd research more into it if I were you, wanting to do something like that).

Just bought my HRM....I can't wait to see how many calories I burn! I should have it tomorrow so I will be able to use it for pure cardio. I got this one:

Uh Oh, the link disappeared, heh. Where'd it go? I'm curious to see which one you got (I'm sure you'll re-edit your post with the link on it). I'm also curious to see what the fitness professionals said about it (I never did consult a professional before, I guess cause I'm cheap and I always think I gotta pay 'em for answering a simple question hahaha.
As for those of you who read my earlier post about HRM and "Gender Model" vs "Gender Input," I've confirmed you'll be able to set your Gender in the settings, even if the "Gender Model" on the website for Polar says M (male) or F (female).

Also, I'm glad I could be of some help with choosing an HRM. I enjoy my FT7 and it's functionality; it has just the right amount of features and not too hard to use.

reposted for discussion thread..

A lot of others that I see are regularly burning in the 500's for the non-pure cardio workouts and in the high 600 low 700's for the pure cardio/ab combo. BOOOO! I am definitely working out within my heart range. I am not supposed to go above 185 and I was generally up around 165-170 which I thought was a good place to be. I'll have to do some research, unless anyone else has suggestions!

Just to shoot off a number for you, according to the Karvonen Formula:
THR=[(HRmax-HRrest) X %Intensity] + HRrest
You, as a woman with your age (I'm pulling from your profile) would have a baseline (meaning it's different for everyone but can follow the following baseline as a "rule of thumb") of HRrest: 74 and HRmax: 176. Using the Heart Rate App that calculates based on the Karvonen Formula, these are your ranges:
Warm Up: 50-60% (125bpm - 135bpm)
Fat Burn: 60-70% (135bpm-145bpm)
Cardio: 70-80% (145bpm-155bpm)
Extreme: 80-90% (155bpm-165bpm)
Max: 90-100% (165bpm-176bpm)

Though, honestly, it doesn't match up with you being in the 165-170bpm. I'm wondering how fit you are, or what your actual HRrest is; calculate it manually since the above information was "autocalculated" and didn't take much into consideration besides gender and age input.

However, keep in mind that this is just a ballpark figure; I personally use this: http://www.healthyforms.com/helpful-tools/target-heart-rate.php
This takes into consideration your age, fitness level and HRrest. Last I used that, it was advising me to stay within 150-162bpm, which correlates to the Karvonen Formula for "Cardio" (153-165bpm) for my age and gender.

If you'd prefer to do the formula manually, go for it: Here's a link for that as well: http://www.wikihow.com/Calculate-Your-Target-Heart-Rate

Also, whichever method you choose to figure out your target heart rate, make sure not to stay in Extreme Zone, for too long. It's an anaerobic stage, creating lactic acid if muscles (cells) are deprived of oxygen for extended period of time (Brooker, Widmaier, Graham, and Stiling). Pyruvate, broken down from Glucose by way of Glycolysis is a secondary form of energy our muscle uses in cases where our required energy exceeds our intake of oxygen. This pyruvate is broken down into lactate, allowing energy production to continue in the absence of oxygen (Stephen). Without getting Biologically Specific into the actual process, it is simply a "natural defense mechanism" to prevent damage (Brooker, Widmaier, Graham, and Stiling).

Whichever the case, only use it as a general guideline (I'm sure you know this) and if you're really wanting to fork out some money, go get it evaluated at a physicians. I hope this was of some help.

Sources where information was pulled:

Brooker, Robert J., Eric Widmaier, Linda Graham, and Peter Stiling. Biology. 2nd. New York: McGraw-Hill Science Engineering, 2011. Print.

Stephen, M. R.. N.p.. Web. 18 May 2013. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-does-lactic-acid-buil>.