Insanity Workout

how many calories is an insanity workout worth?

I've seen figures of anywhere between 400-700 calories, but these are just rough guesses.
Invest in a good HRM and then you'll have an even better idea.

I will say that I have never completed an Insanity workout without completely soaking my t-shirt and feeling wobbly in the legs.
It is intense and it will burn the **** out of you.

I would gladly join if I wasn't already doing a different workout, plus I'm the kind of person who gets bored too easy doing only one workout for an extended duration of time.......even the 60 days that Insanity asks for.

^^ basically true. I get between 280-750 or so depending on which workout it is to be honest and how much I put into it.

But OP if you just had knee surgery you might want to find another exercise to do to finish healing. It will get harder on your knee the further you get into the program.

I had the surgery in January and went through full rehab so I am not using Insanity as my rehab technique. It's just not 100% yet. If I start to see swelling or increased pain I will definitely stop but for now (just started week 2) all that happens is slight pain while I'm working out.

As far as calories go, I push myself pretty hard and burn about 700 calories per workout for the first 4 weeks and then 1000-1100 calories for the max interval workouts in the last 4 weeks.

Believe it or not if you push yourself too hard during insanity you will see less results. Some important things to remember about insanity and fitness in general:

1) Insanity is interval training. What that means is you want your heart rate to shoot up very high during the workout period and then come down quickly during the rest period. If your heart rate doesn't drop low enough DO NOT start the next set until it does. For me, I shoot up to about 180 bpm during cardio and I don't start again until I am below 120 bpm. Interval training is the perfect combination of aerobic and anaerobic exercise and without letting your heart rate come down you aren't getting that blend.

2) Any workout is only good if you have the correct eating habits to go with it. Not only is what you eat important but when you eat is also just as important or more important. Foods like fruit and whole grains do have a lot of nutritional value but they are still very high in sugars. These are sugars that the body can easily metabolize and will not be stored as fat. However, if you eat them too late at night, your digestive system will shut down when you go to bed and any sugars from these foods will be stored as fats. So while you think that you are eating something healthy when you eat an apple or yogurt, if you eat them too late it can be bad for you.

3) Timing of workout is essential. I know it is difficult with a busy schedule but the earlier in the day you can workout, the better the results will be. Not only does exercise burn off calories while you are active, but it also jump starts your metabolism for the rest of the day. It can also help release hormones that turn off your hunger and desire to eat. So it is a win-win. If you work out early, you will burn the same amount of calories during exercise, but you will constantly be at a higher metabolic rate throughout the day. To keep your metabolism up, make sure to eat something small every 2-3 hours. Also, it is beneficial to do your intense workout in the morning and a light workout later in the day. This is as simple as a 10-15 minute walk or jog, depending on your fitness level and fatigue. This will help get rid of the lactic acid built up in your muscles as well as keep your metabolism going.

Samantha, I would try going through it again. You definitely don't want to start right away though. Do a different type of exercise to train your muscles differently. Doing the same thing for too long reduces the effectiveness of the workout. Try biking or swimming if you can for cardio activities.

Hope this helps!!