Insanity - Loss of Energy

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Angel_Cake25
Angel_Cake25 Posts: 48 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So this is my first week of Insanity. I am feeling EXHAUSTED. I am guessing it is from the hard work insanity puts one through... but I am wondering if I should get some type of shake such as Whey to help boost my energy. Will I start getting my energy back next week? Help! :)
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  • carriespence1
    carriespence1 Posts: 70 Member
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    I am doing Insanity on month 2. I do drink a shake and it helps. Visit your calorie intake, make sure you are eating enough? You also should be getting a ton of veg and fruit. Are you following the diet plan that came with it? Working out this hard you needs fuel.

    L's. It does get better :-)
  • Angel_Cake25
    Angel_Cake25 Posts: 48 Member
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    I am doing Insanity on month 2. I do drink a shake and it helps. Visit your calorie intake, make sure you are eating enough? You also should be getting a ton of veg and fruit. Are you following the diet plan that came with it? Working out this hard you needs fuel.

    L's. It does get better :-)
    I am using a friend's set. I do not have the diet plan thingy. I am eating lots of vegetables and fruit, but wondering if I should up my caloric intake from 1,540 to 1,700.
  • beeblebrox82
    beeblebrox82 Posts: 578 Member
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    protein shake will help recover your muscles but it's not the root cause here. Make sure you're eating enough!!
  • Angel_Cake25
    Angel_Cake25 Posts: 48 Member
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    Do you know how much a woman should eat when doing insanity?
  • janebshaw
    janebshaw Posts: 168
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    I have not done Insanity. But judging from the ads and other people's comments, I think it is too insane for my fitness needs.

    Personally, I think it would make a lot more sense for Insanity to start people out slower, and not tell them to do a crazy fitness test workout that from all I've heard leaves people very sore for days. Most exercise programs encourage people to increase their fitness level gradually and don't see how close they can come to killing them during the first workout! But like they say, it's insane. And sometimes I wonder if they make it so insane so people will think they need to buy the expensive shakes they sell to complete it.

    There are other fitness programs on DVD that aren't so extreme. So if Insanity is wearing you out, why not send it back, get a refund, and try something else?

    BTW, I am reasonably fit. I go to a boot camp class 2 or 3 times a week, do a group strength training class, a spin class, run, and some other things.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    Do you know how much a woman should eat when doing insanity?

    Any particular woman? Because people of different weights and activity levels have different needs. If you're exhausted all the time you should probably up your carb levels for a bit while your body adjusts to the rigors of Insanity.

    *looks up and waves"

    HI JANE!!!!!
  • jeremyw1977
    jeremyw1977 Posts: 505 Member
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    I'll echo what a few others have said.......make sure you're eating enough.
    If you are doing an exercise program like Insanity, or anything of that intensity, don't kid yourself and think you can stick to some 1200 calorie plan (if that's what you're doing).

    Look into what your BMR and TDEE are (Google these if you don't know what they are), and plan on eating up to these calorie amounts.
  • Angel_Cake25
    Angel_Cake25 Posts: 48 Member
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    I'm eating 1,540 right now... but I went out to dinner and had some more food. I instantly felt more energized, so I will probably up my calorie intake. Thanks everyone!
  • ChancyW
    ChancyW Posts: 437 Member
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    I know some people report having more energy after doing difficult workouts such as Insanity...but I know I am totally wiped out after doing a workout. I do drink protein shakes but I'm not sure how much they help with my energy level post workout. Usually I have some caffeine and that helps. (probably not the best solution...)
  • carriespence1
    carriespence1 Posts: 70 Member
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    Also make sure you're eating often. At least every 5 times a day. You also need healthy carbs. I weigh 138 and eat about 1500 Cal's. If that helps. Though I don't eat bread or sugar.
  • WhyFlowersExist
    WhyFlowersExist Posts: 78 Member
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    I have not done Insanity. But judging from the ads and other people's comments, I think it is too insane for my fitness needs.

    Personally, I think it would make a lot more sense for Insanity to start people out slower, and not tell them to do a crazy fitness test workout that from all I've heard leaves people very sore for days. Most exercise programs encourage people to increase their fitness level gradually and don't see how close they can come to killing them during the first workout! But like they say, it's insane. And sometimes I wonder if they make it so insane so people will think they need to buy the expensive shakes they sell to complete it.

    There are other fitness programs on DVD that aren't so extreme. So if Insanity is wearing you out, why not send it back, get a refund, and try something else?

    BTW, I am reasonably fit. I go to a boot camp class 2 or 3 times a week, do a group strength training class, a spin class, run, and some other things.

    First of all im sure your opinion is much appreciated but dont tell someone to lower their fitness goal, that is bad parenting! You deserve a spanking! :p

    To the OP, you are capable of working out hard everyone is unless of course they are medically ill. THAT being said! The first week will wear you out, its designed to push your limits, if your incredibly exhausted you should also make sure your sleeping right and eating right. A women who is doing Insanity should at least be consuming 1800 calories a day, Insanity is HIIT that means your working out hard six days a week if you want an accurate measurment of calorie in take I recommend googleing TDEE calculater.

    A good one will tell you not only your TDEE but you BMR as well :) keep pushing YOU CAN DO THIS!
  • RoseTears143
    RoseTears143 Posts: 1,121 Member
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    So this is my first week of Insanity. I am feeling EXHAUSTED. I am guessing it is from the hard work insanity puts one through... but I am wondering if I should get some type of shake such as Whey to help boost my energy. Will I start getting my energy back next week? Help! :)

    you probably aren't eating enough to fuel the workouts, they are VERY intense. I just finished a round. :)
  • jchrisman717
    jchrisman717 Posts: 780 Member
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    Go to the beachbody website and find the calculator for your body. Or if you want to use a different one - use freedieting.com. Just make sure and put in your workouts for Insanity when you have it calculate for your - I do Insanity and I run about 5 days a week so I put in my calculations as working out 5 days a week but when I do Insanity (because I've not been doing it every day) I add the calories I burn to my goals (I have a HRM) and I eat most of those back if not all. To simplify it - just put the setting at 7 days a week of exercise, and follow that goal.

    Insanity is what you make it - if your not at a top level of fitness (and most people startin it are not) then you do what you can for your fitness level - modifying it and taking breaks when you need to. Its a great program even for beginners because it gives you goals to reach for. I personally get bored easily with a lot of workout dvds and Insanity keeps me interested because it keeps me working for a goal.
  • janebshaw
    janebshaw Posts: 168
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    First of all im sure your opinion is much appreciated but dont tell someone to lower their fitness goal, that is bad parenting! You deserve a spanking! :p
    ...
    A good one will tell you not only your TDEE but you BMR as well :) keep pushing YOU CAN DO THIS!

    It is not "bad parenting" to suggest that people set fitness goals that are reachable. It is much better to suggest that someone temporarily lower their fitness goal to something that is attainable that to advise them to push though a workout that is obviously beyond their fitness level at this time.

    Workouts like Insanity will always be there later when you are ready for them. Just because you started the program doesn't mean you have to finish it right now if you find it makes you too tired and sore to function in your daily life.
  • igypsy
    igypsy Posts: 64 Member
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    I was EXHAUSTED during the first week or so of Insanity, and I was super stiff. I was also sleeping a bit more than usual. But it gets so much easier as your body adjusts! After the second week you will feel fitter and your body will have adjusted. A decent amount of sleep helps your muscles repair and recover.
  • janebshaw
    janebshaw Posts: 168
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    I was EXHAUSTED during the first week or so of Insanity, and I was super stiff. I was also sleeping a bit more than usual. But it gets so much easier as your body adjusts! After the second week you will feel fitter and your body will have adjusted. A decent amount of sleep helps your muscles repair and recover.

    Being exhausted and super stiff for days doesn't work for most people. They have things to do with their energy besides Insanity!

    The guy that created that program should have set it up where it isn't intense for the first week and then build up the intensity gradually so people won't think they have to suffer through such torture to get fit!
  • jyska
    jyska Posts: 728 Member
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    Insanity requires you to ensure you fuel properly with enough calories or you'll just wind up tired all the time and your workouts will suffer. You can use this calculator ( http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ ) to figure out your needs if you don't have the diet plan that comes with Insanity. I also encourage you to adjust your macros to 40 protein/40 carbs/20 fats if you are watching your macros. I find the extra protein is really needed and I believe that is the approximate macros the Insanity diet plan follows.

    Personally I started month 1 eating 1800 - 1900 cals per day and I have bumped it up to 1900 - 2000 cals per day in month 2 because I was feeling tired (the workouts are harder and longer...you need the extra cals). The inches are coming down faster than the weight, but both are coming off.
  • ktrn0312
    ktrn0312 Posts: 723 Member
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    I am finishing up recovery week & to start month 2 of Insanity this coming week. The 1st week was tough. In order to have enough energy to power through my calories had to go up. I was eating according to my TDEE - 20% which was 1700 and did very well. I was never hungry. Since starting insanity I am consuming 1800 - 2000 depending on how famished I am. I am losing inches & .5lbs in the 1st month. I am pretty much at goal for weight loss. Doing Insanity for better body composition & definition.
  • janebshaw
    janebshaw Posts: 168
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    I am finishing up recovery week & to start month 2 of Insanity this coming week. The 1st week was tough. In order to have enough energy to power through my calories had to go up. I was eating according to my TDEE - 20% which was 1700 and did very well. I was never hungry. Since starting insanity I am consuming 1800 - 2000 depending on how famished I am. I am losing inches & .5lbs in the 1st month. I am pretty much at goal for weight loss. Doing Insanity for better body composition & definition.

    But wouldn't it make a lot more sense for Insanity to design a workout that GRADUALLY increases the insane nature of the workout instead of almost killing people the first week???????????
  • DanIsACyclingFool
    DanIsACyclingFool Posts: 417 Member
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    I was EXHAUSTED during the first week or so of Insanity, and I was super stiff. I was also sleeping a bit more than usual. But it gets so much easier as your body adjusts! After the second week you will feel fitter and your body will have adjusted. A decent amount of sleep helps your muscles repair and recover.

    Being exhausted and super stiff for days doesn't work for most people. They have things to do with their energy besides Insanity!

    The guy that created that program should have set it up where it isn't intense for the first week and then build up the intensity gradually so people won't think they have to suffer through such torture to get fit!

    Jane, no offense but you seem to go into a lot of Insanity threads and discourage people from doing the program. Is this something personal you have against Insanity?

    By your own admission you have never done the routines, but you seem to have made it a mission to disparage them. I've seen in more than one thread you jumping in to tell people to send the videos back and get something else.

    Insanity is just another tool people can use to reach their fitness goals. It is clearly advertised as a challenging program. No one who buys a program called "Insanity" should think that it's going to be easy, and I doubt if anyone is so disillusioned into thinking it's the only workout that will have an effect.

    Insanity is not for everyone. But everyone who completes it will have smashed both physical and mental barriers and deserves respect. Whether you can match the posse's intensity is not the point. It's the effort and improvement that counts.

    People are sore after doing this workout because it pushes your boundaries. You use more muscles in any crossfit-type program than most people are used to, hence you will be stiff and sore after doing them the first few times. This does not imply injury or threat of injury, merely evidence that you are challenging your body. Exercise is not meant to be comfortable. If you aren't out of breath, if you don't have to talk to yourself and dig a little deeper, and if you aren't occasionally sore, you won't push your fitness boundaries. That doesn't mean reading a magazine while comfortably pedaling on a stationary bike doesn't burn calories, it just means real improvement comes from pushing the envelope, challenging your mind to keep going when you want to quit, and having the wisdom to know the difference between being tired and flirting with injury.

    Insanity is scalable. You can start slow if that's all you can do. You can rest as much as you need. You can take every other day off instead of training "on program". There's no need for the designer to start you off slow, because you choose your own pace. It's just another tool. Done properly it's perfectly safe and will catapult your progress forwards. When people do Insanity and talk about "torture" and "feeling like they are dying" they don't mean it literally. Would anyone "torture" themselves every day? It's just a way of conveying to those who have never done it (and who have no idea) how challenging the program is. Because it IS hard. THAT"S THE POINT!

    BTW, ANY new fitness regimen will leave someone stiff and sore for a few days. Even after training for months, if you select a new sport, chances are the first few times you are gonna hurt! That doesn't make it bad. It's proof that you're improving yourself.

    Train smart, people. Use the correct form before speed. Listen to your body and avoid injury. Consistent or sharp PAIN means STOP. You won't get fit recovering from injury. But the road to fitness is not without challenge. If you don't have to push through once in a while, you won't attain true fitness. And if pushing through barriers isn't for you, consider another program. Because pushing through barriers is what Insanity is all about.

    But just because it's not for you, doesn't mean it's not a good fit for someone else.

    Jane, I think everyone knows there are other choices for those who want them.

    For those that take on the Insanity challenge, kudos to you. For those that have completed it, you have my respect. You are all champions.

    One last thing: The Insanity shirt may be a thin mediocre garment, but it's one of my most prized possessions. It's a symbol of accomplishment. It's a reminder that I've put work in before, and I shouldn't back off now and let that work go to waste. And there's an instant bond when you encounter someone else wearing one. It's a badge of honor. You don't get badges for what Martin Berkhan calls "F%@^arounditis".

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