insanity for big people

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Maidofmer
Maidofmer Posts: 908 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
so, I think nearly everyone has heard of or seen an insanity ad. on all the time at the gym, and while it would be amazing to get a years worth of work in 2 months, have any big people on here tried it? I'm going from 257-263, and when I watch the ads, I see the really fit people collapsing so what chance have I got?
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  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,120 Member
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    I have done Insanity for a while, never the whole program. It is very high impact, and in my opinion if one has a lot of extra weight it would not be a good choice. It will likely cause a lot of problems for your joints. There are a lot of other programs that use body weight at a lower impact that will give you are great workout that is at least as good as Insanity.
  • bawalker11
    bawalker11 Posts: 78
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    Start with Jillian Michael's 30 day shred- this will get you prepped for Insanity and once you start you will love it!
  • rooster0930
    rooster0930 Posts: 2
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    How do you even track insanity? It is not in exercise database
  • melfitnesspal13
    melfitnesspal13 Posts: 377 Member
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    I tried this 3 times. I had to modify about half of the exercises. After the 3rd time I decided maybe it was too much for me. I am doing excellent with Hip Hop Abs and have made some remarkable strides with inches and weight loss in 3 months. I would highly recommend it to you. I do have 2 friends, bigger ladies, who have done well with Insanity but they are shaped different than me (I am pear). Good luck to you, as long as you are moving and getting a good workout that is what counts. :bigsmile:
  • rooster0930
    rooster0930 Posts: 2
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    Thanks.. I may look into that. Keep up the great work!
  • ajones1227
    ajones1227 Posts: 180 Member
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    I did it off and on since Feb. and I started it at 216 lbs. I got through the first week of the second month went out of town and never got back on track. I really like the program and I do what I can I don't try to keep up with the people on the video as I'm sure they've been training for years.


    eta: I also did the 30 day shred prior to starting insanity
  • Jersey_Devil
    Jersey_Devil Posts: 4,142 Member
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    im in pretty good shape and i just did the insanity fit test today and i was huffing and puffing. Its definitely not for beginners and i can see it discouraging people if they can't even get passed day 1. i say do something else for starters with the goal of one day working your way up to it.
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,154 Member
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    It puts a lot of strain on the knees and ankles. I've known people to make modifications to help with this (squats rather than jump squats, for instance), but you might be better served with a less agressive program. I personally love it, but it can definitely be tough to maintain form by the end of the workouts.
  • kazsjourney
    kazsjourney Posts: 263 Member
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    Ive not done it but considered it previously. I have lost 180 pounds (currently just under 200 pounds) and had heard that it was hard on the joints....i decided not to do it because my joints are not great cos of the weight i once was. If you do try it just listen to your body :)
  • Maidofmer
    Maidofmer Posts: 908 Member
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    it would be amazing to get a years worth of work in 2 months, have any big people on here tried it?

    Looks like you're looking for a quick fix, let go of that... It just leads to failure. If you want to do insanity, just do the best you can, that's what insanity is about. The best you can to your current ability.
    im not looking for a quick fix. it's advertised. just wanted to know if any bigger people had tried it.
  • RedfishGuy
    RedfishGuy Posts: 47 Member
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    I'm 6'3", and I don't have problems with it.
  • MzzFaith
    MzzFaith Posts: 337 Member
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    I did for 2 months it works for me.
  • chineyLuv
    chineyLuv Posts: 130 Member
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    I started doing Insanity at 213lbs (I’m 5’2). By the time I finished the 63 days this past Monday, I finished at 193lbs. I think it’s do-able, just modify some of the moves and do what you can. Take TONS of breaks if you have to, the more you do it, the less painful it will become.
    My results are my profile pic…
  • H_Factor
    H_Factor Posts: 1,722 Member
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    I got into pretty good shape from Jan 2011 through Aug 2012. I lost 75 pounds and got down to 180. I was doing all sorts of crazy exercises at that time. Then some life issues got in the way and I wasn't mentally tough enough to stay on track so I gained about 60 pounds back. 4 weeks ago, I began my restart. I lost 8 pounds as of last Friday's weigh-in. On a whim, I saw Insanity advertised on Craigs List, bought it on Saturday and decided to start it on Sunday. (its a 9 week program and there were exactly 9 weeks left in the summer...not exactly sure that's sound rationale, but it worked for me). I was 234 pounds last Friday and out of shape. I just completed day 5 today and while its kicking my *kitten*, I am going to get through it. As Shaun T says, you do what you can. DO NOT try to go as fast as the people on the video. Those people are in super shape and, if you care to watch closely, even they struggle with the pace at times. I take a lot of breaks and I don't make every jumping exercise a jumping exercise (i.e., sometimes I don't do the jump part). But, I push myself and work hard.

    Now, I still have to motivate myself to get out of bed in the morning and put in the Insanity DVD...but I read several Insanity success stories each day to help keep me motivated. I have read a lot of success stories of people who started off out of shape...who do what they can do...and get results. I know I'm going to get results. I'm going to finish this program because I'm too dang stubborn not to.

    Admittedly, I may have been better off doing something lower intensity for a few more months before jumping into this program.....but keep in mind that I was used to doing some intense workouts in 2011 and 2012 and I have not had an issue pushing myself. If I had not done intense workouts in 2011 and 2012 (before getting fat again), I doubt I would be doing Insanity a few weeks into my restart.

    I don't know you, your current health, or any limitations that you might have. I am not telling you to do Insanity. You might want to check with your doctor. I am simply answering your question as I am currently fat and out of shape and doing Insanity to the best of my ability.
  • RoseTears143
    RoseTears143 Posts: 1,121 Member
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    I did it, and I know people bigger than me have done it. It's all in modifying moves so you can do them safely. I started it at 220.1 and finished at 198.8. It is doable.
  • sulci
    sulci Posts: 13 Member
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    I did 30 ds before I started Insanity, and I really don't think I could have started Insanity without having completed 30ds!!!
  • Velum_cado
    Velum_cado Posts: 1,608 Member
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    I did a little bit of Insanity when I was around 270 lbs or so. It wasn't impossible. I just modified the moves a little bit if I had to, and stopped for a few seconds when I needed to. But I find a lot of the Jillian Michaels DVDs quite a bit easier as they're lower impact, and according to my HRM I'm burning pretty much the same amount of calories anyway. I'm talking about Killer Buns and Thighs (level 2), Kickbox Fast Fix (2 of the 20 minute workouts back to back), or Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism. So you can do it if you want, but it's tough.
  • Pink_Cheek
    Pink_Cheek Posts: 92
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    I will tell you this: I am 5'3 and around 220 lbs. I am on week 7 of Insanity. It is tough. Plain and Simple. That being said, I modify some of it so that I can do it (my mid section interfers with things like "in and outs", so I do them wide rather than the way they do them.) I am careful with the jumping as I have read the horror stories of Insanity on your knees and lower legs. It can be done, and I have done well with it, but it takes commitment and drive to finish. I haven't lost much weight with it, but the inches are dropping pretty well. If I was to clean my diet up I am sure I would have lost more, but for me it was just getting into the habit of working out as this was what I started with for my workouts since it is what I had on hand at home.

    You can do it, but may not be what you are looking for right now.
  • Velum_cado
    Velum_cado Posts: 1,608 Member
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    How do you even track insanity? It is not in exercise database

    You get a heart rate monitor and log it under "circuit training! so you know what you're burning instead of going by the wildly inaccurate MFP database.
  • markpmc
    markpmc Posts: 240 Member
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    Insanity is perfectly workable for bigger peps. Just do your best. Realize that you'll be doing pushups on your knees and subbing squats for jumps.

    If you're horribly unconditioned you have two choices.

    1. Take longer rests which is effectively skipping part of the workout.
    2. Budget extra time to complete the workout and pause the workout for extra rest.

    It took me 12 weeks to complete the program the first time. I repeated the first month :)

    You may also want to checkout Rushfit.

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