Is T25/Insanity good for getting lean but not very muscular?

Brynich
Brynich Posts: 65 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone. I was thinking about starting either Insanity or Focus T25. I have a few questions that I didn't receive answers to in searching this forum.

1) Is it possible to do either Focus T25 or Insanity and get lean but not bulky (i.e. like 20% in the attached picture below)? I ask this because I've noticed from pictures and posts that several people who have completed either of the programs didn't lose much weight at the end of it (rather they lost inches), which I understand is due to muscle formation as muscles way more than fat. So is it possible to just shed the weight/pounds with one of these 2 programs and not put on that much muscle (even though muscle is what helps to burn the calories)?

2) If the above is possible, which of the 2 programs is better for this specific purpose? Or is there any other program out there that would be more ideal for weight loss without putting on much muscle mass?

Thanks for your help and advice.

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Replies

  • Railr0aderTony
    Railr0aderTony Posts: 6,803 Member
    You are not going to gain muscle mass while eating at a deficit. So I would not worry about getting to bulky. There are people on here that can explain it much better than I can but anytime you are losing inches you are way better off than losing pounds.
  • anson808
    anson808 Posts: 47 Member
    First to answer your 1st question: yes it is possible to do any exercise program without "bulking". That is dependent on your calorie intake.

    Those pictures are misleading because they are not the same person. You could have 20% body fat and still be really bulky if you've got lots of muscle underneath or you could be be very skinny looking but have 30% body fat but not much besides that.

    2nd question: if you're just starting out, t25 is a better program if you ask me. It's a little more of a realistic workout for the average person who is just starting to get in shape. If you ask me, to do insanity properly and safely, you need to be in pretty good shape already.

    Just start on the workouts and follow the diet guides in MFP. I guarantee that if you follow the recommended diet and workout schedule for 60 days, you'll be happy with the changes you start to see. I say 60 days because most people don't start to see the changes until then. Be diligent!

    Good luck!
  • Brynich
    Brynich Posts: 65 Member
    Thank you very much for the quick replies. One more thing, I've read the guides and they say not to go below BMR. According to the BMR calculator here my BMR would be approximately 2100, however pretty much everywhere I go I see suggestions for only consuming 1600 calories/day. Would it be safe to eat at 1600/day and not go into starvation mode?
  • anson808
    anson808 Posts: 47 Member
    Where is "everywhere you go?"

    Plug in your numbers and goals in MFP. It's pretty good and accurate.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    I'm confused. So you WANT to look like the 20% guy or you don't?

    But no, Insanity and T25 are NOT major muscle building programs especially when done at a deficit.
  • Brynich
    Brynich Posts: 65 Member
    Sorry, I should have clarified. By "everywhere I go" I meant looking up the nutrition plans to go along with Insanity/T25 and just looking at what other people did in their success stories but I will try to stick to the detailed plan MFP gave me.

    Regarding BusyRaeNOTBus, these pictures don't really portray what I'm talking about, but essentially I want a look that's slim/skinny but only slightly to moderately muscular. I'm guessing that would fall somewhere between the look in the 15% picture to the look in the 20% picture, inclusive.
  • anson808
    anson808 Posts: 47 Member
    Remember to enter your figures, goals, and daily totals into MFP regularly and honestly and you can't go wrong.

    Good luck to you
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    There is no way the insanity eating plan will have only given you 1600 cals per day while doing the programme, unless you are about 3ft tall you must have calculated wrong...

    insanity wont build any muscle, but you will lose bodyfat and so get leaner... depending on your fitness level at the moment you may want to do T25 before insanity.

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