Jillian Michaels vs. P90x vs. Insanity vs. ...

In my experience

30 day shred is a pretty decent 20 minute cardio/endurance workout. You'll never become an elite athlete or get any real muscularity, but it'll burn a couple hundred calories a day. Just a couple of small dumbbells needed.

P90x is a solid mixed cardio/weights routine. Depending on diet, you should be able to get in pretty good shape if you do the full 90, but that's 3 months of 6 days a week at 60 to 90 minutes, so not for the faint hearted! You'll need some adjustable dumbbells or bands, a pull up bar and a mat.

Insanity is a very difficult cardio program. I did the full 90 of P90x but Insanity truly scares me... It'll strip a bunch of fat and get your cardiovascular fitness up to a good level. No equipment needed as far as I know.

Cheers

Jay

I've only ever done Jillian's workouts of the ones you've listed, but I'll weigh in--

30DS is tough, but I don't think it's unmanageable. I started out with it, and yes I did feel like I was going to die in my first few workouts, but your body gets used to it and I think you can finish the whole thing even if you're not already fit. You only need small dumbbells (3-5 pounds is recommended) and a yoga mat if you're going to be working out on an uncomfortable surface. You do not need a lot of space. I am like the person you mentioned, better with leg work than arms, and I found it to be challenging but doable. The only way to get more upper body strength is to work those muscles, right? Jillian does offer "beginner" and "advanced" versions of most moves, so there are modifications you can make to get through the circuit if you're really struggling.

When I finished the Shred, I moved on to her other workouts, and I can recommend some of those if you decide you want to go down this route. She also has "Ripped in 30," which is of a similar nature to the Shred (but I've heard it's a little bit harder).

My recommendation would be to borrow the DVDs for these programs from a friend, if possible, and just try them out to see what you like best. The factor could be difficulty, but it could also be something like the attitude of the trainer. Some people really don't like Jilian's style, but it motivates me. I've heard very good things about Shaun T, too. I will point out that Jillian's DVDs are widely accessible and probably cost a great deal less than Insanity or p90x. If you do the Shred and like it, she has a wide variety of other types of exercise available (kickboxing, yoga, etc.).

Best of luck to you!

Hi there! I like pretty much all of Jillian's workouts. They are a lot cheaper than other popular packages, and many are available on youtube for free now. I my opinion, they are all worth trying, and even for beginners, the modified versions of the exercises are all doable. Just work your way up to it. You can always replace an exercise that's too demanding, by just repeating a previous one. As long as you keep moving, no problem. Shred it with Weights and Yoga Meltdown are fun, too, just to break the routine.
Unlike a previous poster mentioned, they do not burn 'hundreds' of calories, though. Expect to torch no more than maybe 150-250 calories for 30 minute workouts, depending on your vital stats and energy level. If you want results, you will have to stick to Jillian's meal plans, or modify them to meet your personal nutrition requirements.
have fun!

I used/still use all of these programs so here are my thoughts: I started working out with 30DS and it kicked my butt (and I was never really overweight, just out of shape). After about a year of this and other videos I moved on to P90x and it REALLY kicked my butt. I had very little upper body strength but after several rounds I was knocking out 10 pullups and 30 pushups at a time. Then after a few rounds the P90x cardio workouts became too easy so I supplemented with Insanity for those days. The Insanity workouts are super tough but also hard on the joints. I don't think I could ever complete the whole Insanity 60 program because my knees wouldn't be able to take it. But mixed throughout the week with P90x strength on the other days is working out really well. They all have modified moves, or just take longer breaks if needed. I am not a gym person and I need a routine so these videos work well for me. But a lifting program is great too if you have the equipment.

Insanity doesn't require any equipment, just good shoes. Others already responded on the equipment needed for the other programs so I won't repeat.