Why Insanity?
Aaron_K123
Posts: 7,122 Member
So this might be an inappropriate question that won't get me any friends on here but I've always been blunt and unable to stand curiosity for long and I've been curious about this for a while so here it goes. If I offend anyone I apologize as it is not my intent at all.
The workout I see people mention most often when they mention their exercise routine is Insanity, the beachbody program. Often when people mention that they are going to start exercising after having not exercised for years they talk about going to go pick up Insanity. It seems to come up as much as 1200 calorie diets on here.
So of course, being curious, I found some of the videos online and watched them and they are...well...Insane. I consider myself reasonably fit. I'm 6' tall, about 170ish pounds, not overweight. I go long distance backpacking (200 miles was one of them), I've run 10k races in under 55 minutes, I work out 6 days a week...I'm no slouch. Before you think I'm bragging I'm also no athlete, I have a long ways to go before I'd consider myself really fit so I'm not saying I'm in great shape or anything. I looked at those Insanity videos and immediately knew, yeah...I am not fit enough to do those moves for the length of that video. I've done P90X plyometrics and that workout wipes the floor with me, I cannot do the moves for duration and have to take lots of mini-breaks. The Insanity workouts look considerably more intense in terms of cardio than P90X plyo.
Then I go back to MFP and here is all these people talking about doing Insanity and, to be blunt, many of them don't appear to be fit or in shape at all from their own descriptions of themselves. Considerably overweight, haven't exercised for a very long time or at all. I am really not trying to be judgmental here but to be honest I try to picture them doing that workout and I just can't. Can't even see myself doing that.
So yeah what is the deal? My question goes out to those who "do" Insanity. Are you actually doing those workouts or are you doing modifications for every move or going half the time? Am I just way overestimating my fitness level and I'm actually not fit at all or alternatively am I underestimating my ability to do that crazy crap and if I committed I could do it too? To me those workouts seemed to be designed for someone who is already crazy fit and wants to push themselves and their athletic ability, they do not appear at all to be designed for first-timers looking to lose 50 pounds of fat. Is there anyone here at all who can actually keep up with those workouts?
Why do people gravitate towards the hardest looking workout they can find? Is the idea to get something that you can just keep working on and working on until you CAN do it at which point you know you are crazy-fit? Are we all masochists? Is this a good thing? I get that people want to push themselves, heck I want to push myself when I work out, it just seems that many would probably be pushing themselves just with a jump rope or going for a run that was longer than 20 minutes. Is there a benefit to just throwing yourself into the deep end like that?
I keep saying this but I really want to be clear that I am not trying to pass judgement, I am not saying it is wrong for people to do Insanity, I just personally think it looks to be at a level that is currently beyond me. Am I just being defeatist or am I being a realist here?
The workout I see people mention most often when they mention their exercise routine is Insanity, the beachbody program. Often when people mention that they are going to start exercising after having not exercised for years they talk about going to go pick up Insanity. It seems to come up as much as 1200 calorie diets on here.
So of course, being curious, I found some of the videos online and watched them and they are...well...Insane. I consider myself reasonably fit. I'm 6' tall, about 170ish pounds, not overweight. I go long distance backpacking (200 miles was one of them), I've run 10k races in under 55 minutes, I work out 6 days a week...I'm no slouch. Before you think I'm bragging I'm also no athlete, I have a long ways to go before I'd consider myself really fit so I'm not saying I'm in great shape or anything. I looked at those Insanity videos and immediately knew, yeah...I am not fit enough to do those moves for the length of that video. I've done P90X plyometrics and that workout wipes the floor with me, I cannot do the moves for duration and have to take lots of mini-breaks. The Insanity workouts look considerably more intense in terms of cardio than P90X plyo.
Then I go back to MFP and here is all these people talking about doing Insanity and, to be blunt, many of them don't appear to be fit or in shape at all from their own descriptions of themselves. Considerably overweight, haven't exercised for a very long time or at all. I am really not trying to be judgmental here but to be honest I try to picture them doing that workout and I just can't. Can't even see myself doing that.
So yeah what is the deal? My question goes out to those who "do" Insanity. Are you actually doing those workouts or are you doing modifications for every move or going half the time? Am I just way overestimating my fitness level and I'm actually not fit at all or alternatively am I underestimating my ability to do that crazy crap and if I committed I could do it too? To me those workouts seemed to be designed for someone who is already crazy fit and wants to push themselves and their athletic ability, they do not appear at all to be designed for first-timers looking to lose 50 pounds of fat. Is there anyone here at all who can actually keep up with those workouts?
Why do people gravitate towards the hardest looking workout they can find? Is the idea to get something that you can just keep working on and working on until you CAN do it at which point you know you are crazy-fit? Are we all masochists? Is this a good thing? I get that people want to push themselves, heck I want to push myself when I work out, it just seems that many would probably be pushing themselves just with a jump rope or going for a run that was longer than 20 minutes. Is there a benefit to just throwing yourself into the deep end like that?
I keep saying this but I really want to be clear that I am not trying to pass judgement, I am not saying it is wrong for people to do Insanity, I just personally think it looks to be at a level that is currently beyond me. Am I just being defeatist or am I being a realist here?
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It's all about mentality... personally Insanity kills my knees, so I will not do it... but using P90X for my example here... I know a fair amount of people (myself included) who would do P90X fully expecting to not be able to do the exercises at the same rate as the people 'conducting' it.
The goal many have is to get some exercise in, and build up to the point where you CAN keep up with the people in the video. If you choose to do it, take the breaks as necessary (pretty sure they tell you to in the beginning), and just work your way up
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I totally get where you're coming from on this. I wouln't try Insanity at my current (not very good) fitness level. I think some people want fast results, some have a "go hard or go home" attitude.. maybe both?
It's got to feel great to be able to complete the program.0 -
Why? Because their infomercial is really really good. I'm not being facetious. Everytime I come across it, I start digging around for my cell phone and/or wallet. It's just full of awesomeness.
The best sociological experiment of our time may very well be to see what percentage of days, hours (probably minutes) are actually spent doing Insanity after the video has been purchased. Measure that against the expected number of hours that an individual plans on doing Insanity prior to purchase. The difference is equal to "power of marketing."
It begs the question, why are porn videos longer than a few minutes?0 -
Good marketing?0
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Why? Because their infomercial is really really good. I'm not being facetious. Everytime I come across it, I start digging around for my cell phone and/or wallet. It's just full of awesomeness.
It is a pretty dope infomercial.0 -
Why? Because their infomercial is really really good. I'm not being facetious. Everytime I come across it, I start digging around for my cell phone and/or wallet. It's just full of awesomeness.
It is a pretty dope infomercial.
I have admittedly never seen it.0 -
I was in the best shape of my life when I did it and hated it. The videos were too long and repetitive for my taste. HOWEVER, I did have to modify a lot because of my bad knees, but as I kept pushing through, I had to modify less and less. I also didn't have to rest as long. It's a mindset thing; if you think you can do it and want to do it, you will.0
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I completed Insanity over a year ago and had great results. Prior to doing Insanity I bicycled 16 miles at a time and was running 5Ks. I was not an athlete by any means. When I started, yes I modified the moves. Over the two months I improved greatly and modified less. What made me work harder was seeing the improvements in my numbers on the fit test. I knew at 42 years old that I would not be able to do everything at the level they could on the DVD, but I pushed my self to see what I could do and it was worth it.0
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I did P90x for 2 years and Plyo became a bit too 'easy', I needed more of a challenge. So I started adding Insanity for the Plyo and Kenpo workouts. It is a huge challenge. I am going to cut back again though because mentally it is tough to do 50+ minutes of insanity. I will go back to the 40min workouts for now. I honestly do not know how out of shape people do it. I like to push myself and still cannot do everything straight through. But in a weird way I still enjoy it.0
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People see the infomercials and the fake before and after pictures, and next thing you know they're out over a hundred bucks for a workout they will most likely never complete. It's marketing. Very good marketing.0
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I was in the best shape of my life when I did it and hated it. The videos were too long and repetitive for my taste. HOWEVER, I did have to modify a lot because of my bad knees, but as I kept pushing through, I had to modify less and less. I also didn't have to rest as long. It's a mindset thing; if you think you can do it and want to do it, you will.
Well yeah if I had to crawl through a field of broken glass to save my SO I probably would to, doesn't mean I'd voluntarily choose the field of broken glass over the field of grass if given the choice. I'm just not convinced that killing yourself in your cardio workout (elevating your HR way above the aerobic range) is really beneficial. There seems to be this prevailing belief that the harder you push yourself the better it is for you and I'm really not convinced that is true.0 -
Just my 2 cents, all Beachbody programs have people who are going out full bore, and they also have a modifier to follow if you are a beginner or new to a program. I will agree, Insanity is, well....insane, I don't know that I will ever do it, however I have done other Beachbody programs and am doing TurboFire right now, and I may not be able to do the moves like Chalene Johnson, but I am getting better and my fitness has improved, and I think that is the point of working out and exercising, hoping that one day you can keep up, and not follow the modifier. It's a journey, just like no one walks into a gym, never having run, jumps on a treadmill and runs an 8 minute mile, it is all about building up our endurance and making us the best, healthiest version of ourselves that we can.0
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I did P90x for 2 years and Plyo became a bit too 'easy', I needed more of a challenge. So I started adding Insanity for the Plyo and Kenpo workouts. It is a huge challenge. I am going to cut back again though because mentally it is tough to do 50+ minutes of insanity. I will go back to the 40min workouts for now. I honestly do not know how out of shape people do it. I like to push myself and still cannot do everything straight through. But in a weird way I still enjoy it.
See that is what I'm thinking. If you are full on athletic yeah okay you can push yourself to new heights with Insanity for a short period and then rest up with something lighter. Just seems like I'm seeing all these very overweight out of shape people doing insanity back to back to back and I just have to ask....what are they actually doing because I cannot picture they are doing those workouts back to back at which point why not do something like P90 (not P90X, P90) which imo is a great workout that most people can build themselves up to being able to do.0 -
I have to admit it's pretty addictive and you might get into a state of mind like "insanity or nothing"....the only reason I dropped off after 4 weeks is because I couldn't put my appetite in check while doing this program...
It gets easier eventually and I think it's the selling point of the program: you will get fitter at the end of 60 days...0 -
Well yeah if I had to crawl through a field of broken glass to save my SO I probably would to, doesn't mean I'd voluntarily choose the field of broken glass over the field of grass if given the choice. I'm just not convinced that killing yourself in your cardio workout (elevating your HR way above the aerobic range) is really beneficial. There seems to be this prevailing belief that the harder you push yourself the better it is for you and I'm really not convinced that is true.
For me it was a pride thing; I wanted to be able to say I did it. You don't have to do it. That's the great thing about fitness/exercise - you can choose what works for you.0 -
Just my 2 cents, all Beachbody programs have people who are going out full bore, and they also have a modifier to follow if you are a beginner or new to a program. I will agree, Insanity is, well....insane, I don't know that I will ever do it, however I have done other Beachbody programs and am doing TurboFire right now, and I may not be able to do the moves like Chalene Johnson, but I am getting better and my fitness has improved, and I think that is the point of working out and exercising, hoping that one day you can keep up, and not follow the modifier. It's a journey, just like no one walks into a gym, never having run, jumps on a treadmill and runs an 8 minute mile, it is all about building up our endurance and making us the best, healthiest version of ourselves that we can.
I've used beachbody products, I think they are good (I meant the exercise routines not the supplements). Personally I found just the basic P90 to be plenty for my cardio needs. Recently been working with P90X to push myself a bit. Just yeah, Insanity...doubt I will ever bother with that...by the time I am fit enough to do that I think I'm likely going to be focused more on strength training than cardio anyways.0 -
You make a great point... its not meant for beginners.
On the flip side, if someone that is not in shape, does 50% of the workout (by taking more breaks), don't you think they are getting the same benefits (HIIT to the max)? For someone that is in better shape, to reach the same heart rate levels, it will require more work (so doing 100% of the video may end up giving the same calories burned for one person, as 40% for another).
I honestly do insanity, because its convinient. I dont need equipment and I don't have to leave the house. I'm not in great shape, but I am naturally pretty athletic and stubborn. Starting the first month, I was able to do maybe 50% and worked up to 90% by the final week. Now starting the second month, I can keep up for about 70% of it. I am hopeful, that this will improve over the next 3 weeks.
My theory is: If I am getting up at 4.30 to work out, I will make damn sure, that its worth it.
Just my two cents0 -
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Ok, so I've started them a few times. I think my thought process the first couple times was, "This will be a good way to jump start my exercising. Yes, I'm not fit at the moment, but I can always pause the DVD if I need to take a break and I won't feel silly for not being able to do everything or only being able to do 2 of something like I would if I was in a group class at the gym." Now, those times really didn't last. I got about 3 weeks in and life happened or I got overwhelmed and I stopped doing them. The most recent time I gave up was because I slipped and fell and really hurt my wrist, which sucks because there are a lot of push up/plank stance exercises in the workouts.
I picked them up again the end of April because I felt like I had plateaued. I'd been working out consistently at the gym since January 2013, so my fitness level was vastly different this time than previous beginnings. This time around I went into it with the goal of actually completing the entire 60 day workout. If I missed a day, I'd try to double up (if possible by doing the recovery workout on the same day as another workout) or I'd make it up on the rest day - I've missed 2 workouts total that I didn't make up. I'm in week 3 of month 2 now. Yes, occasionally I still have to modify the exercises that put a lot of weight on my wrist (I have good days and bad), but I am actually really proud that I've been able to stick with it.0 -
I have the program. Why? because my athletic mentality said to me "Thats a work out you used to be able to do, get it and get back there."
Brings me to today. Yea, I did it for a week and quit. Why because I wasnt at the fitness level I needed to be to keep up. So I was real with myself I took a step back and said I'm not 18 anymore and haven't seen a gym in about 6 years. So I put it on the shelf for another day or my sons. However it didnt discourage me from starting to work out and eat healthy again. It just opened up my eyes to how far off the wagon I had actually fallen. If you've never been an athlete I have no idea why you would want to start there but I know the reason for me was because it was something in my mind that I should be able to do.0 -
Why? Because their infomercial is really really good. I'm not being facetious. Everytime I come across it, I start digging around for my cell phone and/or wallet. It's just full of awesomeness.
It is a pretty dope infomercial.
I have admittedly never seen it.
If I had to guess, I would say that BeachBody's operating budget is spent in this order:
1) Marketing
2) Other marketing
3) More marketing
4) New Product Development
5) Marketing new products
6) Fitness models
7) Fitness instructors
8) Exercise Science
9) Nutrition Science
It's not to say their programs don't work - nor am I trying to denigrate anybody who does them. If you need a video/products to guide you through your exercise and diet, it's as good as any.
But i'm not sure you wouldn't have the exact same results if you did Burpees and Box Jumps for 50+ minutes everyday.0 -
I have friends that do it because they have a "go big or go home" type attitude. I personally would not put myself through that kind of punishment to lose weight, but then again, I don't like much cardio to begin with.0
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I completed Insanity twice. I "acquired it" from a friend when I had my come to Jesus moment at 245lbs. I honestly couldn't do it right out of the box due to my weight and general lack of physical preparedness. I set it aside and walked at least 4 miles a day till I could begin jogging and continued till I was down to about 230 with reasonable stamina.
Even then, my first "Fit Test" was dismal. Seriously, I'm prior military and was shocked at just how out of routine I had gotten. So I completed week one and thought I was going to die every time. I was only completing about 30% of that Shawn and those psycho robots were doing. (Note: the key isn't to copy them, it's to use the routine as best as you can till you reach your target heart rate). As the weeks went along my progress improved with my HR remained constant. At the end of the series, I would honestly say, I could keep up with the videos at about 75%. The differences between Day1 and Final Day Fit Tests were astounding.
The second time I completed Insanity (6 months later), I started out doing about 60% and ended up being able to do 85% at the end. Fit tests weren't dramatically different the second time around and it really started to get stale.
I tried to do a third time, but I could say what Shawn was before him and I simply became too tired of it to finish. I got my hands on P90X instead. (FYI: If you've completed Insanity, P90X is a joke and is rather pointless).0 -
You make a great point... its not meant for beginners.
On the flip side, if someone that is not in shape, does 50% of the workout (by taking more breaks), don't you think they are getting the same benefits (HIIT to the max)? For someone that is in better shape, to reach the same heart rate levels, it will require more work (so doing 100% of the video may end up giving the same calories burned for one person, as 40% for another).
I honestly do insanity, because its convinient. I dont need equipment and I don't have to leave the house. I'm not in great shape, but I am naturally pretty athletic and stubborn. Starting the first month, I was able to do maybe 50% and worked up to 90% by the final week. Now starting the second month, I can keep up for about 70% of it. I am hopeful, that this will improve over the next 3 weeks.
My theory is: If I am getting up at 4.30 to work out, I will make damn sure, that its worth it.
Just my two cents
Here is how I take it: we all have to start from somewhere at certain level, beginner or no beginner. Just like any fitness program, you have to start from somewhere. I started lifting weight using a pair of 5 pounds...I know 5 lb dumbbells get a lot of "poopoo" here but that was my beginner level. I progressed to a pair of 40 now and deadlift 120lb...
Insanity is the same thing. Beginners can totally follow the move with less intensity. A lot of over weight people claimed doing it I believe them. But did they do the same way as Shaun T and his students, maybe not.
Worth it or not is a different question. I think all programs work for all people.0 -
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At what speed is one a runner and not a jogger? And at what distance? Am I a runner if I can only run a mile or is it only official after I've entered a 5k? At what volume and weight is one a weight lifter? Does it count if it's dumbells not barbells? What about kettelbells? Is walking exercise? I'm guessing, like with "doing Insanity" it's all relative. At least you're moving either way.
Fair enough0 -
I completed Insanity twice. I "acquired it" from a friend when I had my come to Jesus moment at 245lbs. I honestly couldn't do it right out of the box due to my weight and general lack of physical preparedness. I set it aside and walked at least 4 miles a day till I could begin jogging and continued till I was down to about 230 with reasonable stamina.
Even then, my first "Fit Test" was dismal. Seriously, I'm prior military and was shocked at just how out of routine I had gotten. So I completed week one and thought I was going to die every time. I was only completing about 30% of that Shawn and those psycho robots were doing. (Note: the key isn't to copy them, it's to use the routine as best as you can till you reach your target heart rate). As the weeks went along my progress improved with my HR remained constant. At the end of the series, I would honestly say, I could keep up with the videos at about 75%. The differences between Day1 and Final Day Fit Tests were astounding.
The second time I completed Insanity (6 months later), I started out doing about 60% and ended up being able to do 85% at the end. Fit tests weren't dramatically different the second time around and it really started to get stale.
I tried to do a third time, but I could say what Shawn was before him and I simply became too tired of it to finish. I got my hands on P90X instead. (FYI: If you've completed Insanity, P90X is a joke and is rather pointless).
I almost forgot... I lost almost 40lbs with Insanity and a very strict diet.0 -
^^^THIS!Here is how I take it: we all have to start from somewhere at certain level, beginner or no beginner. Just like any fitness program, you have to start from somewhere. I started lifting weight using a pair of 5 pounds...I know 5 lb dumbbells get a lot of "poopoo" here but that was my beginner level. I progressed to a pair of 40 now and deadlift 120lb...
Insanity is the same thing. Beginners can totally follow the move with less intensity. A lot of over weight people claimed doing it I believe them. But did they do the same way as Shaun T and his students, maybe not.
Worth it or not is a different question. I think all programs work for all people.0 -
I get that what matters is to just be moving and be in your target heart rate and you will get a fitness boost and benefit whether you are insano-fit and doing the entire workout in pace with the instructors or completely out of shape and just limping along with poor form.
Thing is I also believe there must be many people who pick this up, struggle with it and push themselves way over their target heart rate OR just get frustrated with it and quit.
Seems to me people would be much better off starting with, well, a starter program. I've allowed myself to get out of shape and when I do I've used the P90 program (not P90X, P90) to great effect to get back into actually pretty good shape...and its doable, meaning you don't have to poor-form the moves. I just don't get the mentality of "Gee I've let myself go, I'm overweight and out of shape...I know, I will pick up the most difficult program I can find designed for athletes and do that".0 -
I did, I loved it, and I'm still doing it. I started when I was probably between 160-170lbs. Not the worse shape of my life, but not great. The first volume does not show modifications. The reason I love it and keep going back is because of the trainer. For me it's ALL ABOUT SHAUN T. He is an amazing instructor. Very encouraging. Explains things well. Makes sure you know exactly what to do & what not to do. He's the reason I also did T25 and then an Insanity/T25 Hybrid. Yes it's hard. Yes, it's long. But it works if you work for it.
I'm now down from 189 to 130 and if anyone asks me I will tell them I LOVE Insanity. It may not be for everyone, but it works for me.0
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