Tips and Advice for Doing "Insanity"

I did 3 weeks of it back in November/December with a group of co-workers, then the holidays came around and we were all in/out of the office at different times so we stopped, but we're getting ready to restart in the next few weeks!
Make sure you do the fit test on day one and record your results accurately -- you'll really want to see your improvement by the next time the fit test rolls around! I could tell a difference in my endurance by about day five!
Prepare to be sore after the fit test, and then INCREDIBLY sore the next few days -- you'll have trouble getting up and going up and down stairs but it'll be that 'hurt so good' feeling! Make sure you're drinking plenty of water, and I found that I was needing to eat quite a few more calories than before, because you'll be burning a TON!

Sorry I can't be of more help, but good luck and let us know how it goes! I'm gonna friend you so I can keep up with your progress and look to you for advice when we start up again!

Thanks to a fabulous MFP member, I'm getting ready to start doing Insanity! I'd appreciate advice/notes from anyone who's done it before...THANKS!!!

Don't eat anything heavy within about 5-6 hours of the workout. Eat a reasonable amount of slow carbs ~2-3 hours before (maybe even less, depending on how your stomach handles it).

Hydrate! Hammer nutrition makes some awesome products for hydration... the HEED sports drink is great, and the 'endurolyte' pills are great (they are basically just various salts). If you cramp, it is due to poor electrolyte balance. My routine was 2 endurolyte pills and a liter of water about 1 hour before the workout, then a liter of heed as needed throughout. If I started cramping too badly to work through, I would pause, take an endurolyte and some water, and wait for it to pass (usually ~5 mins). If you have to do that, keep moving to keep your heart rate from dropping too much.

You will sweat A LOT. I have an EXTREMELY slow metabolism, and so can do a full weight workout, run a mile, etc. and not even break a sweat in air conditioning (pretty nice benefit to low core temp!). Insanity is the only thing I have done where I NEED a towel to keep the sweat out of my eyes. I seriously was more drenched after most insanity workouts than after an hour of serious heavy bag in humid 90+ degree weather.

Use a heart-rate monitor! Your heart-rate can easily go to unsafe levels if you push yourself too hard. My target was 90-95% of my heartrate max (YMMV, do what is safe for your level of fitness), and my average with rests was usually 87-89%

Make sure you are eating enough... my average calories burned was about 500-800 for the first couple of weeks, and 800-1200 by the end. If you start feeling extremely fatigued regularly, increase your calorie intake! Also, if it is feasible, you may want to go to an endocrinologist and get everything checked out if you start getting extreme fatigue, stop losing weight, etc. as for some people thyroid function can be impacted by heavy cardio. Nothing to worry unduly about, but if you start seeing symptoms of hypothyroidism:
http://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/thyroid/hypothyroidism-too-little-thyroid-hormone
stop the cardio and see an endocrinologist!

I have bad knees, and so all the plyometrics were killing me at first. Switch to vibram five fingers shoes for the workout, and it made a HUGE difference (made my calves sore beyond belief, but stopped the knee pain). I don't know if that's relevant for you, but there it is

Those are the main things I think will help someone getting started with insanity. Push yourself as hard as you can, but know your limits as far as what is safe for you. It's tough, but you will feel great when you get through a workout! I hope all this is helpful!

Listen to your body and don't push too hard if you feel pain. My friend messed up her knees royally (could barely walk and now has to do physio everyday to keep them from hurting). They started hurting and she just kept pushing and eventually wrecked them so if something hurts (and not sore hurt) then stop or slow down.

Otherwise, just go at your own pace, take breaks if you need them and drink lots of water. And don't worry if you can barely do much at the beginning.

Everyone one the thread pretty much said it all - do what you can and push, but not beyond your limits. I had started doing it because cardio was my weak spot in fitness and knew that I had to focus on it to improve. I did see gaines, but it is really tough. Just hang in there and do what you can. Try to push your limits each workout.

Never wear underwear

Always close the curtains

Pass on wearing a shirt

Invest in a sports bra that can handle Insanity

Keep multiple glasses of water handy so you don't waste your 30sec rest going in the kitchen for a refill

Haha, forgot to mention that! I honestly wore just spandex shorts (with no underwear) and a sports bra and I was literally dripping with sweat. And then I'd hop into the shower afterwards with shorts and bra on to slightly wash them so I could wear them more than one day without being sweaty gross. lol

THANKS, everyone!!!! I feel more ready than ever...honestly, just the name of the workout scared me at first! But now I feel like I can at least ATTEMPT to tackle it! A friend of mine at work is going to do it at the same time, so we can hold each other accountable for doing the workouts, too. I'll let ya'll know how it goes! I plan to start on Monday night!

How did the workout go?

went insane...