Shaun T makes me freaking insane

If people think that "Beach Body" programs were the only thing that got the instructors in shape, they would be wrong. Most instructors HAD the bodies before the programs. They do the programs now for one main reason...............money.
IMO, if it were about REALLY helping people, then they should contribute to sites like this for FREE with at least a little input. An article, maybe answer a general question etc.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Great point! I cringe every time Shaun T says "This is cardio people... the BEST thing to get your body into shape" or some such nonsense. Frankly I think weight training is the best best thing to get your body into shape.

AND before ppl jump all over me with comments like "then why are you doing insanity" or whatever, i'm trying to do a 'cut' and so upped my cardio. Still weight training, but really for muscle preservation presently.

I think you may be right, but Shaun T is kinda...well, it's different. You have to keep your core super tight, and you do a lot of upperbody and lowerbody stuff. It's not weight lifting, but it's full-body stuff WITH cardio.

But, I don't do just Insanity. I do a P90X/Insanity hybrid to get the lifting and the cardio.

I hate him. Not because he forces me to do stuff I don't wanna - such as globe jumps and walking pushups- but for his stupid sayings and bad pronunciation. Every morning I dread hearing him say "C'mon y'all!" and drop the first "T" in "important": He ALWAYS says "Impor-ent." Arrrgh I hate that!

There's more.

In cardio recovery, he mixes up squats and lunges at least twice. Sigh, why i notice these things and why they bother me is a whole different topic.

Also, I don't have all that much to lose, but still- looking at all the those super fit people in the videos isn't motivating for me, it's freaking depressing. It wouldn't have killed them to throw a couple people with ten (or twenty) pounds to lose in the video. Beach body acts like this workout program is "super super insane" - give me freaking break. I've yet to burn more than 320ish calories in a workout. When I play sports, I burn more like 500/ hour and that's including time on the sidelines.

I'm on week three and "pushing through y'all!" SMFH. Just too stubborn to quit.

What does he do that drives you 'insane'?

Why are you so angry at Shaun T...he's "not trying to hurt you...just want to make you better". If you are not burning enough calories during an Insanity workout, you need to increase your pace...jump higher...run faster...you know "turnover" all of that stuff is very impor-ant.

Amp up your intensity and report back to us...

Beachbody puts super fit people in their videos because they are "goal oriented" as should we all be. As Tony Horton says "this aint no aerobics class from the 70s".

If Insanity isn't for you, perhaps you should try Turbofire instead? Or maybe Gilad Janklowicz is more up your alley? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JgbvaoJh80

That ACE article is definitely worth a read. I mean look at Insanity: It's a warm up that goes at a hundred miles an hour (should ease you into the hardcore stuff later with a dynamic comprehensive warm-up), then a set of static stretches (static stretching before a hardcore workout actually reduces the effectiveness of your muscles), then a workout that goes at a hundred miles an hour (nothing wrong with this per-se - except the form is not rigorously enforced and he get's all kinds of things wrong). That's all kinds of messed up from an exercise standpoint.

And (this is the one that offends me most) all the workouts are a very similar level of pounding done back-to-back according to the schedule. That will lead to stress injuries in the unwary and increases the likely-hood of over-training injuries in the more wary.

Conclusion: I wouldn't touch Insanity with a bargepole!

This is not a rant against BB (I love some of their other programmes), or cardio in general. Just this rubbish one in particular.

I'll probably take some heat for this, because these programmes can become a bit like a religion for their strongest advocates, but there you go.

PS as far a personality goes, Shaun T seems like a cool guy. He can ya'll all he likes as far as I'm concerned. That kind of thing is pretty much different strokes for different folks.

I used to think he was cool but after reading a review on Insanity by the American Council on Exercise where they pretty much tore Shaun T down saying he knew nothing about emphasizing safety, form, and that the workout had no real logic to it, I pretty much stopped believing in him.

Interesting! I'll look for this....

Lol, that guy always comes into the forum post regarding workout DVDs and has admitted the doesn’t like any form of DVDs for workout purposes. I wonder why he keeps coming into these types of post with no real value of information to offer…

If you follow my posts you'll also see I do reviews on videos with some getting pretty glowing reviews. I do admit I have a detest for video-based hom fitness programs as they are usually made to take advantage of the fact that most people at home don't know a whole lot and couldn't be bothered to learn about it, but some re worse than others. Ones I think are very well done programs that I have tried:

Power 90
Rockin' Body
ChaLean Extreme
TapouT XT
Leslie Sansone videos
Tae Bo videos
GSP Rushfit (IMO the best of them)
Insanity Asylum isn't bad. A lot more thought appears to have been put into it than Insanity.
P90X2 I have mixed feelings about because while the program appears to have been structured around a good premise, it seems like a lot of it was meant to force you into buying accessories to do the workouts with.

One of my biggest problems with home video based programs is the fact that although many of them are clearly made for advanced people who are already reasonably fit, yet being marketed toward out of shape people who are unable to perform many of these exercises without a very high risk for injury. They try to say they got through the program because they modified every other exercise but at that point are you even doing the program? No. And you're not getting nearly as good of results as you would get with something tailored for your current fitness level.

Also, to the people bragging about "calories burned" as if that were the measure of how good a workout was, you have a lot more learning to do. There's a lot more to quality of a workout than calories burned. Things like safety, balance between muscle groups, proper rest/work ratios, form, are all key. Anyone can burn 600+ calories an hour jumping around like that. Ask a heavy metal fan to wear a HRM next time they go into the mosh pit at a Slayer concert. Numbers will blow your mind.

At the end of the day, what it all comes down to is that there is a science behind fitness that anyone can learn. These videos are aimed at people who can't be bothered to learn. And for that they are, to an extent, being victimized by the industry. It is of crucial importance that people research and gain a stronger base of knowledge before jumping into these advanced level programs.

lmbo I love his jokes and I still chuckle every time even though Ive done them a hundred times. But my friend cant stand
it either.

Yes! I'm glad I"m not the only one who still laughs every, single time! I laugh at Tony Horton's silly jokes too. LOL

Am I the only one who doesn't notice his grammar? I must be too busy sweating to death.. lol

That is not a cool thing to say b/c I sweat like hell and still notice!!! LOL

Wow, maybe you should be doing a different program if it bothers you that much... haha. You shouldn't dread your workouts! Personally I love Shaun T! I think he's a really great motivator. I feel like he always says the right things to keep me going just as I'm about to give up.

On the subject of the people in the video, I think they are super motivating. Maybe these workouts aren't for you if you don't have a competitive streak in you. Every day I like pushing myself harder to try and keep up with them (and beat them on the fit test). And if you're not burning as many calories as you'd like, either a) maybe you need to adjust your HRM or b) you're not pushing yourself hard enough. I suspect the latter since you don't seem to like the videos and I'm sure you're probably not giving it your all.

If your heart's not in it, just quit now. Find a program that suits you better.

In case you didn't notice, I wasn't asking for a reason to quit... LMAO. Actually I think it hilarious that this is your advice.... unsolicited advice.

Reminds me of a movie quote I love from "Elvira: Mistress of the Dark": "If I wanted your opinion, I'd beat it out you" lol just kidding

If you don't like her "unsolicited advice" you don't have to respond at all. This just makes you come off b**chy. And she is right, if this program doesn't make you feel challenged or annoys the heck out of you, look into something else where you will enjoy and give your a greater calorie burn.

i must be working out wrong because i never really had the time to think about what or how he was pronouncing things. I was to busy sweating and panting to think about it.

Kinda strange to me that you only burn 320 ish. I don't have much to lose either and have decent muscle mass and still burn over 400 most days.

There is one workout where, during the stretch, he completely forget to do the straight leg and in and outs on the second leg. we just do runners strech then straight to deep lunge. that bugs me.

I can't stand him dropping the "t" in "important" but I've just learned to ignore him. Other than that he's pretty freakin' hot so I'm ok with him.

Also, those people int he video don't look all that fit to me. I mean, don't get me wrong, they are fit looking, just not EXTREMELY fit looking like the people in p90x. The girls in Insanity aren't all that great looking except for a select couple.

Oh, and one last thing, is it just me or should that Asian girl (tonya??) be in a p*rno instead of a workout video?? I mean, what's the deal with those facial expressions......