Insanity Workout Review

I Survived the 60 Day Insanity Challenge, you can too...

It was about 6:30 am on November 26th 2012, I had just finished my breakfast and was preparing to start my new workout program, "Insanity". I put in the DVD, pushed play and five minuets later wondered what I had gotten myself into...

Insanity is a 60 day home-based workout program designed by fitness expert Shaun T and sold by Beachbody, the company behind other popular workout programs such as P90X, Slim in 6 and ChaLEAN Extreme. It includes 10 workout DVD's, a nutrition guide and a wall calendar to track your progress. Most of the people reading this have likely seen the infomercial and have some idea of what the program is about.

Insanity touts itself as "the most difficult workout ever put on DVD" and it may very well be. I went into the program, having played hockey and thinking I was somewhat, fit kind of cocky...mistake, HUGE mistake. Insanity is an intense cardiovascular-based program that works your entire body using only your body weight as resistance. You workout six day a week and the workouts range from 30 to 60 minutes. The only things you'll need to do the Insanity program is a TV, DVD player, a good pair of training shoes and the will to push play everyday, sounds easy enough, right?

60 Days

Insanity workouts are based on the concept of “Max Interval Training.” Traditional interval training requires you to exercise at a regular pace with short periods of intensity inbetween. Max Interval Training reverses that concept by having you working as hard as you can for 3 minutes, with only 30-seconds of rest. The program is split up into 3 parts, month one, a recovery week and month two. The first month has five rotating workouts: Plyometric Cardio Circuit, Cardio Power and Resistance, Cardio Recovery, Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs.

Once you're done with month one you'll do a recovery week, a daily routine using the Core, Cardio and Balance DVD.

Then it's on to month two. Four new rotating workouts are introduced: Max Interval Circuit, Max Interval Plyo, Max Cardio Conditioning, and Max Recovery. In addition to the four new workouts you'll also be using Cardio Abs from the first month as well as Core, Cardio and balance from your recovery week.

There is also and included fit test that you perform every two weeks to track your progress over the course of the program.

Month One

Every Insanity workout begins with a 10 minute warm-up. The warm-up itself is fairly intense, so much so that you may have trouble keeping up and have to take a rest, don't worry about this, even the people in the video have a hard time keeping the pace.

The workout ups the intensity even further, you'll do six set of specific movements such as push-up drills, squat moves, plyometrics, lung moves and other sport inspired drills. None of the moves in the Insanity workout are overly hard to perform, but the pace and number or reps that you're required to do is what makes each workout difficult. Again don't worry if you can't keep up with the pace, I couldn't, the people on the DVD couldn't, even the programs creator Shaun T takes breaks.

The first week of the program was tough, but surprisingly, my body adapted fairly quickly. I found that I was able to push further and harder during each workout as the month progressed. I also saw progress in my fit test results.

Recovery Week

The Core, Cardio and Balance DVD was a welcome break from the high pace and intensity of the month one routines. This workout is about 45 minutes and uses more stretching and low impact movements to help your body recover and prepare for the second month of the program. You'll still get a good workout and burn a decent amount of calories while doing Core, Cardio and Balance, but compared to what you just put you body through over the previous month this work out will be a breeze.

Month Two

Month Two up the length and intensity of each workout. Once again you'll begin each workout with a 10 minute warm-up, this one is slightly different than the month one warm-up and feels a bit more challenging.

The four new workouts are very physically demanding and it's here that you really see where the name "Insanity" came from. It's very difficult to keep up with the pace of these workouts. Again the movements you do are not necessarily all that difficult, but the pace and duration that you have to go at really puts your body to the test. The length of the workouts increase from about 30 minutes to about 60. 

I won't lie, I really was ready to give up after the first couple of days into month two. My adaptation period for the second month also seemed to take longer than the first. I didn't feel comfortable with the new workouts in both intensity and duration until after my second week, but I pushed through and finished the program with great results.

My Results

Through the 60 day I saw great results. I lost 20 lbs, went from over 20% body fat down to 12% am a lot leaner and more toned. Cardiovascular wise I'm also in great shape and find that everyday activities like climbing stairs, running, playing with my kids no longer leave me feeling tired and out of breath. I didn't follow the "Elite Nutrition" plan that comes with the program to a tee, but I did eat a more healthy, "clean" diet and used an app to monitor my calorie intake and keep myself accountable.

My bi-weekly fit test results also showed some great improvement, and I was truly amazed where I ended given where I started.

Insanity Pros & Cons

Insanity will give you a great workout and even though the workouts and intensity is tough to maintain, pausing the DVD and taking short breaks will help pace the work out to your desired speed.

This is a great program for weight/fat lose, as well as a great way to increase your cardiovascular fitness.

Workouts can be done at home or on the road as no weights or additional equipment is needed.

Shaun T is a great instructor and motivator who does the workouts right along with you, so you never feel like your in it alone.

The variety and schedule of the workouts changes up from week to week which will help keep you engaged for the full 60 days.

The program does however take a great deal of self discipline to, as Shaun T says "push play every day"and like a lot of home based workouts, the everyday distractions of being at home can get in the way.

All said and done there really is a lot more upside to the program than down.

Ready for the Insanity Challenge?

If you're looking to get in the best shape of your life and feel like you can commit to 60 day of pure Insanity, follow the link below and get started on the road to a better you.