INSANITY by Beachbody.

[OregonDirtbiker]

I did two weeks of insanity and had to quit, because doing that and adding running intervals in between flared up my shin splints for me. So I'll be swimming and living on the elliptical for a while.

[CurlyQ]

I started Insanity on Monday. It is intense . . . 'nuff said!!!

[PaliBoy20]

Okay, so I will give it you guys straight. I'm loving the reviews on both P90X and Insanity. Opinions from you all..

I'm 5'8'', 175, +/- 20% Body Fat
Age: 21, will be applying to few different agencies by the end of summer (or so I hope) so we'll predict that I'm looking at a PAT end of year or early next year with academy next year (assuming all stages are passed).
My cardio sucks. Running always has been a struggle for me. I'm more of a sprinter than a long distance runner. My upper body strength is weak. My lower half is a lot better. I can only do about 20 or so pushups straight (and I struggle, I'd say 15 or so with ease) and about 30 or so situps. So now that the embarrassment is out, do you all suggest I start with P90X, Insanity, or none of the above?

[weezy34]

Okay, so I will give it you guys straight. I'm loving the reviews on both P90X and Insanity. Opinions from you all..

I'm 5'8'', 175, +/- 20% Body Fat
Age: 21, will be applying to few different agencies by the end of summer (or so I hope) so we'll predict that I'm looking at a PAT end of year or early next year with academy next year (assuming all stages are passed).
My cardio sucks. Running always has been a struggle for me. I'm more of a sprinter than a long distance runner. My upper body strength is weak. My lower half is a lot better. I can only do about 20 or so pushups straight (and I struggle, I'd say 15 or so with ease) and about 30 or so situps. So now that the embarrassment is out, do you all suggest I start with P90X, Insanity, or none of the above?

I'm in the same boat as you. I'm 5'9" 169 and not the strongest guy in the world. I have been mixing in both P90X and INSANITY and I am loving it. INSANITY is more cardio. You also do sit-ups/push-ups, but it will help your cardio more than anything. Plus you dont need any equipment.

If you want to work more on building your strength, I would go with P90X. There are cardio workouts you can do with this product, but its more geared for building strength. Plus you need more equipment to do this (weights and/or bands). I recently purchased the bowflex selectech dumbbells which works perfect for P90X. Yes it cost me alot of money, but I cancelled my gym membership which will save me money in the long run.

Bottom line, if you can afford the equipment, I would suggest P90X because you can do both weight lifting AND cardio. I would suggest running at least once or twice a week because you will do alot of running in the academy.

[PaliBoy20]

So IF I was to do both..how do you separate your workouts? P90 on MWF and Insanity on T, Th? or what?

I don't want to spend too much on equipment that's why Insanity appealed to me more. My cardio sucks. They always say (or so I've been told) in police work, it's not about how big you are but how long you can last. So I could see Insanity benefitting me more while incorporating the "one hundred pushups" program to build my upper body strength, seeing that in the academy, we'd be doing a lot of that. What do you think of that plan?

[weezy34]

That sounds like a good idea. Just to warn you, INSANITY is gonna kick your butt haha....but I love it because it pushes you. After a while, you find that you start pushing yourself. You can always do your sit-ups and push-ups anytime you want without any equipment. I would also do some pull-ups here and there. INSANITY also has a good ab-workout that you can mix in as well.

How I do it is I try and lift at least 3 days a week with P90X. I'll do shoulders and arms one day, chest and back another day, and mix in another workout for the 3rd day.

I do INSANITY at least twice a week for cardio. I also try and get in a long distance run at least once a week.

If you are only going to do INSANITY, I would suggest doing the 60 day plan. You can follow the calendar and do the assigned workouts for each day. You will probably get the best results doing that. Its really hard at first, but you will start loving it once you get used to it

[PaliBoy20]

Yeah, so I've seen that it's going to kick my butt. loll

I just hope I can stick with it. I lose motivation early =( I know I've gotta straighten that up for the academy. My goal is to be a trooper/officer and that's what I intend to reach...no matter what.

Seems like you have a good plan. I'll remember to put in 1 long run during the weeks also. Thanks, weezy.

[Eastside]

So out of curiosity, Ive got P90X and its very popular here with folks in our department. Im still rocking an injury right now and frankly its getting depressing with just running every day and only able to use v light resistance bands at the moment. I can only run about 5 k right now as well before my glutes give out and my back starts killing me so here's my question.

Obviously you need functional strength for our line of work, is Insanity a functional workout for "combat"? Now why does he say combat, well as we know you need muscular endurance, speed, and strength to subdue a suspect if need be? Or is it basically an advanced aerobics workout?

So give a chap a goal, insanity or back to P90X again from the start??

Or better still insanity with running, then graduate to P90X?

[ChevyPower]

This program is crazy ridiculous.

When I first got it, I was crazy pumped! Ready to get in shape! But two days later I was so sore I couldn't move. Figured to let that be a warm-up week. Then my Achilles tendon started to act up, because it wasn't used to this level of hard training. By the time I was finally ready, bodily, to roll, I lost my motivation mentally.

I did it off and on, but without motivation, you can't do the program.

Now I'm lifting weights again, and I'll be doing Insanity a few days a week, and maybe I can get to where I can do the 60 day program, but I don't know.

Before you start, get yourself ready, and keep your motivation, because it is very hard, and harder to realize how out of shape you really are

[CurlyQ]

I finished day 17 today. This is not a program for people not already in fairly decent shape. It's freakn' intense. Thankfully, I prepared myself physically and mentally for it and did not have to deal with much soreness at all. So far, so good, but that's not to say that I don't have days when I absolutely dread doing the workout. However, I "just do it," and the high I get from completing is well worth it. I plan to do P90X when I complete Insanity. Can't wait!

[rwandrie]

After hearing all of the good things about Insanity, I think im gonna give it a try. Currently, i'm lifting weights 3-4 times per week, with at least 1 day where i run for 30 mins straight. This is my muscle building phase, in about a month, I think im going to switch over to a fat-loss/endurance phase and do Insanity daily, rather than lifting weights. Once im done with my "Insanity" phase, i'll go back to lifting for a few months. This seems like a good overall cycle to get into. Keeps you building the muscle, but also keeps your fitness level excellent.

[chuck9899]

Insanity

Currently 183lbs at 5"8 24 years old. Starting Insanity this Wed. Will post my weight loss every two weeks and maybe some before and after photos. I can't stick to the plan completely i work a 2 double shifts in a row and too tired to work out and i just need to sleep but will shall see the results.

[lhpd09]

I just finished my third day of Insanity. It is really intense but I love the feeling that I have when i'm done. The changing up of the routines really helps out a lot with the boredom factor. It's extremely hard but I think the results will be worth it.

[dep126]

I'm on third week of insanity after doing 3 rounds of p90x. Absolutely love this program! Its hard, but you will notice results quickly. I really like how these videos are put together. Lots of people doing the workout. I find it very motivating. My wife has a couple different yoga/pilates dvds which have one person doing it. With insanity especially, you see people struggling and taking breaks, and I'm sure they've been doing it for awhile. Makes you realize they are regular people.

[chuck9899]

Insanity

Just finished Insanity fit test. Going to start day 1 tomorrow

Fit Test results:
Switch Kicks 47
Power jacks 32
Power Knees 52
Power Jumps 24
Globe jumps 10
Suicide jumps 15
Push-up Jacks 21
Low Plank 28

I was drenched in sweat after this and had to pause to take a water break.

Not the greatest but i will take it. I will update on Day 15 of the workout. I have a busy work schedule that i work a few doubles so i probably be taking 2 days off of rest but will pick up were i left off on the program.