Anybody here does Shaun T's Insanity?

[Burkelands]

Finished my last Power Cardio last night. Still a chore for me but I did push myself to do all of the squat hops & push ups during the last section.

I took 3 days off last week, so I'm adding an extra week to month 1. Doing Insanity after 3 days off was rough...I was a puddle of sweat!

I commend you for this! They say that for everyday you miss you should restart that many days earlier from where you left off from. It's the reason I stopped last time, after I missed a week.

The kids gave me their cold so now i'm crossing my fingers that i'll feel ok enough to do tomorrow's double video exercise. Cause I know what you mean about restarting after sometime

... or maybe if you keep going you won't notice that you're sick, cause of all the discomfort that insanity will keep you in.

And speaking of laughing, I just found this great tip while perusing the beachbody boards last night:

Shaun T's Trick for Tight Abs

Keep up the good work everyone

 

[cseca]

fake laugh... hmm... I wonder if you do that in public people will really think you're insane... get it? insane?

hey, you have to forgive me. I had to go to ER 2 days ago to get stupid stitches on my finger. And that means I couldn't do my insanity yesterday. I was really bummed
But I'm back on track today ... with some modification since I can't put pressure on my finger yet.

Hope everyone is having a beautiful weekend!

 

[mjlewis23]

Oh man, stiches on your finger? I whine when I get a paper cut....lol. Good for you for getting back on the wagon though! Just be careful! I've been quite sore this week from taking a few days off last week. But I'm pushing through too.

I'm so glad we are all doing this together. It's nice to post about my progress, or sometimes lack thereof, and hear about all of yours too, and not have someone from Beachbody trying to get me to be a coach under them or sell Shakeology....haha.

Good work all!

 

[ChloroFiend]

Out of curiosity, how feasible is it to do in an apartment? I can't do too much jumping around or heavy impact stuff since I don't want to piss off my neighbors downstairs. P90X is pretty good to go, save for Plyo...that I go downstairs to the workout room and run the video on my iPhone. Are either Insanity or Asylum possible or I would I be downstairs every day?

 

[LuzzBightyear]

I have completed the full Insanity program once and have done individual workouts multiple times. I have very much mixed opinions on the program.

On the positive side, I must say it is a great program for improving cardiovascular conditioning. I find Shaun T motivational and encouraging. Overall, the program does get you in shape like the infomercial says it does. My clothes felt looser and I saw real improvements in the fit tests.

However, the more I learn and experience about proper form and methodology, the more I think the instructor doesn’t really know what he is doing and the potential for injury is needlessly high. My first big beef is that plyometrics (jump training) is frequently used at the point of exhaustion. This leads to an increased possibility of people using improper form and subsequently getting hurt. The point of plyometrics is to increase explosive strength, and ideally you should be given a short break (a few seconds at least) between moves to rest, recompose, and get ready for next rep. My second beef is that there is no real warm-up. You are supposed to bring your heart rate up slowly and work up to a point that is still less intense than the main workout. The Insanity warm up fails to do this as you go full tilt from the get go. I mentioned heart rate, which is another beef of mine. How often does Shaun T tell you to check your heart rate? All the time. He makes you think it is something very important to be monitored, which it is for many people. However, not once in the entire program does he actually tell you, even in general concepts, of what you should be looking for. I would hazard that many people doing this program would not know what zone they should be in. Finally, the last gripe (that I can think of) of this program is the use of static stretching at the beginning of the workout. While it used to be the conventional norm to do this, the static, isometric stretch Shaun T does before the “main workout” is actually detrimental. Not only has it shown to reduce performance, but it also promotes joint instability and could lead to injury. Dynamic stretching is much preferred. Here is an article that goes over much of what I talked about.

So would I do the Insanity program again? Possibly, but I would make the following modifications: I would do my own warm-up that brings my heart rate slowly up and that incorporated dynamic stretching. I would treat Shaun T’s "warmup" as part of the main workout. I would skip over the whole static stretching bit. And I would definitely take my time doing any of the jump moves.

Just my 2 cents...

 

[cseca]

Oh man, stiches on your finger? I whine when I get a paper cut....lol. Good for you for getting back on the wagon though! Just be careful! I've been quite sore this week from taking a few days off last week. But I'm pushing through too.

I'm so glad we are all doing this together. It's nice to post about my progress, or sometimes lack thereof, and hear about all of yours too, and not have someone from Beachbody trying to get me to be a coach under them or sell Shakeology....haha.

Good work all!

Hehe... trust me when I say that the Phys Asst at the ER knew in advance that I was a wuss because I told him many times before he stuck me with needles...

I'm glad too!

Out of curiosity, how feasible is it to do in an apartment? I can't do too much jumping around or heavy impact stuff since I don't want to piss off my neighbors downstairs. P90X is pretty good to go, save for Plyo...that I go downstairs to the workout room and run the video on my iPhone. Are either Insanity or Asylum possible or I would I be downstairs every day?

hmm... I'd say that most of the times you'll be downstairs. There are LOTS of jumping in this program. If not jumping at least jogging type and foot drills. Except for the cardio recovery. No jumping in this dvd.

I don't know about Asylum tho. I don't know if I want to know really...

I have completed the full Insanity program once and have done individual workouts multiple times. I have very much mixed opinions on the program.

On the positive side, I must say it is a great program for improving cardiovascular conditioning. I find Shaun T motivational and encouraging. Overall, the program does get you in shape like the infomercial says it does. My clothes felt looser and I saw real improvements in the fit tests.

However, the more I learn and experience about proper form and methodology, the more I think the instructor doesn’t really know what he is doing and the potential for injury is needlessly high. My first big beef is that plyometrics (jump training) is frequently used at the point of exhaustion. This leads to an increased possibility of people using improper form and subsequently getting hurt. The point of plyometrics is to increase explosive strength, and ideally you should be given a short break (a few seconds at least) between moves to rest, recompose, and get ready for next rep. My second beef is that there is no real warm-up. You are supposed to bring your heart rate up slowly and work up to a point that is still less intense than the main workout. The Insanity warm up fails to do this as you go full tilt from the get go. I mentioned heart rate, which is another beef of mine. How often does Shaun T tell you to check your heart rate? All the time. He makes you think it is something very important to be monitored, which it is for many people. However, not once in the entire program does he actually tell you, even in general concepts, of what you should be looking for. I would hazard that many people doing this program would not know what zone they should be in. Finally, the last gripe (that I can think of) of this program is the use of static stretching at the beginning of the workout. While it used to be the conventional norm to do this, the static, isometric stretch Shaun T does before the “main workout” is actually detrimental. Not only has it shown to reduce performance, but it also promotes joint instability and could lead to injury. Dynamic stretching is much preferred. Here is an article that goes over much of what I talked about.

So would I do the Insanity program again? Possibly, but I would make the following modifications: I would do my own warm-up that brings my heart rate slowly up and that incorporated dynamic stretching. I would treat Shaun T’s "warmup" as part of the main workout. I would skip over the whole static stretching bit. And I would definitely take my time doing any of the jump moves.

Just my 2 cents...

I always wonder about his type of warmup/stretches. Seems different than lots of other dvds I've done before... thanks for the info.

After getting hurt from ramping up too fast training for a 5k, I learn to really pay attn to my forms and forget speed.
Really appreciate your input on this.

 

[cseca]

Well I made it to the "recovery" week...
Although I agree with a lot of the reviews when they say it's misleading to say recovery. It is recovery only because we've been doing some crazy stuff before that...

I hope all you guys are doing well too!

 

[Burkelands]

Finally, the last gripe (that I can think of) of this program is the use of static stretching at the beginning of the workout. While it used to be the conventional norm to do this, the static, isometric stretch Shaun T does before the “main workout” is actually detrimental. Not only has it shown to reduce performance, but it also promotes joint instability and could lead to injury. Dynamic stretching is much preferred. Here is an article that goes over much of what I talked about.

Thanks for the tips. Added some of the dynamic stretches before the videos, and it seems to have helped in not being as sore afterward. Hopefully this will continue past recovery week.

Well I made it to the "recovery" week...
Although I agree with a lot of the reviews when they say it's misleading to say recovery. It is recovery only because we've been doing some crazy stuff before that...

I hope all you guys are doing well too!

I agree recovery week was weird, but a welcomed change of pace. I did like how he was go through each drill before doing them, giving a lot of mini-break!

Glad to be finally done with mummy kicks. Thinking I'll do my fit test soon, and then my first max workout later in the day.

Hope everyone is doing well! Keep it up!!!

 

[mjlewis23]

In my final week before recovery!

Burkelands, I was wondering about you. Let us know how the first workout of the second month goes! Call me crazy, but I love the mummy kicks...haha.

I'm kind of disappointed that there has been NO weight loss whatsoever so far, and no noticible slimming of pretty much anything. However, I did take pics last night and my rear end is much higher and smoother than it was when I started...so yay for that!

I'm really hoping I can get rid of some of this unneccessary belly fat soon!

Great job all!

 

[cseca]

Yay everyone!!!
Today was my last day of recovery as well.
Tomorrow is off and then I'll loop on the first month again... urgh...

mjlewis, no weight loss for me as well but my diet has been a mess lately with the stress going on in the house.
I'm p.o-ed but it's noone else's fault but mine

Anyways, burkelands I'm with mjlewis... wanna know what you think about the second month!!!!

 

[MinnieDiva]

I just started insanity today. I opened the box and couldn't figure out what the fit test was, so went to day 2 and slid in that DVD. I have no intention of powering it out in 60 days as I'm using this as an alternative in between running days. I can see how it's going to strengthen muscles and perhaps help my running speed. I LOVED today's workout, and can't wait for the next one, which sadly isn't going to be tomorrow .

 

[mjlewis23]

Well the scale finally moved, and I'm down 3 lbs! But, best of all, I just reallized, I HAVE ABS!!!! Holy cow....I never thought I would see those again after 2 kids. I'm so motivated now to press on into my recovery week next week and on to month 2, which frankly scares the daylights out of me.

Hope all is well with everyone else!

 

[cseca]

I just started insanity today. I opened the box and couldn't figure out what the fit test was, so went to day 2 and slid in that DVD. I have no intention of powering it out in 60 days as I'm using this as an alternative in between running days. I can see how it's going to strengthen muscles and perhaps help my running speed. I LOVED today's workout, and can't wait for the next one, which sadly isn't going to be tomorrow .

Welcome to the Insanity club...
There should be a DVD labeled Fit Test. Basically it's just a way to gauge your improvement during the program. They want us to do the test every 2 to 3 weeks or so.

Well the scale finally moved, and I'm down 3 lbs! But, best of all, I just reallized, I HAVE ABS!!!! Holy cow....I never thought I would see those again after 2 kids. I'm so motivated now to press on into my recovery week next week and on to month 2, which frankly scares the daylights out of me.

Hope all is well with everyone else!

Sweet! You can see your abs?
I haven't seen abs in who knows how long. With my DS I ballooned so big so fast it was rather humorous. Plus I had to get a C section so my stomach muscle pretty non existent (plus the flabby skin ... TMI eh? ) ... oh well.

Today I did NOT have any motivation to do insanity, so I did running instead.
Amazingly enough I can run 1.5mi without stopping
The best I've done before insanity was about 1mi. So this is a big deal.
The only reason I stopped is because my knees starting to hurt (have bad knees). I think I could've gone another half mile.
I'm so excited!
Makes me more motivated to do another Insanity tomorrow

 

[MinnieDiva]

Welcome to the Insanity club...
There should be a DVD labeled Fit Test. Basically it's just a way to gauge your improvement during the program.

I found it today . Doesn't mean I did it, tho... DH did day 3 with me today. He whined like a girl the whole time. I had a bunch of muscles that were still sore from the last workout. I'm hoping that I'll feel better tomorrow! Still.....GREAT workout!

 

[cseca]

I found it today . Doesn't mean I did it, tho... DH did day 3 with me today. He whined like a girl the whole time. I had a bunch of muscles that were still sore from the last workout. I'm hoping that I'll feel better tomorrow! Still.....GREAT workout!

That's funny... although I was the same way the first 2 weeks on the program. Hehe...

 

[Burkelands]

Hey everyone,

Sorry I've been absent. Went out of town last week for work. Definitely a pain doing the videos in my hotel room. Something about doing the exercises on carpet that puts me off.

So, as I'm sure you've all learned by now, these videos are hell! However, it seems that these are the videos that really change your body, with the first set just a preparation for these exercises.

The first one I did last week made me feel the same way as I did when I did the first workout. Now that I'm 1.5 weeks in, it's starting to get better. Only 2.5 weeks left!!!! Getting very excited.

Now ... has anyone noticed Shaun T.'s stunt double on Max Plyo?

 

[mjlewis23]

Hi all! I've taken "recovery week" a little too seriously, so I am dreading Monday when I start month 2. But, I've come this far, so I am not giving up that easy!

Sweet! You can see your abs?
I haven't seen abs in who knows how long. With my DS I ballooned so big so fast it was rather humorous. Plus I had to get a C section so my stomach muscle pretty non existent (plus the flabby skin ... TMI eh? ) ... oh well.

Today I did NOT have any motivation to do insanity, so I did running instead.
Amazingly enough I can run 1.5mi without stopping
The best I've done before insanity was about 1mi. So this is a big deal.
The only reason I stopped is because my knees starting to hurt (have bad knees). I think I could've gone another half mile.
I'm so excited!
Makes me more motivated to do another Insanity tomorrow

Well......I can see a glimpse of my former abs, but that's good enough motivation for me! It gives me hope that there actually are muscles somewhere under there! (although I completely feel ya on the flabby skin...seems that's never going to go away!)

Great job on the 1.5mi! I don't think I could do that on my best day!

Hey everyone,

So, as I'm sure you've all learned by now, these videos are hell! However, it seems that these are the videos that really change your body, with the first set just a preparation for these exercises.

The first one I did last week made me feel the same way as I did when I did the first workout. Now that I'm 1.5 weeks in, it's starting to get better. Only 2.5 weeks left!!!! Getting very excited.

Now ... has anyone noticed Shaun T.'s stunt double on Max Plyo?

Eek! I'm scared of starting "hell month"! We can do it though!!! Are you serious? Even Shaun T. needs a stunt double? That means I'll need a stunt double 1/2 way through !

Keep us posted! Can't wait to report on Monday how I do!

 

[MinnieDiva]

I've gotten over the "holy crap, this is going to kill me" phase, I think. Two of the workouts just didn't feel like enough (time wise, I guess, my runs are usually an hour plus), so I ventured into the cardio abs. Wow! And ouch! Not a sit-up or crunch in the bunch and yet..... I was moderately sore after the 1st time I did it; it'll be interesting to see what tomorrow morning brings..

 

[Burkelands]

The penultimate week has begun! Fortunately it's also the last time I have to do a fit test and a work out in the same day.!!!

My newest warning is in regards to Max Sports Training (I think it's called). Make sure you do your stretches before you start the video. For some reason they skip stretches at the beginning. Also, this video is not like any other session, so keep that in mind too!

Hope everyone's doing well ... only 12 more workout days for me!!!

 

[cush1]

Your posts have helped me in my decision whether or not to do this workout. I have some issues with a muscle in my lower back. I think I will start with something less intense and work my way up to it.