Insanity Workout: Anyone try it?

Paully D

Hi guys,

I've started back doing the Insanity programme last week so thought it might give me a bit more encouragement and motivation if I was to post about it here weekly to update my progress too.

I tried it for the first time in the summer of 2012, stuck to the training schedule religiously and saw some great results upon completion. I initially did it with the intention of losing weight, however, I actually put on 1lb but toned up all over and looked/felt so much better. Over the last couple of years I've put everything back on (and then some!) and as a result of other factors along with my lack of commitment I've never stuck to the programme for more than a week or two before bailing out. However, I have some goals/targets in mind now and I'm determined to stick to it. I do find it extremely tough as I'm up very early for work and home very late (it's literally get home, do Insanity, shower, eat and go to bed) and after a long day it's the last thing I want to do, but I know the benefits are worth it and feel so good at the end of each session.

Week 1:

The fit test was a nightmare :pac: I literally struggled to walk around the next day I was so sore, and I posted some pretty poor numbers across all exercises. I felt quite disheartened on Tuesday and Wednesday doing the Plyo and Cardio Power sessions as for the second set of exercises I spent more time staring at the ground and the pool of my own sweat than actually being able to follow Shaun T and co. The stretching session on Thursday was most welcome as my muscles were killing me, but then something changed on Friday and Saturday. I love Pure Cardio anyway as it feels so much quicker than the other sessions but yet just as, if not more, difficult. However, I completed the warm up with minimum need for a quick water break and felt so much stronger doing the exercises. Same on Saturday, I was struggling with the level 1 drills earlier in the week but was getting through 3 sets of the level 2 drills before needing to break at the end of the week.

One thing I do really find boring is the warm up and stretching. Of course it's vital and I understand it's value, but in total it takes up about a third of the session and after going through the programme before, I know exactly what's coming and there's no real variation. I sometimes wish it was possible to jump straight into the circuits but do realise how foolish that would be. :pac:

Diet is obviously key, and while I don't even look at the Insanity specific diet, I know mine needs to change dramatically in line with doing the programme as it did in 2012. I felt I did well with that aspect this week. I had a bit of a slip today, but other than that I had decent breakfast, lunch and dinners for the rest of the week and will post a thread asking for advice with regards to my diet in the forum.

Overall a solid return and I'm hopefully for more of the same in week 2. I'll update next week.

atilladehun

Fair play for getting back into it. I've never done the whole thing through but do try to do a run of them during the year at some stage. Have oyu any examples of what you eat? Do you attempt any of the shakes or just eat clean?

I have to say the warm up and stretch are then things I miss when I'm not doing insanity and doing other things instead. I end up getting tight hips, legs and back and I know I should be stretching properly.

kilburn

Fair play Paully have the same problem myself with motivation past a week or two I have set myself next Monday 1st December to start it again

Have any of you tried it first thing before work. Would imagine it would be too hard to do on an empty stomach

yop

Used to do it around 5.55am It was a killer but felt mighty for the rest of the day. I noticed more weight loss doing it this way.

mikemac1

Gonna start this today, have the week off work.

I actually did the fit test before when I first got the DVD's and was sliding around my wooden floor in my own sweat. So this week I've bought a yoga mat.

Will update next week too!

Can I ask for those of you who live in upstairs apartments with wooden floors do you have a solution for the noise? I wanted to do these before work like 6am as I'm an early riser but that's not fair on the family downstairs and also I don't be home until 8pm and that's late too to be banging on their ceiling.

I have put everything on my tablet and might just head down to a corner of the GAA pitch in the mornings. Would get some strange looks though

dcrosskid

mikemac1 wrote: »

Gonna start this today, have the week off work.

I actually did the fit test before when I first got the DVD's and was sliding around my wooden floor in my own sweat. So this week I've bought a yoga mat.

Will update next week too!

Can I ask for those of you who live in upstairs apartments with wooden floors do you have a solution for the noise? I wanted to do these before work like 6am as I'm an early riser but that's not fair on the family downstairs and also I don't be home until 8pm and that's late too to be banging on their ceiling.

I have put everything on my tablet and might just head down to a corner of the GAA pitch in the mornings. Would get some strange looks though

Might be a stupid suggestion but an old matt, piece of carpet or rugg that you don't mind being sweaty or dirty might take some of the noise away.

kilburn

yop wrote:

Used to do it around 5.55am  It was a killer but felt mighty for the rest of the day. I noticed more weight loss doing it this way.

Did you just tear straight in or have something small beforehand

yop

kilburn wrote: »

Did you just tear straight in or have something small beforehand

Straight in, wouldn't be enough of time to digest anything
Then 2 boiled eggs on my 1.25 hour commute and a litre of water!

Then 2 hours of turbo training on Wednesday nights to follow it up!

EAT THE HOUSE on Thursday.

benny79

its tough going I'm currently on week 7 second week into the max interval ones may god its hard! especially after a days work! haven't missed a day yet, I think the key is to have a good night's sleep at least 8 hours.

yop

benny79 wrote: »

its tough going I'm currently on week 7 second week into the max interval ones may god its hard! especially after a days work! haven't missed a day yet, I think the key is to have a good night's sleep at least 8 hours.

And eating right, your burning anything from 500-750 calories per session, not replacing that will mean you will be zonked by day 3.

Paully D

Week 2 update:

I've felt myself getting much stronger and fitter in week 2. Monday (Cardio Power and Resistance) was probably the toughest day in terms of workout, probably due to me being so exhausted after work, but I've found that I can now burst through almost the whole warm-up without breaking while in week 1 I was taking quick breaks sporadically during it. I'm better able to perform the stretching and I've also found my balance getting better during same too. The biggest highlight of the week for me was on Wednesday (Plyo Cardio Circuit) when I got through two sets of the first circuit without needing to stop. Now to get that to three sets

I thought disaster had struck last night and got a bit of a fright. I went to do a power jump and felt a sharp dart on the right side of my chest upon landing. After that then I was struggling massively with the pain and had to wrap things up early. I was gutted as it was the first time since I started back doing the programme that I hadn't got to the end of a DVD and I never really get injuries, but I just couldn't carry on with the pain. I was fully convinced I had pulled some sort of muscle, but woke up this morning and seemed to be ok. I said I'd give the Pure Cardio a go and to my relief blasted through the session only feeling slight pain when doing the push up jacks and level 2 drills. The rest day tomorrow has come at a good time I feel and hopefully I'll be fine for the fitness test which I am looking forward to on Monday.

Diet was fine this week. I had some crisps and chocolate last night, but have made some changes to my diet and stuck to it well for the rest of the week. I have also downloaded the My Fitness Pal app and have been barcode scanning the food I'm eating etc which tells me I've been under my recommended allowance every day this week apart from yesterday. Weigh day is tomorrow so that will be interesting.

How is everyone else getting on?

EDIT - down 2lbs exactly for the week. Very pleased with that.

FouxDaFaFa

I did my fit test today and had some good numbers (apparently switch kicks are my thing) and some less than impressive ones. Looking forward to seeing what the proper workouts are like.

Paully D

Thought I better update this. It has been a few weeks since I last posted on this thread but I've kept the Insanity up, just finishing the first months workouts today

My final weigh-day for month one is tomorrow morning, but as of last Sunday I had dropped 6.5 pounds in the amount of time I had been doing the programme. I've had to juggle workouts between work, family events, a couple of nights out etc so I haven't stuck to the schedule 100%, but have tried to as best as I can (about 90%, from memory, and have just done workouts instead of the Cardio Recovery on days I have missed).

In terms of the workouts, I'm now at a stage where I can blast through the warmups of them all whereas when I started I was blowing after the first round of warmups! Not going to lie, I still need to take breaks during the circuits but the increase in the amount I can get through now compared to when I started is huge. Fit Test numbers have greatly increased too.

My favourite workouts in month one would be (in order): Pure Cardio, Plyometric Cardio Circuit, Cardio Power and Resistance and finally Cardio Recovery. Ugh, I hate that Cardio Recovery :pac:

On to the recovery week on Monday and all I can remember from that week from the last time I did Insanity properly a couple of years ago is those shoulder burners! I'm dreading them already :pac:

How are things going for everyone else?

asteroids over berlin

Paully D wrote: »

Thought I better update this. It has been a few weeks since I last posted on this thread but I've kept the Insanity up, just finishing the first months workouts today

My final weigh-day for month one is tomorrow morning, but as of last Sunday I had dropped 6.5 pounds in the amount of time I had been doing the programme. I've had to juggle workouts between work, family events, a couple of nights out etc so I haven't stuck to the schedule 100%, but have tried to as best as I can (about 90%, from memory, and have just done workouts instead of the Cardio Recovery on days I have missed).

In terms of the workouts, I'm now at a stage where I can blast through the warmups of them all whereas when I started I was blowing after the first round of warmups! Not going to lie, I still need to take breaks during the circuits but the increase in the amount I can get through now compared to when I started is huge. Fit Test numbers have greatly increased too.

My favourite workouts in month one would be (in order): Pure Cardio, Plyometric Cardio Circuit, Cardio Power and Resistance and finally Cardio Recovery. Ugh, I hate that Cardio Recovery :pac:

On to the recovery week on Monday and all I can remember from that week from the last time I did Insanity properly a couple of years ago is those shoulder burners! I'm dreading them already :pac:

How are things going for everyone else?

I don't do this insanity thing, not sure what to make of it but from what you describe - you are on the right road my friend. I have been working out 4+ days a week for the last 20 years now, i love the gym, i am in and out in less than an hour, fortunate enough to have started young and didn't take much supplements, 90% of the time my diet is good, i do have the odd binge but my body adjusts so fast to losing weight/toning up within a few sessions, it's all experience and perseverance. I admire your dedication, keep it up, you will never regret it. strong!

Paully D

asteroids over berlin wrote: »

I don't do this insanity thing, not sure what to make of it but from what you describe - you are on the right road my friend. I have been working out 4+ days a week for the last 20 years now, i love the gym, i am in and out in less than an hour, fortunate enough to have started young and didn't take much supplements, 90% of the time my diet is good, i do have the odd binge but my body adjusts so fast to losing weight/toning up within a few sessions, it's all experience and perseverance. I admire your dedication, keep it up, you will never regret it. strong!

Thanks man, I appreciate that very much. I have a long, long way to go but the hardest step I find is actually starting and finding a routine. Now that I have that and have started to see results it's a lot easier to keep motivated. Highlight so far has been trying a pair of jeans I bought online during the summer that were too small around my waist actually fit now!

I started the month 2 workouts on Monday after taking 3 or 4 days off for the Christmas binge. These workouts are around 15-20 minutes longer than previously and include a extra circuit (x3). Very, very tough but I think it's safe to say 3 days of the aforementioned has blown away the Christmas cobwebs and I'm back on track in terms of diet too.

I'll update again in a couple of weeks.

Jimmy Iovine

SuprSi wrote: »

I do it every morning, though I've been going to the gym in the morning for years so it wasn't too much of a change. I get up at 6, get my stuff ready for the day and start working out at around 6:30. 30 minutes is enough time for me to wake up properly.

When we first moved over here I was waking up and starting Insanity within 10 minutes due to time constraints - that was not a pleasant experience!!

Morning is the only time that I can really do it.

How do you find the rest of the day?

I'll probably get up at 5 or so and then get it started. I will be cycling to work then. It's a short enough cycle - about 20 minutes - so I'm hoping it won't take too much out of me.

My main problem will be getting everything prepared the night before, as my work involves taking a lot of things from work to home and back in again.

kilburn

Started back today fit test was a disaster 😯

Took my before pictures so gonna use that to drive my motivation, normally quit at the start of week 2

Fart

I'm on this now.

Day 3 tomorrow... bring it on!

I bought bottles recover drinks from an online website alongside some protein bars to supplement some of my meals.

I'm trying to stick to the Elite Diet Plan, so I'll see how it goes.

I didn't bother taking before picture as I don't think I have a need for them.

Good luck to whoever is starting this.

dekbhoy

Hi guys. I don't need to lose weight as my hobby is running long distance but want to get toned and improve overall fitness. I.e. strength. Would insanity work for me or is it mainly for shedding body fat . Thank you

yop

dekbhoy wrote: »

Hi guys. I don't need to lose weight as my hobby is running long distance but want to get toned and improve overall fitness. I.e. strength. Would insanity work for me or is it mainly for shedding body fat . Thank you

If you maintain your calories then you won't shed weight. I found that I maintained weight but trimmed off the inches and toned up.

padzer

Fair play to all that are getting stuck into it, can be tough going. Tried it a couple of years ago and was flying along but a back injury playing ball flared up so had to knock everything on the head for a while. I have a holiday booked in May so decided to get back into it last week. Weighed myself this morning after a week of it and Im 1 kilo lighter.

Ive been doing 5k jogs on my lunch break for the past year, but havent noticed any change in physique, and with xmas n that ive noticed a bit of a spread.

Its all about the diet at the end of the day, mine was fairly terrible, fond of a pizza, love a curry so im finding it hard to keep it clean. Looking through the myfitnesspal app at the moment im on a porridge with fruit breakfast, lunch varies from a chicken/tuna salad n pitta to homemade veg soup n things like that. Dinners have been sweet potato wedges with a chop/chicken fillet/steak and veg.

Can anyone tell me would a homemade curry be the worst thing in the world? or chilli con carne? It is just a load of veg and meat at the end of the day. Also, what can i snack on thats not fruit? A cup of tea isnt the same without a biscuit.

Also, again i get the youngfela off to bed in the evenings its about 830/9 again im starting the workout, so cud anyone recommend sumthing to eat late at night?

Thanks in advance of any help offered.

SuprSi

You're right, it's mainly about the diet. A homemade curry, especially one made with a tin of tomatoes and some spices (rather than a shop-bought jar) can be very healthy. Turkey, chicken or fish would be the best meat to have. For a chilli, if you swap the beef mince with turkey mince it'll be very healthy - again use a tin of tomatoes and lots of seasoning (I use one of the packs of herbs). You'll hardly notice the difference between the beef and turkey and it's much lower in fat.

Snacking is a difficult one, something I haven't really mastered yet. I either don't snack at all, or binge, so most of the time I try not to snack as one thing will lead to another. Nuts are good, though watch the amount as they're very high in calories. Popcorn can be decent too, as long as it's not too salted or loaded with butter! The key is moderation. The chances are that if you're doing Insanity and watching your calories or following the meal plan on a daily basis you'll be able to eat a couple of biscuits or something like that without undoing your hard work.

As for eating late at night - do you eat your dinner before 9pm? If so, I wouldn't recommend you eat anything big after the workout. Go for a protein shake instead, or that and a banana. Keep it simple anyway.

padzer

SuprSi wrote: »

You're right, it's mainly about the diet. A homemade curry, especially one made with a tin of tomatoes and some spices (rather than a shop-bought jar) can be very healthy. Turkey, chicken or fish would be the best meat to have. For a chilli, if you swap the beef mince with turkey mince it'll be very healthy - again use a tin of tomatoes and lots of seasoning (I use one of the packs of herbs). You'll hardly notice the difference between the beef and turkey and it's much lower in fat.

Snacking is a difficult one, something I haven't really mastered yet. I either don't snack at all, or binge, so most of the time I try not to snack as one thing will lead to another. Nuts are good, though watch the amount as they're very high in calories. Popcorn can be decent too, as long as it's not too salted or loaded with butter! The key is moderation. The chances are that if you're doing Insanity and watching your calories or following the meal plan on a daily basis you'll be able to eat a couple of biscuits or something like that without undoing your hard work.

As for eating late at night - do you eat your dinner before 9pm? If so, I wouldn't recommend you eat anything big after the workout. Go for a protein shake instead, or that and a banana. Keep it simple anyway.

Cheers for that.

Theres a fish shop across the road from the job, gona go get a bit at lunch. They days of battering it and deep frying the chips (as delicious as it sounds) are behind me!

The missus wasnt too happy when i did the shopping the other day and l landed home with brown everything and a load of fruit n veg, with zero munchies.

Well i tend to have a later lunch in preparation for the late dinner, cos i wudnt be eating before the workout. So yeah, dinners around 9pm

Ive never had a protein shake before, are they not just for if your pumping iron?

SuprSi

Ideally you should try to eat your dinner earlier, or perhaps do Insanity earlier and eat dinner afterwards. If you do Insanity at 9, by the time you've warmed down and are ready to eat (which for me could be over an hour) it could be 11pm, which is way too late to be eating.

Could you do Insanity in the morning? I only ever do my workouts in the morning and have done so for 8 years or so. It's tough to start with but you end up feeling great afterwards and still have the whole day/evening to do anything else, which is especially important in the summer.

Protein shakes are used to help build muscle, but they also contain clean calories and after a big workout your body will be craving fuel. You could burn around 500 calories doing one Insanity session and as mentioned above, I wouldn't be able to eat a meal for some time after a session, though I could easily drink a double protein shake which would refuel me quickly. I would always follow it up with a proper meal (breakfast) or something that contains carbs (ground oats or similar) when I'd recovered.

padzer

Never actually thought about doing a workout in the morning, would mean a very early start, probably about 630 but yeah it would be getting it out of the way nice and early. And you are right, come the summer im sure there will be things to be doing in the evenings.

Lombardo86

padzer wrote: »

but yeah it would be getting it out of the way nice and early. And you are right, come the summer im sure there will be things to be doing in the evenings.

I don't mean to berate you - its not what i'm doing, but you should try a MINOR shift in attitude towards your training. You should try grow to like the training (The change for me was training in a group rather than alone with headphones, where i did have a similar, get it out of the way mentality. Training in a group now has me looking forward to training and i'm with friends - and we train when we are together. It is a win win.

If you can manage to like it - you will stick with it, and results follow

padzer

Fair enough but my mates are all over the other side of the city though so im flying solo on this one. I do enjoy it, "getting it out of the way" was just an expression, but come the golf season i wont have much spare time in the evenings and a morning workout would be a logical move.

The main reason i was running at lunch was due to being able to fit some sort of workout into my day without having to change much, they have showers in work so its ideal.

SuprSi

It will initially be tough to actually get out of bed, put your sports gear and and get stuck into Insanity. I found that about 20 minutes after I got out of bed I was ready to go and I had plenty of energy - it's the getting out of bed part that was sometimes hard.

I play golf too and when the evenings are long it's an awful shame to not be outside, stuck in a gym or at home - do it in the morning, get your exercise done and you'll have the whole evening to do whatever you want.

2nd Row Donkey

padzer wrote:

Its all about the diet at the end of the day, mine was fairly terrible, fond of a pizza, love a curry so im finding it hard to keep it clean. Looking through the myfitnesspal app at the moment im on a porridge with fruit breakfast, lunch varies from a chicken/tuna salad n pitta to homemade veg soup n things like that. Dinners have been sweet potato wedges with a chop/chicken fillet/steak and veg.

You sound like my double. I have the same problems with clean eating. Mon to Fri ain't so bad but the weekends are a killer. Friday nights on the coach with a bottle of wine or a few cold ones just aren't the same without the salted peanuts or the kettle chips.

padzer wrote:

Also, again i get the youngfela off to bed in the evenings its about 830/9 again im starting the workout, so cud anyone recommend sumthing to eat late at night?

Same here. Getting the wee one off to bed and then a sweaty session on the kitchen floor.

I find your better off not eating afterwards.
So I have my dinner about 6.30 and workout at 8.30-9.30

.. but If I sit down at 10pm with a cup of tea and eat something that only makes it worse. Eating that little bit even if it is only a plain biscuit, piece of fruit or a bowl of cereal only raises the blood sugar levels further which in turn causes more cravings for something sugary or sweet.

2nd Row Donkey

SuprSi wrote:

You could burn around 500 calories doing one Insanity session.

Howya Si

Are the workouts only worth 500 cals?

I tried a bit of googling a few months ago to try and find a guide to them but couldn't find anything definitive.

I usually record mine as about 650-750 but I ve no science behind that really

I have a multi sports watch which records heart rate, gps etc and when I do an interval run with regular sprints .. it comes in around 750 cals and after insanity I'd be considerably more exhausted. ..