Insanity Workout: Anyone try it?

2nd Row Donkey

Rossin wrote: »

do you just listen to it or have you it propped up somewhere in the gym for you to watch? id much prefer to do it in the gym then at home, could fall into the swimming pool after

Propred up on one of those plastic step things they use in the step aerobic classes ... you know yourself, after a while you know the routines and know whats coming next. I think I use it for the timing as much as anything.

And for Shaun T's catch phases of course!:D:D

SuprSi

I used to put them on my phone too, with a mp3 of the videos in my headphones so I didn't need to have the volume on the phone.

2nd Row Donkey

Is there anything camper than those - 'over the river jumps' in max conditioning??? No way I'm doing those in a gym full of people. Ha.

siblers

Actually wonder what the benefit of them is, same with stuff like power knees and jabs/uppercuts etc. Good way of getting a breather though

2nd Row Donkey

Yeah. There's one or two exercises that are definitely in there for a breather.

That other one where you stand sideways, upright, throw 2 jabs then switch sides and do the same again...

SuprSi

One big and annoying difference between months 1 & 2 - injuries! I'm on my 3rd week, but two of them have been shortened due to injuries. A slight groin strain and now an upper thigh strain. Both are stopping me from working out so I'll have to wait until next week to carry on.

In the full 7 weeks I was doing the 1st month (I repeated a week every time I missed a day) I never once got injured, so I don't know if it's the extra length of the workouts or what, or maybe I just need some more adjusting. Next week is a short week but hopefully I'll get through the full week after that.

2nd Row Donkey

I think I know what you mean. Just completed week 7 for first time ever and I definitely picked up a few niggles that I didnt get in weeks 1 to 5.
In week 6 I was doing that exercise (cant recall the name) but its the one where you sprint on the spot and do 4 consecutive lunges then sprint again ... jayzus my groin nearly popped during it.

I've played rugby for over 15 years and many's a time I jumped off a bus and straight onto the pitch on an away game without so much as stretch or a warm up and I was grand but those lunges near killed me! :eek:

Roddy23

How you's getting on lads? Been at the workouts the last 2 weeks or so and genuinely can feel things beginning to get better. First week was tough, second week more about consolidating some fitness and this week hopefully will go much the same as last week.

Weight hasn't come off as much as I'd hoped but I'm finding I can get the exercises completed a lot better than before. Hoping to drop about 5-7kgs once the 60days are finished so a good bit of work to go.

siblers

Roddy23 wrote: »

How you's getting on lads? Been at the workouts the last 2 weeks or so and genuinely can feel things beginning to get better. First week was tough, second week more about consolidating some fitness and this week hopefully will go much the same as last week.

Weight hasn't come off as much as I'd hoped but I'm finding I can get the exercises completed a lot better than before. Hoping to drop about 5-7kgs once the 60days are finished so a good bit of work to go.

Really good, i'm doing the 2nd month stuff and definitley getting fitter, even playing soccer i can really feel the improvement in my fitness. I hate the Insane Abs workout though, for what requires no jumping or squats etc, it's seriously hard.

2nd Row Donkey

Finished it last week. Going on hols tomorrow and hoping to do the exercises every other day while I'm away. Lost just shy of 10kg in total. But I was doing a fair bit of weights in the last 3 weeks so not sure if that has helped me lose more or less than I would have on pure insanity.

Cardio wise I'd say I'm in the best shape I've ever been in. My the end of the last week I wasn't finding the workouts very tough (except for the abs stuff obviously).

Ran 14km the other day I could have done another 2k comfortably. Doing a half marathon on the August bank holiday weekend and reckon I'll do 3 or 4 insanity workouts a week and one long run at the weekends and that should be sufficient.

2nd Row Donkey

Roddy23 wrote: »

How you's getting on lads? Been at the workouts the last 2 weeks or so and genuinely can feel things beginning to get better. First week was tough, second week more about consolidating some fitness and this week hopefully will go much the same as last week.

Weight hasn't come off as much as I'd hoped but I'm finding I can get the exercises completed a lot better than before. Hoping to drop about 5-7kgs once the 60days are finished so a good bit of work to go.

You should see some changes in week 3. That's when I saw them them anyway. Lost 5kg by end of week 3, then kind of plateaud for a couple of weeks then dropped around a kilo a week in the last 4 weeks.

You need a decent diet too. Pointless burning 700 calories in a workout and then eating 500 cals of chocolate or biscuits afterwards.

SuprSi

Today I completed the Max Interval training (month 2) from start to finish, every exercise, for the first time. I was surprised as I thought yesterday took too much out of me and although the last circuit nearly killed me, I made it

siblers

SuprSi wrote: »

Today I completed the Max Interval training (month 2) from start to finish, every exercise, for the first time. I was surprised as I thought yesterday took too much out of me and although the last circuit nearly killed me, I made it

Fair play. That is a serious workout but you'll be surprised how much more you will progress within another month! I found that workout seriously tough, especially those fecking squat jumps you do straight after the warm up, now I can do them almost at the same pace as the guys on the DVD.

SuprSi

siblers wrote: »

Fair play. That is a serious workout but you'll be surprised how much more you will progress within another month! I found that workout seriously tough, especially those fecking squat jumps you do straight after the warm up, now I can do them almost at the same pace as the guys on the DVD.

It was tough, but it was great getting it done. I tried the Max Plyo again this morning and I just can't see myself ever being able to do 45 seconds of power jumps or power push-ups!! Still, at least nobody on the video does it either so I won't feel too bad about it!

allybhoy

Have heard good things about this from a friend of mine and he gave me a lend of it. Going to give it a go next week. Just a quick question for those who have done it, could you mix other work with it or will you be so tired that its best not to? I currently play football twice a week and go the gym 2-3 times a week (weights mostly) as it is. Is adding this on top of that too much? My friend only done Insanity, he advised against doing anytihng but he was starting from scratch basically where as i have a moderate level of fitness...i think!

Rossin

try one of the workouts and you'll get a better idea

allybhoy

Rossin wrote: »

try one of the workouts and you'll get a better idea

Im going to give them a whirl over the weekend but i heard after the 2nd month it ramps up something fierce, ah sure ill give it a go anyway

yop

allybhoy wrote: »

Im going to give them a whirl over the weekend but i heard after the 2nd month it ramps up something fierce, ah sure ill give it a go anyway

1st week you will find hard going, 2nd week you will find better as you will understand the exercises and stretches, so you will soon know if you are fit for more than just insanity on a daily basis.
I started back cycling 3 days a week along with the Insanity training after 2 weeks.
Month 2 is interesting, warms ups used to wear me out!

SuprSi

The great thing I found about the first month is that even though the sessions are really tough, I never felt sore after them, just tired. I never had any muscle aches or even minor injuries so I reckon I could have played some sport. I don't know if I could have mixed any weights though as there's a lot of press-ups and stuff that rely heavily on your chest and shoulders.

The 2nd month is totally different though. For the first week of it I actually felt tired and sore. I also picked up a couple of injuries which hampered my progress. I definitely couldn't have done additional exercise but now that I'm a few weeks into it reckon I could.

You'll find out pretty quickly the impact it has on you and will be able to easily tell what you can handle.

siblers

allybhoy wrote: »

Have heard good things about this from a friend of mine and he gave me a lend of it. Going to give it a go next week. Just a quick question for those who have done it, could you mix other work with it or will you be so tired that its best not to? I currently play football twice a week and go the gym 2-3 times a week (weights mostly) as it is. Is adding this on top of that too much? My friend only done Insanity, he advised against doing anytihng but he was starting from scratch basically where as i have a moderate level of fitness...i think!

I do weight training 5-6 times a week, play soccer once a week and I do insanity 4-5 times a week.I find it hard to do insanity the day after soccer as i'd be quite stiff but I've done insanity in the morning and then played soccer that night with no real difficulty. I used to do insanity first and then go to the gym after, but doing the gym first and insanity after I found to work slightly better. It'll be trial and error before you realise the best way to get the 3 of them going.

Month 2 is pretty tough for the first week but after a while you just kinda take it for granted.

2nd Row Donkey

It can defo be done if you do Insanity in the morning and the other exercise at night or vice versa. Not sure you could do the full 60 day challenge that way but you could do 3 or 4 days a week that way.

Just make sure u take your rest days properly though.

allybhoy

Cheers guys, I start tonight with the fitness test I think. Im meant to be going the gym tomorrow Thursday and Saturday mornings at 7am, and have a match on Weds evening... I usually do 30 mins Cardio and roughly 60 mins weights training in the gym, i might cut thegym cardio back if i feel tired as i dont want to pick up any injuries, i cant cut footie unfortunately.

Also, one last question, what happens if you miss a day... say for example i missed Weds, do i do Weds workout on Thursday and take WEds as my rest day instead of sunday?

Im obviously going to try my best not to miss a day but im sure there will be the odd day where i cant do it. Thursdays for example will be a struggle to fit it in because i go the gym Thursday mornings and then have college after work till 10pm and dont get home till 10:45pm... Would you be able to do two videos in one d day maybe or is that mental? Like do one video...half an hours rest and then another video?

I really dont want to skip the gym as I go with one of my mates and he needs me to spot etc etc.

Rossin

did you try one of the workouts yet?

id be very surprised if you can keep up all of what you're doing

I see some people on the thread would repeat a week if they missed a day, its up to you i guess

allybhoy

Rossin wrote: »

did you try one of the workouts yet?

id be very surprised if you can keep up all of what you're doing

I see some people on the thread would repeat a week if they missed a day, its up to you i guess

Nope not yet...starting tonight, I suppose ill just play it by ear and if its too much doing everything ill just do really light weights in the gym or else drop it altogether. I have a half decent level of fitness \ strength so im hoping that it will stand to me but i may be wrong.

Repeat a whole week if you miss one video? :eek: I was just going to swap my rest days around instead.. so say if i miss Weds, ill do Weds video on Sunday etc etc. I cant really repeat a week as im heading away on hols in September so want to get it over and done with before then.

Rossin

just keep going os, its really up to yourself. its quite tough, it'll be interesting to see how much you can keep on with it!

allybhoy

Rossin wrote: »

just keep going os, its really up to yourself. its quite tough, it'll be interesting to see how much you can keep on with it!

Cheers, I will try update this thread as often as i can to keep track of progress and it also might make me more determined to not skip a class. Iv read a few blogs online of insanity so i have a fair idea of what im in for... a lot of pain and torture! But he who dares roders.

niceoneted

Started this few weeks back. On day 23 later today. Even was away in first week and took discs and did sessions. My friends thought I was mad!! Insane more like! Anyway finding like some others hat I am really tired during it and for about hour or two after. I am very bad at doing anything that involves a push up but getting bit better. Had hoped to notice a change by now. Put on few pounds in first few weeks but was down 3 lbs from start date on week 4 start. Hoping this will continue downwards. Not overly watching what I eat but have fairly good diet. I did marathon last October and was quite fit but took some time off after then to be hit with having surgery so have had a fair few sedentary months - feel lie whole body went to flab!!! I'll keep pushing through.

allybhoy

So quick update, done the fitness test last night, went hell for leather on each exercise, no idea if my results were good or bad, some of them were fairly tough, sweat was pumping. Also found it hard to keep a note of how many i was doing as i was doing them. Think i messed up the first few as i was meant to divide them by two...not sure. Went for a 30 min quick jog about an hour afterwards just to loosen up, legs a little tired today but nothing crazy, my abs are slightly tight aswell, but again not too sore. I went the gym this morning and done a very light arms workout, mainly biceps and triceps looking forward to plyometric cardio circuit tonight...although i have a match 2moro so im hoping its not too hard.

Just an aside from that, i done it last night on wooden floors, sweat was rolling off me and i found myself slipping quite a bit, i had to take my runners off during one of the breaks and just do it in my bare feet as i had no traction whatsoever. Do you guys do it on carpet etc or wooden floors like me?

SuprSi

I have wooden floors too so use a yoga mat. It's not fully wide enough so I'm still dripping sweat on the floor, but it at least stops me from slipping all over the place during the workout.

Rossin

i kept a towel handy the few sessions i tried

allybhoy

SuprSi wrote: »

I have wooden floors too so use a yoga mat. It's not fully wide enough so I'm still dripping sweat on the floor, but it at least stops me from slipping all over the place during the workout.

Think my mam has a yoga mat somewhere, might collect it off her and try that, i had a towel down but again I was sliding around on that aswell, i found it slightly easier in my bare feet then with runners on.

2nd Row Donkey

I do mine in the kitchen which is tiled and it is lethal. I use a yoga mat type thing which helps cushion the impact on jumps etc but it no use for sweat especially if your moving around a lot like suicides, globe jumps, moving press ups etc.

I've done workouts on wooden floors and gymnastics mats and they aren't much better. Went to tymon park and the back garden and grass is just as bad for traction on some exercises. (Not to mention the weird scenario were loads [40 plus] earth worms came up beneath me during two back garden workouts)

Best thing is defo carpet ..

allybhoy

Ok, Day three update for anyone who is remotely interested.
Was a tougher workout than the fit-test but also more enjoyable, was going great guns up until the last set of of exercises, Ski Abs and in-and out abs really had me struggling and had to to take a break at that stage was glad when the warmdown came. Not too bad today, abs a little tight as are my calves but nothing too painful, i have a match after work today thoguh so i might swap tomorrows and todays workout, depending on how i feel when i get home. If im up for it ill do tonights but from what i read online its pretty intense and i dont want to over do it.

allybhoy

Ok, Day four, again sorry if im spamming the thread etc etc.

Played a match yesterday after work, got home about half 9 or so.... was seriously debating whether to do the video as i was shattered but as there was no world cup on i said sure give it a go and see how you get on. Was dreading it as from what ive read this was some peoples least favourite workout in the first month, but once i started the warm up I actually enjoyed this one more than the previous two days workout. The warmup he does is really good, its not too hectic but really gets the blood flowing and sets you up nicely for whats to come even if your a little stiff and sore. I didnt go all guns blazing but i finished every exercise and didnt take as many breaks as i thought i would at the start, the only one i really struggled with was moving push ups, im ashamed to say after the first set i gave up on them and just done normal push ups instead, wasnt able for them at all, very tough.

Today, my calves quads and hammys are throbbing, I went the gym this morning before work and done arms and chest and had to drop the weights down a bit below what i normally do, Energy Levels are low, I think I might be over doing it a tad, but at least today is the recovery day so im looking forward to that one and then go back at it tomorrow. Going to give the gym a rest for a few days aswell otherwise ill burn myself out. Sunday cant come quick enough

Roddy23

You'll feel great after the Cardio Recovery. I even do the recovery workout now if I've had a tough match, or been working out too hard.

I've actually taken this week off from Insanity and am going to get back into it next week. Going to restart week 3 from Monday onwards and this thread has been a nice bit of motivation reading how others are getting on.

SuprSi

I found the some of the cardio recovery workout really difficult, like holding that low squat for a minute - no chance!! Same with the lunges - while I could do the lunges themselves and the pulses, I couldn't hold the position for any more than a few seconds.

2nd Row Donkey

Yeah, keep the updates coming lads, I find them very useful.

Back from holidays now, worked out 8 out of 14 days and just did random month 1 workouts while I was away. Found them tough ... The feed of beer and cocktails the night before didnt help.

not sure what to do next ... rugby training starts again soon so that 3 times a week. Might just keep the workouts going on the other nights to keep the cardio ticking over and to counter act my choc hob nob addiction.

2nd Row Donkey

Alleybhoy ... have I got this right. You do weights in the morning, play a match after work and then do an insanity workout before bed?

Fair play if you can keep that up and do insanity 6 days a week. I'll be even more impressed if you can keep it up in month #2

I think you also mentioned something a few pages back about cardio workouts in your weekly routine. I think you can safely knock them on the head if your doing insanity workouts every day. They should be more than enough to supplement your cardio...

siblers

allybhoy wrote: »

Ok, Day four, again sorry if im spamming the thread etc etc.

Played a match yesterday after work, got home about half 9 or so.... was seriously debating whether to do the video as i was shattered but as there was no world cup on i said sure give it a go and see how you get on. Was dreading it as from what ive read this was some peoples least favourite workout in the first month, but once i started the warm up I actually enjoyed this one more than the previous two days workout. The warmup he does is really good, its not too hectic but really gets the blood flowing and sets you up nicely for whats to come even if your a little stiff and sore. I didnt go all guns blazing but i finished every exercise and didnt take as many breaks as i thought i would at the start, the only one i really struggled with was moving push ups, im ashamed to say after the first set i gave up on them and just done normal push ups instead, wasnt able for them at all, very tough.

Today, my calves quads and hammys are throbbing, I went the gym this morning before work and done arms and chest and had to drop the weights down a bit below what i normally do, Energy Levels are low, I think I might be over doing it a tad, but at least today is the recovery day so im looking forward to that one and then go back at it tomorrow. Going to give the gym a rest for a few days aswell otherwise ill burn myself out. Sunday cant come quick enough

You might want to come up with some type of schedule, you'll end up being completley knackered if you keep up at that rate and you'll end up doing less instead of more in the long run. From my own experience, I wouldn't play soccer and do insanity in the same day and it works well, there were some occasions where I did as I was bored and had plenty of energy but the next day i'd be too fecked to do anything.

allybhoy

2nd Row Donkey wrote: »

Alleybhoy ... have I got this right. You do weights in the morning, play a match after work and then do an insanity workout before bed?

Fair play if you can keep that up and do insanity 6 days a week. I'll be even more impressed if you can keep it up in month #2

I think you also mentioned something a few pages back about cardio workouts in your weekly routine. I think you can safely knock them on the head if your doing insanity workouts every day. They should be more than enough to supplement your cardio...

Well that was the Weds\Thurs yes and i was shattered yesterday from it, even putting the cardio recovery video on and going through it was a struggle. After the match I was pretty tired but I didnt want to skip a video after such a short period of time. Im not even a week in and im learning all the time to be honest about what i can and cant do, Weds \ Thurs was probably my limit, I heard it ramps up after day 36 so yeh I doubt ill be able to keep going as I am.

I usually go the gym 3 times a week, twice midweek and then Saturday mornings, this week it was Tues \ Thurs mornings. Before i started Insanity i would do 30-40mins cardio in the gym, either a spin class or threadmill \ bike etc then roughly an hour of weights, but ive dropped the cardio from my routine completely. I really dont want to drop the gym as i go with my best mate and have been going for a good while together, Thursday morning we were doing arms and chest and I had to lower the weights right down but I got through it.

Again, i cant give up the football, but its only 1 game a week, I retired from football last season so i wont have a preseason this summer so thats one of the reasons I took insanity up.

So far all the insanity workouts (IMO) have been focused on the legs and not too bad on the arms. Maybe its because of football or spin classes but my legs would have been fairly strong prior to Insanity so I think thats why im not too bad and would have an advantage over someone who is just starting it with no base fitness etc. For example ive read online people complaining about the squats, power jacks globe jumps, mountain climbers etc and I find these relatively easy..well maybe easy is the wrong word, do-able might be better. What im trying to say is, ive done some of these exercises before, either in a gym or at football training so they arent as daunting to me as they would be to somebody who has never done them or used that part of their muscle before.. Obviously as the sessions ramp up and the workouts get more intensive Im expecting this will change.

By the way, im reading this back, and it sounds to me anyways that im making it out like im in great shape and im a beefcake, im not! Hence the whole reason for doing Insanity in the first place. Like most people i have a bit of timber that im trying to shift from too bad a diet \ alcohol etc, Decided 9 months ago that I wanted to get in better shape and joined the gym started to eat better and have lost a bit since then. Funny thing is when i was playing ball and training twice weekly I nevr watched my diet so was putting on weight even though i was playing football and was fit cardio wise if that makes sense. Because i trained hard and played matches i thoguht i could eat what i wanted, but i couldnt.

ispini1984

Hi All, decided to take plunge and do Insanity to trim down the timber.

just completed fitness test - day one.

my body didn't know what hit it, I did bootcamp last summer to winter so had a fair idea of what to do with the exercises. feck me its tough, but onwards and upwards

allybhoy

Update.

Friday was pure cardio, done it as soon as i got in from work, really enjoyed this video, it was high intensity and got the heart rate going. Probably my favorite one so far.

Saturday, Plyometric Cardio, didnt really enjoy this video the second time around, my energy levels were fairly low Saturday, went the gym saturday morning for weights and done the video at about 4pm Saturday afternoon. Struggled through it to be honest and was glad of the rest day yesterday as i had the mother of all hangovers.

ispini1984

Day two yesterday round 2pm

Tough but the exercises are simple to follow which is good.

It was a quick 40 odd mins, sweated buckets but felt good after it.

Day three to follow

ispini1984

not long after finishing day 3 cardio.

them fecking head shoulder push up yokes, I kept falling over :o

good workout, its very manageable compared to what I think is going to be ahead of me

onwards as they say

niceoneted

I'm really struggling with it all in terms of impact. I'm putting my all into it. Got to day 26. I really am not feeling any fitter - although I can keep going for longer am quicker, and can do the push ups now which I couldn't in first 3 weeks. Not seeing any difference in shape or weight. Am getting frustrated. Had to go away these last few days so going to repeat Wed to sat of last week ie week 4 this week .

SuprSi

niceoneted wrote: »

I'm really struggling with it all in terms of impact. I'm putting my all into it. Got to day 26. I really am not feeling any fitter - although I can keep going for longer am quicker, and can do the push ups now which I couldn't in first 3 weeks. Not seeing any difference in shape or weight. Am getting frustrated. Had to go away these last few days so going to repeat Wed to sat of last week ie week 4 this week .

This has to be a diet thing. You'll be burning quite a lot of calories during each session, depending on how hard you're having to work. If you're not seeing any physical changes after the 1st month, you need to look at what you're eating.

As for the fitness thing, the fact that you're able to go for longer is a big indicator of improving fitness.

Are you tracking your calorie intake at all? Are you following the meal plan that comes with Insanity?

allybhoy

SuprSi wrote: »

This has to be a diet thing. You'll be burning quite a lot of calories during each session, depending on how hard you're having to work. If you're not seeing any physical changes after the 1st month, you need to look at what you're eating.

As for the fitness thing, the fact that you're able to go for longer is a big indicator of improving fitness.

Are you tracking your calorie intake at all? Are you following the meal plan that comes with Insanity?

I would agree with this, you probably need to look at your diet. If you can go longer and harder then you are fitter than you were before you started, if your not getting the results you want then definitely look at your diet. I use the myfitnesspal to track my calories, I dont stick to the diet that comes with it but i am watching what i am eating. I cut back on my alcohol consumption a few weeks ago aswell just to give myself the best results from insanity. Im not off the drink altogether but I dont drink as often \ much as i used to.

Also, you mightnt see it on the scales but are you noticing it in clothes? For example have you got an item of clothing that was previously tight that you havent tried on in a few months? Maybe try it on again and see how it fits. Over the last 4 weeks or so ive gone down a size in jeans, i havent lost a huge amount on the scales though but im a lot slimmer than i was before. this isnt all down to Insanity as im only a week in to the program but combined with my diet and going the gym i am seeing results.

Also did you take pix of yourself without clothes on before you started? If not, take one now, keep going with Insanity for a few weeks and compare the pics.

niceoneted

Thanks guys. I borrowed the set of DVD's and didn't get the diet plan. I'm eating less than I was and no alcohol. My diet is very healthy as it is. I had two surgeries at start of year so was coming from very unfit state as couldn't do anything for the 4 weeks between the surgeries and for 6 /7 weeks after the second one. I'll keep persisting. Thanks again. Try count the cals for few days to see how I'm fairing out.

siblers

What do you eat out of curiosity? It might just be something minor that needs changing.

allybhoy

niceoneted wrote: »

Thanks guys. I borrowed the set of DVD's and didn't get the diet plan. I'm eating less than I was and no alcohol. My diet is very healthy as it is. I had two surgeries at start of year so was coming from very unfit state as couldn't do anything for the 4 weeks between the surgeries and for 6 /7 weeks after the second one. I'll keep persisting. Thanks again. Try count the cals for few days to see how I'm fairing out.

Yeh keep it going and try update us here when you can, if you have changed your diet and are working out nearly every day, you will eventually see results, it might not happen as quickly as you like but you will get there. Best of luck anyways and keep us updated

As for my own update, was in the gym yday morning for weights thne done Insnity very late last night, it was around 11:45pm before i started the video, after a shower and all the rest it was past 1am before i went to bed so im fairly tired today and i have a match later. Not sure if i will get the video done tonight but ill try. By the way, had Pure Cardio last night and it is definitely my favourite workout so far.