Insanity Workout - Complete Review

Whew... it's been a while since my last post.  I thought about posting everyday, but decided against it since it's more or less the same workout and anything new that I post would be about whether my condition was good or not, and frankly speaking, that's pretty boring.

ATTENTION: I've completed the entire 63 days of workout of Insanity and now I feel is the time to put up a complete review.  Before I go into it though, I feel compelled to point out that I will try to be as impartial as possible.  Unfortunately, most of the blogs and sites with Insanity reviews are written by Team Beachbody Coaches.  I feel that by being a Beachbody Coach, any review written by them is inherently biased as they have a vested interest in selling the products.  That isn't to say that all of their reviews are bad, just that it should be taken with a grain of salt.  It would be like asking a Toyota salesman what he thought about a Toyota car...

Now, onto the review!

BEACHBODY INSANITY COMPLETE REVIEW

Rating System: I rated each section on a 1-10 basis.  1 being the worst and 10 being the best.  It would be easier thinking of it as a school grading system.  <6 = F, 6 = D, 7 = C. 8 = B, 9 = A, 10 = A+

Physical Fitness: 8/10
Insanity is touted as a total body conditioning program which is a pretty accurate statement.  Note that it doesn't regard itself as a weight loss program or even a bulking/muscle gaining program.  The Insanity program will get you in great cardio shape.  As it was stated in the Insanity webinar video that I posted, this workout was meant for people who finds that they want to jump into some of the more endurance based scene.

I would HIGHLY recommend this workout program for those in ANY type of sports be it basketball or soccer or even cross-country.  The exercises concentrates on both increasing explosive strength and stamina.

The only downside to this workout is the lack of upper body workout, which is a non-issue if you bought the deluxe package which comes with an upper body weight training DVD.

Difficulty: 9.5/10 - 4/10
I had to give this one a double rating.  For certain people, the level of difficulty will definitely be a bonus, but for others a severe handicap.

When they tell you that it's the hardest program from Beachbody, it probably means that it's pretty tough.  The sheer amount of cardio and plyo makes this workout, for the lack of a better word, insanely tough.  This has its pros and cons.  The intensity of the workout is great for those that thrive on challenge.  Even the most fit person will be left gasping for air on the floor if they did the workout properly.  I don't sweat easily, but each workout had me raining sweat and I loved it.  It makes it feel like I really got a proper workout at the end and gives a great feeling of accomplishment.

But... I DO NOT recommend Insanity for those severely out of shape, morbidly obese (you know who you are), or those with joint and hip problems.  Here's why...

For those severely out of shape: Insanity does not cater to a wide range of fitness level.  What this means is that Insanity (unlike P90X or Turbo Fire, the 2 other "extreme" workouts in the Beachbody lineup) does not have move modifiers to make the exercises easier for those that can't do the regular moves.  You either keep up and do what everyone else is doing or you don't do it at all. Well... to be perfectly honest, there are some modifiers, but they are few and far in between.

For those that are very overweight and/or those with bad joints: Insanity involves a lot of jumps and squats which are very hard on the knees, ankles, and hips.  Very careful attention needs to be paid when doing these exercises.  Even with good shoes and a mat, the workout is harsh on the joints.  Also, there are a lot of reports of people getting hurt during Insanity which probably occurred due to a lack of focus which naturally happens when you get exhausted.

Fat Loss: 8.5/10
I would have to rate Insanity above average in terms of fat loss.  There are better programs out there if your main goal is to lose weight and I would suggest that you try those before attempting Insanity.  My body weight stayed about the same throughout the entire workout program.  But my body fat dropped from about 16% to around 12% which is an overall 25% reduction.  That's not bad.  Also remember that I ate at around my maintenance level.

However, I DO NOT recommend Insanity for those mainly concerned with fat loss.  This is NOT a weight loss program and those that picks this up thinking that it will give them some miracle loss will be sorely disappointed.  The reason I say this is because while you do see a moderate fat loss throughout the program, I feel that a large portion of that comes from controlling your diet and not from the workout itself.  While the workout burns a lot of calories, the high intensity of the workout forces you to consume a fair amount of calories and in particular, carbs, to be able to properly do the workout the next day and not burn out.

Nutrition Plan: 9/10
The nutrition plan that comes with the workout is pretty solid.  For those of you used to working out, it doesn't really offer any new information, but for those new to the workout scene, it gives all the basics.  Some people are pretty nazi about the whole meal plan and only eating off the recommended recipes, but I think that they're limiting themselves and not really 'getting' what the meal plan is about.

I followed the meal plan in that I ate 5 times a day, I tried to keep most of my meals at a 40-40-20 diet, and I noticed that most of what I ate fell under the first two tiers of Michi's Ladder.  I ate pretty healthily before so it wasn't really an issue for me.  I also tried to consume enough calories to be at or slightly below my maintenance level.  Other than these, I really didn't follow the nutrition plan and if you know how to manage your calories and protein to carbs to fat ratio, it isn't a problem to deviate like I did.

Cost: 9.5/10
The only thing that prevented me from giving this workout a perfect 10 in this category is that the cost of the DVD's are quite high.  This can be said for most of the 'big' Beachbody workout programs though.  Insanity does not require you to buy any extra gear for working out which is a big plus since the DVD's are pretty expensive as is.  This makes it less intimidating than if you knew there were additional costs involved.

With that said, if you bought the deluxe package and got the upper body weight training, you would need weights to do the workout.

Trainer: 9.5/10
Shaun T is very motivating as a trainer which is probably the most important element of video workouts.  Also, the one thing that's great that he does that other trainers (Tony and Chalene) doesn't do is that when he tells you to raise your right arm, face right, etc... he means your right arm.  The people in the video will raise their left hand so that all you have to do is to mirror what they do on the screen.  I feel that it's a natural reflex to mirror what is shown on the screen.  It's a small touch, but really impresses.

Videography: 10/10
The videography is great in this due to its simplicity.  It doesn't move around all over the place in an attempt to be dynamic or fancy.  It usually stays centered and only switches to a different view or zooms in to show the form better.  It gives a no nonsense approach and you always know how the move looks.

Length: 7/10
The length of the whole program has its good points and its bad points.  For the good points...  60 days is relatively short compared to P90X and Turbo Fire.  Those 30 days makes a huge difference.  For some, 60 days seems doable while 90 days seems to last forever.  On the other hand, the down side is that there's a huge system shock between the first month and the second month.  The increase in difficulty is so great it actually feels a bit like there should be a month of workout in between the first and the second month.

Other Notes:
One thing that I feel I should mention is that Insanity is very hard on your legs, specifically the quads and triceps.  There's push ups and squats in almost every workout.  This really makes it hard to recover those muscle groups.  There were times when I was completely physically exhausted despite having a full rest day.

In Short:
Here is what I liked about Insanity:

1. Increases total body fitness.
2. Increases explosive strength and stamina.
3. Challenging.
4. Short (60 days) compared to other workouts in its class.

Here's what I didn't like:

1. Very harsh on the joints.
2. Insufficient time for recovery.
3. Lack of upper body workout.

Insanity Workout - Fit Test #4

I completed my fourth Fit Test today.  The results were pretty close to what I expected.  Some, I improved a lot, others not quite so much.

Here's the Fit Test score:


Fit Test 4
1. Switch Kicks  72
2. Power Jacks  68
3. Power Knees  88
4. Power Jumps 40
5. Globe Jumps 10
6. Suicide Jumps 18
7. Push-Up Jacks 31
8. Low Plank Oblique 46

Fit Test Analysis:
As expected, my Switch Kicks did not improve as drastically as before.  I only managed to get 3 extra kicks in during the test.  I would have been able to get a few more in, but due to not paying careful attention to my surroundings, I've lost a few precious seconds to squeeze the extra in.  As I've mentioned in the last Fit Test post, I seem to be reaching a limit of sorts.

My Power Jacks this time around increased less than the prior Fit Tests, but considering the sheer number, I feel I've done quite well.  My opinion on Power Jacks is now similar to that of Switch Kicks.  I don't see myself improving quite as much anymore in Power Jacks.  I went pretty fast throughout the given time limit without rest and only managed to do 68.  I might be able to squeeze a few more in as I get faster, but we all know that it will be a diminishing return.

Power Knees improved quite a bit this time also.  I feel that as I get a stronger core, I am able to maintain my balance better which is crucial for this exercise.

I've also improved in my Power Jumps as well, although far less than the prior improvement.  I was losing a lot of energy by this time, which I think may have been due to improper eating yesterday (more on this later).

When looking at the numbers, I've only improve marginally in Globe Jumps and Suicide Jumps.  I still see a large room for improvement with these exercises.  The large movements required for each of these tends to be quite taxing.

Now for Push Up Jacks and Low Plank Obliques.  I showed a pretty solid improvement this time around.  All those push ups in the second month of the workout is really starting to show.  My lower back has also strengthened considerably since the Low Plank Obliques were not as grueling as before.


Now, about yesterday's eating.  I think this was what really came to bite me in the butt during today's workout.  I only had a glass of juice and 1 meal the whole day yesterday due to a hectic schedule.  Despite eating breakfast earlier today, I think my body wasn't able to recover sufficiently for today.

Insanity Workout - Day 47

I did Max Cardio and Insane Abs today.  A double whammy.  But to be honest, I had to take it a little easy on the Max Cardio workout today.  My quads were shot and while I wasn't feeling tired, I just could not get any strength into my legs.  I'm sure if anyone watched me, they would have laughed at my attempts to jump during the workout.

I did Insane Abs for the first time today.  Wow.  It's a doozy of a workout.  Without doing a single sit up, you burn through your abs at an unbelievable pace.  It's a little over 30 minutes, but I didn't care.  I've been itching for some targeted ab workout.  The one problem that I've run into though was my weak lower back.  Trying to maintain the C-sit position really does a number on your lower back muscles.  Other than that, I loved it.

Insanity Workout - Day 43 + Video

I should have posted this yesterday, but the I had some problems trying to put the video on the blog.  I asked Beachbody for permission to post this a while ago and got the okay to post it a few days ago.  But back to that later.

First the workout.  The Insanity workout has been a real rollercoaster ride for me.  Like the day before, there are days where no matter what I do, my condition is bad and I suffer for it.  Then there are days when I have plenty of energy (like yesterday) and the workout goes very well.

Yesterday was the Max Cardio and while hard, didn't give me that stressed out feeling that I had before.

Now onto the video.

A little about the video.  It is a webinar presented by Shaun T to the Beachbody coaches on what Insanity is really about.  He goes a little into how the workout came to being, how it's different from other Beachbody programs, who the program is for, etc...  It really answers a lot of basic questions that people who wants to start Insanity might have.  The video is a bit long, but I do recommend that you finish the whole thing if you're planning on starting Insanity.





Disclaimer:  I do not own this video.  Insanity goes to Beachbody and co...  Put on here with their permission, etc...

Insanity Workout - Day 42

Bleh... Today was supposed to be a rest day but due to bad scheduling on my part, I couldn't work out yesterday, and did it today instead.  In retrospect, I should have rested today as well and just start on Monday.  It really was one of those days where everything just wasn't working out quite the way I wanted it to.

I only had about 4 hours of sleep the night before and that just wasn't working to my favor.  I had a headache the whole day that turned into a full blown migraine during the workout.  The weather shifted and turned a nice cool weather into a hot upper 90's.  It's October and here in SoCal, we're suffering sweltering heat.

It was Max Interval Plyo again and due to my abysmal performance for the last one, I didn't want to skip it.  Well... it was better than last time... I think.  I couldn't focus on the workout due to the heat and migraine.  The heat, I could have ignored, but the migraine was a whole different story.  The entire workout turned into an ultra-aggravating workout.  Usually, I feel good after the whole thing despite how hard it is, but not this time.

I know this sounds like a whole mess of excuses and to be honest, I seriously thought about just stopping halfway through and calling it a day.  Maybe I should have.  But, at the time, and even now, I believe it was an important test to continue.  I feel that if even once, I make excuses to stop, it would just get easier every time.

Insanity Workout - Day 40

Ha! 40 days in, 23 more to go.

First, I woke up today with my obliques really sore.  My obliques hasn't been sore for any of the previous workouts.  I'm not sure which one it was during the Max Recover, but I'm loving it.

I did Max Interval Circuit for the first time today.  I know it should have been my second time through, but it couldn't be helped.  I'm actually satisfied at my performance today.  It's a pleasant change considering the fact that I was pretty disappointed in my previous performances for the past week.  This isn't to say that I went through the whole workout without resting...  I rested enough.  But I think I did pretty well for the first 2/3 of the workout and really only tapped out on the last set of intervals.

Max Interval Circuit shares the same warm up as Max Interval Plyo.  On the whole, the warm up isn't too bad except for the jumping segment.  I pushed myself really hard and it paid off.  For the previous workouts since I've started on the second month, I ran out of energy during the first third of the workout.  I ran bone dry empty and couldn't work out properly afterwards.  I've tried to tweak it nutritionally.  It's really the only thing I could do.  I increased my carb intake.  An advice here... now is NOT the time to be cutting your carbs.  I increased my overall caloric intake.  I increased my water intake.  Some paid off, other not so much.

Insanity Workout - Day 39

Just finished my Max Recovery.  Honestly, it wasn't too bad.  A bit harder than its predecessor, but the jump in difficulty is far less than the other workouts.  I found it more enjoyable than Cardio Recovery.  Each moves engaged the muscles more and felt more like a workout than Cardio Recovery did.

With that said, I still hate holding position.  I'm told that proper breathing is the trick behind withstanding the burning sensation, but I'm too busy being distracted by it.  Maybe with more practice I would get used to it.  I doubt that that'll happen before Insanity ends though.  My current plan is still to do P90X after Insanity so I'll continue getting used to it by doing Yoga X when the time comes.

Insanity Workout - Day 38

I think that Insanity is missing a month's worth of workout between the first and the second month.  The second month of Insanity is proving to be about twice as difficult as the first month when I first started.  The nice part is that actually finishing it gives me a pretty great feeling of accomplishment.

I did the Max Cardio Conditioning today.  Overall, it's a great workout.  It's not as rushed as Pure Cardio was, but each workout is harder, guaranteed to have your heart beat faster than Pure Cardio did.  I feel pretty good during the warm up (except for the last part) so I know I'm in decent condition.  Max Cardio Conditioning (MCC) doesn't rush from one exercise to the next partly because Shaun T is now taking more time to explain the form.  But, don't expect any real rest.  Like the Pure Cardio workout, MCC is not an interval training...  It's just one long one, although there is a small recovery period where you're doing an easy exercise to rest up.

This isn't to say that I didn't rest.  I did.  But I felt better about today's workout than I did yesterday.  The one real downside that I felt about today's workout is that I totally bombed on all the arm workouts.  My arms did not recover from yesterday and it showed.  My quads and glutes were complaining too, but my arms weren't even rising up to the challenge.

I was consuming less carbs than I should have so that I could try and shed a few pounds.  I now know that I'm going to need all the help I can get for energy.  A buddy of mine recommended that I do some carb-loading and I think I will.  I seriously run out of gas about halfway through the workout.  Not good.

My physical condition today was in one word: sore.  I tried to consume more proteins throughout the day yesterday to try and recover more, but still woke up very sore.  I like it.  For the first month, about halfway through, I wasn't feeling sore anymore, just stiff... but now it feels like I'm forcing my body to change.

Insanity Workout - Day 37

Someone... put me out of my misery.

Seriously... I started the Max workouts today, more specifically the Max Interval Plyo, and I'm shell-shocked.  I was feeling confidant.  I finished my first month strong, I finished the Recovery Week strong, and I've improved on my Fit Test score.  I thought it might be harder, but not to the intensity that it really was.  The workout proceeds to turn you to mush, then wipe the floor with your remains.

I had to pause the workout twice to get some significant rest and took many short breaks to be able to continue along.  The Max Interval Plyo seems to concentrate on destroying your quads and arms.  Most of the exercises either involves squats or some form of push ups or both.

If you've read my past posts, you would probably remember that I mentioned several times that one of the weakness of Insanity is the lack of upper body workout.  Well... Shaun T must be laughing at those posts, thinking to himself that I have no idea what I'm in for.   I take back everything I've said about that.  Holy moly.  There's a LOT of push ups and push up variations in this workout.

For example, the Level 3 Drills...  That's 16 push ups done twice, three times.  Meaning by the end of that interval group I would have done 32 x 3 = 96 push ups.  I can't even do that when I'm not exhausted from other exercises.  Not only do they do 96 push ups, this is in addition to Power Push Ups, Squat Push Ups, V Push Ups, etc...  Just a never ending cycle of push ups that proceeds to destroy you in different ways.

If you thought that the first month was Memento crazy, the second month would be taking Joker (played by Heath Ledger) and putting him in the role of John Nash in his most 'my-best-friend-is-imaginary-and-I-see-number-patterns-everywhere' stage kicking his own butt Fight Club style crazy.

Insanity Workout - Fit Test #3 + Rant

Damn... today was one of those best of times, worst of times moment.

I finished my third Fit Test today.  It started off great.  The mini-warm up was nothing.  It didn't even feel like a warm up.  I know I was so out of shape when I first started that even the Fit Test warm up would have had me sweating.  Now on to the results:


Fit Test 3
1. Switch Kicks  69
2. Power Jacks  60
3. Power Knees  72
4. Power Jumps 34
5. Globe Jumps 9
6. Suicide Jumps 15
7. Push-Up Jacks 21
8. Low Plank Oblique 37

I improved over the whole spectrum.  Honestly, I find the improvement from Fit Test #2 to Fit Test #3 as astounding as my improvements from Fit Test #1 to Fit Test #2.  I thought that it might have been a fluke in the beginning or that my improvements would slowly plateau.  Well so far, that's been proving false.  I also expressed concern for my score due to the Recovery Week, but it looks like it may actually have helped overall.

Fit Test Analysis:
My Switch Kicks did not improve as much as it did last time.  Honestly, this doesn't really surprise me.  I didn't really notice it on the last Fit Test, but while I was doing it today, I realized that I'm kicking pretty damn fast.  My current guess is that I might be able to increase it by another 10 or so, but after that I'm probably going hit my limit for the time period.  I honestly wouldn't be surprised or too terribly disappointed if this occurs before the second half is over.

My Power Jacks showed a nice steady improvement this time around as well.  The increase isn't as much as it was from the first to the second Fit Test, but overall, a very nice score.  I haven't found anything out of the ordinary with this exercise.  As for the future outlook, I do see a nice comfortable room for improvement.

Power Knees has increased similarly to the previous fit test.  I don't find Power Knees to be too difficult in terms of physical exertion.  However, balance is definitely the issue and perhaps the main point of this exercise.  A strong core helps to maintain balance and I was having some trouble with it.  I do see room for improvement here as well.  The one gripe that I might have is, if you follow the video, you only end up doing Power Knees for one knee...  It would have been nice to test both.

Then we come to the Power Jumps.  My arch-nemesis in this test.  Previously, I found Power Jumps to be exhausting.  This exercise would sap a lot of my strength and turn my legs to jelly.  Furthermore, I found the jumps to be hard on my knees.  I only improved by 6 between the first and the second Fit Test.  This time around, the story is a little different.  I improved a whopping 13 between the second and the third Fit Test.  I feel that my Recovery Week played a large role in this improvement.  While I stated that my knees were sore during Recovery Week, I think that overall it helped to firm up the muscles around my knees and allowed it to recovery by not doing any high impact knee workouts.  Power Jumps still has a huge room for improvement.

As usual, by the time I'm done with my Power Jumps, my legs are shot.  Globe Jumps are especially difficult because it is 4 jumps for 1 count.  My Globe Jump improvement mirrors the improvement from the prior Fit Test.

For my Push Up Jacks, I improved, but I felt that I could have done better.  If there was a section of my Fit Test that I felt the Recovery Week hurt, it would be this section.  The number of push ups in the Recovery Week is minimal, numbering only 20 per day or so.  A bit more would have been helpful.

As for Low Plank Oblique, I have to give credit to Recovery Week.  Recovery Week really helped to solidify my core muscles and it really showed in the Low Plank Oblique.  Also, my general fitness increased, allowing me to be less exhausted by the time I reached the end of the test.

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Now time for my rant... or excuses.  I was supposed to do both the Fit Test and Max Interval Circuit today.

But I could not.

I'm pretty disappointed in myself for that.  I was pretty psyched out for it too.  I did some carb loading in the morning so that I don't crash and burn during the workout and had some protein to help out a bit.  I made sure to hydrate myself properly too.  I wanted nothing to go wrong so that I could power myself through this.

Then... I crashed and burned.  I'm not even sure how it happened.  My best guess is that I pushed myself too hard during the Fit Test and my body just couldn't keep up.  I tried to continue on to the Max Interval Circuit and I couldn't do it.  Everything that I tried to do spiked my heart rate and when I felt that I was one exercise away from yakking, I had to just let it go.

So... I guess tomorrow is the day when I really get introduced to the Max workouts.

That's it for now.

Insanity Workout - Day 34

Last day of Recovery Week!

In some ways, this week seemed like it took longer to pass than the first week of my workout.  After the first couple of days, I knew how Core Cardio & Balance was like and I wanted to go on to the next phase of the workout.

Even though Core Cardio & Balance is supposed to be an "easy" workout, it was pretty difficult for me the first couple of days.  New muscles were sore, my knees were being punished, and it sapped at my energy.  By the last three days however, most of my problems disappeared and CCB turned into a nice heart pounding workout that didn't leave me exhausted afterwards, which is right where I wanted to be.

This upcoming Monday is a bit intimidating though.  Not only am I doing my third Fit Test that day, I also have to do a second workout of Max Interval Circuit.  Also, since the subject of the Fit Test came up, I should also mention that I'm a bit worried about what the results will be like.  I hope I didn't backtrack a bit during the Recovery Week...

I guess I'll be finding out soon.

Insanity Workout - Day 31

Is it just me or does Recovery Week seem harder?  I'm serious, it really does seem harder now.  I'm not sure if it's because I'm doing the same workout everyday or I'm pushing too hard, but it's really taking a toll on my lower back muscles and knees.

Like my fellow blogger mentions in his blog, Insanity, like P90X, only does one set for each exercise unlike the previous workouts.  I kind of like it this way because it keeps the entire workout fresh.  I also really like the fact that it seems to work out my lower back which I've always considered my weak point.  My knees are getting terribly fatigued though and I have no idea why.  I'm not doing the crazy jumps in this workout and I've been doing the squat moves with proper posture.

Well that's all for now.

Insanity Workout - Core Cardio & Balance Review

It's the second day of my Recovery Week.  

I woke up today with some muscle soreness which is a bit surprising.  My quads were pretty sore (which isn't anything new) and the lower side back muscles were sore.  I found the Core Cardio & Balance (CCB) workout to be a lot more relaxed than the previous workouts so I thought that, as far as muscle soreness goes, I wold cruise through this week.  I guess the workout targets new groups of muscles that the previous workouts haven't really worked out.

As far as CCB goes, like many of the other workout, there are similar/overlapping exercises, but there are also several new ones which is nice since it brings a breath of fresh air to the whole thing.  If I had to describe CCB shortly, I would say that it's an interesting mix of Pure Cardio + Cardio Recover - Intensity.  But just because I worte '- Intensity' does not mean that CCB is a cakewalk.  Oh no.  

You will still be sweating, breathing hard, and having a hard time keeping up.  What I mean by '- Intensity' is that it goes at a bit more relaxed pace.  Shaun T isn't quite as intent on switching to the next exercise as fast as humanly possible.

I was a bit worried that Core Cardio & Balance would be a cakewalk, setting me back a bit from the first month of exercises, but now I see that it was silly for me to have worried at all.  Seeing how the workout goes and feeling what I do before and after the workout, I would say this Recovery Week is pretty important.

P.S. I decided to just make my CCB review, a general review instead of the whole In-Depth/Brief thing.  For one thing, I am going to be doing this workout 6 times this week and the whole depth/brief thing seems to cause me to overlap what I've mentioned before.  I'll see how I feel about doing it this way and go on from there.

Insanity - First Month Recap and Goal Restatement

I finished my first half of the workout and start the Recovery Week today.  This seemed like as good a time as any to recap the first month of Insanity and to restate my goals.

Insanity workout seems to concentrate on explosive strength, quickness, and stamina, points that are needed in athleticism.  Core workout is emphasized in most workouts along with heavy leg workouts.  Calves and quad muscles are engaged nearly constantly and jumping and side to side motions adds support to this idea even more.

• Due to the large amount of jumping motions and squats, I would not recommend Insanity for those that are significantly overweight or have knee problems.  I also would not recommend Insanity for those with back issues.

Upper body workouts are also present, but it seems almost like an afterthought.  Since Insanity doesn't require any equipments, all of the upper body workouts involves using body weight.  Even then, it does still provide a good workout, although at times, it seems like just another way of using your core.

• As of yet, I would not suggest Insanity for those that are trying to bulk up.  I would expect some upper body muscle mass loss for those that regularly work out with heavy weights.  

I have noticed that my stamina has skyrocketed compared to when I first started the workout.  It's actually quite amazing when I think back on it.  But at the same time, I feel that my lack of physical shape in the beginning hampered me from taking full advantage of Insanity. 

• I would recommend Insanity for those that are looking to increase their cardiovascular strength.  My results shows me that even if you were not in the best of shape when you started, you do improve leaps and bounds.

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As for my goals:

My main goal is still to increase my cardio strength and increase overall fitness.  I believe that this would allow me to push myself better for future workouts.  My secondary goal is to lower my body fat percentage.

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Looking at the future:

Since I do have the deluxe package, I will now replace all Cardio Abs in the 2nd month with Insane Abs as well as Core Cardio and Balance with Max Interval Sports Training.

Insanity Workout - Day 27

Whew!  I burned myself today.  I went all out right from the get go, and you know what?  I didn't do half bad if I say so myself.  I tried my best to keep up with everyone in the DVD and for the most part, I succeeded.  By the time I was done with the warm up, I was already starting to pour out sweat, but physically I felt good.  I was the most worried about this point because if I started to feel wiped out from the warm up, I knew I would be in trouble.
I kept up strongly for about two thirds of the workout.  On a side note, I was gulping down water for a lot of the breaks.  I know that I should have sipped it and kept the water intake moderate, but that water flowed so sweetly the moment it touched my lips.  By the time I came upon the last third of the workout, I ran out of juice.  It wasn't completely unexpected.  I usually run out of juice by that time.

I pushed myself as much as I could go.  Even with the gas running on empty, I managed to go through the first interval of the last set strongly.  But it was impossible for the last two intervals.  I had to take breaks and once I've felt that I've recovered a bit, squeeze out a few more movements.  I went until my body just wouldn't listen to me. Till my arms couldn't lift my body and my legs wouldn't lift off the ground.  Then the next thing I know, it was time for the stretch and I cooled myself to the end.  

I learned a few things here.  I got a better grasp of my limits and just how much further I can push myself.  I also realized just how far I've come since that first day.  It's nice that the last exercise of the first stage is the same as the first exercise.  

Couple of things to note.  I've got be honest, I came pretty close to yakking doing it this way.  I'm sure gulping down water definitely contributed towards it, but I don't think that was the major reason.  Really pushing yourself, especially when you're doing cardio, you have to be ready for it.   Also, my condition was really good today.  Otherwise, I know that I wouldn't have come anywhere close to what I did today.  

Insanity Workout - Midterm Goal

Well, day 27 workout is right around the corner.  It's 12:06 am right now, so I suppose the workout is actually later today.  Now, you might be wondering why I'm specifically mentioning the day 27 workout.  The reason is pretty simple.  It's the last workout for the first stage of Insanity.  That's right, later today will be my halfway completion of the grueling workout.

Since it is a rather special workout (for me at least), I decided that I will truly go all out.  I know what you're probably thinking.  "Aren't you suppose to go all out anyways?"  The fact is, if I was in good (not decent, but GOOD) physical shape, indeed, I would be going all out.  But if I tried to do that with my previous workouts, I would have crashed and burned so bad that I probably wouldn't have been able to finish the videos all the way.  I needed to finish the workouts to keep up my motivation, so that's what I opted for.  I paced myself.  Even with that, I was still left gasping for breath, on the brink of hurling.

But not for this upcoming workout.  I will go full tilt from the get go with every intention of finishing the workout that way.  I will dig deeper.  I will burn myself out and see if there's anything left in the ashes.  I will see how much hotter it burns the deeper I dig.

Insanity Workout - Day 26

Finished Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs today.  It went quite well.  The warm up is finally just a warm up.  That makes for a nice way to start.  I don't go into the workout feeling that it's really a second workout.  I paced myself fairly well, but I tried to go too far in Pure Cardio today.  Pure Cardio has no breaks and I tried to take as few as possible.  It really ended up doing a number on me.  By the time I got to Cardio Abs, I was pretty much exhausted.  I couldn't hold proper form for long.

On the plus side, I noticed that I now take my first few breaks when the fit people in the video needs to.

Insanity Workout - Day 25 + Hunger Rant

Another day of Cardio Recovery done.  Do those poses that you have to hold work different muscles?  My improvement in Cardio Recovery is very incremental.  I really have to fight for every second of improvement.  For other videos, I plateau for a bit then improve leaps and bounds.  I wish I can say that for Cardio Recovery.

Now with the workout mini-update out of the way, on to my hunger rant.  Shaun T mentions how you have to EAT because you're going to burn through it?  He was right.  My metabolism skyrocketed.  I eat 5 meals a day and I'm constantly hungry.  I eat a light meal and 2 hours later, I get hungry again.  I don't even need to use the clock.  By the time hunger hits, it's been about 2-3 hours.

The good thing is that I tend to eat healthy.  The only unhealthy eating habit that I really had was my love for sodas.  I love sodas.  But for the sake of Insanity I dropped that to the minimum.  For those of you that likes your fast foods, the junk foods, etc...  The constant hunger is going to be tough to fight.

Insanity Workout - Day 24

Finished Plyometric Cardio Circuit today.  The workout went well today as well.  There's a lot of things that I learned while doing these workouts and taking it all into account allows me to keep myself disciplined.  The results are showing up pretty nicely.

One thing nice about doing each of these workouts several times is that you begin to learn to read your body.  As I do the exercises, I also take a look at the time and put it up against my current condition.  If I realize that I still have some energy left to push myself and the workout is coming to a close, I start pushing myself harder.  On the other side of the spectrum, if I find myself becoming tired and I'm only 20 minutes into the workout, I know about how much I should pace myself to be able to complete the workout without bonking

Insanity Workout Equipment

Required Equipments:  These are the equipments necessary to start the Insanity workout.

• Nothing.  One of the biggest plus for Insanity is the fact that it doesn't require any sort of equipments to begin.  Many other workouts (including the super popular P90X) requires you to have starting equipments which just adds to the starting cost of the workout.  The DVD's are expensive as it is, but to have to buy additional equipments just makes it harder.

Highly Recommended Equipments:  Just because there are no equipments required does not mean that there aren't any equipments worth having.  Here's a list of equipments that I think would help you out with Insanity.

• Heart rate monitor:  Because of the high cardio nature of Insanity, buying a heart rate monitor is a worthwhile investment.  You want to make sure that you stay at your targeted heart rate which allows you to maximize your workouts and tells you when to take a break if you start hitting the danger zone.  I've seen prices ranging from $30 to $200.  The more expensive it is, the more features it comes along with.  I would recommend that you do your research before buying one.  After all, if all you want is to keep track of your heart rate, then it doesn't really make sense to buy one loaded with features.
  
• Yoga/Plyometrics Mat: There's a lot of jumping in Insanity.  I mean a LOT.  Undoubtedly, this leads to strain on the knees and ankles.  A nice semi-cushiony mat goes a long way softening the landings
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Recommended Equipments:  These are equipments that are nice to have, but not having them won't detract from your workouts.

• Good pair of shoes: If you have a problem landing softly, or doing anything softly, a good pair of shoes would be good to have.  I personally do my workouts in bare feet on hard wooden floor and haven't had any problems yet.  But for those that wants the extra cushion and food support, go for it.
  
• Body fat caliper/monitor: It's nice to be able to keep track of your body fat percentage.  For those of you that wants to slim down or get cut, it gives you a great method of keeping track.
  
• Tape measure: Tape measures are another great way to keep track of your body changes.  You can measure and keep track of anything, whether it be waist size or bicep size.  I think a lot of people would be pleasantly surprised by the results.  I know that because I see myself in the mirror everyday, I don't notice my gains and loss very easily.  This gives me a visual way of determining it.

Optional Equipments:  These are the equipments that you can get if you want some of the extras, but if you don't have them, they won't be missed.

• Weights:  Yes, I know.  Insanity says that it doesn't require weight and for the most part, it's true.  But, if you got the Deluxe package that had Upper Body Weight Training, you're going to need weights.  It's only one video and the schedule doesn't even list it.  Regardless, if you want to do this workout, you're going to need weights.
  
• Weight scale:  On the whole, it's perhaps the worst way to keep track of progress, but if you're trying to stay within a range of weights, it's important to have.  Otherwise, body fat and tape measures gives you a more unbiased measurements.