Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Review of The Insanity - (Spoiler: It's Insane)

I completed "The Insanity" in March of this year.  It was my 2010 Christmas present, in fact, from my lovely wife (who evidently thinks I'm an out-of-shape fat ass).

I have attempted to write a review that will give you a complete overview and allow you to come to a realistic conclusion.  I have tried to be as straightforward and direct as possible, and would feel comfortable sharing this information with anybody (including Beach Body themselves).

Overview:
"The Insanity" is a workout program from Beach Body that, first and foremost, is an INTENSE cardio and core-focused program.  It is divided into two four-week phases with a "recovery" week in between, lasting a grand total of nine weeks.  Other than a DVD player, shorts and sneakers, there is no equipment required.  It does not mess around, each of the workouts gets RIGHT INTO IT.

There are 9 different workouts on 10 dvds (the abs routine is on its own dvd as well as at the end of two other workout dvds).  I won't list all of the names of the dvds or workouts as I do not want to give away any "secrets" or etc (although I will name my favorite workout below).  With the exception of the recovery week routine (a core routine repeated each day of the recovery week), each workout starts with an extremely rigorous warm-up cardio routine.  This lasts about ten minutes and is a workout in itself.  There is a brief period of stretching, then it is back to getting your ass kicked again.

In contrast with P90X, "the Insanity" is staged in a gym with a bunch of participants.  It's a shorter program, and the workouts take less time.  The coach (trainer?  host?) of the workout is a guy named Shawn T, who is a former dancer and also created a workout called "Hip Hop Abs".
What was great (my opinions):
  • Duration:  The program and the workouts themselves were reasonably sized.  9 weeks total, with each workout between 30 and 60 minutes.  
  • Intensity:  These workouts were ferocious - similar to doing wind sprints or football line drills (or some of the nastier stuff I had to do in the Army).  You do not need a long workout or to run ten miles to get a good and very complete workout.  
  • Cardio and Core Focus:  All of the workouts have push-ups, lunges, jumping, level changing, and you-name-it.  You will f**king HAMMER your core.  I could do a lot of push-ups before this program, and I could do even more after.
  • Overall Production:  The packaging, the videos were all extremely well produced and smooth.  There is a neat indicator at the bottom of the screen which indicates the intensity of your last exercise, your current exercise, your next exercise, etc.  
  • The Participants:  The video does not take breaks, however you see the particpants randomly stop, fall to the ground, walk over and get water, etc.  This is actually pretty encouraging ("hey - they're just as tired as me!").  After a while, you try to see if you can last longer than them without taking a break.
  • Fit Test:  This program has you take an exhaustive (and exhausting!) fit test every two weeks.  I'll share my modest results below in a table (try to look at my % of improvement and not the specific numbers).  All of the exercises were sustained for one minute.  It is extremely gratifying to have a formal test and see your improvement.  If you do the workouts and try your best, you will improve significantly.
  • Low overhead:  I didn't need to dick around with weights, bands, or any equipment when doing this workout.  This reduced the preparation time and performance time of the workout immeasurably.


My results - look at the % improvement on the right

What Needed Improvement (more of my opinions):
  • The Stretching:  The in-workout stretching seemed to be a formality in this program.  With all of the jumping and lunging required in the workouts, there was not enough time spent (especially for a regular guy like me).  The weekly stretching (recovery) was so-so - most weeks I skipped it and went hiking instead.
  • The Participants:  I mentioned that I liked them because of their breaks...and the women were nice looking...but you can't help but notice how attention starved some of them are.  At 5 in the morning, nobody wants to see people acting out to get more camera time.
  • Lacking Form:  The workouts, at their highest intensity level, get to an extremely frenetic pace.  The trainer (Shawn T) and the participants move so fast, in fact, that their form suffers (and it's impossible to keep up and do the exercise correctly).  For example, I don't even think we ever saw the exercise entitled "1-2-3's" demonstrated correctly, and it got worse as the pace increased.  My remedy was to do the correct form as quickly as I could - even if that meant going a little slower than the demonstrators.
My other opinions:
My favorite workout was entitled "Max Interval Plyo", and this is one of the hardest workouts I've ever done.  To put that in context, I have also completed full marathons, completed P90X, performed extensive PT in the US Army and played HS football (like Al Bundy).  I found it challenging and fun because of the anaerobic cardio, the push-ups, the core beat-down and the tons and tons of level changes.  There is also an opportunity to do a ton of push-ups - almost as many as the P90X "Chest and Back" routine.

This workout is for you if...
... you are in good shape and you want to get in better shape.
... you realize that simply running or doing the elliptical is not enough to improve your core or body shape
... you like getting your ass kicked in a workout with regularity
... you're bored with P90X

This workout is not for you if...
... you are completely out of shape.  You'll probably die during the warm-ups - seriously...you'll die.
... you need to lift weights to feel like you've worked out (you should challenge that notion)
... you want to get "guns" ... it's not intended for that
... you have a history of heart problems, joint problems, etc.  Even I was pushing it as a person who has underwent ACL surgery (8 years ago)
... you do not enjoy getting out of your comfort zone

My verdict?  I liked it, and I really liked the results.  One really cool thing happened afterward - after not running for several months, after I completed "the Insanity", I achieved a personal record (which I had not been close to in about 8 years) on a timed 4 mile run.  

Hey - I'd love to hear about your experience with the Insanity.  Reply to the blog or send me a Tweet @PMGeekAndy on Twitter.




  

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