2009 September

23

Sep

Review of Insanity – The Fit Test Week 2

By Aaron Potts Posted in Cardiovascular Training, Exercise, Health and Fitness Product Reviews, Insanity, Weight Loss / 8 Comments »

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Insanity Before and After Pictures and Fit Test Results

In this on-going review of Insanity blog series, the truth behind the Insanity 60-day weight loss program is revealed with a play-by-play description of what the program is really like – and more importantly – if Insanity really works!

Back when I first started the Insanity 60-day weight loss program, I did a review of the initial Fit Test that you take at the beginning of the program, and I just finished the 2nd of those Fit Tests. There was a lot of improvement, to be sure, and in a nutshell, I couldn’t be more happy about the results that I’ve achieved in just 15 short days.

Cardiovascular Improvement

My cardiovascular endurance has increased so exponentially that I am now wishing that I had found some way to scientifically measure it before I started the program. It is hard to accurately describe an increase in cardiovascular endurance other than to say that I can exercise harder, I can exercise longer, and I can get more out of every single exercise session as a result.

Getting more out of every exercise session means faster weight loss, as well as more rapid results in every other area of health and physical fitness.

Muscular Improvement

Although Insanity definitely hits the cardiovascular training hard and heavy during most of the workouts, that is not to say that there isn’t plenty of muscular work as well. Push ups, lunges, squats, and dips are all mainstays in the Insanity program, and there is an on-going pile of abdominal and core work that is done almost daily as well.

In addition, rather than more “standard” types of resistance training, Insanity makes you push your muscles up to their limits and beyond AFTER you are already very fatigued. That system equates to not only visible results and strength improvements, but to increased muscular endurance as well.

I have made improvements in every single muscular/resistance exercise that I have seen so far in the Insanity workouts, and you can check out the impressive numbers below.

Weight Loss

Being an ex-personal trainer, I don’t focus on some random number on a scale, because I know that what is in the MIRROR is more important than what the scale says. In that regard, my mirror is showing me visible improvements after only 2 weeks with Insanity.

I have visibly lost body fat from my legs, stomach, and chest, and even though my arms are by no means in need of trimming up, I can even see some additional body fat loss there as well.

I am looking forward to the 30-day point in the program because it is the exact mid-way point when the 3rd Fit Test is taken, and it is also when Insanity switches to the Month 2 format, which – if it’s even possible – is said to be even more challenging than Month 1!

The Numbers

Each of the exercises in the Fit Test is a serious challenge, and you are given 1 minute to do each movement, then 1 minute to rest before doing the next one. If you want a detailed description of what each movement is, check out my Week 1 review of the Fit Test. Here are my week 1 and week 2 numbers:

MOVE	DAY 1	DAY 15	DAY 30	DAY 45	Day 60
Switch Kicks	110	124	132	140	145
Squat Jacks	31	50	56	63	69
Power Knees	49	68	78	88	94
Power Jumps	25	32	33	37	41
Globe Jumps	6	10	10	12	13
Suicide Jumps	11	15	16	18	19
Push Up Jacks	22	32	34	37	42
Low Plank Obliques	28	51	58	60	67

As you can see, the improvements are definitely there! Also, there is one other improvement that is not measurable, but is nonetheless still very valuable – self confidence!

When you do a program as intense as Insanity is, and you consistently push it to the max during every single workout, other challenges in your life suddenly don’t seem as tough anymore.

If you can take your body to its absolute limit – despite how intensely difficult it is – that type of confidence stays with you long after the workout!

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18

Sep

Review of Insanity – Cardio Power and Resistance

By Aaron Potts Posted in Body Weight Exercises, Cardiovascular Training, Exercise, Fitness Programs, Insanity, Weight Loss / 8 Comments »

Save 25% or even 50% off of Insanity by clicking right here!

Insanity Before and After Pictures and Fit Test Results

In this on-going review of Insanity blog series, the truth behind the Insanity 60-day weight loss program is revealed with a play-by-play description of what the program is really like – and more importantly – if Insanity really works!

Day 3 of Insanity was just as intense and mind-blowing as the Plyometric Cardio Circuit workout was, and it was also a lot of fun, which was a total bonus! The Cardio Power and Resistance routine does a great job of marrying up extremely high-tempo cardiovascular training with plenty of great resistance training at the same time.

Insanity Cardio
Power and Resistance The workout starts out with a similar “warm up” routine as the other workouts, and just as with the others, the warm up alone will leave you winded, sweaty, and wondering what you have gotten yourself into! Nonetheless, it is easy to see even during the first few workouts of Insanity that the cardiovascular and muscular endurance needed to really excel and get great results will come sooner, rather than later – just due to the sheer intensity of the program.

After the heart-pumping intensity of a 10 1/2 minute warm-up, the video goes into a 7-minute stretching routine to get you ready for the rest of the workout. The stretches are a challenge, though, and Shaun T constantly reminds you of the necessity of stretching, as well as how to get the most out of each movement. Also, the stretching routine does cool-down your heart rate a bit in order to get you prepared for the serious challenge of the remaining part of the workout.

Cardio Power and Resistance

The first wave of exercises include a very effective combination of cardio and resistance. In order, the first 4 exercises are: Power Jumps, Belt Kicks, Hit the Floor, and V Push-ups. Power Jumps are especially difficult and will wipe out your air supply in under 30 seconds, but then you’ve still got 3 more exercises to go before you get a break.

The first 4 exercises are each done for 30 seconds, back-to-back, leaving you with 2 solid minutes of intensity that will probably seem at first like it lasts a lot longer than 2 minutes… Once you survive that first wave, you only get a 30-second break before you repeat that sequence even faster than the first time, then you repeat it yet again at an even higher level of intensity.

As if over 6 minutes of all-out intensity wasn’t enough of a challenge, after finishing all 3 sets of the first wave of exercises, you then do a full minute of challenging Tricep exercises that will leave the back of your arms on fire.

The Next Wave

By the time you get to the second wave of exercises, you are pretty much wiped out and ready to go hide in a cool, dark room with a ceiling fan and an air conditioning unit, but this workout still has several more minutes of intensity left before the fun is over.

The next wave of exercises includes Hurdle Jumps, Globe Jumps, Moving Push-ups, and Floor Sprints, all once again done back-to-back before getting a 30-second break. The jump movements are as hard as they sound, Moving Push-ups make an already awesome exercise even more difficult, and by the time you get to Floor Sprints, it’s more like “floor walks,” because you can barely even hold yourself up off the floor, let alone do any actual sprinting.

Once again, Shaun T throws in a final knock-out punch at the end of the workout, just in case – by some wild chance – you aren’t already feeling like a heart attack might be in your near future…

The final exercise is a series of 8 Hop Squats followed immediately by 8 Push-ups, and you do that series 3 times in a row with no break. Between the hopping up and down and the Push-ups, the final exercise uses your entire body, and every ounce of oxygen that you have left as well.

Conclusion

Overall, Cardio Power and Resistance is a very intense workout, it is very effective, and it – like other Insanity workouts – is mercifully short. Despite the fact that it will leave you exhausted and gasping for air, and despite the fact that it does a great job of working your body from both a cardio and a resistance perspective, the whole disc is only about 40 minutes long.

That leaves you plenty of time to lay on the floor in a pool of your own sweat, just happy to be alive!

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08

Sep

Review of Insanity – Plyometric Cardio Circuit

By Aaron Potts Posted in Exercise, Fitness Programs, Insanity, Interval Training, Plyometric Exercises, Weight Loss / 5 Comments »

Save 25% or even 50% off of Insanity by clicking right here!

Insanity Before and After Pictures and Fit Test Results

In this on-going review of Insanity blog series, the truth behind the Insanity 60-day weight loss program is revealed with a play-by-play description of what the program is really like – and more importantly – if it really works!

Day 2 of Insanity is called Plyometric Cardio Circuit, and it is a seriously intense 40-minute workout! The “warm-up” is 10 1/2 minutes of increasingly difficult cardiovascular exercises that will leave you winded and sweaty, and the “real” workout hasn’t even started yet…

The 10 1/2 minute warm-up consists of 7 movements that are done for 30 or 60 seconds each, and then you repeat that series after a 30-second water break, and then repeat it a third time after another short break.
Insanity Plyometric Cardio Circuit RoutineThe magic, however, is that each time you repeat the sequence, you have to do the movements faster and with more intensity than the time before. By the end of the 3rd set, you are looking for the end of the workout as well!

The movements themselves consist of some basic heart-rate increasers such as jogging in place and jumping jacks, but there are also some advanced moves like 123-123 Heisman’s, and Mummy Kicks.

After the pulse-pounding warm-up, then you move onto a 7-minute stretching routine that is a workout in its own right. There are lots of basic, effective stretches, and there are also some more advanced moves very similar to some popular Yoga poses. The stretch routine doesn’t match the intensity of the rest of the workout – nor should it – but it is also not a waste of time. There are plenty of good stretches that will be needed once you start the actual Interval Training portion of the routine.

Interval Training

The interval training portion of the routine takes up the rest of the workout time, minus a 3-minute cool down stretch at the end. The exercises in the interval training section are challenging, to say the least.

The first round is a set of 4 exercises, each done for 30 seconds, and with names like Suicide Drills and Power Squats, it’s not hard to imagine the intensity. Also, just as with the warm-up, you do each exercise consecutively, then repeat that entire sequence for a total of 3 rounds, each faster and more intense than the previous round.

The next round is probably the most challenging because the movements are hard, and once again, each set is repeated 3 times with increasing intensity. There are standing movements, movements that are done from the push-up position, and movements that are a combination of both. Between the volume of exercises and the difficulty of the movements themselves, by this point in the workout you are seriously glad that you are almost done!

There is a final series that is almost a “cardio cool down” where you do just 2 movements for 30 seconds each, then take a 30-second water break before moving on to the final cool down stretches.

All in all, the Plyometric Cardio Circuit workout is very challenging, yet mercifully brief. The 40 minutes goes by in a flash, and you are left with nothing but a thoroughly exercised body, a wet shirt, and a serious feeling of accomplishment!

Buy Insanity Now!

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Become a Beachbody Coach and save 25% off of Insanity and all Beachbody products, supplements, and equipment!