Fitness Destinations

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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!

Insanity Pure Cardio
and Cardio AbsMost of the Insanity workout routines consist of a similar and very effective format: Warm-up, stretch, an intense interval training circuit routine, and then a quick rest before continuing with on-going interval training circuits for the entire workout. That format repeats until the end of each workout, and then a thorough – and very welcome! – cool-down stretch finishes out the exercise session.

In the Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs routine, however, the format is quite a bit different, and quite the challenge as well.

The routine starts out with a warm-up and stretch, just as the other DVD’s do, but once the stretches are done and the actual exercises start, they never stop until the entire workout is done.

Most of the Insanity workouts are based on high-intensity interval training followed by brief periods of rest, back to high-intensity, then rest, back to high-intensity, and so on. It is that “reverse interval training” that makes Insanity different than any other home workout program on the market right now.

In the Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs routine, however, once the high-intensity starts, there are NO BREAKS of any kind. You just keep “pushing through” as Shaun T calls it, and you don’t stop exercising until you get to the cool-down stretch at the end.

The period of time that you do this constant exercise is approximately 20-minutes, which doesn’t seem like much when you see that number in black and white. However, this is the Insanity 60-day weight loss program that we are talking about, not some mamby-pamby, ineffective workout program. The Insanity exercises are all challenging, effective movements, and they all share a similar trait:

The better you are at the movements, the harder they are and the more benefit you get from doing them!

In other words, Insanity isn’t one of those routines that you can “conquer,” and then have to move on to something more challenging later on down the road. People don’t conquer Insanity – they survive it!

Cardio Abs

The Cardio Abs routine is actually a separate workout than the Pure Cardio routine, but if you follow the Insanity workout schedule – and you should – then the Cardio Abs workout is done immediately following the Pure Cardio routine.

Pure Cardio is just about 40-minutes long, and the Cardio Abs routine is about 16-minutes long. The total exercise time on the day that you do Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs will be just under 1 hour.

The Cardio Abs routine itself is a good combination of intense cardiovascular movements along with effective abdominal exercises. The ab movements are meant to target not just your “visible” abdominal muscles, but the inner muscles as well, collectively making the workout a core training workout, not just an ab routine.

For anyone who has done the Ab Ripper X routine in P90X, the Cardio Abs routine is not as difficult from a purely abdominal training perspective. However, the combination of intense cardiovascular training along with intense ab and core movements makes Cardio Abs every bit as challenging as Ab Ripper X, just in a different way.

Conclusion

Overall, the Insanity Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs workout routine is at the same time a welcome break from the format of the other workouts, yet it is also just as challenging as the other routines.

There are no Insanity workouts that don’t leave you dripping with sweat and feeling a serious sense of accomplishment, and in that regard, the Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs routine gets the job done just like the rest of the Insanity workouts.

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Related Posts
INSANITY!
Review of Insanity – The Fit Test
Review of Insanity – Plyometric Cardio Circuit
Review of Insanity – Cardio Power and Resistance
Review of Insanity – The Fit Test Week 2
Review of Insanity – Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs
Review of Insanity – The Fit Test Week 4
Review of Insanity – Cardio Recovery
Review of Insanity – Core Cardio and Balance
Review of Insanity – Max Recovery
Review of Insanity – Max Interval Circuit
Review of Insanity – Max Cardio Conditioning
Review of Insanity – Max Interval Plyo
Insanity Before and After Pictures and Fit Test Results

Done properly, the air bicycle abdominal exercise is a very effective movement because you are engaging your upper and lower abdominal areas at the same, while simultaneously exercising your hip flexors.

Although there is really no such thing as the “upper” and “lower” abdominal area, there are certain exercises where you will feel the burn in one area more than the other, which is what makes the air bicycle movement so effective. By keeping your shoulders elevated, you are tightening up the part of  your abs that are closest to your chest while at the same time moving your legs which targets the hip flexors and the lower abdominal area.

The keys to this movement are:

• Don’t stop until you feel the burn, and even then try to go for more reps
• Support your head with your hands, but do not pull on your head
• Bring your knees up as far as you can on each repetition
• Focus on every repetition rather than just getting into a “groove” of back and forth movements

Air Bicycle Abdominal Exercise

For an incredibly effective abdominal training routine, be sure to check out the Ab Ripper X portion of the P90X Extreme Home Training Program.

Click here to see my personal P90X 90 Day After Pictures!

The P90X chest and back workout is no joke! It is as intense as they claim it is, and at the same time it is fun, and radically effective!

Even as difficult as it was, Tony Horton does a great job of both motivating you to really push your limits, while at the same time encouraging you to take breaks when you need them. There are also several water breaks when you can catch your breath, and plenty of time devoted to warming up, as well as cooling down.

The Exercises

This workout is divided up into 2 “rounds”. You run through the entire workout once, then they change things up a bit and run you through the entire thing a second time. By the second time around, you are truly grateful that you are on the downhill slide towards the end of the workout!

Exercises during this workout include: Standard Push-ups, Wide Front Pull-ups, Military Push-ups, Reverse Grip Chin-ups, Wide Fly Push-Ups, Closed Grip Overhand Pull-ups, Decline Push-ups, Heavy Pants, Diamond Push-ups, Lawnmower, Dive Bomber Push-ups, Back Flyes

Ab Ripper X

By the time you get to Ab Ripper X, if you are working out with a buddy, you are hugging and giving each other high-fives, and in some cases, you may actually feel like crying with joy because the chest and back workout is over! However, the ab routine is approximately 16 more minutes of fun, and although your chest and back get a break, your abs will be screaming for mercy in no time.

Exercises during Ab Ripper X include: In & Outs, Seated Bicycle (forward and reverse), Seated Crunchy Frog, Wide Leg Sit-ups, Fifer Scissors, Hip Rock n’ Raise, Pulse Ups, V-up Roll-up, Oblique V-ups, Leg Climbs, and Mason Twist

Conclusion

The chest and back workout is very challenging, yet very effective. The specific exercises that were chosen not only get the job done, but they are put together in an order that allows you to use a different muscle group while the previous muscle group is recuperating.

Notice the word “recuperating” rather than “resting”. There are no significant “rest” periods during the entire 45+ minute workout.

Ab Ripper X incorporates a few “standard” abdominal exercises, but overall it is a very unique and well-rounded abdominal workout. Each exercise is only done once, for a total of 25 repetitions, so even as challenging as it is, you only have to make it through one time.

Overall, the Chest and Back workout and the Ab Ripper X workout live up to the P90X standards of intensity and effectiveness, yet at the same time plenty of encouragement and motivation are given. Tony and the other people in the video make it fun, the music keeps you going, and you end the workout with a smile on your face, even though you are completely wiped out.

2 thumbs up!

See other related P90X Review posts:

• P90X Review Day 2 – Plyometrics
• P90X Review Day 3 – Shoulders and Arms
• P90X Review Day 4 – Yoga X
• P90X Review Day 5 – Legs and Back
• P90X Review Day 6 – Kenpo X
• P90X Review Day 7 – X Stretch
• P90X Review Day 8 – Core Synergistics
• P90X Review Day 9 – Cardio X
• P90X Review Day 10 – Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps
• P90X Review Day 11 – Back and Biceps

One of the biggest reasons why people don't exercise effectively is because they simply don't know how to do it properly.

Whether due to misinformation, not enough information, or too much information, people are just confused about what exactly they are supposed to be doing!

The posts in this series will each highlight a specific exercise or exercise concept, and explain it in enough detail so that you can stick to what works, and skip the stuff that doesn't!

Bent Knee Leg Raises

There is some confusion about working your "upper" abdominal muscles vs. working your "lower" abdominal muscles. The confusion exists because there aren't 2 muscles there – it's all the same muscle – the Rectus Abdominis. 

The Rectus Abdominis is actually one long and wide muscle that runs from below your rib cage down well below your waistline. To say that you are working your "upper" or "lower" abs with any given exercise is a misnomer.

However, there are certain exercises where you will feel the fatigue of the movement in one area more than the other, which is likely how the whole "upper" ab "lower" ab confusion started to begin with. 

One of the exercises where the fatigue is really felt in the lower abdominal area is called Bent Knee Leg Raises, and it is a very effective abdominal exercise.

In order to correctly perform the movement, you start out by laying on your back with your hands flat on the floor down at your sides. Your legs are fully extended, with just a slight bend in your knees, and your head is also in contact with the floor.

The objective of the exercise is to contract your abdominal muscles – and only your abdominal muscles – and raise your legs up together until they are perpendicular to the floor, forming a roughly 90-degree angle.

You raise your legs up slowly, and control the entire motion with just your abdominal muscles, and then you lower your legs back down under that same control. Be sure to lower your legs under control, rather than just letting gravity pull them towards the floor.

Do not let your heels touch the floor! When your heels are approximately one inch from the floor, immediately raise your legs back up for the next repetition. 

There are several common mistakes that people make when doing this exercise, and they include:

• Not bending the knees. The reason for bending the knees slightly is to take the pressure off of your lower back. Failing to do so could cause a painful and long-term back injury.
• Letting the feet rest on the floor in between repetitions. The idea behind almost all resistance exercises is to keep constant tension on the muscles that are being worked. If you allow your feet to touch the floor in between repetitions, you will be allowing your abdominal muscles to rest, and you will not get nearly as much out of this exercise.
• Bending the knees too much. There are other abdominal exercises that require you to significantly bend your knees, such as the Reverse Crunch, but the Bent Knee Leg Raise only requires a very slight bend in the knees. The idea is to keep the resistance – your legs in this case – as far away from the working muscle as possible, which is the Rectus Abdominis. By bending your knees too much, you will just make the exercise easier to do, and you will not see as much benefit from the movement.
• Resting too much in between exercises. Abdominal exercises should be done back to back so that your abdominal muscles do not have a chance to recover between exercises. The abdominal muscles recover from a repetition almost instantly, so whatever exercises are part of your abdominal training routine should be done one right after another without resting in between exercises. 

For more information on how to properly do abdominal exercises, check out the Abs Like Stone site which is part of the Workout Pass Network.

Also, you can  search for information that can be downloaded, or just Ask the Experts!

Crunches on an exercise ball are a very effective abdominal exercise, but you need to do them right if you want to get the most out of the movement!

For a complete list of exercise ball workouts, be sure to visit FitnessBallU.com!

Crunches on an Exercise Ball

When doing crunches on the exercise ball, be sure that your lower back is the only thing in contact with the ball! The whole idea here is to increase the range of motion of the crunch movement, and if your shoulders are on the ball, you will not get very much additional benefit over just doing standard floor crunches.

Also, just as with a floor crunch, do not pull on your head as you come up. Use your abdominal muscles to lift your upper body off of the ball, and then hold yourself in that elevated position for 1 or 2 full seconds. When you return back to the starting position, do not rest on the ball! Immediately come back up for the next repetition, then continue that pattern for 15 to 30 focused and intense repetitions.

Click here if you want to learn about exercise ball exercises.