Many people looking for the best and most effective workouts often settle for programs that end up wasting their time and effort. What they do not know is that there are programs that are far easy to adopt and be fit in no time. A good example of this fitness program is the Insanity workout.
Insanity workout is one of the most challenging programs in the fitness industry. It requires no gym equipment as one gets to exercise at home taking advantage of their body weight for resistance.
Based on max interval training, involves an intense workout for a limited period and resting for a long time; this will increase your aerobic fitness while burning fat at the same time.
How does the insanity workout work?
Routinely, as many fitness instructors will advise, you are taken through a series of moderately done brilliant moves that progress to the most difficult ones. The program, on the other hand, does the opposite of the standard routines. It takes you through a series of intense workouts with short periods of rest.
The only difference it has from the regular workouts is because it has long periods of maximized effort intensity.
Due to the intense nature of the Insanity workout programs, they are mostly, therefore, recommended for participants who already have a baseline fitness.
However, if you are interested in trying out the program, you should talk to your doctor first. This way, they can help you determine if the intense workouts are safe for you.
Exercise Intervals
The max interval training workout involves 3-minute intervals with half a minute rest periods. At this extreme rate, one is bound to lose up to a thousand calories in an hour.
In every insanity workout program, there is a total of ten workouts with every routine taking between thirty minutes and sixty minutes to complete. This activity should be maintained strictly six days a week.
If you choose a two-month program, you will change your workout on a weekly basis. In the first month, the insanity workout calendar include:
- Fit Test
- Plyometric Cardio Circuit
- Cardio Power and Resistance
- Cardio Recovery
- Pure Cardio
Before commencing the workout for the second month, one needs to make a seven-day recovery, which includes balance and a core cardio routine.
The earliest insanity program includes a myriad of programs as shown below:
These are the programs you receive when you sign up for the program. These exercises are still sweaty but they should help you prepare for the next extreme task, which involves Max Interval Circuit, Plyo, Cardio Conditioning, and Max Recover.
The Insanity Max 30, for instance, is done for only 30 days. The most intense program is Insanity: Asylum, which is marketed as a weight-loss program due to its claim that it burns up to 1000 calories per class!
Why Do People Choose Insanity Workout?
Insanity workouts have traded for quite a while as the most effective fitness programs that many people ultimately resolve to. There are numerous benefits associated with it evidenced by testimonies from those who have tried it.
Here are some advantages alongside their testimonies:
1. Allows you to quickly lose weight
Having been designed to burn up to a total of 1000 calories per class in the most intense workout, there surely can’t be a better way one could lose that much fat in a day. It is the best fitness program that will get you lean and give you an athletic body in a short period. It is not for the faint-hearted or those who are indifferent.
Over the course of your workout plan, you are involved in a series of grueling weight loss cardio and interval training workouts. With stretching and dynamic warm-ups, you will ultimately attain the best and unbelievably impressive results.
A good example is Shane H. whose Insanity Max:30 allowed him to lose weight, gain muscle mass, and more importantly, become the man he wanted his sister to be proud of.
Shane lost 52 pounds in 18 months. He had this to say about the whole workout:
“I noticed tremendous boosts in my physical ability and stamina as I worked through the program. Most importantly, I lost a lot of weight and gained muscle mass. The physical changes were significant. When I began, I weighed 210 pounds at only 5 feet 8 inches in height.
But as the weeks and months went by, I was loving my new body. After one year and six months of completing multiple rounds of both programs, I lost just over 50 pounds. I currently weigh 158 pounds.”
Shane says that his quality of life is so much better since he started the transformation journey.
“I’m finally happy with my body, something I was not able to say just over a year ago,” he said.
Christie B. lost 70 pounds with Insanity. She was looking for a program to help her lose weight after giving birth.
“The first week of the program, the workouts were so intense and my body was not used to that, especially after having a baby. As I progressed, I could see the difference in my body after two weeks. I was so shocked and it made me want to do more. I’ve tried other workouts, and they got boring, but Insanity keeps you guessing what will be next.
From doing an Insanity workout, I lost 5 stones (70 lbs!) and 16 inches off my waist, which I never thought I could do. Insanity changed my lifestyle completely. I have so much more confidence in myself now than before, I have an endless amount of energy so I can do anything with my daughter without feeling tired. I am so happy I pushed play because if I didn’t, I would be unhappy with how I looked,” Nicole notes.
2. Many workout options
The reason why many people fail to maintain a good health deal stick to a fitness routine is that of boredom. This happens every time the workouts for the day are similar.
Insanity workouts offer no room for one to get bored. For effective weight loss, the activities for each day vary, and there are no repetitions.
For every subscription you will make to the program, you will get a DVD from a selection of many. The point is to get one that isn’t annoying at all as every workout will leave you guessing what will come up next.
3. Exercise and lose weight at your pace
As opposed to trying to fit a strict fitness program or going to the gym, this cardio fitness program lets you exercise at your own pace. Did you know that you can do all this from the comfort of your niche? If you don’t have time to go to the gym or if you live so far from a Wellness center, it comes in handy.
There is always time for you to squeeze in an insanity workout program. All the moves are location flexible and can be performed in the basement, bedroom, living room, or even in the garden!
What more do you need from a program that won’t let you break away from your daily routine while at the same time being an effective weight loss program?
4. It is a fitness challenge
Easy exercises are the easiest to abandon especially if you do not see or attain results at the end of your scheduled fitness period. The most effective programs are those that fully engage you in a workout. This program does exactly that, and as mentioned earlier, if you are fainthearted, you will find a hard time keeping up. That is one of the challenges you will be faced with.
The results, however, are conspicuous and you get into a perfect shape in a short period because of the intensity of the program. Your muscles will grow quicker, and you will also burn belly fat and get that flat tummy at a more rapid pace.
5. It is the fastest way to ultimate wellness
At one point in your life, if you are faced with weight problems or the inability to achieve a particular shape you desire, you try out a wellness program that preaches good results at the end of it.
You immerse yourself in it but find out that it takes longer than it said. With this program, the max interval exercise, results begin to show in a matter of weeks. In some cases, as evidenced by reviews about the program, it exceeds people’s expectations!
It is the most convenient, flexible, and brings in a ton of various exercises that if followed correctly, results are speedy and are evidenced by how your body transforms slowly with each that you accomplish.
Why People Like Insanity Workout
After its release in 2009, the Insanity workout became popular and many people chose it because of the many options it provided, the no-equipment use, and the intense challenge.
To fitness enthusiasts, this was an alternative to the P90X program, which requires equipment such as a pullup bar, dumbbell set, resistance bands, among others.
In an Insanity workout, the entire program is done completely using bodyweight exercises. Its intensity is what appeals to many people who like to work hard to achieve their fitness or weight loss goals.
What Do Studies Say?
In 2018, a review looking at the effects of extreme conditioning programs such as Insanity workout, CrossFit, among others noted that Insanity workouts have almost the same rate of injury as weightlifting and other recreational activities.
Researchers, however, also found that these workouts put a lot of stress on the body, which can be potentially dangerous to someone with a health condition, someone who is not in a physical shape, or someone with certain musculoskeletal injuries.
Another study looking at the impact of high-intensity interval training found that it burns a higher amount of calories than moderate-intensity training. Another research found that these workouts may also reduce body fat and waist circumference.
Conclusion
Ever since its introduction in 2009, there have been several spinoffs of the Insanity workout. Today, there are countless high-intensity interval workout videos and apps you can use as references.
But if you are looking for a specific program that can be done at home, the Insanity workout program might just work out fine for you. Avoid it, however, if you are pregnant, a beginner, or new to exercise, have a medical condition, live with orthopedic or joint issues, and if you are injured or in pain.
Be sure to be prepared before trying out this program, and always consult with your doctor first to see if the program is a good fit for you.
