Reviews – The Minded Athlete

Before you try another new HIIT program, you need to read this Insanity workout review. I'm not going to sugar coat it: Insanity is not for the faint of heart. And speaking of the faint of heart, if you have any health conditions you need to check with your doctor before you try this workout. Seriously. Now if you're already fit and used to working out at a high level, this might be right up your alley. Are you sick of your old boring routine? Have you hit a plateau? Do you want to train for a marathon or an obstacle course race? Well, then I'm talking to you today. I tried this program. And I even lived to tell about it. By the end of this Insanity workout review, I will tell you whether or not you should try it too. So What Is This Insanity Workout? Before we get to the Insanity Workout review, let's talk about what Insanity is exactly. Insanity is a super intense workout program that you do at home in front of your TV. They call it Insanity for a reason. This workout is nuts! I have been a fitness trainer for over 20 years, and I can tell you that this is one of the toughest workouts out there. True story. While you're reading this Insanity workout review, it's important to note that this program isn't for everyone. But it's ideal for people who want to take their fitness to the next level, athletes, people who run in obstacle course races, and people who already have some degree of physical fitness. If you're brand new to exercise or if you are severely overweight or if you have bad knees this is probably not the best program for you. One great thing about this HIIT workout is that you don't need any special equipment or a gym membership to do it. All of the exercises use your body weight for resistance. This program won't pack on muscle mass, but it will tone up your body and improve your cardiovascular fitness. The 60-day Insanity program will work your core, arms, legs, glutes, chest, and back. But it's more about the cardio than it is about the muscle building. What Is HIIT? Image source: Pixabay HIIT stands for high-intensity interval training. It's a type of workout that alternates periods of intense work followed by periods of lower intensity or rest. While we're talking about the Insanity Workout review, it's essential that you know how HIIT training works. In most workouts, you are working for extended periods at a moderate intensity. On a scale of 1 to 10, most of the time your exertion level is around 5 or 6 during exercise. However, with a HIIT workout, your exertion will be seven or higher. One word of caution about HIIT workouts is that along with the super high intensity comes a greater risk of injury. That's another reason that I say this workout isn't for newbies who haven't yet learned proper form and technique of the exercises. Insanity is a HIIT workout that uses what they call "max interval training." In most HIIT workouts you do short intervals of intense exercise followed by rest periods. Insanity uses longer intense intervals with shorter rest times. You will go hardcore for 3 to 5 minutes followed by a 30-second rest. The program boasts that it burns around 1,000 calories an hour. That's incredible! How We Reviewed Image source: Pixabay This analysis was an independent review of the Insanity workout program. In the review process, we tried out several of the videos in the program. We also researched professional and consumer reviews. And we compared the features and price of the program with other similar programs on the market. We have no business or financial ties to any of the companies that we reviewed. Our goal with this Intensity workout review is to help you decide if it's the right program for you. The Insanity Workout Review Image source: Pixabay The first thing that I want to talk about in this Insanity workout review is the program itself. The program is a grueling 60-day workout that changes up your schedule every week. Insanity features 10 different DVDs that you will do 6 days a week. Each of the workouts takes between 30 and 60 minutes. In the first month, you will do five total body workouts including: Fit Test Plyometric Cardio Circuit Cardio Power and Resistance Cardio Recovery Pure Cardio After the first month, you will have a recovery week that includes a daily balance and core cardio routine. This recovery week is less intense than the previous four weeks, and it is meant to prepare your body for the even more intense second month ahead. The four new workouts for month number two include: The Max Interval Circuit Max Interval Plyo The Max Cardio Conditioning Max Recovery When you order the program, you also get a nutritional guide and a calendar so that you can track your progress. In addition to that, there are free online support tools that you can use. When I say that Insanity is intense and even brutal, I'm not kidding around. It will kick your butt, even if you think you're in pretty good shape already. The Insanity workout program is a bit expensive, costing from $$$ to $$$. But it gets killer professional and consumer reviews. Amazon customers rate it 4.3 out of 5 stars. The biggest thing that people love about Insanity is that it really does work. It's incredibly difficult, but it produces results. One of the complaints about it is that people unknowingly purchased knock-off Insanity DVDs that didn't work correctly. You can avoid that problem by only buying from reputable sources, no third party sellers. Things We loved During our Insanity workout review, we found several things that we loved. First of all Sean T. is exceptionally motivating. Just when you think that you couldn't possibly do one more rep, he somehow gives you the energy to keep working. We also love that this workout doesn't require any equipment or a gym membership. All you need is a little space and a lot of determination. Another thing that we love about Insanity is that it's super fun. It will whip your butt, but in some weird kind of way, you'll thoroughly enjoy it. However, the thing that we love about this program the most is that it actually works. Things That Sucked In our Insanity workout review, the first thing that we didn't like was that the whole program is very high impact. So if you have any knee, joint, or low back issues, you're going to have trouble. Another thing that sucks is the high price tag. We also didn't like that there was no flexibility work or stretching in this program. Other Insanity Workouts Image source: Pixabay In our Insanity workout review, we looked at a few other Insanity workouts that you don't get in the base kit. Insanity Fast And Furious The Fast and Furious DVD is a super intense 20-minute workout. You might be tempted to think that this one is easier because it's only 20 minutes. But you would be wrong. They packed a 45-minute workout into just 20 insane minutes. Buckle up! If you're not ready to fork over the big bucks for Insanity's base kit, Fast and Furious is an excellent place to start. It only costs $$ to $$. This crazy fast 20-minute workout gets solid reviews, though not as good as the base kit. Amazon customers rate Fast and Furious 3.8 out of 5 stars. One complaint about this workout is that the video isn't as professional as the others. Some people complained that it looked like Sean T. filmed it in someone's living room. Insanity Sanity Check Sanity Check is another short but insane workout by Insanity. If you want to put your toe in the water with the Insanity program, this video is where you should start. I certainly can't say that Sanity Check is easy, it's not, but it is easier than most of the DVDs that come in the base set. This intense HIIT workout only takes 26 minutes, and it will teach you the proper form for several of the exercises you will use with the full program. Sanity Check is priced the same as Fast and Furious, costing from $$ to $$. As we discussed earlier in the Insanity workout review, it gets excellent reviews. Sanity Check is no exception. Amazon customers rate it 3.9 out of 5 stars. The best thing about this workout is that it teaches you the moves that you will use in the other Insanity DVDs. Insanity Fast And Furious Abs No Insanity workout review would be complete without mentioning the Fast and Furious Abs DVD. This workout condenses a 45-minute workout into 15 intense minutes of core work. One of the great things about this one is that it doesn't include any crunches. You do all of the ab work in this video standing. This video is priced the same as the Fast and Furious and the Sanity Check, costing from $$ to $$. But it only gets average ratings. Amazon customers rate it 3.7 out of 5 stars. The biggest complaint about it is that it's more cardio than it is ab work. Here's How Insanity Stacks Up To The Competition Image source: Pixabay In our Insanity workout review, we also took a look at three other similar programs. Here's what we thought about RIPT90, Jilian Michaels Body Shred, and PX90. RIPT90 Workout RIPT90 stands for Resistance Interval Plyometric Training, and it goes for 90 days. As you've probably noticed after reading the Insanity workout review, the RIPT90 program is longer. The base set also comes with more DVDs than Insanity. RIPT90 comes with 14 super intense workouts. In the Insanity workout review, I mentioned that it was primarily cardio. Well, RIPT90's HIIT workout is more about building lean muscle, although it will still give you some cardio intervals. And unlike Insanity, RIPT90 requires weights. If you've tried the PX90 workout, most people think that RIPT90 is step up from that. RIPT90 is considerably more affordable than Insanity, costing from $$ to $$. It also gets excellent reviews. Amazon customers rate RIPT90 4.0 out of 5 stars. This program is super intense, though not quite as brutal as Insanity. If your goal is to increase muscle, you will do better with this one. One of the complaints about it is that the DVDs are boring. Jilian Michaels Body Shred Jilian Michaels Body Shred is another HIIT workout. This one features a format that uses three minutes of resistance training, two minutes of cardio and one minute of recovery and core work. The Body Shred program breaks the workouts into push muscles (chest, shoulders, triceps, and quads), pull muscles (back, biceps, glutes, and hamstrings), and cardio. You do each of these workouts twice a week, taking one day off for rest. Like Insanity, Body Shred is a 60-day program. And it comes with 12 different DVDs. One thing to note is that you will need weights for this workout. As I mentioned in the Insanity workout review, Insanity is expensive. Jilian Michaels Body Shred is not. It costs from $$ to $$, depending on where you buy it. But like Insanity, Body Shred gets killer reviews. Amazon customers rate it 4.3 out of 5 stars. One of the things that people really like about this program is that it's not as hard as Insanity. PX90 Workout In our Insanity workout review, we also took a look at the popular PX90. PX90 is another intense HIIT workout. The program goes for 90 days and will both give you cardio and build lean muscle. If you're mainly looking for cardio, you would be better off with Insanity. But if you are looking for more strength training, you'll probably like PX90 better. This base set comes with 12 DVDs. Unlike Insanity, you will need equipment for this workout. You will need a pull-up bar, weights, and resistance bands. PX90 is priced similarly to Insanity, costing from $$$ to $$$. And like the other programs that we looked at in this Insanity workout review, PX90 gets solid reviews. Amazon customers rate it 3.9 out of 5 stars. One complaint about it is that the workouts are all relatively long. You have to dedicate more than an hour a day every single day for 90 days. There are no rest days with this one. The Bottom Line Image source: Pixabay Okay, it all boils down to this. I asked the question earlier in this Insanity workout review, "Should you try it?" My answer is it depends on your current fitness level. If you are a newbie to exercise or if you are very out of shape or if you have any injuries or health conditions, then this workout is not for you. I actually don't recommend any of the programs that we reviewed today for beginners. On the other hand, if you are an athlete or usually work out at a super high level, then you are going to love Insanity. It's an effective program, and it will definitely produce results if you stick with it and eat clean. Whether or not you should try it also depends on what it is that you're looking for with your workouts. If you want fat burning cardio and toning, then you should try Insanity. However, if you're looking more for muscle or strength increases, then you would be better off with RIPT90. So what do you think? We would love to hear from you. Share with our readers in the comments section below what you thought about the Insanity workout. And let us know what kind of results you're getting with it. Share those pics!