Finished: Insanity Round 2!

Hey folks! Two weeks ago (has it been that long already?), I finished my daily morning workouts with Shaun T, aka the Insanity 60 day program workout! Again, I'm proud to have finished this program. For those of you who don't know what Insanity is, it is a Beach Body workout DVD program that lasts 60 days. There are 12 videos that you rotate through six days of the week. The videos are usually about 40 to 60 minutes long. The workouts include high intensity interval training, where you work through a mix of cardio and strength exercises together without stopping. I had great results and got addicted to Insanity earlier this year, so I decided to do it again. Here's my quickie review!

What I love about Insanity 

- Foolproof: the calendar that you print out is super easy. It tells you what to do on every day. I would write the date at the top of the day when I completed the workout to know what days I did what.

- Consistency: It forces you to workout 6 days a week, which I really like. Although that seems like a lot of commitment, it creates a great routine/habit of working out consistently every week.

- Great Results: I have cuts in my legs and am more toned all over. The last time I did this workout, my whole body shape changed. I didn't lose a lot of weight either time (but I wasn't really needing to lose), but it really transforms your body shape and muscles. This time around, Insanity kept my sleek runner's legs toned after the half-marathon.

- Variety: It's not too terribly repetitive. There are 12 or so different videos that you get to switch through. They are all similar but they all vary a little. Some videos are more intense than others, and there are even recovery day videos. It's a good mix to keep you going.

- Stretching: Each video starts with stretching after the warm up and ends with stretching. It's very yoga based stretching, which helps flexibility and muscle recovery. The stretching at the end was always a great way to end the workout in a relaxing and calming way.

- Positive leadership: Shaun T is a great role model for this series. He is positive and uplifting. He is motivating and not annoying. He just has a great attitude that made me feel like I could get through any workout. The people in the video were also pretty positive too, which makes for a good experience every time I did the workout.

What I altered about the Program

- Loud moves: Because I'm in an apartment, I would occasionally alter some of the moves that were just too thud-inducing. If there was a jumping squat, sometimes I would just do normal squats so as to not thud ridiculously. (P.S. This is NOT an apartment friendly workout, although I did it fine. My neighbor below me did complain, but nothing ever came of it. I just tried to be aware of when she was home or not when I worked out.)

- Fit Test: I didn't do the "fit test" days. The fit test was basically a video where you tried to do as many reps of certain moves. You'd keep track of your reps and try to do more and more as the program went on. I'm not all that motivated by doing as many reps as I can. I often find I have bad form when I do this or it hurts something. This video is only 15 minutes long too, so I never saw it as an actual workout. I just used a different video on the fit test days.

- Weights: Insanity doesn't use any weights, which I missed at times. I felt the program toned me but didn't build muscle much. I added light weights the last two weeks to certain moves that would accommodate it to build extra muscle and give me a little boost.

Bottom Line

The first time I did the program, I was so nervous and thought I wouldn't finish it. The second time around, the only doubt I had about doing it was about whether or not I would get bored since I had already done it. Yes, Insanity is challenging and tough for sure, but its doable. No, I can't get through a single video with perfect form without stopping yet. Sometimes I still have to stop and catch my breath or take a quick water break. But that's what makes the workout great - its challenging enough to keep pushing me, but not enough to totally kill me. I would, without a doubt, do Insanity again in the future.

For those of you who have done Insanity, what did you like or not like about it? For those of you who haven't, would you ever consider this workout?