Insanity: A Review, Part 1
So now that I have completed the 60+ days of the Insanity workout program, and having blogged for 60+ days straight about my daily trials and tribulations with the program, a review of the Insanity program is in order. This first part will deal with the pace and structure of the program. The second part will deal with my thoughts on the program and some of my results.
I like to think of Insanity as a cardiovascular workout program on steroids. It is a total body workout that only requires you to wear shoes, have ample space around you, and to dedicate yourself into doing the work. There is no other equipment needed. The program also mixes in body weight resistance, plyometrics (i.e. jumping around), core conditioning, stretching, and cardiovascular workouts designed to keep your heart rate up.
The workout program is broken up into three distinct parts: intervals, cardiovascular conditioning, and recovery. In the first month, each workout is about 30 to 40 minutes long and is comprised of 4 different parts: warm up, stretching, main workout, cool down stretch.
The schedule for Insanity goes as follows:
You workout six days a week with the seventh day being a Rest Day.
The fourth day of each week is the Recovery workout day.
You are supposed to do a Fit Test around every two weeks.
The rest of the workout routines fall within the rest of the days.
Here is an example of the first two weeks of the program:
Week 1
Day 1: Fit Test
Day 2: first Interval workout
Day 3: second Interval workout
Day 4: Recovery
Day 5: Cardiovascular conditioning
Day 6: repeat of first Interval workout
Day 7: rest
Week 2
Day 8: repeat of second Interval workout
Day 9: repeat of Cardiovascular conditioning
Day 10: first Interval workout
Day 11: Recovery
Day 12: second Interval workout
Day 13: Cardiovascular conditioning
Day 14: rest
Week 3
Day 15: Fit Test
so on and so forth
Now let me go over the pace of workouts.
The Interval workouts are as follows: each interval consists of three sets, about 4 routines per set, ~45 seconds per routine, then a 30 second break. Each interval set is supposed to be done at a higher intensity than the previous one. So, each interval set is about 3 minutes of intense workouts followed by a 30 second break. There are also two different interval groupings during the Interval workout sessions. At the end of each interval grouping, an additional workout routine is thrown in.
The Cardiovascular Conditioning workouts differ from the Interval workouts in that there are no scheduled breaks. You go from one routine to the next for the entire workout program. The Cardiovascular Conditioning are endurance workouts where you have to really focus and be mentally tough to get through them. There isn't as much repetition as with the Interval workouts and there is a lot more variety in what you have to do, but in many ways it is a more taxing workout because of the no scheduled rest structure.
The Recovery days are similar to the Cardiovascular Conditioning in that there are no scheduled breaks, but it is a lot less intense and there is more stretching and balance routines that are worked into the actual workout. However, do not let the name "Recovery" fool you, there are some deep muscle work involved that, combined with the cardio nature of the workout, will really get your body shaking and aching. The lighter intensity is very welcomed though and does break up the Insanity workout week quite well.
After the first four weeks of the program, there is a Recovery Week. During the Recovery Week, there is only one workout program that you have to do, Core Cardio and Balance. This workout is a cardiovascular workout, so there are no schedule breaks, but it is done at an intensity somewhere in between the Cardiovascular Conditioning days and Recovery days.
The second month of the program involves a lot of the same type of routines, but the big difference is that the total workout time is longer. During the second month, the workouts are about 45-60 minutes long. The pacing is the same, with two Interval sessions, one Cardio session, and one Recovery session, but there is more mixing of different routines together as well as the introduction of new routines. Plus the length of the workout days make the second month workouts a lot more intense than the first month.
This is the end of Part 1 of my review of the Insanity workout program. Part 2, will be more about my experience and some of the results. Depending on modesty, there might even be a set of before and after pictures.
I like to think of Insanity as a cardiovascular workout program on steroids. It is a total body workout that only requires you to wear shoes, have ample space around you, and to dedicate yourself into doing the work. There is no other equipment needed. The program also mixes in body weight resistance, plyometrics (i.e. jumping around), core conditioning, stretching, and cardiovascular workouts designed to keep your heart rate up.
The workout program is broken up into three distinct parts: intervals, cardiovascular conditioning, and recovery. In the first month, each workout is about 30 to 40 minutes long and is comprised of 4 different parts: warm up, stretching, main workout, cool down stretch.
The schedule for Insanity goes as follows:
You workout six days a week with the seventh day being a Rest Day.
The fourth day of each week is the Recovery workout day.
You are supposed to do a Fit Test around every two weeks.
The rest of the workout routines fall within the rest of the days.
Here is an example of the first two weeks of the program:
Week 1
Day 1: Fit Test
Day 2: first Interval workout
Day 3: second Interval workout
Day 4: Recovery
Day 5: Cardiovascular conditioning
Day 6: repeat of first Interval workout
Day 7: rest
Week 2
Day 8: repeat of second Interval workout
Day 9: repeat of Cardiovascular conditioning
Day 10: first Interval workout
Day 11: Recovery
Day 12: second Interval workout
Day 13: Cardiovascular conditioning
Day 14: rest
Week 3
Day 15: Fit Test
so on and so forth
Now let me go over the pace of workouts.
The Interval workouts are as follows: each interval consists of three sets, about 4 routines per set, ~45 seconds per routine, then a 30 second break. Each interval set is supposed to be done at a higher intensity than the previous one. So, each interval set is about 3 minutes of intense workouts followed by a 30 second break. There are also two different interval groupings during the Interval workout sessions. At the end of each interval grouping, an additional workout routine is thrown in.
The Cardiovascular Conditioning workouts differ from the Interval workouts in that there are no scheduled breaks. You go from one routine to the next for the entire workout program. The Cardiovascular Conditioning are endurance workouts where you have to really focus and be mentally tough to get through them. There isn't as much repetition as with the Interval workouts and there is a lot more variety in what you have to do, but in many ways it is a more taxing workout because of the no scheduled rest structure.
The Recovery days are similar to the Cardiovascular Conditioning in that there are no scheduled breaks, but it is a lot less intense and there is more stretching and balance routines that are worked into the actual workout. However, do not let the name "Recovery" fool you, there are some deep muscle work involved that, combined with the cardio nature of the workout, will really get your body shaking and aching. The lighter intensity is very welcomed though and does break up the Insanity workout week quite well.
After the first four weeks of the program, there is a Recovery Week. During the Recovery Week, there is only one workout program that you have to do, Core Cardio and Balance. This workout is a cardiovascular workout, so there are no schedule breaks, but it is done at an intensity somewhere in between the Cardiovascular Conditioning days and Recovery days.
The second month of the program involves a lot of the same type of routines, but the big difference is that the total workout time is longer. During the second month, the workouts are about 45-60 minutes long. The pacing is the same, with two Interval sessions, one Cardio session, and one Recovery session, but there is more mixing of different routines together as well as the introduction of new routines. Plus the length of the workout days make the second month workouts a lot more intense than the first month.
This is the end of Part 1 of my review of the Insanity workout program. Part 2, will be more about my experience and some of the results. Depending on modesty, there might even be a set of before and after pictures.