This is a nuts set of workout DVD's. I am overweight and just shy of 40, but I have dreams of getting back into my pre-marriage body. I decided to seize the day and go for it, and I am not sorry. My muscles are currently screaming, every bit of me hurts. Every day, I both love and dread pushing play on this dvd, because I know what will happen when I do. I will spend 45 minutes gasping, lurching around, heart pounding, sweat running off me like a monsoon, desparately trying to keep up with a workout designed by fitness demigods. Afterwards, when I can catch my breath and pull myself up of the ground, I feel so good it is not even funny. Yesterday when I finished my workout and was talking to my wife, I said "You know what I feel like? I feel like I'm on vacation!". You know, that feeling you get on day 1 of vacation when you have the whole thing stretching before you, when there is a cool drink in your hands and not a care in the world? That's how I feel when my blood is pumping, when my body is sore and I am so proud of myself.
I can't even begin to keep up with this video, but that is ok. I keep my heart rate up, I have a great time, and I try to get a little better every day. I'm not done with the program yet, I hope I have the stamina to keep it up, but for now, this is fantastic.
The DVD's themselves are good, the music is fine, the instructor is incredible and never demeaning. I feel like he is speaking directly to me and he is very encouraging. I am also encouraged when the folks exercising with him can't keep up, because I know that if these very in shape people can't do it, then I am in good company. The rest of the package is fine. I'm on weight watchers, so I'm not using their eating plan. I'm not changing diets midstream. Anyway, the workout calendar is nice, I keep it up to date and it is a good motivational tool for me. The DVD case is compact and sturdy. It's a little pricey, but I think that it is worth it so far. It is giving me back my self respect.
----**UPDATE**
I've done the program now for 21 days. I have gone down 2 pant sizes, lost 11 pounds, am losing my love handles, have had to take my belt in 2 notches (almost 3!) and am getting my neck back! The workouts are very active. They are very intense, and the more I do them, the more intense they can get. When I first started, I could not do the exercises with anything approaching good form. 3 weeks on, my form has improved, but now the workouts are tougher because I'm pushing myself harder to complete them. Shaun T. is inspirational,and I have a love hate relationship with him on the DVDs! I yell at the screen as I exercise. Get yourself a good pair of shoes, it made a huge difference to me, and make sure you do all the warm ups. If you are chunky like me when you start, don't be discouraged, just keep at it, do your best, and so far the results have made me a believer. It has been a very hard 3 weeks, but I love the way I feel, I'm happy to be in clothes I thought I would never wear again, and my wife and co-workers all notice the difference. This set has made a big difference in my attitude towards exercise, and I think I'm going to do P90x when Insanity is done!
--**Update**
Day 31 of insanity here, down 14.1 pounds, ran 5k yesterday, pushing harder. The workouts don't get easier, but there is a huge sense of accomplishment every day as I fill in the workout calendar. Someone told me today that I look thinner, and I was very excited. I'm still thick, don't get me wrong, but I'm getting there. Insanity has made me excited to get physical.
--**Update**
5 weeks of insanity done, 17 pounds down, preparing for a 4.5 mile run this weekend, really nervous about starting week 6--it supposedly gets even insaner (?). My wife has joined me for some of the workouts and my kids are now doing it with me (as much as they are able, and they have a great time!)--the whole family has gotten into it. Can't say enough about how good I feel--it is a crime to feel this good, I swear.
--**Update**
I must admit that I look forward to these little updates, as I use them for encouragement. Anyway, day 45 of insanity is today. From a discipline standpoint, this is a daily decision--these workouts are hard. I feel great, but every day, I look in the mirror and think a)this is great and b)long way to go. On the up side, my belt is too big, have to use it on its tightest setting. I'm down 18.5 pounds since I began. I can see my neck--and it is not just a solid column of blubber. I have abs popping out (!) (although they are still buried under some belly fat--let's face it, I started this waaaay overweight). My wife has now joined the culture of fitness in our family, and is working out regularly. The second month of insanity, which starts 6 weeks in, is significantly more insane than the first month (which I didn't think was humanly possible). Shaun T goes completely nuts, and the workouts are tougher, more intense, longer, and still lots of fun. I could never have dreamed 45 days ago of keeping up this level of activity. Back on day 1, the first warm up blew me away and I wanted to lay down and cry. Now, the warm up still kicks my rear end, but I know it is because I am trying HARDER working STRONGER doing Better. My flexibility is so much increased! I walk around and I feel stronger in everything that I do. Listen folks, this is a great program. If you have the determination, it will change you, mentally, physically, cardiovascularly. It is so hard, but soooooo good.
--**Update**
Today is day 59 of Insanity. Wow. I can't believe I have almost made it through the first round. I weighed myself today, and I am down 21.8 pounds. My old pants are falling off me--literally. I put them on yesterday just to walk around the house because they were in the top of the "clean" pile, and they fell right off. I had to change clothes! I'm using a smaller belt I never thought I would use again. My size 36 jeans are now my jeans of choice (down from busting out of size 40's to the point that I wouldn't even wear jeans because they were not comfortable). I'm planning on doing Insanity: The Asylum when this round is done, which will turn the Insanity journey into a 90 day (actually, 93) day trip. Then, on to p90x!
--**Update**
This will likely be my final update. I finished Insanity 2 days ago. Wow. Wow. It was a bear. The last week was so intense, I struggled just to keep up (two Max Plyo workouts? Two Max Interval workouts? And Cardio Abs twice??). I'm 22+ pounds down, happy as a clam, sore as can be, and chomping at the bit to keep going. I did my final fit test, and more than doubled many of my exercises--I would NEVER have believed it possible. I was still sucking wind by the end of the fit test, because I was pushing as hard as I could to better my last scores. I started the sequel to this video set (Insanity: The Asylum) yesterday, and it is equally intense, but different. I'll probably review it as well when I have done more of the workouts. Anyway, I could never have survived even 5 minutes of the Asylum if I hadn't done Insanity first.
In the end, this set worked for me because I needed someone to push me. Or I thought I did--I really ended up pushing myself, but the videos gave me the structure and the tools to get it done. I promised myself I would do it every day, even if I had to workout at midnight. It was just me, a pair of shoes, and my DVD player, kicking some butt. Some reservations here--it is not easy on your joints. I'm 40, and overweight. Some exercises were just too hard on my knees, and I modified them. I kept my heart rate up. Shaun always says "exercise at your own level", but what I told myself was "exercise just a little past your level". So I did, and it worked for me. Take their warnings seriously--don't do this if you aren't willing to push, and if you have health concerns, then for heaven's sake, choose something else. But if you are willing to get your goose cooked on a daily basis and come back and ask for seconds (!), then this is a great choice. Cheers to everyone in the Insane Posse of Fitness Gazelles, and I hope that these updates have helped. Be smart, work hard, and whatever method you are using to lose weight, Insanity or something else, keep it up. I'll be doing the same!
--**Update**
I know that I said that the last update would be my last update. But I wanted to give a status report 1 year on--I'm now just shy of 50 lbs down since I began one year ago. I did the following things--I did Insanity x 1 round, Insanity Asylum x 1 round, P90x+Insanity hybrid x 1 round (P90x + insanity cardio), P90x straight up x 1 round, and I'm now in the midst of a p90x2 + Insanity hybrid with 3 weeks to go before completion. I also run 1-2x per week for 45min to 60 min on the elliptical because I enjoy it. I do insanity with a 20 lb weight vest on now sometimes, and I run on the elliptical with a weight vest. I have gone from being able to do 1 (count it, 1!) pull up to 10 sets of 8 pullups. They aren't the prettiest pull ups around, but I get up, all on my own. I can do push ups until the cows come home. I'm still about 20 lbs overweight from what I'd like to be, but I'm not complaining. At 50 lbs in a year, you can see that weight has been slow but steadily coming off. No loose skin, lots and lots of muscle coming on. I'm still a big dude--but I now RUN up and down the stairs at work. And I'm out of breath--but I love it. I'm not yet back in my wedding suit, but I've pulled out clothes I haven't worn in YEARS. Yesterday, I had to take off a sweater because it swallowed me whole. Then I put on another sweater--and it was too big also.
All of this is to say that I haven't done anything that crazy, not really. About an hour a day, sometimes more because I really enjoy it now, sometimes less when I'm tired. I do it 6 days a week when I'm on insanity only, 5 days now on p90x2 because that is the program. I still do weight watchers, and it has changed my relationship with food. I still love to eat (believe me!) but now I eat to enjoy and not to make myself stuffed. I still have a burger and a beer on Friday nights and I don't worry about it. I eat a lot of healthy things, and have discovered that I enjoy them. That's a shock.
I'm just a dude. I have a job, I work 60+ hours a week. I have 3 kids. I have a wife. I have pets. I have a yard. But I decided that no amount of pain during exercise was as painful as not being able to wrestle with my boys. No amount of pain in a workout is as bad as sitting on a couch and feeling gross in my own skin. So I got going. I have to keep struggling every day--some days I just want to sit down and not get up--but then I think of how things were only a year ago, and I think that, yea, I can get off my duff and exercise. The insanity/p90x programs work for me because I respond to structure (I need someone telling me what to do!) and I can't afford a trainer. Shaun and Tony are my trainers now.
You can do it. You really can. I've been super careful--done all the stretches, listened to my body, MODIFY MODIFY MODIFY when I knew that the movements weren't possible for me, and I've by and large avoided major injury. Lots of sore muscles. Shin splints. A few things like that. But just use your good sense--protect your body, give it all your love, and it will love you for it.
You can do it. I'm still doing it. See you 20 lbs down, ok?
--**Update**
Just a quick update, now 16 months after I bought insanity. I'm down another 5 lbs (every pound seems to get harder!) but I have really noticed improvements in my muscles as well. Anyway, the reason for the update is just some personal goals are starting to happen that I never thought I could do. I ran a 5k in honor of a friend who died of cancer. My entire family ran it--my wife, my 3 kids, and I all crossed the finish line. My 5, 6, and 8 year olds were so proud of themselves and I was about to burst with pride. Afterwards, I felt so good that I signed up for a 10k; I ran it last weekend and had my best run ever. I decided to start training for a half marathon, and I am using Insanity/p90x as my cross training days. I've always wanted to run, to be a runner, but I never had the courage. I was afraid that it was going to hurt. That I couldn't do it. But after insanity, I figured that workout aches and pains were just the feeling of my body getting stronger, right? So Here I go! Oh, and I got a bike. Don't look now, but I need to take a swim class...
--**Update 4/2013**
So remember that half marathon I was training for? I injured myself by running too much too fast (like a big dork). So I had to lay off exercising completely for a couple of months--I went bananas. Then I used Insanity, Insanity Asylum 2, and Body Beast to get back to exercising (wow, it was painful starting all over, and Shaun, Asylum 2 is nuts), but now I'm 3 weeks away from my first Half Marathon!! I'm running for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (Team in Training, if that means anything to you). It has been crazy, training (the right way, this time) and I know I could never have done it if Ididn't take a chance to get off my couch. I still fear--I've got to run 10 miles this weekend (wow!) as my training run....if I can do it, anyone can. Don't be afraid, folks, just follow your heart, get off that couch, and get moving.
The comments that all of you have posted about my review have moved me to tears over and over again. I just want you all to know that they have carried me through some rough patches when I didn't know if I would ever exercise again...so thank you. Your kind words mean a ton. Love to all, and DIG DEEPER!!
--**Update 5/2014**
I'm still here, doing my best. My first marathon is in the bag. I can't believe that I'm a marathoner, but I am. Thanks Shawn T. And to ally friends who encouraged me in this craziness. Love to all.
| Item Package Dimensions L x W x H | 10.3 x 8.9 x 1.4 inches |
|---|---|
| Package Weight | 0.56 Kilograms |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 7.09 x 9.45 x 2.36 inches |
| Item Weight | 1.23 Pounds |
| Brand Name | Beachbody |
| Country of Origin | United States |
| Warranty Description | 30 DAYS FROM DATE OF PURCHASE WHICH HAS PASSED. |
| Model Name | FBA_SANDVD2118 |
| Color | Black |
| Material | Plastic |
| Suggested Users | Women, Men, Youth, Unisex Adult |
| Number of Items | 13 |
| Manufacturer | Beachbody Inc., |
| Part Number | FBA_SANDVD2118 |
| Included Components | DVD |
| Size | Small |
