Insanity Workout Video: Should You do it?
Fitness Insanity: Intro
Insanity workout videos.
Should you do the Insanity workout videos?
Is the Insanity abs workout a good idea?
What does the Insanity workout calendar even look like?
Is it a good idea for weight loss?
As someone who did the Insanity workout video series years ago and has since become a weight loss coach, you're about to discover my experienced opinion on all these questions.
Exciting, right?! Let's get stuck in!
Fitness Insanity: What Exactly is it?
So, before you go ahead with the "Insanity workout download" for $120 - it'd be good to know what it is.
The Insanity workout videos are designed to be done six days a week over 60 days. It involves high-intensity interval workouts (HIIT), bodyweight exercises, no equipment and is intended to be done at home.
The series is produced by Beachbody and guided by fitness trainer Shaun T.
Fitness Insanity: What's Good About it?
Not only will this article answer the question of whether or not you should do Insanity workout videos, but it's also going to be a "Workout insanity review".
So let's start with what's good about the Insanity workout videos.
Well, it could be a good idea to follow if:
You're already in great shape.
You want to add a lot of HIIT to your exercise routine.
You want to do it with friends and/or family members.
You want to do something from the comfort of your home.
Otherwise, without sounding like a Debbie downer - that's where the benefits end.
Seriously.
Fitness Insanity: The Main Issue With it
The biggest issue surrounding the Insanity workout videos, in my opinion, is that most people asking me whether or not the workouts are a good idea are beginners.
It is also prevalent among people who want to lose weight, which may include you.
So, is the Insanity workout video series a good idea for beginners and/or those who want to lose weight? Absolutely not. In fact, it's a terrible place to start.
And yes, it's easy to say:
"Well, just because a beginner wants to workout using the Insanity workout videos - that's not the fault of the people who made it, Beachbody. They can't control who uses it."
This was my thought process until I looked at their website.
Much of their marketing is aimed at those who aren't very clued on what they're doing, which would imply that it's aimed at beginners and those who desperately want to lose weight—even promising that you can lose up to 9lbs in 14 days.
Which, by the way, is:
An unsustainable amount.
Likely nearly all going to be water weight anyway.
The other issue is that according to the Insanity workout calendar, it has you exercising six days a week - which is an unnecessary amount.
Because aside from the fact that many beginners who start the Insanity workout videos don't often like exercising, going from exercising 0 days a week to 6 days is a massive jump and, again - likely unsustainable.
Remember, when it comes to wanting to transform yourself for the better, there's nothing wrong with starting at 2-3 days per week of working out.
This isn't to sound pessimistic - it's just an experienced personal trainer and online coach giving his two cents.
Note:
You're probably wondering what a better frequency of workouts to follow is. If so, download my free full body workout plan by clicking here.
Fitness Insanity: The Other Major Issue With it
It doesn't teach you anything, which goes for both nutrition and training.
Even though the Insanity workout list programme is nowhere near as good as it'll have you believe, it's slightly more forgivable. Because if you sign up for a workout programme, chances are you don't always want to know the ins and outs of putting your one together - you just want to do it.
The more significant issue is the meal plan - and the fact that they give the same one to everyone.
Giving out cookie-cutter meal plans only creates more issues than it solves.
Because you think you want a meal plan, but you can never stick to one long term - and if you're struggling with your weight, then a temporary solution in the form of a meal plan isn't going to help.
Realise that the meal plan that comes with the Insanity workout list includes the following:
Telling you what times to eat.
How many meals you should eat.
Which foods to eat.
Which portion sizes should you have.
Is ridiculous, as it has 0 idea about your routine.
Think of it like this, why would:
A female, who's 65kg and 5ft1 in great shape
Follow the same meal plan as a male, who's 120kg, 6ft2, and the only time he's ever really exercised was when he was made to in high school?
Or even a:
Single mother of 3 kids who works two jobs in her 40s
Or a 19-year-old male college student with plenty of free time
And expect them all to follow it not only equally but also all get great results from it.
Are you starting to see the issue? You could say the same goes for the Insanity workout list.
Plus, even if you get results from the fitness Insanity meal plan, what happens once the meal plan is over? As said before, you would've learnt nothing. You are likely to go back to the more negative habits you previously did.
Resulting in you being back at square one a few weeks or months after completing the Insanity workout calendar - if you complete it.
Again, this isn't to be a Debbie Downer. This is to emphasise that the best thing you can do to ensure long-term results is to learn about nutrition, which is why an education surrounding the subject is the most important thing when I coach my Kairos Online members.
Imagine me, born and raised in London, England, to Portuguese parents giving meal plans to online weight loss members based in Asia or Africa? It wouldn't make sense.
So you can't expect a random company online to do it for you, either.
Fitness Insanity: Can it Help You "Burn Fat"?
Kind of, but make no mistake - the Insanity cardio and the Insanity workout calendar are nearly all just HIIT.
Not only is doing HIIT almost every day a bad idea but there are also 0 mentions of a calorie deficit within the entire programme or meal plan, and with a calorie deficit being the only way to lose fat, don't you think that's strange?
Ultimately, it almost seems like they don't want to educate you on how to sustainably lose fat so that they'll have a recurring customer who forever yo-yo's with their weight. This also means a person is likelier to return to the Insanity workout videos every few months or years.
Fitness Insanity: My Final Opinion
Remember that the 95 people who didn't do well with the Insanity workout list aren't going to go around telling everyone. In contrast, the five people who completed it will tell all their mates, creating a lot more noise in the process and making it seem much better than it is.
This doesn't just go for the Insanity workout videos; thousands of programmes only market their very best customers and provide 0 education that could also be mentioned in a similar breath.
It may also be easy to feel like this article was much more negative than positive when speaking about the Insanity workout videos. If you feel like that - then you're correct.
Because yes, I can appreciate that it could be a good plan for a minority of advanced individuals that enjoy following a cookie-cutter meal plan, doing loads of HIIT and perhaps want the challenge.
But ultimately, doing HIIT almost every day and following an intense 6-day week Insanity workout calendar makes for a very inferior programme.
As I said, this is all just my opinion - and it's certainly better than doing nothing. Still, it's 2024, and there are much better options for you to follow.
Fitness Insanity: Conclusion
That's it for the "Insanity workout video: should you do it?" article.
I hope it helped.
And if you enjoyed it, subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking here - because I'm going on my weight loss journey and will be vlogging it over the next few months.
Speak soon,
Leo
P.S. This article is just the writer's opinion, Leo Alves, and shouldn’t be taken as anything beyond just an opinion piece.
P.P.S. If you enjoy this workout Insanity review article, please share it with your friends and family.