On the Fence....Help me decide: Insanity???

[Stacy]

I've been on the fence about purchasing Insanity. I have tweaky knees, that are bothered most by regular jumping jacks, but slower plyo jacks dont bother them too much. I can do squats but not too many lunges.

I really want to ramp up my workouts....so maybe it's more my own personal motivation factor rather than the actual workout I'm doing, but Insanity looks intriguing.

My concerns.....a huge dread factor, the cost, knee issues, and boredom as I hear the moves are "repetitive". I can only do 1 pushup on my toes. I heard there alot of pushups....straight pushups Im good with (as I can do them on my knees), I worry that with too many pushup/plank combos I may have to modify too much to make it worth it.

However it may be what I need to step up my workouts.

Thoughts? I dont want to buy yet another program only to have it collect dust b/c of a dread factor or b/c my knees cant handle it.

Thanks.

 

[Calendar Girl]

Hi Stacy,
I don't have any advice but just wanted to let you know that I too am so tempted to buy Insanity. Do you take a glucosamine supplement for your knees? I found that helped a ton with my knees when doing a lot of squats and lunges. Also I've read that it's very important for women to balance the quads and hamstrings so I try not to over do quad exercises.

But if you do get insanity, maybe I'll be able to do the program with you. I really would like to get my husband to do it at the same time I do but I don't know if I am going to be able to get him to do that.

 

[Calendar Girl]

I think I killed your thread. Sorry, I'm always a thread killer. I've been so tempted to buy this, wish I could just make the leap or get over it.

 

[dr.mel_PT]

I'm on the fence too. I need to put some oomph in my workouts but I'm not sure if I would enjoy Insanity. My left knee is a little problematic from time to time from an old snowboarding injury, but I made it through Plyo Legs and the HIITs without any problems. I'm just not sure if I can handle 6 intense workouts per week...

 

[bitmover]

Maybe wait for turbo fire? Might be a better fit. I passed on insanity but think I'll have a hard time resisting tf.

 

[Zozo]

Insanity is the best program I have ever bought, it ties with STS. I have seen so many improvements. I have bad knees too, but I found, mostly, that Insanity was better than step, because it's deep jumping, hits the muscles hard, not the joints. However, if you're really worried, it's a big pruchase. I could do about 16 pushups in a row without a break before I started, now I can do nearing 40. It really does improve your fitness that much. However, I wouldn't suggest trying it until you can do a few more pushups, just because you won't get as much out of it.

Have you done the 100 push ups challenge? That's what took me from a zero push-upper Check out this website: www.hundredpushups.com.

Insanity really is a good program though. And zerio boredom factor for me Ouchie factor though

 

[Czechfan]

Hi,

I'm doing Insanity and in the second month of the rotation for it now. I have sometimes knee issues and MS. I can do it but I don't have the same issues you do. Yes, there is lots of impact in it lots of pushups, plyo moves etc... Basically its like cathe's HiiT but with more impact. With the concerns you have mentioned I'd option for caution and skip insanity and I agree Turbo Fire coming out soon might be a better fit for you. I know I'm definitely planning to get it. Please be careful and always factor in your concerns and issues with regards to any workout. I have to be very careful in doing Insanity and modify but even that can be hard on some of the moves. Insanity is about 10times harder than HiiT and about that much more on impact roughly speaking so I'd caution you and respectfully suggest waiting for Turbo Fire.

ps. Don't get me wrong, I love Insanity but I definitely can understand that its not for everybody. Its very intense and a lot of fun but I wouldn't want to do a three month rotation of it that's for sure. Its a good option if you are able to do that sort of a workout and take precautions for yourself to protect your knees. I use puzzle mats to help absorb impact, I wear knee braces when I workout, and I wear Nike Shox again to absorb impact to protect my knees and back. I also modify making the movements smaller or not jumping as high and always with a bent knee. I do find that doing lots of repetition of some of the moves really kill my wrists. So, I do what I can the best way I can to modify. Having said all that I can't wait for Turbo Fire to come out since I'm familiar with Turbo Jam and understand that it will be a hybrid blend of HiiT with Turbo Jam type moves which sounds awesome to me. I wish you luck with whatever you decide and above all exercise smart and be safe.

Take care!

Nora

 

[taurus1]

I'll chime in too. I personally love Insanity - think it's a great investment, and certainly much more challenging aerobically than HiiT. Like some other posters said I made HUGE fitness gains. I had to work MUCH harder after just one month to get my HR up to 85-90% max. That said, I did get sick of it after 2 months of nothing but that. I still love it - I just mix it up with other stuff once or twice a week. I think it's worth it for that purpose.

However, it is quite high impact - lots of jumping, high knees running, etc. The jumps tend to be on the bigger side - think tuck jump, not jump rope. some people find this OK for their particular knee issues (I did), but others don't. It's true - there are lots of pushups. Of course you'd get more out of it if you could do more pushups now, but if you do Insanity you'll certainly be able to do more by the end!

BTW, I totally second the 100 pushup challenge. I quit before I could do 100, but I got up to 72. And I won a cool workout jacket at my gym for winning a pushup challenge - I even beat almost all the guys! It's a very effective program. I can now bench press a lot more, etc.