I thought it was great!
The BB forums for insanity are full of hard core fitness junkies..less 'normal' people who are in less than good shape. They tend to be very discouraging of people with a lot of weight to loose asking for advice about doing insanity. Almost always saying it's not for beginners, they should do P90X or chalene extreme first. I mean, they are less supportive of overweight people and more cheerleaders of more fit people. I worry that they talk people out of starting a workout program when the first step is the hardest and end up killing their motivation. If insanity is what motivates them, they should go with it as best they can.
I mean, outside of the effect of weight on the joints with all the jumping can be a problem. But Insanity is about pushing yourself, within your own limits, no matter what those are. As long as you know your limits and are careful. So it was good to see someone NOT be talked out of it be people saying it was too hard for her (and Joan did great!)
I'll play devil's advocate here:
I personally do not think it is unsupportive to offer an opinion that a specific workout program might not be appropriate for a given person AT THAT POINT IN TIME if that person is a beginner or "less fit". In fact, I think it's the height of responsible behavior. Doctors' and physical therapists' offices are full of people who tried to do too much too soon when embarking on a physical exercise program, and the exercise blogosphere is full of stories of people who began an ambitious program with the best of intentions, only to fall out after 3-4 weeks because, again, they tried to go too hard too fast. One cannon take shortcuts on the road to fitness, and as appealing as Insanity or Shock Cardio might be to a beginner or "less fit" individual, starting out with that program is, IMHO, not a good idea. These are programs, however, that are worthy goals to work toward.
If the "Beachbody crowd" is encouraging beginners to start with a different program and work their way up to the Insanity series (which, just in passing, became an instant favorite in my world), then more power to them. Some people's feelings might be hurt to hear that a hyper-intense program is not the wisest starting point. However, it's safer to hurt their feelings than to have them risk hurting their cervical column, knees, shoulders, muscles and heart. Wise, mature people are able to get past that little ego-bump and start safely.
I personally think it's very sad that people who are in "less than good shape" are considered "normal", whereas people (especially people in their 40's and up) who are in "good shape" are "abnormal", "bionic", "hard-core fitness junkies", and are automatically considered to be condescending to those who are not as fit as they. Makes for a lonely road, including here on this forum, ironically hosted by a home-ex producer who put herself on the map catering to the seasoned, fit exerciser back in the day.
A-Jock
