I get the occasional question about the Beachbody.com products such as P90X and Insanity. I can't speak from personal experience about the P90X, but Insanity (both the product and state of mind) is another matter altogether. To the uninitiated, Beachbody is a company that has made it's name with do-at-home exercise programs which they hock via non-stop infomercials. Their target audience is people who don't want to go to a gym, but know they need to do something to whittle down the ol' spare tire.
I first heard about Beachbody's flagship product, P90X, when I was in chiropractic college. Many of my classmates were doing it and talking about how well it was working and how tough it is. In those days we were living on the beach, and I was surfing regularly, so I had no desire to do much more than that. Those days are now long behind me, and it takes considerably more effort to get to the beach from Houston than it did in Ponce Inlet, Florida. Such is life.
When I was building out Green Chiropractic, I decided I needed to get back into shape. It had been awhile since I had seen the surf, and I was quickly turning into a fat skinny guy. There's nothing worse than being a fat skinny guy. A good friend had both programs, but wasn't using Insanity, so by default I jumped into what is known as Beachbody's toughest program. I also bought my own copy for future use, which is what I'm using now.
One of the key selling points of Insanity is the fact that other than a television and DVD player, no other equipment is needed except for maybe a mat of some kind for cushion if you have tile or hardwoods. I don't even wear shoes doing the workouts--I was having knee pain with them, but when I tried without shoes (I couldn't get them on before the warm up started, so it was a happy accident) the pain disappeared. A friend of mine wears Vibram Five Fingers for the same reason.
What I like about Insanity is the intensity level, which is as high as it gets. In order to get your hormones switched on for fat loss it's important to hit it hard. And Insanity, as the name might suggest, hits it hard. It's not uncommon for me to be mopping the sweat off my face before the warm up is over.
The program isn't for everyone, and it's really not something anyone should try and do more than once or twice a year. It's really too much to be sustainable. Most people could just do the warm up three times a week and see some big physical changes.
The toughest thing about it is the mental game you have to play with yourself in order to finish the workout every day (six days a week for 63 days). I take a two hour lunch, and do the workout the first hour. The second hour I spend attempting to stop sweating before I start seeing patients. The first month's worth of workouts are between 35-45 minutes, and they get up to an hour or so after that. There's a countdown clock always ticking, telling me how much brutality I have to endure before the end. But when the end comes, there is a huge sense of accomplishment.
Shaun T, the leader of the Insanity gang, is a likable, motivating guy. Someone I'd like to hang out with. He also pushes you hard to keep going, even when you can't really feel your legs anymore. There is a gym full of people doing what you're trying to do along with Shawn T, and you'll start to wonder what they're like, and if you're like me you'll try to pace yourself with some of them (there's one guy in his early 40s I keep my eye on--if he can keep going then so should I). Shawn is also really good at reminding you to keep proper form, and there are virtually zero exercises with form that would jeopardize your low back if you do them right.
I can't recommend Insanity to everyone--it's too intense for many (there are other Beachbody products out there that are much more accessible), but if you can watch their youtube trailer and not feel the need to hide in the closet, this might be for you. I'm getting close to finishing my second time through this thing, and I had to buy new pants, because even my Florida pants were getting a little too loose.
