About 20 minutes into my first Insanity session, I puked. Then - 10 minutes later - puked again. It may have been the Lucozade, it may have been the early start, but afterwards, I swore never to do it again!
This was forgotten one month later, when - after a belly full of beer - an Insanity advert came on the TV. I announced then and there that I would complete the program! Reality kicked in the very next day.
So what is Insanity?
It's basically an 'at home' fitness program. Watch the video, do the drills (monkey see, monkey do). The only equipment needed is as follows:
- Cross trainers (there is a lot of side to side jumping - my running trainers split after just 4 weeks)
- Pen and paper (for recording results of your 'fit test').
- Water (lots of it!)
- Towel (for mopping sweat. I'm not kidding.)
The program goes like this:
Month1
Month 2
So there are 55 days of workouts during the 63 day program. Some of those days, as you can see, involve two workouts. The asterisk (*) above shows where workouts can be swapped for longer / harder ones if you were lucky enough (like me) to have the 'deluxe' edition.
During month 1, the sessions are between 40 minutes and an hour. During month two, the sessions range from 55 mins to over 1.5 hours. Each session will involve a "warm up", which will ensure that you are effectively
broken before you even begin! Followed by stretches, and then the -real- circuits.
None of the circuits are that hard.
Individually. It's the stacking of the sessions, coupled with minimal breaks, that leaves you gasping on the floor like a goldfish!
That however, for me, was not the most insane thing about Insanity.
What is so insane about Insanity?
To put it bluntly -
fitting it into your life! This is what takes serious willpower and commitment. After a session, you need to wait another 10-15 minutes just to stop sweating. So overall - excluding shower time (presumably you'd do that anyway!) - you are looking at fitting in between 55mins and 1hr 45mins of additional activity, 6 days a week for two months!
Not only that - you need
space. Enough to properly jump around in. I have been travelling a lot, which has meant occasionally lifting up the bed and moving it into the hallway to make room!
Places I have done insanity:
- Kendal
- Halifax
- Catterick
- Bristol
- Swindon
- Longmoor
- Minehead
- Paignton
- France (Paris)
- Germany (Dusseldorf)
- On the beach
- In the dark (with a head torch)
- Outside in the rain
The verdict
There are many critics of this program, and many have started it. However - very few have finished it! I would say this has got nothing to do with 'fitness' and
everything to do with.. willpower. It takes serious willpower to complete the 63 days.
At the end of it, you most certainly will be a lot fitter. You will experience the incredible satisfaction of recording your final fit test score. But - best of all - it will be
over!! And 'normal life' can resume..
