Am I Insane to Do Insanity? Or Why Do I Like BeachBody Workouts.

I heard about Insanity workout program for the first time from a friend. She was doing the program after having her first child to get her pre-baby body back. Some of you are probably unfamiliar with this program. Insanity is a workout program offered by BeachBody. In the past you had to purchase a set of DVDs to do the program. Now you can also get their BeachBody on Demand membership that gives you access to Insanity program as well as many other workout programs designed for different fitness levels.

My introduction to Insanity workout program

I've always been up for a fitness challenge and physical commitments (you can learn more about me here or by following me on Instagram @ThrivingBeet.) So after our first daughter was born, I decided to give Insanity program a try. I started it as soon as I was allowed to workout, 6 weeks postpartum, and I really liked it. What I valued the most at that time was that I could do it at home. And I was very happy with the results after completing it for the first time. I felt much stronger and more toned. So a month later I did it again, to get ready for our Mexico trip.

Then, three years later, we had our second daughter and I was ready to make my Insanity commitment again. One thing for sure - the program is hard regardless of how many times you've done it before! But that's what makes it effective. It will always challenge you and make you work hard. After completing the program for the third time, I'm ready to share some tips, the things I like very much, not so much or not at all, as well as ideas on how to stay committed and motivated. I will focus here on the Insanity program, since this is the program I have the most experience with. However, BeachBody on Demand has many more programs to choose from.

The things I like about Insanity program

Discipline. Committing to the program is a great way to discipline yourself. Discipline is not about punishment. It is about loving yourself enough so that you can do things that you might not want to do in order to achieve your longer term goals.

Pushing the limits. Insanity workout pushes me a lot in terms of cardio - much more than I would ever do on my own.

Results. After all 3 times of completing Insanity I noticed that I had much higher endurance and strength and improved form in a lot of exercises. I'd built up more muscle and felt more toned overall. Even though it is a no-equipment cardio workout, it makes almost every muscle in your body work. I could see the difference in my arms, shoulders, legs, glutes and abs.

Feeling of accomplishment. If, like me, you do Insanity workouts the first thing in the morning, you'll get an amazing feeling of accomplishment when you are done with one of the hardest workouts you've ever tried and still have a full day ahead of you.

Convenience. The program doesn't require any equipment (except for the yoga mat) and can be done anywhere.

No need to make decisions about what to do. Insanity is a complete 2-month program with workout videos to follow daily.

The things I like less or would like to change about Insanity program

Significant time commitment and willpower. In the second month of the program you need to dedicate 60 to 75 minutes a day to workout, which is really hard to do when you have two kids and a full-time job. So the only way for me to do that was to wake up at 5:45 am. Although very tough in the beginning, it was worth, and it got easier over time.

Repetitiveness of workouts. There are only 4 different workouts in each month of the program (plus extra 15-minute abs session), which makes the program very repetitive after a couple of weeks. In addition, the warmup is pretty long and almost identical every day. Getting through the warmup was actually the hardest thing for me.

Increased hunger. I did feel more hunger during the program and ate more than I normally would. I could still see the results despite eating more. However, I can't say what results I would see if I used the BeachBody's proposed meal plan and calorie intake. If your goal is to lose weight, you might need to pay more attention to the calorie intake along with the program.

Tips to get through the Insanity program

Have the physical printout of the calendar and mark every day you complete the workout. It is especially helpful when you do Insanity for the first time. Having a visual tracker of your progress is very motivating!

Prepare the night before. Get the right workout page open on your computer, fill up your water bottle and prepare your workout clothes, shoes and mat, so that you don't have to spend your valuable time on this in the morning.

Focus on incremental steps. Think of the whole program as a series of small blocks of exercises that you need to complete. I believe this is the most important point of the entire post! The biggest challenge to complete the program is mental, not physical. If you have a very big and ambitious goal, it might seem unattainable at first. But once you break it into small actionable steps, it becomes more realistic. The same applies here.

Mentally, break the program into two 1-month blocks and then into weekly blocks. Completion of each of these blocks is a victory on your way to a bigger goal.
Each week, Thursday is a 'recovery' day (recovery from cardio, with more strength and stretching oriented workout) and Sunday is a day off. So it might be helpful to break each week even further into two 3-day blocks. Believe me, every Monday morning my goal was to make it through Wednesday. And then every Thursday I was motivated by the thougt of a day off on Sunday.
The first month of the program is physically tiring. To beat physical fatigue, do your best with stretching and really rest on the days off. And then keep on going. Continued workouts is the best remedy from aches caused by exercising. Aches are different from pain, though, so use your judgement or consult with your doctor if you think something can be damaging to your body.
The second month is more about mental fatigue. To beat mental fatigue, think about small incremental steps rather than the whole program. If you think that you still have 3 weeks to go, it might seem like a lot of work. But if you think that you only have 2 days left till the recovery day, that is much more motivating!

Things to keep in mind when committing to the Insanity program

Exercise alone without proper diet doesn't do miracles. Unfortunately, that's not something that the program creators can change, it's a fact. I wish anybody could just follow the program without thinking of what they eat and see their bodies transform. But that's not the case. That is why BeachBody also provides suggested meal plans for different calorie targets.

Difficulty and intensity of the program. Insanity is hard! But that's the point. So I won't change that. That's exactly why I commit to the program - to challenge myself and to see the results of my hard work.

Be mindful of neighbors. Insanity program, as well as many other cardio-focused programs from BeachBody on Demand, involve a lot of jumping. Therefore, if you have neighbors downstairs, beware that they might be unhappy with your workouts. This is one of the reasons I postponed starting Insanity this time until we moved into a standalone house from our second floor apartment.

What's next for me?

Now I have a BeachBody on demand membership. Insanity program really got me into a rhythm of daily early morning workouts, so I continued with Insanity Max30 right after that (30-minute high intensity workouts.) I really enjoy it so far as I can get a hardcore sweaty workout in just 30 minutes, which is much easier to manage. I will also try out other BeachBody workouts, especially the 30-minute ones. BeachBody on Demand membership has definitely been a great investment for me and a much cheaper alternative to the gym membership. At some point I might consider going back to the gym fitness classes, but until then I'm planning to use this membership for my exercising routine.

As I continue trying new programs, follow me on Instagram @ThrivingBeet to see which BeachBody on Demand workouts I like the most and why.

DISCLAIMER:
This post is not sponsored by BeachBody. All the views and opinions in the post are solely based on my own experience.