Insanity Workout Result: Is the Pain Worth It?

I’ve completed my 60-day Insanity workout review and took a couple of weeks to reflect on the, well, insanity I’ve put my body through over the last two months. Are the time, pain, expense and effort worth it to have a rock-hard body and improve your overall fitness?

Yes, absolutely, if this workout style appeals to you.

As I alluded to in previous posts during my Insanity journey, I’m a competitive person by nature. I’ve been an athlete for most of my life, and although I’ve been away for sports for about seven years, that competitive spirit is still within me. The sports drills and general intensity in the Insanity workout were certainly reminiscent of my training days, but since all workouts were done at home, I could focus on performing the moves and pushing myself without fear of embarrassment.

The Insanity DVD series will probably not appeal to those who prefer more low-key, passive forms of exercise, or those who don’t like the intensity of sports. I’ve noted as much several times. But for the right personality fit, there’s no better way to get in shape, see results and build a strong foundation of fitness.

Final Results and Recommendations

As of my last day on the Insanity workout, I’d lost 7 pounds and decreased my chest, waist and hip measurements by 2 inches each. A week after finishing Insanity (and starting a new round, with a day off between workouts), I’d lost another 4 pounds. Two weeks after finishing Insanity, I am stabilizing at a 12-to-14-pound total weight loss. My obliques are cut, and my overall physique is noticeably slimmed down. I’ve been told that my weight loss looks more like 20 pounds.

I do have a few words of warning for those who might want to embark on the Insanity workout. I’ll be following these on my new round.

• Commit to doing the workout as scheduled, without fail. Earlier this summer, I was forced to take about a week off with just one week to go; the difficulties I encountered upon restarting the workouts showed my conditioning losses and challenged my spirit.
• Do your workouts with a buddy (together or apart). My Insanity cycle inspired a friend who already owned the DVDs to start up a new cycle. We bonded over the challenging DVD of the day and kept each other accountable.
• Catalog your journey with the public. Share your workouts with your blog readers, Twitter followers or Facebook friends. Having this column as an accountability tool made sure I kept on task, as I knew I had to report on how my week went.
• Follow the diet that comes with the plan. I didn’t do this until the end. It’s tempting to eat whatever you want after working so hard — I didn’t gain weight when I did so, which seemed to reinforce the behavior — but shortly after eating a clean, healthy diet, you’ll start to crave fish, or chicken or homemade guacamole after workouts. (And you’ll see faster results!)

Source: http://calorielab.com/news/2011/10/23/insanity-workout-review/