First of all I would like to say that I did 1 full round of P90x and Insanity and had excellent results with both programs. Insanity and P90x are from the Beachbody company. Beachbody programs always come with great customer support (30 day money back policy) and fast, reliable shipping. Both come in nice boxes containing fitness guides, nutrition guides, DVD workouts, and calendars to mark your daily completion. But Insanity’s fitness guide is a little pamphlet that goes straight to the basics (they say in the infomercial they want us to exercise, not read). The P90x fitness guide has many pages.
P90x is a 90 day internal boot camp system that promises great results in 90 days. It has 12 workout routines and is based on Muscle Confusion. Basically, it says to do 6-7 (day 7 is X-Stretch or Rest) different workouts during the week. so you don’t get stuck and stop seeing results. MUST HAVE A HAND UP BAR OR SOME WAY OF DOING LIFTS OR CHIN LIFTS. Take the p90x Fit Test to see if P90x is right for you. The P90x fit test is 8 routines measured by repetitions in a specific time (use modifications at will). 90x is broken down into 3 phases or months. The first 3 weeks of these phases you will complete the same 6-7 exercises throughout the week, but the last week of the month is called the recovery phase where you are introduced to a whole new week of exercises that allow your body to rest of resistance training and have cardio and abdominal workouts throughout this week. This week is no joke!! Here are the workouts for P90X:
# Chest and back (weight/resistance training)
# Plyometrics (Cardio)
# Shoulders and arms (weight/resistance training)
# Yoga X (Flexibility and Stability)
# Legs and back (weight/resistance training)
# Kenpo X (Cardio) All workouts range from (45-60 minutes)
# Chest, Shoulders and Triceps (Weight/Resistance Training) Except Yoga X (96 minutes)
# Back and biceps (weight/resistance training except Ab Ripper X (16 minutes)
# Core Synergistics (Cardio and Core)
# X Stretch (Flexibility)
# Cardio X (Cardio and Core and Flexibility)
# Ab Ripper X (Ab Routine)
In the second phase of P90x, they introduce 2 new workouts in workouts 6-7 and remove 2 so you’re still doing 6-7 weekly workouts. This allows for more muscle confusion on resistance training days due to the 2 new resistance workouts. They are great too. New and harder moves than phase one! 3 weeks of this again and then the same week of recovery.
The last phase is the best, that’s when the real muscle confusion starts! Each week they are swapped back and forth to continually trick your body through different exercises. For example: What you did in week 1 you will do in (Month 1) weeks 1 and week 3 and what you did in (Month 2) week 1 happens in the second week and then go back to week 1 of the first month and son and so on. (week 1, week 5, week 1, week 5, and then the big recovery week).
Shaun T’s Insanity is a home-based cardio workout that promises a total body transformation in 63 days. The Insanity Deluxe system also has 12 DVDs (the basic kit has 9). high for long periods of time and with minimal rest periods (about 30-60 seconds). This is the toughest workout ever recorded on DVD! I can honestly say that the infomercial was right! You also do fit tests throughout Insanity (5 times) to track your progress. It’s really amazing to see where you are after 63 days! The madness is divided into 3 segments.
The first segment or month you will rotate 5 workouts (training 6 days a week, no 7 day workout! You’ll be praying for the rest day lol. About 35 minutes a day for 1 month workouts.
2nd segment you have your recovery week basically they want you to use Core Cardio and Balance for 6 days. I just switched between Core Cardio and Balance and Max Interval Sports Training to prepare for the Maxed out workouts in month 2.
3rd segment month 2 Things really get tough for the last month at this point, workouts are about 25 (45-60 min for month 2 workouts) minutes longer, so eat more healthy food! New workouts and new moves you’ll love!
1: Dig In & Fit Test – To start off, Shaun T will put his body to the test and see what he’s made of.
2: Plyometric Cardio Circuit – Burn fat with intense lower-body plyometric intervals and sweat-inducing cardio.
3: Power and Cardio Endurance: Build lean muscle and upper body definition with strength training and insane training power moves.
4: Cardio recovery: Once a week Shaun T helps you get ready for the next round of Insanity Workout.
5: Pure Cardio: Skip the intervals, this continuous cardio workout is extreme.
6: Cardio Crunches: Do explosive intervals of cardio and crunches for rock-hard abs.
7: Core Cardio & Balance: Take a break after month 1 of the Insanity workout and prepare for month 2 with this workout.
8: Max Interval Circuit: The interval circuit that’s more intense than anything you’ve ever done before.
9: Max Interval Plyo – Push your legs until they beg for mercy with power and plyo, all at your MAX.
10: Max Cardio Conditioning Abs – Push yourself to the limit with this extreme cardio workout.
11: Insane Abs – It’s nothing but crazy ab-cutting moves that will really define your core!
12: Maximum Interval Sports Training: It is a fun workout that performs various sports exercises such as boxing, basketball, football, and gymnastics.
Weight training for the upper body: This is not your usual weightlifting. This is a bonus DVD that they say Shaun T likes to lift weights from time to time.
With all this said: P90x will get you in the best shape of your life with multiple workouts with weight training and cardio and flexibility in 90 days (I lost 47lbs with p90x). Tony Horton will keep you laughing and motivated throughout the entire 90 days.
Shaun T’s Madness will put you in the best condition of your life with your own body weight and the will to survive. You’ll be doing lots of different pull ups and jumping moves that will really tighten and strengthen your entire body. Insanity also has stretches that really work deep into the muscles. If you have any weak lower body parts like legs, knees, lower back, Insanity might not be a good fit for you because of all the jumping.
Also, you shouldn’t jump straight into trying Shaun T’s Insanity to build a solid fitness foundation before trying Insanity. Wear great running shoes with Insanity to protect your joints and support your joints.
I lost 13 pounds with Insanity and 4 inches off my waist!! I started my fitness journey weighing 284 and today I weigh 224 thanks to these two great and intense workouts!
Lastly, P90x and Insanity are totally different and extreme, but both offer excellent results. Just remember that nutrition is 75% of the battle! Enjoy my friends!