Insanity Scam

[NinjaSamurai]

I just saw an ad for some workout routine called Insanity, where they claim to do a year's worth of work in just 60 days. I was curious, so I did a little research of my own. I listened to some testimonial videos, and some people literally threw up their first day. I think that means it's a little harsh. I'm not considering getting this product at all, and I never really was, I just thought it sounded a lot like what was encouraged here - a lot of body weight exercises. The only differences are that Nerd Fitness teaches moderation to fitness, and there is a path after you have reached that fitness. By watching one commercial for a fitness scam, then doing some research, I learned two lessons that I hadn't gotten from Nerd Fitness before: 1) Doing too much will cause a LOT more harm than good 2) You have to KEEP doing something after you have reached your fitness goals. Insanity has 60 days of exercise, then nothing. Your body would kill you if you cut off that quickly from something that rigorous. I knew it before, but Nerd Fitness is the way to go.

[msuroo]

Insanity is the cardio-centric version of P90X. It's a crash course, and an effective one at that. They don't even advertise to be anything different than that - so you can hardly call it a scam. Check out MDA's take on P90X here, totally sums it up. Excerpt:

A program you can’t keep doing is hardly a program worth doing. Fitness should be a lifelong endeavor. It’s not just for the young bucks with limber limbs and supple' date=' indestructible ligaments. It’s for the oldsters, the washed up athletes, the wide-eyed beginners, the moms, the dads. As it’s actually practiced, I think P90X is probably too much to do as a lifelong program. It isn’t even advertised as such, to Tony’s credit; it’s billed as a crash program designed to get you lean in 90 days (which it does well). To anyone currently doing P90X – do you expect to be repeating the cycles into your twilight years? Over an hour a day, six days a week? I just don’t think I’d have the stomach for that for very long.[/quote']

I think most of us here are in it for the long haul, but Insanity is exactly what it claims to be.

[Loren Wade]

I can't really comment on the legitimacy of Insanity, but I don't think nausea is a great way to judge whether a workout is good for you or not. I'll be honest, I felt like puking on the first day of CrossFit... but I love it. Nausea and puking can simply mean you're not in very good shape to begin with, bad diet and nutrition, or numerous other medical issues.

That said, without even looking at the program, I will always suggest people look at the NF Books before I suggest something like Insanity.

[notanartmajor]

It's similar to P90x, in that it does work but is far too intense for the untrained people it's marketed to.

[msuroo]

It's similar to P90x, in that it does work but is far too intense for the untrained people it's marketed to.

*shrug* I've had out of shape friends and colleagues get through either program, and seen great results. Sustainability is still a huge knock, obviously.

[Waldo]

Like people pointed out it is a P90x relative and meant to get you in shape. It isn't all that different than C to 5K for example in that respect.

The argument that you can't keep doing it for life isn't all that great, that isn't what it was designed for. At the end you should be at a point where you have a fitness base that you can use to establish a good long term program for yourself. No beginner program is a long term program.

I dunno, I've never done the whole P90x program but I know a fair number of people that have and a lot of people like it. Even away from the whole program, a lot of people like to do workout videos and many of the P90x videos are solid on their own, I'm sure the Insanity ones are the same way. I do the P90x Yoga X video once a week and I have for a few months now, I have no intention of stopping any time soon. I'd like to also mix in a couple more harder Yoga videos, parts of Yoga X are getting a little too easy for me and I'd like some more variety, but I'm in no rush to move on.

Nausea is going to accompany any high intensity full body cardio (circuit training) if you push too hard. Just goes with the territory. I do my own designed circuit training; I haven't puked yet but I've gotten very close several times. If I wasn't working on an empty stomach I bet the story would be different.

[notanartmajor]

*shrug* I've had out of shape friends and colleagues get through either program, and seen great results. Sustainability is still a huge knock, obviously.

Some people get through it sure, but it seems to me the majority give it up after a while, from the daily time commitment if nothing else.

[Jcannon98188]

Insanity ain't so bad. I made it half way through the warmup for the first day. Couldn't walk for 3 more days Man my legs were being used in ways they were never used before. Completing insanity is one of my goals that I have for myself though.

But P90X and insanity are not scams. They are intense workouts, that give people something to do. My Brother-In-Law did P90X 3 times a day when he was deployed in Afghanistan because he had nothing better to do. It was either workout or play xbox. That being said, it definitely is not something for the average nerd to pickup (My brother in law is a firefighter in the Army, already had a solid base level of fitness.)

[161803398874989]

I think that Insanity in and of itself isn't that bad of a program. It just sucks for just about anyone's goal. If you want to get fit, you have to get strong first and insanity doesn't do that.

[Y-Not]

I've done insanity. It's hard, but it works and it isn't bad. The instructor is encouraging and talks a lot about how important form is and to go at your own pace while making sure to "bring it" and "dig deep." Is it sustainable as a year round option? No, and it's not meant to be. The book that comes with it even says not to do two rounds back to back (same with P90X). It isn't a bad product and is a good way for people to get a jump start in fitness when they don't know where to start. I started with programs like that from the same company. I was smart and went into some of their older, easier ones and worked my way up, learning a lot along the way, but really benefiting from the guidance and structure the programs gave me.

[tungstenmouse]

I'm pathetically out of shape and I tried Insanity. It is a great workout and if you build up then you can keep doing it. A lot of people will keep going after 60 days. My brother does P90X every few days and it was only designed for 90 days so it's just a matter of keeping a routine.

[Rivanariko]

As people have said, it isn't designed to be a long-term program, but to get people started. If you an commit to an hour a day for 90 days, get to a decent level of fitness, then you shouldn't have a hard time committing to a more "normal" workout program once you're finished with that. I don't think anyone thinks that once you finish Insanity or P90X or anything similar that you can go back to eating McDonalds and playing WoW 18 hours a day and keep up that fitness level. It does what it says it does, you can't really call it a scam. It's not my cup of tea, but it works for some people to get them started. For a lot of people, it's a great way to start because you see results fairly quickly, whereas the traditional advice to start slow can be discouraging when you're not seeing your body change as quickly as you'd like.

[IfItPlugsIn]

Beachbody intends to keep you buying their product. Do Power90. Got good results? Try P90X. Like that? Now there's P90X2. They do give the option to do hybrids as well. This is especially popular with P90X and Insanity. Do a round of each individually, then combine the workouts (some from each program) to make a new routine. I do know people that do round after round of P90X, love it, and just keep increasing their weights each time. It would get boring for me. However, Beachbody doesn't really want you to make it a long-term program. They want you to come back and buy the latest and greatest program. Scam? No. Good marketing strategy? Yes.

[thatgirljj]

I can't really comment on the legitimacy of Insanity, but I don't think nausea is a great way to judge whether a workout is good for you or not. I'll be honest, I felt like puking on the first day of CrossFit... but I love it. Nausea and puking can simply mean you're not in very good shape to begin with, bad diet and nutrition, or numerous other medical issues.

Yup, I'm with Loren. I've puked during circus workouts just because I happened to eat the wrong thing beforehand (note to self: no smoothies). Needing to puke is not a good measure of how hard a workout is, or whether it's enough or too much. It's just a measure of your intestinal and inner ear fortitude.

-jj

[NukeTheUnicorns]

My take is that there is nothing you can get from P90X/Insanity/whatever other hundred dollar DVD program that you can't get for free from a well structured routine that combines sensible amounts of resistance training with a healthy dosage of HIIT and maybe a bodyweight circuit once per week.

[Waldo]

My take is that there is nothing you can get from P90X/Insanity/whatever other hundred dollar DVD program that you can't get for free from a well structured routine that combines sensible amounts of resistance training with a healthy dosage of HIIT and maybe a bodyweight circuit once per week.

It is somewhat the same with Crossfit...

Everybody is a little different, the DVD's have a motivational and coaching aspect lacking when doing stuff on your own. P90x wouldn't be nearly as popular if it wasn't for Tony, he's just on a video but he helps to push people harder than they could push themselves. Likewise there are coaching pointers you wouldn't otherwise get without working with a trainer or in a class setting. I like doing Yoga in my office with Tony, Adam, Daniel, Audra, and Shauna.

I can push myself insanely hard on my own, but I know that I am in the minority when it comes to that.

And hey, SOPA isn't a law yet....

[morethanjustamom]

Yup, I'm with Loren. I've puked during circus workouts just because I happened to eat the wrong thing beforehand (note to self: no smoothies). Needing to puke is not a good measure of how hard a workout is, or whether it's enough or too much. It's just a measure of your intestinal and inner ear fortitude.

-jj

I agree with this 100%. It's actually my husband's goal (he's told me, several times) to get me to near-puking levels when we work out together, but what he doesn't know is that years of Meniere's-induced vertigo have made me almost immune to any puke-inducing exercises.

[Wolfwood]

The thing about P90X and Insanity, and really any other "DVD Workout Program", is that really, you can probably Google around for a list of the workouts used in the Dvds, and go from there, it's not like they invent anything new, you can essentially make a "Ghetto" P90X by looking up the list of workouts and building one for yourself, although, the appeal of DVDs like this is that you can just look at a calendar, pop in the DVD it tells you to, and then follow along.

Really, it just depends on the kind of person you are, if you don't care for building workouts, the DVDs are a great choice, but at the same time, if you don't like being constricted to the same workout, then I would pass it up, it all depends on who you are.

Also, you can look on Youtube for some sample videos and see if it's up your ally, saying it's a scam isn't really true, if you follow just about any high intensity workout program and you clean up your diet somewhat, of course you will see results, but you don't really need a DVD for it.

[David Bard]

Not a scam. Maybe not ideal for a fitness newbie, but not a scam. I took a group exercise course this semester and towards the end one of the teachers had us do an Insanity video. It was a good cardio workout and most of us couldn't keep up. The instructor in the video did repeatedly tell us to modify/slow down/take a break if we were having difficulty and he also frequently told the other people in the videos to take a break. As for the vomiting, that's from pushing yourself to much. I felt a bit sick afterwards, but I was still better than I was for the first two sessions of the normal class, where I pushed myself too hard that I broke myself. It's important to know your limits (which takes some time) and push them, but you've got to avoid going over.

[NukeTheUnicorns]

Not a scam. Maybe not ideal for a fitness newbie, but not a scam.

While it's not necessarily a "scam," BeachBody, the company that produces Insanity, P90X, etc. does operate a sort of pyramid scheme. It's not a necessity to get a hold of their products, but it absolutely exists and does help them generate a large portion of their revenue.

[David Bard]

I haven't heard of it referred to as a pyramid scheme before. What do they do that makes them one?

[Raikas]

I haven't heard of it referred to as a pyramid scheme before. What do they do that makes them one?

They have a "coaching" program that's devoted to selling their stuff. I think it's a little closer to those Tupperware/Pampered Chef/Scented Candle type sales than to a classic pyramid scheme, but it's still a little iffy. My brother-in-law's neighbour used to do it (I think they had to stop when they moved here - something about not sending payments out of the US?). I don't think she really made much money, but I gather it wasn't a loss either. Either way I think they were mostly in it to get a discount on the DVDs.

BIL and his wife got the Insanity set (and some Abs/dance thing with the same host) as hand-me-down things from them, and they look to be normal workout plans to me.

[rtalencar]

Some people like that level of intensity. I'm one of them.

[texstorm]

Beachbody intends to keep you buying their product. Do Power90. Got good results? Try P90X. Like that? Now there's P90X2. They do give the option to do hybrids as well. This is especially popular with P90X and Insanity. Do a round of each individually, then combine the workouts (some from each program) to make a new routine. I do know people that do round after round of P90X, love it, and just keep increasing their weights each time. It would get boring for me. However, Beachbody doesn't really want you to make it a long-term program. They want you to come back and buy the latest and greatest program. Scam? No. Good marketing strategy? Yes.

Well said. I've done 3 rounds of P90x and a round of Insanity: Asylum. Not scams at all, but I do disagree with their marketing being targeted at people who are effectively couch potatoes. Neither program is really for someone who is totally untrained and unfit. P90x at least states this pretty clearly in the workout book you get when you buy the program. You're supposed to take a fitness test beforehand and it tells you that if you cannot reach specific minimums in the fitness test then you're probably not ready to do P90x. These are really programs best suited for people who are already fit and athletic who just want to take it to another level.

The biggest problem I've seen with people doing these programs is that they don't follow the program. They ignore their rest days and skip the built in stretching and yoga workouts. Without exception the people who try to blast through like this end up injured or sick or both. If you check out the forums on the Beachbody site you'll see post after post from people who are hurt, and when you drill down through their questions you find out they're not eating enough, not resting enough and not doing the yoga or stretching.

I personally really like P90x and I'm using the strength workouts in my own program right now. I hated Asylum. I found it too speedy and too much focused on stuff that I really do not care about. I'm 45 years old. Whether or not I can do ladder drills right now isn't all the important to me, and I don't enjoy them. But video programs are really only going to work for someone like me who, due to other demands on my time, cannot get outside or to the gym to work out every day. You also need to not be annoyed by the featured presenter. Tony Horton cracks me up. Lots of people think he's obnoxious.

So, scam? Nope. Appropriate for everyone? Nope.

[texstorm]

They have a "coaching" program that's devoted to selling their stuff. I think it's a little closer to those Tupperware/Pampered Chef/Scented Candle type sales than to a classic pyramid scheme, but it's still a little iffy. My brother-in-law's neighbour used to do it (I think they had to stop when they moved here - something about not sending payments out of the US?). I don't think she really made much money, but I gather it wasn't a loss either. Either way I think they were mostly in it to get a discount on the DVDs.

BIL and his wife got the Insanity set (and some Abs/dance thing with the same host) as hand-me-down things from them, and they look to be normal workout plans to me.

The BB Coaching deal is definitely a multi-level marketing set-up. I've been recruited twice to be a BB Coach and haven't done it simply because I don't need anything else that sucks up my free time. However, I've found that several folks have used being a BB coach as a means of getting a personal training business up and running, and several of the coaches I've interacted with have been hugely helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. Also, the coaches are not allowed to actively sell on the BB forums at all. They're expected to participate and help out users of the programs, but if they start making pitches on the forums their posts are deleted and they can be banned.

So again, not a scam. But yes, it is a very effective marketing program.