Anyone used one, or who’s wife’s used one?

The wife has decided she needs to tone up and saw these on tv. Get loads of positive reviews on amazon but just wondered if anyone had used them on here. Two preschool kids means she doesn’t have much time to go to a gym but she reckons could do one of these at home.

Brilliant, very tough…but nice and varied so you don’t get bored.

I’ve not done Insanity, but have done P90X (same people).

If she is struggling to get to the gym and is self motivated then they are fantastic. Is she already quite fit? P90X was very hard work and I’ve heard Insanity is equally (or even more) relentless. She might benefit from a more easy going intro if she hasn’t been doing high activity stuff for a while.

is T25 ‘easier’ as its a shorter workout?

Which would be best for someone who hasnt done much excercise for a while?

She just wants to tone up and get a bit fitter generally. Time is the key thing at the moment so T25 might be best i’m thinking.

Peterfile – yeah she had a trial membership a the gym recently but hardly got chance to use it. After a day with two toddlers she was too knackered in the evening to trek down to the gym. She’s thinking the T25 she could do when they are having a nap during the day, or get up 30 mins earlier. It used to take about 25 mins getting to the gym and back, so could do this in that time.

Can two people of different fitness levels do them together? I’m thinking if she doesnt get chance during the day i’d do it with her in an evening, or early morning to keep her motivated.

Also how critical is the diet component of these? Is it super strict?

ed, as with any of these things, the diet is pretty critical if you want to see reasonable results for the effort you have to put in.

I didn’t stick to it 100%, mainly because I know what i’m doing with food, so just ate very cleanly, hitting the right figures for carbs/fat/protein.

P90X is definitely doable by two people with different fitness levels, one will just fail sooner on each exercise. I can’t be sure for the actual programs you mentioned though, but would expect it’s much the same. You can make each exercise as intense as you want, but obviously you want to be putting in as much as you possibly can!

I hated P90X at first, mainly because it was difficult…but there is a HUGE satisfaction when you feel yourself becoming stronger and fitter. Really enjoyable period in my life actually! Very different to just hitting the gym/bike/run, but it’s so structured that you don’t have to think about it or plan it, you just have to “press play”.

Can two people of different fitness levels do them together? I’m thinking if she doesnt get chance during the day i’d do it with her in an evening, or early morning to keep her motivated.

I can’t see why this would be a problem, from the adverts I’ve idly watched, whilst sitting on the sofa in my dressing gown eating toast, the punters doing the exercising are often going at a slower pace than Shaun T, it’s more about completing each ‘set’. So, two people in the same room going at a different pace would be fine.

If you like I could come round and watch you do it, sitting on your sofa in my dressing gown eating toast 🙂

There is a channel on YouTube called Fitness Blender. It has lots of these style of workouts, and the videos are free. I think you can pay for a plan, which just structures the videos for you, and it is pretty reasonable.

My girlfriend has been using them, she really enjoys it, and has made some real progress in strength and fitness. I have done a couple, and there are some tough workouts.

Possibly a cheaper option than forking out for either of the two above, or just as taster to see if leaping about in front of a telly is for you.

MrsLugz and me have done a few of these

Insanity is exactly that. Proper hard work if you go all out. 5 days a week for an hour, handy plan to keep tabs on yourself. The diet is pretty strict, but well varied and enough to keep you going. I lost a load of weight and almost got a six pack.

You will find yourself muttering Shaun T’s catchphrases 🙂

T25 is a shorter, more laid back version. Still not easy.

Hip Hop abs is loads cheaper, half hour workouts more like a dance session.

Much better to do it as a team, even if the neighbours do think you’re mental. (we have no blinds in our conservatory.)

I worked my way through ‘Insanity’ earlier this year with a group of people at work. I thought it was… ok. If your other half is short on time then it’s probably ideal. That said, if i was doing it on my own then i’d loose motivation pretty quicky; perhaps that says more about me than anything else.

Make sure you’ve got plenty of space on a hard floor (you’ll be dripping in sweat by the end of the warm up / stretching phase).

(I can’t speak for the diet stuff, as i completely ignored it.)

I do Insanity as a fitness class you attend, which is good as the instructor tells/shouts at you when you’re not doing the exercises right. Not sure I’d like doing the DVDs. My GF has a few Davina DVDs which seem quite good, I think she has a 7 minute one out

If your wife enjoys things like circuit training and bodyweight exercises then she’ll probably enjoy Insanity/alternatives. If not,well…

Toning by simply doing a workout is impossible if you’re not at a calorific deficit. This is why diet is absolutely key. Probably more important than exercise for most people trying to lose weight.

Tried P90X and gave up on it at home. Needs a huge room and a hard floor – or a garden and a lack of self-consciousness.

The one bit of P90X that did make it worth the money was the recovery / stretching DVD, which doesn’t need much room, doesn’t make you sweaty, and is easily worth the cost of the entire package IMHO.

If she is going to start doing these, make sure her form is correct. Nothing worse than getting 3/4’s of the way through and then spending the next 12 weeks with your knee’s wrapped up.

The above occurred with Insanity, Just recently completed T25 as its not as brutal and was much less impact on my now ruined knees. Especially as there is a modified version of all the activities, really helpful if you’re not at 100% one day and still want to work out but cant give it your all.