Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Insanity-Does it really work? A real before and after.

My little brother, Kyle, did the 60 day Insanity workout program. So I am here to report his results. Here is a little background on Kyle: (sorry bro, I am laying it all out there!)

Kyle is 24 years old. He has been overweight for the last few years. He was leading a not so healthy life...not eating right and not exercising. Even had high blood pressure.  Last fall Kyle, Brian and I ran a 5 k. It was Kyle's first 5k. We did train for about 2 months for it. He was very proud of himself, but I could tell that he was frustrated with his endurance level. His job does a Biggest Loser challenge every year and he decided he was going participate and try to win. Brian had done Insanity part way a few summers ago and Kyle decided he was going to borrow it and give it a try.

Q&A
When did you start and end? January 3rd to March 6th.

How long were the workouts? It was 6 days per week. The first month about 45 minutes, the second month an hour or so.

What were the workout styles? Plyometrics, cardio, body weight, stretching

Did you change your diet? Yes, but I did not follow a "diet". I simply starting making healthy choices such as egg whites for breakfast, protein and something green for lunch and dinner. I snacked on things such as almonds and apples.

How did you feel in the beginning? Sore, worn out and tired.

How did you feel in the end? I was not as sore, my endurance level was improved. I felt lighter, healthier. I noticed that I no longer get out of breath by walking up stairs.

The commercials show a lot of muscular people, did you gain muscle? No I did not gain muscle tone. The benefit I got from these workouts was purely cardio and weight loss.

Did you want to quit? Yes, it was pretty intense. However I didn't quit because of the results I was seeing and the Facebook motivation page that you can join. It did take a lot of will power and motivation, but you can do the exercises at your own pace. You may not be able to keep up with the people on the DVD, but you just do your best.

Have you gotten your Insanity T-shirt? No.
                         (get your T-shirt, man!!)

How much weight did you lose? I started at 242lbs and now weight 210 lbs.

What do you plan to do now? I plan to follow High Intensity Interval Training as suggested by my sister.
                                      :)
Now ready for some amazing before and after pictures???


That's it! Obviously Insanity is not a realistic, permanent solution but it is a good way to kick start yourself into a good regimen of weight loss if you are looking for drastic results. It does take a lot time and will power, but it can be done. The most important thing is to create a long term solution with your workout regimen and diet once something like this is done.  And it can easily be done and that is where I come in. :)

Hope you enjoyed seeing this!

Stay Active
~Mandi

 I think I have posted this pic before, but I still love it!

2 comments:

  1. Hi, Mindy, I'm a virtual teammate of Kyle. It's been a blast to watch his progress. He's one of the true winners, an inspiring example of the power of discipline & consistency. I'm also a big fan of Insanity (closing in now on my last week). Prior to starting Insanity, I'd lost about 85 pounds, the last 40 or so with a regimen of plyometrics administered by a personal trainer--& I got pretty ripped. Insanity is even more intense & I've had great results, especially since I was starting from a good weight. What are your thoughts or experiences re: the effectiveness of plyo in general or Insanity specifically when the focus is exclusively on strength & endurance without the need to lose fat?

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  2. Hi there! So glad to you hear that you have excellent results. And love that you have been able to see Kyle's transformation. My thoughts on plyometrics? Plyometrics is an excellent way to improve your endurance. Originally plyometrics was created as a way for athletes to become as physically fit as possible, improving their speed and strength. I think incorporating this into your regimen for muscle tone is a great idea. But you do have to be careful as it is hard on your joints. Most of the work outs I do tend to have some plyometrics involved. It is a really efficient way to build muscle. Think of it this way, do 50 seconds of regular old squats. Now you made be a little sore and fatigued when you are done. But do 50 seconds of jump squats. You can see that doing jump squats is pushing your cardio and muscles to the max. Your muscles have to contract and lengthen at high speed. So when you land your muscles are almost confused because you are immediately jumping again and they have to react causing a more intense contraction. Also your core muscles have to help to keep you balanced when you are jumping and landing so you gain strength that way to. I think with Kyle, he was more so overweight and needed to lose the fat and weight first and that is why he didn't really gain much muscle with insanity. Which makes sense. So I do think that Insanity is a good way to help with strength and endurance as well as losing weight. BUT...I am a nurse in a Cardiology office, and our cardiologists frown on doing extreme exercises for more than 45 min/day because this can actually have a reverse reaction. Sometimes longer workouts actually can decrease your metabolism causing less muscle building and can also negatively effect your heart health. I think Insanity teeters in the grey area. I honestly would encourage you to check out High Intensity Interval Training. Google it on the internet. I also have some links to some HIIT websites with free workouts that I like. They are shorter workouts, but the intensity is so high. These are shown to be more effective than the 45-60 min workouts. I have been doing ONLY the HIIT workouts for the last 1.5 years. I have dropped from 135 to 122 lbs, I have toned up like no other, my whole body shape has changed. You will see results with muscle tone quickly and your endurance will improve. I think it would be good for you to look at these different HIIT workouts when you are done with Insanity and maybe do a mixture of both. Hope that helps! :) Let me know if you have any more questions or need and advice!! Thanks for checking out my blog.

    ~Mandi

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