The madness is finally over.
I write this after completing the final workout: Max Cardio Conditioning & Cardio Abs and I can honestly say I’m feeling pretty proud of myself. That’s not to say that did everything I could, not by any means. I’m sad to report to the faithful readers that I skipped a total of six days throughout this workout for various reasons. I did my best to make them up, but when there is a strict schedule like the one Insanity puts forth, there’s no real room for error.
What do I think I got out of this workout program? I feel that my stamina and endurance is at the best it’s been since I was on the high school basketball team working in practice for two hours a day. I feel like I could easily go run a mile without stopping and best of all for me: I’ve regained my “get up and go” ability when it comes to sports.
Back about 10-15 years ago, like most teenagers, I had endless energy and I never felt sore, no matter what kind of strain I put on my body. But due to my lack of exercise that caused my initial weight gain (as shown in my first blog) I could no longer just get up and play a sport without first stretching and warming up. If I forgot to do these basic things (that frankly only 40 year old and up people should have to do) I could be sore for days and pull muscles. Just a year and a half ago I pulled my hamstring just playing kickball because I overexerted myself. That’s right, overexerted myself playing kickball. Now I can jump into a pickup basketball game and go all out right from the get go. It’s really an awesome feeling
Usually the last day of Insanity is your final Fit Test; one last time do to the test to see how far you’ve come on this on this epic journey. To all you faithful readers out there, I’m going to level with you: I didn’t do my final Fit Test. My reasoning for passing it up is twofold:
1. I know that I’ve improved in so many ways. From being able to complete a workout in the high elevation that is Flagstaff with Shaun to being able to run a mile in 9 minutes with no stretching and no warm up has been an unbelievable change. I don’t need 8 short tests to tell me how much insanity helped me.
2. I started my weightlifting schedule the day after insanity finished. TAKE THAT LAZINESS!
Of course, for this one final Insanity blog, there is something very important that I have to cover: The pictures!!
I don’t think I got the overall body change results that I wanted. I didn’t expect a six pack by any means, but I did expect some more definition and fat loss around the midsection. Looking back, I believe it was missing those workout days along with not following the Insanity diet program as closely as I could. However the numbers for me are looking better. I started the program weighing between 188-190. Now I have consistently weighed in each week at 182-184. I honestly can’t complain in a 6 pound weight loss in 12 total weeks. My body fat also dropped as well, from about 16% down to 12.5%.
Final analysis: If you want a program that is going to keep you sweating, but make you feel like a badass as soon as you finish, Insanity is for you. If you’re looking to build a ton of muscle and get ripped, Insanity isn’t for you. But if you’re looking for a great workout program that will help you regain your stamina and energy in life from the comfort of your own home; I can’t think of a better program to do. I’m now trying to recruit friends to do the program as well, so that I can connect with others who can share my pain. As Shaun said so long ago, “Insanity: It works”
Gray Areas 
Everyone and their mother has been doing the Insanity, trying to get ready for beach season. I’m happy to see you finished it out and have gotten results. I am a typical run until you sweat out some pounds kind of guy, but this might have swayed me to become part of the Insanity. Great post and keep up the great work.
I looked into Insanity. it’s…way beyond my level. So I’m going to stick with Wii Fit & EA Activity 2 for a while, to see how they pan out. (Only just started EA, and Wii Fit is not great for losing weight, so not seeing any results yet. But we’ll see.) Congratulations on finishing it! I know a few people in work who have tried it, and no one seems to last beyond a week or so..
The thing to remember about insanity (and what they say a lot in the videos) is to go at your own pace. I know the people on the video go at very high intensities and may be intimidating. But if you go slow, at your own pace and work your way up to it (which may involve going through the program 2 or 3 times) it can really change things. I know I had times where I just plain stopped and stared at the screen I was so tired. Go slow, go steady, that’s what wins the race.
Good luck!
I’ve learned that if you follow the workout program (fairly well) like you did you’ll see results such as improved stamina, and strength. However, if you’re looking for the killer six pack and muscle definition it is possible with Insanity, BUT you’ve got to follow the diet plan to see any results. I’ve done three rounds of Insanity, once not following the diet plan, once semi following it and once completely following it. I saw results each round, but they were much improved rounds 2 and 3. Diet is everything when it comes to really making the lifestyle change, but it can be so hard to commit. Congrats on finishing!