Many people have heard of HIIT training, which stands for High Intensity Interval Training. This training method is said to give great results in a short time. No need to spend hours in the gym. However, sometimes it’s hard to put together a HIIT workout program that’s easy to follow. If that’s what you’re looking for, Beachbody offers such a workout, Insanity by Shaun T.
The Insanity training program is a 60-day boot-camp training (63 to be exact). Based on the theory behind HIIT training, Insanity uses intervals to keep your heart rate rising and falling. However, Insanity differs significantly from traditional intervals in one key way. Whereas in traditional HIIT training, you do short bursts, like a 50-yard or 30-second sprint, followed by a 2-3 minute active break, which is usually a slow walk or pedal. With this type of training, your heart rate shoots up quickly and then drops to a slower rate. For example, when I do a traditional HIIT workout, I do outdoor sprints. I will run 100 yards and walk 300 yards. At the end of the sprint, my heart rate is in the 170s (beats per minute). At the end of the 300-yard walk, my heart rate drops to 100. Not bad, but could definitely do better.
With Insanity, intervals are 3-4 minutes long and consist of exercises like push-ups, jumping jacks, sprinting, jumping jacks, and a myriad of other sports training moves. A lot of the moves remind me of high school sports. After the interval, you rest for 30 seconds. At the end of 30 seconds, the next interval begins! Insanity has basically taken traditional HIIT training and turned it on its head. Now to compare heart rates again, during the insane interval my heart rate is in the high 170s. During the 30 second break, I lower it to the high 150s. See the difference. My heart rate stays elevated for a longer period of time, helping me burn a ton of calories. At the end of an Insanity workout, I don’t have a single dry stain on my clothes.
Now he understands that madness is not for everyone. You must be mentally and physically prepared to put your body through 63 days of extreme work. Great results don’t come easy. Both Insanity and traditional HIIT training work to help you reduce body fat. If you think you can’t handle the craziness, start with traditional HIIT training to increase your cardiovascular endurance. Once you’ve trained your cardiovascular system to handle intervals, you should be ready to try Insanity!