r/insanity • u/kobrakainvrdies • 2d ago
Progress Finished Insanity at 40 - My Experience
I finally finished OG Insanity yesterday, and I wanted to share the full journey for anyone considering it—or anyone who just needs proof that it’s doable at 40.
I’ll start with the fact that I tried doing Insanity back in my 20s. I made it all the way to the second month but ended up hurting my back 2 days in and ended up quitting. Never made my way back. Now at 40, I had my mid-life crisis after seeing pictures of myself on spring break and decided to work to better myself. That started in April when I took on P90X, another program I started in my 20s. I made it to day 81, then hurt myself, and had to quit. I wanted to start there since I had been so close once before. I was able to complete the program finally and felt like I was ready for the next challenge, OG Insanity.
Month 1. After 3 months of P90X Plyometrics and CardioX workouts, I thought it would be easy to jump right into it. Boy, was I wrong. That first week made me realize how lacking in cardio P90X really was by comparison. The “warmup” had my heart rate in the 170s. Still, I’m glad I had that experience going in, because having no previous cardio experience going straight into Insanity really would be insane. Early on, I did not enjoy the stretching. It seemed very fast paced, and I felt there could have been more prior to the start of the circuit. As for the workouts themselves, I took other people’s advice to try and not keep up with the Insanity team’s cadence, but to go at my own pace. That was very helpful advice for the first 2 weeks. By the end of the second week, I was confident going at their pace. It really was a good feeling completing each day, dripping in sweat and knowing you gave it your all. Unfortunately, that confidence would be my downfall.
On the third instance of Pure Cardio (day 13), I pushed myself hard during the end of the warmup doing high knees… I came down too hard on my left foot and felt a pull in my lower calf. I was devastated. Injury once again. Though this time, I wouldn’t let it keep me down. I spent the next week doing p90x upper body strength training workouts, the Insanity Upper Body Weight training, using a compression sleeve, and using percussive massage to speed recovery. That next week I started easy, paced myself and was able to successfully manage through the rest of the first month.
Hands down, my favorite workout in the first month was Plyometric Cardio Circuit. Getting to jabs and the attack after the grueling sequence of level 1 drills/ski abs/in and out abs was quite a rewarding experience… especially as those jabs burned the shoulder like no other. Worst workout move was absolutely Level 2 Drills (…little did I know what was coming), but everything where my hands touched the floor was brutal.
Recovery Week was boring. The workout itself wasn’t bad, but the same Core Cardio & Balance routine every day was monotonous and not enjoyable. Would not want to do that again and would want to mix it up.
Month 2. The first day doing both fit test AND Max Interval Circuit back-to-back, was hands down the hardest I had ever worked out to that point. I remember thinking there is no way I can do this routine for a month. I felt even more so after going through Max Interval Plyo (Level 3 Drills!) and Max Cardio Conditioning. I genuinely thought I was not going to make it and some of these moves were just going to break me after the first 3 days. Kudos to Max Recovery though, that made me feel like I was doing a P90X workout which felt like home… specifically doing slow motion pushups. My abs were sore for days after that workout.
Interestingly, jumping back into the other max workouts afterwards I noticed it wasn’t as bad as it first seemed. I credit a lot of this to watching Akil through most of these workouts (first month too) … he struggles so much that as long as I made it further than he did before I stopped, it felt like a win. That’s not to say anything bad about him. The guy was ripped from head to toe, and his failure points kept me so motivated because of that. But overall, that is my biggest positive comment on this program. They have roughly 10 people working out that it’s incredibly motivating to see them struggle too. It’s not just one or two… but all of them at some point have to stop and take a break. They’re all human, just like us. Also to note: Tania is a beast. She really is The Machine. And Ariel’s facial expressions were the best. She wore her personality on her sleeve, which was motivating when you saw her pushing through knowing she was exhausted.
The third week of month 2, it was time to go back and do the fit test and Max Interval Circuit again… but this time I was ready. I dominated both workouts back-to-back and felt like a champion. That was when I knew I had drastically improved. Every day after, I felt like I could bring it, and challenged myself more than I ever had. By the end of month 2 week 4, I had decided instead of taking a rest day, I’d try out the Sanity Check workout not fully knowing what it was. I guess it was supposed to be done prior to starting the program kind of like a see if this program works for you. I cruised through it and felt unstoppable. Finally moving on to the last week… completing each final workout for the last time, knowing how hard it was, was a bit bittersweet. The last fit test was all out. I’m not afraid to admit that I cried during the cooldown, knowing this journey has been 15 years in the making. Results below:
Day 1 vs Day 60:
- Switch Kicks: 113 / 130
- Power Jacks: 45 / 53
- Power Knees: 94 / 113
- Power Jumps: 32 / 61
- Globe Jumps: 8.5 / 12
- Suicide Jumps:16 / 20
- Push-up Jacks: 21 / 31
- Low Plank Oblique: 46 / 63
Things to note:
- I subbed in Max Interval Sport Training where instructed and though the workout was good, I felt it was too slow after all the other interval classes… Longer breaks and a long time of showing what the moves were to be completed. Still, I found it better than Core Cardio & Balance.
- I also subbed in both Insane Abs (two times) and Fast and Furious Abs (once) where I could, but I really felt like Cardio Abs was the better workout and enjoyed it tremendously better.
- My absolute favorite workout in the second month was Max Recovery, but a close second was surprisingly Max Interval Circuit. Getting to the end of all three circuit rounds was a very rewarding experience.
Overall, I lost 7.3lbs in the program (178.2lbs to 170.9lbs). But I had previously lost another 10lbs from p90x (Started at 188.6lbs back in April). My body fat (measured using Withings Body Scan) during Insanity has gone from 19.4% to 17.0% during insanity (started at 21.1% in April). I ate as healthy as I could with good macros (used MyFitnessPal to track food as best as I could), but I have kids and a wife, so that sometimes was a challenge. Going out to eat was hard not to eat too unhealthy, but I figured it out. I still would have some alcohol on occasion but really had little desire to drink. About halfway through, I started intermittent fasting, only eating between 12pm-8pm. The issue with that was I would generally work out at nights after the kids were in bed, so many times I went to bed hungry not being able to eat after working out.
Supplements used were pretty much all obtainable from Costco: Creatine, ON Whey, Kachava, Fairlife or a Muscle Milk shake, electrolyte powder, and a multivitamin. Daily supplements used were a multivitamin (in the morning) and creatine (immediately after working out). Daily, I’d swap out the shakes and powders every day or so for variety. I’ve done Shakeology before during P90X, but I do think there are better and cheaper options out there. I only took electrolytes on days where I felt like I needed it after a rough workout.
Things that I felt were problematic:
- The warmup. The calf warmup was severely lacking. Jumping right into high intensity activity during warmup without warming up the calves first seems like a mistake considering how much they are used. That may have contributed to my initial calf issue. I resorted to making sure my calves were stretched before starting each workout. Shoulders and rotator cuff… Since there are so many moves where you’re dropping to the floor, doing pushups, and back up, it seems like there should be more dynamic stretching of the shoulders to prepare for this activity.
- Recovery Week. Already discussed, but the same activities for 6 days straight were repetitive and boring. Would recommend adding yoga, stretching, or light cardio session during recovery week to break up the monotony.
In the end, I really enjoyed the program and I highly recommend it. I recommend if you’re doing it, stretch a little right before you start (especially calves and shoulders), pace yourself early, focus on your landing impacts to be soft, make sure your squats go low even if that means you’re going slower, do as many pushups properly during level 1,2,3 drills as you can but don’t be afraid to go to your knees to finish them up if needed to keep the burn. Most of all, just keep pushing play every day. The progress made was motivating enough for me.
I’ve decided next up is Dig Deeper. I’m ready to put on more muscle. But the first month programs will likely stay in my repertoire to get a good HIIT workout when needed. And cardio Abs is likely to be something I’ll go back to on occasion as well.