Fitness Friday #6: Focus on Insanity Live

In 2013, I took the plunge and became one of the first groups to get certified to teach Insanity Live.

I’d never done the at-home program in its entirety, but I started to fall in love with interval training workouts and efficient workouts. When my all-time favorite BeachBody trainer Vanessa posted that she would be one of the first to train instructors on a new format, I knew I had to sign up for it.

What is INSANITY Live?

This live version of the well-known at-home 60-day workout packs an awesome endurance and cardio workout into 30 minutes. Just 30 minutes!

INSANITY uses MAX Interval Training, which replaces traditional moderate-intensity exercise with maximum-intensity exercise, and trades short intervals of intensity for short periods of rest. You keep pushing your limits – so your body has to adapt. Insanity utilizes your own body weight for resistance (no weights or tools required).

Here’s the frame of a typical class:

Warm-Up 8-8.5 minutes (5 moves, repeat 3x)
Dynamic Stretching
Block 1: 4 moves, 30 seconds each, repeat 3x with short breaks, plus 1-minute power move
Block 2: 4 moves, 30 seconds each, repeat 3x with short breaks, plus 1-minute power move
Cool Down

Here’s a sample of an Insanity block – 4 moves (Soccer juggle, low cross jacks, mountain climbers, tricep dips with switch kicks).

A word of caution:

Insanity is one of my favorite formats to follow – but I will warn that it’s not a class for a beginner. There’s a lot of room for error and each move has to be done carefully. As an instructor in the class, I’m able to show multiple variations for each move, which is a bonus over the at-home program.

Many of the blocks include plyometric moves – which means jumping is involved. I always show non-jumping options in class.

Ready to dive in?

Join a live class! I teach in Chestertown, at Washington College, during the following times:

• Monday 12:15-12:45 p.m.
• Tuesday 6:30-7:00 a.m.
• Wednesday 5:15-5:45 p.m.
• Thursday 6:30-7:00 a.m.

See you on the floor!