T25, Insanity, Body Beast, P90 etc - Your views and experiences?

Hello,

I wondered if anyone could offer some advice programmes such as T25, Insanity, Body Beast and P90. I am struggling with exercise so looking for something I can fit into my busy schedule. I am at 26%+ body fat so really need to lower that % but ultimately want to build muscle and strength. I have been told I need to lower the body fat % first. Can anyone offer any recommendations?

Thanks

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unknown

I want to lose fat and gain some muscle ultimately. I feel quite clueless how to do this, hence why I'm looking at the Beach Body productions. I really need something that I can follow to get results without getting stressed over whether I'm doing it right or not working out a particular part of my body.

I had considered getting Body Beast but not following the food plan and just doing the exercise with a calorie deficit. I prefer weight lifting to aerobic style exercises.

unknown

I lost weight with pure cardio. I want to stay lean though, but to get a more cut look... BB products seem to work for me in that sense.

I did T25 last year and then followed it with P90X3. They certainly leaned me out though I only lost ~10pounds; I lost more in inches. Since January I've started the cardio lifting program Les Mills Pump, and have continued on with Body Pump (the gym version of LMP) three times weekly while alternating days on the treadmill. I've found it's been very effective in getting me a lean cut look while barely losing any weight, so I'm certainly gaining muscle mass, albeit at a much slower rate than pure lifting would do.

I think the general consensus is that you can lose weight or bulk up, but not both simultaneously. I would suggest cardio based workouts (BB is great for this IMO) to lower your body fat first and then use your goal with those programs as a baseline for a bulk/cut cycle, and see how that works for you.

Mark

unknown

I have done Insanity and T25, my personal preference is T25 as I'm lazy and 25 mins is achievable for me daily. Also, with Insanity the amount of jumping gave me chronic shin splints! I think T25 or Insanity would be good to bring your % down and some muscle gain and then a round of P90X should help bulk up a bit more.

Hopefully that makes sense!?

unknown

IsaackGMOON wrote: »

Unfortunately, you can't build muscle and lose fat the same time. So yes, you would have to lose weight and then do a bulk or whatever is desired after.

What??? This is so ridiculous, I expected Dr. Oz to be the one who posted this.

Yes, it is entirely possible to do both at the same time.......as a matter of fact, most experts recommend that the greatest way to lose fat is to increase the amount of muscle you have. Such a recommendation tends to mean that both are occurring at the same time. Actually, since you are putting on muscle, the muscle is actually doing the fat burning for you, so yes, in essence "YOU" are not doing both at the same time.......instead, you are outsourcing your fat burning to the muscle you just created.

I doubt fat and muscle are sitting at an intersection going "You first", "No, you first", "No, you first" and so on.

unknown

impromark wrote: »

I think the general consensus is that you can lose weight or bulk up, but not both simultaneously. I would suggest cardio based workouts (BB is great for this IMO) to lower your body fat first and then use your goal with those programs as a baseline for a bulk/cut cycle, and see how that works for you.

When you mean BB do you mean Beach Body or Body Beast? Which would you recommend for being lean? Lots of people seem to be mentioning T25.

unknown

Pip_K_W wrote: »

I have done Insanity and T25, my personal preference is T25 as I'm lazy and 25 mins is achievable for me daily. Also, with Insanity the amount of jumping gave me chronic shin splints! I think T25 or Insanity would be good to bring your % down and some muscle gain and then a round of P90X should help bulk up a bit more.

Hopefully that makes sense!?

Yes that does make sense? I'm guessing that T25 is mostly aerobic style without any weight lifting? I was quite interested in Body Beast as I prefer strength training but understand that this is a bulking programme - although the website doesn't state it!

unknown

jeremywm1977 wrote: »

IsaackGMOON wrote: »

Unfortunately, you can't build muscle and lose fat the same time. So yes, you would have to lose weight and then do a bulk or whatever is desired after.

What??? This is so ridiculous, I expected Dr. Oz to be the one who posted this.

Yes, it is entirely possible to do both at the same time.......as a matter of fact, most experts recommend that the greatest way to lose fat is to increase the amount of muscle you have. Such a recommendation tends to mean that both are occurring at the same time. Actually, since you are putting on muscle, the muscle is actually doing the fat burning for you, so yes, in essence "YOU" are not doing both at the same time.......instead, you are outsourcing your fat burning to the muscle you just created.

I doubt fat and muscle are sitting at an intersection going "You first", "No, you first", "No, you first" and so on.

I had heard this too - I heard that you need to do intense cardio and build muscle to lose weight. I was thinking of Body Beast workouts, mixed with cardio and then calorie deficit to make sure I lost instead of gaining. Trying to find something that is manageable but can't decide between Body Beast or T25 - I know I do need some sort of programme structure.

unknown

Honestly of every workout I've done, the Les Mills ones have been by far my favorite. Also if you get the set, it's a nice mixture of cardio and strength which should help you lose weight at a good pace but still at least retain the bulk of your muscle mass so you lose a higher percentage of fat than you otherwise would. The combat stuff is just so fun to do, it really makes the time fly. Insanity is, well, insane, but it's also repetitive. Can't speak for the others (although I watched a clip of the P90 guy and wanted to punch him in the face). Good luck!

unknown

Love them. If I didn't have shoulder issues I would stay with P90. Insanity was great too.

unknown

It depends on your definition of "manageable". Having done both, here are some of the finer points.

Focus T25 - Pros
- It's only 25 minutes long, easy to fit in any time of day, and a lot of activity is crammed into that 25 minutes.
- Minimal equipment required.......you can get away with a resistance band, but may want adjustable dumbbells to increase intensity as you progress.
- Decent mix of cardio and strength, but since it's Shaun T, there's a greater focus on the cardio element........and stuff starts getting real in Beta and Gamma phases (Gamma is an add-on.....costs extra, but might be worth it).

Focus T25 - Cons
- The first phase (Alpha) is a bit of a waste. Not bad for beginners, but if you are of an average fitness level, you'll get bored before you progress to the second phase (Beta).

Body Beast - Pros
- Good, intense, strength training workout. There is a cardio workout, but it seems like more of an afterthought.
- Decent pace, keeps you working out pretty well throughout.

Body Beast - Cons
- More diverse equipment needed to get the full effect.......dumbbells, curl bars, bench or stability ball, bands or pull-up bar.
- Longer workouts.......45-60 minutes

As far as the two, it is like comparing apples to oranges. If your intent is to build muscle and lose weight, I would suggest doing Body Beast and just integrating some jogging and/or treadmill workouts. If you aren't interested in buying additional equipment, you'll still be good with getting T25 and picking up a set of resistance bands (I got a Gold's Gym set from Walmart for about $15-20.......3 different bands included).

unknown

Im doing beachbody T25 right now . I love it . I've went from 261 to 242lbs in four weeks so far . I would recommend it .

unknown

I've done a bunch of the BeachBody programs so I will just give my thoughts on the ones I feel like are worth investing in.

Insanity: Far and away my favorite. It's heavy on cardio but does hit body weight, core, plyometrics, and strength training. It's a brutal program and there is no modifier on screen like T25 has. You will struggle mightily at first but over the course of the program you will get better and better and the inches will come off quick. It's my go to for cardio. Pure Cardio is my favorite video. Vids are 45-60 minutes typically have a 9 minute warm up, 6 mins of stretch, circuits for 20-30 mins then a 4-5 min cool down stretch.

Body Beast: Amazing program for people looking to get lean, cut, and lose inches. But it does take some investing. Right now you can score the base package for $40 but you have to invest in dumbbells, a workout bench or stability ball. And the dumbbells aren't cheap. Typical you can score them on sale for about $1 per pound at places like Walmart... so when you start getting into the 40-75 pound weights it becomes quite expensive. My view is it's worth the investment. Weights don't wear out or break it's a once in a lifetime buy and you have them forever. Check Craigslist and usually there is someone selling dumbbells cheap to get rid of them. I wouldn't recommend dumbbell bars or universal weights because of the set structure in Beast you have to switch out weights quickly to keep up. With bars you are going to have to keep pausing to change your weights and you will lose the hypertrophy effect the program is designed to create. As for the program it's 45-60 minutes per video. A very brief warm up and then right into different sets. Videos are structured like Chest/Tris, Back/Bis, Shoulders, etc. First phase is a build, second is bulk, and beast is cardio and abs. There is an add on you can purchase that is called tempo. Basically everything you thought you knew about lifting weights was probably basic. This program taught me so much. Stuff like progressive sets, drop sets, and tempo timing really make a difference. Can't recommend this enough if you are willing to invest in the proper equipment. An Insanity/Body Beast hybrid is the perfect program and the weight has been falling off me since I have been doing it.

T25: It's a baby version of Insanity marketed to the more intermediate crowd. On screen modifier at all times. The Alpha phase is very lower body focused. Your legs will ache from the amount of jacks, lunges, squats etc. But it's building up your base, balance and support for the Beta phase which incorporates more upper body. You need dumbbells or bands for Beta. There is an add on phase called Gamma which is heavy on upper body and weights. Vids are obviously all 25 mins and the modifier makes it accessible for all fitness levels. Great all around starter program but at this point the videos are just to easy for me now.

P90X3: Alot like T25 this is a baby version of P90X. Vids are 30 mins and the program contains a wide range of workouts. Plyo, Agility, Isometrics, MMX, Upper, Lower, Dynamics, Yoga, Pilates. It really has a bit of everything. Tony Horton is hilarious and makes the workouts fun. But there just isn't enough cardio in it for me. I love working up a sweat and I found myself not achieving even a moderate sweat through most of these.

I've also done Insanity Asylum 1, Les Mills Combat, Tapout XT, and Insanity Max 30 so if you have questions about those let me know and I can give you a synopsis on them.

unknown

@multimartin ... I have to add my two cents

I'm on week 5 of Insanity. Since I've started, I've lost 4 lbs. & a total of 8". I'm no expert, but I think that's pretty good. Although I haven't lost a lot of weight, I can definitely feel myself getting stronger. In the beginning it was pretty intense but now it's becoming easier. I've definitely learned not to push myself too hard too fast. My first time doing Insanity, I pulled a muscle in week three. I took some time off to recover & that set me back.

Ultimately, whatever decision you make ... you're doing something right. Stick with it, record your results & if it doesn't work out, move on to the next one. The only thing you have to lose is body fat!

unknown

I love the BB products--If I had to leave the house to workout, it would never get done. I started with P90X about 3 years ago and I lost about 30 lbs. By the time I finished the 2nd round, I had surpassed my goal and lost about 50 lbs. P90X is still my favorite but I wanted something different, so I purchased Insanity, T25, and P90X3. I rotate through them and mix in some jogging when I travel. A lot of people enjoy the 30 minutes routines but I see much better results and feel better when I use the 60 minute versions. (P90X and Insanity)
Good luck!

unknown

multimartin wrote: »

I want to lose fat and gain some muscle ultimately. I feel quite clueless how to do this, hence why I'm looking at the Beach Body productions. I really need something that I can follow to get results without getting stressed over whether I'm doing it right or not working out a particular part of my body.

I had considered getting Body Beast but not following the food plan and just doing the exercise with a calorie deficit. I prefer weight lifting to aerobic style exercises.

i've done many of the beach body programs so here were my results:

1) insanty - helped me lose the fat but i didn't get as shredded as i wanted and certainly not what the commercials were showing. i stuck with the program, was 100% strict with my eating (no cheat meals - ever) and by the end of it, i had hit my target weight.

2) i wanted to further lean out so i started p90x. that was what gave me the results i wanted - to be defined and toned/look lean. i love this program. again, i followed my clean eating 100% and never veered off. p90x allowed me to drop more inches from my waist and get strong again. i loved this program so much i continued it after the 90 days but did an insanity asylum/p90x hybrid for a good 2 months.

3) body beast - again, i loved this program. i'm a lifter at heart and loathe cardio but you need to do both to maintain good overall health. i did the beast program because i wanted mass.

4) insanity asylum - i did this for 1 month straight and quit because i missed heavy lifting. they do have some strength training workouts but not what i wanted so i used this program to keep my cardio up.

for all programs, i did not follow their food plan but ate within my caloric deficit for weight loss. i still lost all the weight/inches i needed to lose.

as for your question re: lose fat first and then lift - i say do both. don't worry about all the "rules" of "do this first, then that..." - you do what you want to do. you can focus on heavy lifting one day and then do cardio the next. run trails, cycle, do interval cardio...anything to get your heart going. i do that - i'll do some heavy lifting one day focusing on say, back and arms or shoulders and chest and then the next day, i'll have a crazy muay thai training session or go for a 10K trail run. combine these vigorous workouts with clean eating and you'll see your body change!