Let’s be realistic — we have a lot to juggle on any given day, from work to family to friends, education, to our beauty and body. The struggle never ends. Time is a luxury, and there are just too many things going on in our lives to spend precious minutes battling traffic to get to the gym to then fight some more to get on a treadmill.

Working out at home is becoming increasingly popular, with more and more people opting for programs that promise real results in less time, and at times that perfectly fit many a busy schedule, such as the High Intensity Insanity Training (HIIT). One such program is the Tabata Insanity; it is a supercharged workout program that is quickly rising above all others in the region, making its way to DVD players everywhere.

Getting with the program

Insanity promises you the “hardest body you’ve ever had” in just two months. An already highly popular program in the States, created by the fitness company Beachbody and trainer Shaun T (real name Shaun Blokker), Insanity’s 12 work-outs, 60-day schedule works on total body conditioning. It doesn’t require any equipment (just the complete use of your body), and it entails working out six days each week, with each day presenting a full 45 minutes of muscle-searing exercises.

This fitness DVD program also comes with a workout calendar and fitness guide. In fact, nutrition plays a big part in the plan. According to T, it is advisable to get around 60 percent of the day’s eating done before 3 p.m. T also advocates not sticking to a salad-only diet and eating sensibly by combining different foods you enjoy that are healthy.

“I like to do insanity because I don’t like gyms. It’s cheaper and I can do it at home. It works every muscle group, it takes mental strength to push through and it focuses on fitness and strength, not being skinny,” said one user. She said it makes her body strong and resilient. Insanity also encourages healthy eating as part of an overall positive lifestyle, rather than dieting or counting calories, according to her.

A real stamina tester:

Insanity has been described as max interval training, a technique that delivers inane results by utilizing long periods of intense exercise, followed by short periods of low intensity exercise, differing greatly from classic interval training programs that have you working on short bursts of high intensity exercise with longer bursts of lower intensity exercise. The exercises push you to work out in your maximum capacity with each exercise, alternating between aerobic and anaerobic intervals, with the max reps that you can handle. Basically, with each interval, you will find yourself alternating between cardio for accelerated fat burn, sports drills that work on speed and agility, plyometric (also known as jump training) for lower body power and core exercises that target your abs. That’s a lot of everything in max-impact mode, such as floor work, kicks, lunges, jump and jacks. And it is said that a session of Insanity will have your heart rate over 80 percent of your maximum, that’s lots of hard, sweaty work for the entire body.

Are you ready?

By now, you are probably getting a clearer picture of how Insanity can be insanely challenging. It definitely isn’t an easy training technique and it isn’t for everybody. Additionally, it’s not really about being mentally ready. The plan takes dedication, discipline, willpower and a love for challenges and sweat. You need consistency — you are encouraged to never miss a day to do the workouts on schedule — and a threshold for pain, because with Insanity your body will definitely feel the burn. It’s important to point out the routines are not meant for people with cardiovascular, pulmonary and metabolic diseases. Diabetics or obese people and people with orthopedic limitations are also advised against undergoing the program.

‘I completely encourage people to try it out, but only if they are already moderately fit, or are willing to go on a slow pace for some time at first,” Murwa said. “I took many breaks, stopping the workout whenever I was out of breath or tired. You build stamina over time.” She said you see a clear improvement in endurance, you look tighter and your body is more compact in about two weeks. Insanity routine can help you burn up to 1,000 calories per workout (to put that into perspective, a spinning class burns around 300 calories in the same amount of time. While traditional HIIT workouts can burn up to 750 calories). Beginner exercisers should take it easy when they first begin the program. In fact, there is a less insane introductory workout DVD called “Sanity Check” that is a little shorter and a little slower, basically a buildup program that prepares you for that real thing.

On a final note, T is back with a new program this year, Insanity MX:30, which is 30 minutes long, compared to Insanity’s 25-minute session. And it might just be harder than the original Insanity regime, which has been billed as the “hardest workout ever put on DVD.” Only time will tell.

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