P90X and the Insanity Workouts: Which One Is Better?

People are always asking me, “Which one is better, the P90X or Insanity?” and I always tell them the same thing, “Neither is better than the other. It depends on what you want to accomplish with your body.”.

To start off with, what is great about both workout systems is that they really work AND they each come with an extremely detailed diet plan. Now, when I say detailed, these diet plans tell you what to eat for each meal of each day. The plans tell you exactly how many calories to consume and the makeup of each meal (fat, carbs, protein, fiber, etc.). The meals are filling, most are tasty, and best of all they are healthy. I was amazed how much my energy level shot up after 3-4 weeks on the diets.

The Insanity Home Workout System

Each program is designed around a different idea/methodology. Simply put, the Insanity workout is a pure cardiovascular workout system. Insanity is designed to take your cardiovascular health to a whole new level. Each Insanity workout is around 45 minutes long and you are moving for 35 of them. There are 10 DVD’s that come with the Insanity workout. Each DVD is different than the other. Depending on how hard you go in the workout you can expect to burn anywhere from 500 to 1000 calories per workout. Let it be said that to burn a 1000 calories you have to be moving as fast or faster than the leader in the video, Shaun-T. By the way, this is nearly impossible. I tried it for 10 minutes and I thought I was going to have a heart attack. What is also nice about the Insanity workout is that you do not need any extra workout items. Just you, a TV, and Shaun-T. That’s it.

Click Here to Check Out the Insanity Workout

The P90X Home Workout System

The P90X is a workout system that is built around resistance training. It was built around the idea of  burning off fat and building muscle at the same time. In the infomercials you may have heard the phrase “muscle confusion”. This is not a phrase that lacks substance. The workouts are designed and arranged in a fashion so that you are constantly challenging muscle groups with different types of workouts. I used to have a Gold’s Gym membership and I used it 5 days a week. I experienced some gains but plateaued after a couple of months. I plateaued because I wasn’t changing up my workouts.

What is also great about the P90X is that you have a world famous trainer, Tony Horton, talking you through each exercise. He tells you what to do if you are a beginner and want to start slowly and he also offers up advice on how to really challenge you muscles.

One final difference between the two workouts is that you need extra “workout toys” to complete the P90X workouts. All you need are dumbbells/stretch bands and a pull-up bar. I purchased stretch bands and a pull-up bar for around $50.

Before buying and completing a round of P90X I was a extreme skeptic of any home workout system. I convinced myself to buy it and totally committed myself to the program. The proof is in the pictures. I lost nearly 20 pounds and was honestly in the best shape of my life. By my standards I had the making of a ripped body!

Click Here to Check out the P90X Workout System

Conclusion:

Neither Insanity or the P90X are better than the other. It truly depends upon what you want to do with your body. If you want to burn off fat and are not too concerned about packing on the muscle, then Insanity is for you. If you want to burn off some fat and pack on the muscle than the P90X is for you. Both workouts will work and you will see extreme results if you commit yourself to either of the programs.