Insane, whether you’re a varsity sport athlete or someone who has never considered themselves athletic, that is the only word that comes to mind after completing the workout. Insanity is far from a typical workout, which is exactly why The Viking chose to try it for a week.
Shaun Thompson, famously know as Shaun T is the creator and face of Insanity. Thompson made the 60 day “challenge” which consists of six, 45 minute tapes that you do throughout the week. In the tapes there are about ten people behind Thompson doing all of the exercises with him to help and inspire you to keep pushing yourself. One question is how people can get into shape with a videotape that does not incorporate weights or time.Thompson solved these problems using the knowledge from his major in Sports Science and minor in dance. From his knowledge on exercise, the body and dancing is why his workout is so physically successful for people who participate. The workouts are designed to burn body fat (which is why people tend to sweat an insane amount) and evenly build muscle all over your body. It is proven that this is a weight loss program that also tone and sculpts your body.
The Viking’s own Olivia Scola (‘15) and Gillian Chryst (‘15) gave the well known DVD workout system a go to see if the hype actually lived up to it’s great reputation. From the very first workout we found that the rigorous exercises and non-stop movement works your body every minute. Thompson shows how to do each workout in detail so you never get lost. He even modifies it for the people that may not be ready to hut working out at at full speed. The workouts go in cycles so that you can repeat the reps to work each part of the body.
Eventually, the exercises are blended into a mix of fast pace movements to the work muscles and burn fat. We found that the workout gets easier as you go and that through each daily session Thompson focuses different parts of the body to get rid of body, not only to rid the body fat but also to tone various muscle groups. Following the first day we were extremely sore, despite the vast amount of stretching we had done before the workout.
Every two weeks you retake a fitness test to measure your progress. The test also sets goals for you as you go to help so you see a greater improvement.The only way you will see results is if you try your best, you will only get into better shape if you push yourself every single day. Insanity is designed to push limits, both physical and mental, while rewarding them with a healthy body.
The workout begins with a few minutes of cardio followed by Thompson leading a long stretching period. The tape goes by quickly and you only have time to realize how hard you are working during the short breaks. The water breaks make the rest of the workout feel like you have been running a marathon do to the high intensity cardio workouts.
Typically when we worked out, it was outside of practice, such as running, going to the gym. Doing exercises such as crunches, push ups and planks. Overall, our workouts were nothing special considering that it is our off-season. However, in Thompson’s workouts you’ll do exercises that target all parts of the body in one concise workout that you can’t get simply can’t get elsewhere
We discovered that the hardest part about Insanity is being mentally prepared to try as hard as possible because your coach and teammates aren’t there to push you or keep up.
For the first time in a while we pushed ourselves as individuals to stay on track with the sessions. It was a great feeling to know that the strongest and most influential voice that pushed us was ourselves.
The Viking members Gillian and Olivia were influenced by our fellow student athletes. The girls’ varsity lacrosse team began doing insanity last year over spring break. The Lady Vikes used this great program to get back in shape and condition.
“It’s hard and makes you push yourself, but it makes you feel super good after doing it. The workout helps with footwork and quickness, which is important in lacrosse. Over all it’s great and would recommend to others,” Meredith Kinnaman (’16) said.
Whether you’re a multi-sport varsity athlete or someone who hates to work out, both will see considerable results and feel accomplished afterward Insanity.
After following Thompson’s insanity for a week, we decided to go into the gym and on the football field to do some of the workouts we obtained from the tape. Now that Thompson helped push us, it was time for us to be the driving force for our success. If you are willing to work hard, keep going even if your body wants to give up and you are mentally committed, Insanity will give you great results whether you are trying to lose weight, gain muscle, or get into better shape. <<<
