Insanity Cardio Power and Resistance
Another decent DVD workout from the Insanity team entitled Insanity Cardio Power and Resistance; although I don’t think it was nearly as hard as the Plyometric Cardio Circuit I just did. Well, let me rephrase that; it’s not as hard in a different sort of way. This workout adds body weight exercises, just as the title indicates. It did incorporate some pretty cool triceps exercise dips that I have never done before and some bodyweight shoulder exercises that were pretty decent.
The setting was familiar in what looks like a high school gym with a new bunch of people. To tell you the truth, the best thing about this program is not the actual workouts, it’s the nutrition plan that comes with it. I will be writing about this in the future.
If you are just starting to work out or have never worked out / hit the gym before, I DO NOT recommend this program. This is considered an advanced system and you can over-extend yourself and end up doing more damage than good. However, if you are in decent shape, then yeah, I recommend it. It’s not ultra-hardcore where you want to throw-up, but it’s hard enough to keep you honest.
Insanity Cardio Power and Resistance
Warm-up
The warm-up is very similar to the previous Cardio workout warm-up we just did. This is maybe one of the best DVD warm-ups in the business. If you don’t already have a heart rate monitor, get one. You should be hitting 70 ~80% of your MHR (max heart rate) in the warm-up. NO not immediately, but by round 2 ½ you should be close. Here we start off with:
Round #1 – Warm-ups
- Jog – Keep your core tight
- Power Squats – You are fresh now, so you should be doing these properly.
- Log Jumps – Here you are jumping side to side like you are jumping over a log.
- 123 – Like a Heisman but adding a 3 step in between.
- Butt Kicks – Exactly what you think they are. Watch your form, you are still fresh
- High Knees – Yep. HIGH KNEES. Use your core to lift your knees
- Vertical Jumps – You can make these hard or as easy as you want, Land softly to protect your knees.
Round #2
Repeat Round #1 –– Warm-ups – Now with more speed. Free decoder ring with 4 UPC box tops!:p
- Jog – Now is the time to watch your form.
- Power Jacks – Watch your form and keep that core tight.
- Log Jumps – Now pick up the pace, make sure both legs touch the ground.
- 123 – Watch your form and don’t half-ass it.
- Butt Kicks – It’s easy to get lazy here. Get those heels up, up, up!
- High Knees – Watch your form and don’t get lazy.
- Vertical Jumps – Depending on how frisky you are, get your butt down and push yourself. I was hitting about 165ish on my HRM, not as high as the last workout, but definitely working.
Round #3
Repeat –– Warm ups – Now you need to push for even more speed. If you are doing it right, you are feeling it now.
- Jog – Not really a jog anymore, now it’s almost a sprint. This is it so push yourself.
- Power Jacks – Watch your form.
- Log Jumps – Watch your form and don’t sacrifice it.
- 123 – Watch your form, stop if you need to, and don’t sacrifice form. EVER!
- Butt Kicks – Get those heels up. Watch your form.
- High Knees – Try and get your knees to your chest, concentrate on speed. Don’t sacrifice form.
- Vertical Jumps – Land softly. Don’t sacrifice form.
Water Break – 25 seconds.
Stretch Time – Here we are just incorporating some stretches on your now warm muscles. Again this is the part I don’t like about the DVD; the warm-up is pretty hard, but then we just stop!? What’s up with that Beachbody? I know you are reading this.
Throughout the DVD the host states to keep moving, but then right at the beginning we go from a pretty hard warm-up to stopping to do stretches. I don’t like it, didn’t like it in the other video, still don’t like it today. This is considered an advanced workout, the people who do these know better. There has to be a better way to incorporate the stretches. Even throughout the workout program the presenter tells you to keep moving; kinda weird when they don’t follow their own words. Personally, I would do the first round of warm-ups, then stretch, and then do the last 2 rounds. This is my biggest concern with this set, and that is very, very minor.
Even still the DVD’s are still worth it. If you are on the fence, don’t be. No workout can be perfect to the individual. I have read a lot of reviews on this DVD set and I have yet to see anybody point this out.
Insanity – Cardio Power and Resistance
Power Jumps
Like vertical jumps; however when you jump up, you want to get enough air so you can get into the sitting position in the air and your hands can touch your knees. Make sure you land softly on your toes like a cat.
Belt Kicks
These are squats with kicks at the end. Go down into a squatting position like you just did in the power jumps. However, instead of jumping up in the air, you are going to come up and do a single leg forward kick, alternating with each leg. This exercise is much lower impact than the power jumps you just did, and if there is a “rest” session between exercises, this is it.
Hit the Floor
This is another low-impact interesting exercise. If you start off standing straight up with your hand on the air, all you are do is a side-step lunge and touch the floor with both hands. This is a difficult exercise to explain so here are some pictures. Here Julie (my editor) is doing the exercise. **No she is not high in this picture.
“V” Push-ups – *A good shoulder workout*
First you want to start off in the plank position. Then starting crawling your arms in so your whole body comes in to a big upside down “V” and go as far as you can and try to keep your back legs straight. Then start doing push-ups, with your fingers pointed inward. It’s as simple as that; it’s a very good plyometric/bodyweight shoulder workout. Only go down into the pushup as far as you can comfortably go. Some of you guys who think that these are easy, try doing a couple hundred of these THEN holla at me.
Water Break – 25 Seconds
Rounds #2
- Power Jumps – Repeat, with good form, use your core for good stabilization.
- Belt Kicks – Repeat, with good form. Take a break when necessary.
- Hit the Floor – Repeat, with good form. Take a break when necessary. Don’t try and be a hero and hurt yourself.
- V Push-ups – Go as deep as you can go. Don’t sacrifice good form.
Water Break – 25 Seconds
Round #3
Now you are going for speed and form. This is when the magic happens
- Power Jumps – Repeat with good form. This time with speed. Take a break when necessary.
- Belt Kicks – Repeat with good form. This time with speed. Take a break when necessary.
- Hit the Floor – Repeat with good form. This time with speed. Take a break when necessary.
- V Push-ups - Go as deep as you can go. This time with speed. Take a break when necessary.
Triceps Dips
Sometime last year I did an article on triceps dips on a bench. This time you are in a tabletop position, with your butt down, and then you are going to use your arms (finger forward) to lower your body down then back up. These really are not that hard if you are in good shape, but if you do enough of them you will eventually feel it. The focus here is your triceps, so you want to focus on working on flexing your triceps (the back of your arms).
Leg Triceps Dips
You are going to continue to do your triceps dips, now you are going to take one leg and lift it up as high as you can and continue to do your triceps dips. Hold your core in and half-way through switch legs. Try and get your leg up as high as possible for a light core work.
Water Break – 25 Seconds
Triceps Ball Push –Ups
This a combination of the V push-ups you did earlier and triceps dips. Instead of trying to explain it in writing, I took a couple of pictures to show you how it’s done. Here I am doing the exercise:
Water Break – 25 Seconds – Remember, during your water breaks, do not stop moving.
Hurdle Jumps
If you have ever run or seen the hurdles in a track and field event, that is what you are going to be doing.
The key point here is actual hurdling, let me repeat that. THE KEY point of this move is the actual hurdling. Let me repeat again that so that we are 100% clear. Hurdling, not jumping…you are going to be hurdling – - Hurdling.
There is a big difference between hurdling and jumping. When a hurdler runs a 100m hurdle, he or she DOES NOT jump over the hurdle, he or she hurdles over them, meaning that when they are running and they go to hurdle they do just that. If you are not sure what a hurdle is check out this video of Lolo Jones hurdling, watch what these girls are doing. Pay close attention.
Here is a better and shorter video on what hurdling is.
This gives a smooth transition between running and hurdling so you can keep your same pace. Now that we got that out of the way . . . .
Run/sprint in place and hurdle, make sure you actually hurdle and not jump. Jumping will slow you down and you will lose momentum (not good for an intensity workout). In the video the presenter does not really explain this. As a fitness trainer, and former track runner, there is a HUGE difference between jumping and hurdling. Hurdling requires you to get both legs up, up, up, or you will scrub and fall flat you your face. Not pretty, not cute, not manly, and you risk injury. I know I am harping on this point quite a bit, but I cannot stress this point enough.
Globe Jumps
These are the same jumps that I wrote about in my Fit Test review, if you have not checked it out do so right here.
“This is a very hard move to do a lot of. You do a squat jump (exactly what it sounds like) and you are jumping in a box, or you jump to all four corners of your imaginary box. Four jumps in a box count as 1 repetition. Unless you are a super freak animal or only half-assed it in the previous exercises, don’t think you are going to be doing a ton of these” – Charles Lloyd
The only thing I didn’t point out was to make sure you touch the ground with both hands between each jump.
Moving Push-ups
Exactly what like they sound like. You do full push-ups, but instead of staying in one place, you are moving. To move; when you are in the down position spread your legs out and when you come up move to the left or right. Easy and effective.
Floor Sprints
While you are still in the plank position from your moving push-ups, go into floor sprints. These are just like mountain climbers, only faster and with more intensity. Try and get your legs to your chest as much as possible. Remember, these are floor sprints and not floor walks. If you wanna burn fat/get in shape you MUST push yourself. When done properly they are viscerally hard and viscerally effective because of that. There is no free lunch here!
Remember I’m not just writing about it; I have actually done what you will be doing. I feel it just like you do/will.
Water Break – 30 Seconds
Round #2
Now with more speed
- Hurdle Jumps – Repeat with good form. This time with more speed. Take a break when necessary. Land softly so you don’t hurt yourself.
- Globe Jumps – Repeat with good form. This time with speed. Take a break when necessary.
- Moving Push-Ups – Repeat with good form. This time with speed. Take a break when necessary.
- Floor Sprints – Repeat with good form. This time with speed. Take a break when necessary. **I pushed as hard as I could here, and believe me, I was in the hurt locker at this point.**
Water Break – 30 Seconds
Round #3
Final Round, time to really make it happen
- Hurdle Jumps – Repeat with good form. This time with as much speed as possible. Take a break when/if necessary.
- Globe Jumps – Repeat with good form. This time with as much speed as possible. Take a break when/if necessary.
- Moving Push-Ups – Repeat with good form. This time with as much speed as possible. Take a break when/if necessary.
- Floor Sprints – Repeat with good form. This time with as much speed as possible. Take a break when/if necessary. **If you have done the workout as hard as you should have, you should have almost nothing left at this point ** If you are still good to go, you have not pushed hard enough!
Water Break – 15 Seconds
8 Hop Squats / 8 Push-ups
This is the last exercise – You just do 8 Hop Squats then 8 Push-ups
- Repeat Hop Squats/Push-ups
- Repeat Hop Squats/Push-ups
- Repeat Hop Squats/Push-ups
- Repeat Hop Squats/Push-ups
Insanity Cardio Power and Resistance
Done!
Now finish by doing some stretching while you are still warm.
Overall a good DVD. There are a few minor things I don’t like, but that is to be expected. No DVD program can be all things to everybody.
I give this a solid 4 out of 5 Charles Faces!
If you are just looking around for tips to lose fat, I recommend you try my CITY workout program. It’s 100% free, and is just a click away right here on this website.
Thanks for checking out my review on Insanity Cardio Power and Resistance.
