This post is a review of the Insanity Asylum Athletic Performance Assessment.

Insanity Asylum Athletic Performance Assessment

For this review I am going to assume that you have read my other Asylum reviews; if you haven’t, please do so. When writing this I am going to assume that you know what a Heisman or a Lat Push-Up or whatever exercise I name is. I am also going to assume that you know the proper form to do these exercises for your assessment. If not, then again go read the other Asylum and Insanity reviews. There is plenty to read. I am low guesstimating of at least 50,000+ words *just* for Insanity reviews; or basically a full book worth of FREE information.

Just like the Fit Test in the first edition of Insanity, the Insanity Athletic Performance Assessment gives you a baseline of where you are coming from and, in 99% of cases, it is the first video you should do. Unlike the rest of the videos in the series where there is a sequence of events, this does not follow that form. It is strictly an assessment and there is really no reason to try and kill yourself to get more than you actually can. Or kinda like “some other people” who suck their gut in when they get a waist measurement as if that will make them any healthier.

So that is my number one advice for this whole assessment. Do what you can.  If the assessment calls for doing as many push-ups as you can in two minutes, and you can only manage to do five, then five is what you get. Write it down and continue. Don’t lie or pad your numbers because you were “not in-it today” or “could do more if my…”. What you did is what you did.

If you are following the program to the letter, then you should do this once before you start the program and then once every 30 days to track your progress.

Even though this video is the first thing you should do before starting this program,  I chose to write about this video last because you need to know proper form on how to do these exercises. Proper form is eleventy-billion-times more important than the number of reps of an exercise you can do. Proper form is what keeps you off the sidelines and in the program.

Tools Needed

  • Speed Rope
  • Agility Ladder
  • Chin-Up Bar

Warm-Up

Basic Jump Rope – Yep start jumpin  – the key here is to get both your heart rate and core temperature up to par.

High Knee Sprint – Whenever I am at Julie’s FIIT Camp (and we do this exact exercise,) my job is getting people to get their knees up to hip height. Since you don’t have me yelling at you in your living room or wherever you are, GET THOSE DANG KNEES UP! Half-assin it does not help you, and it’s not the reason why you bought the videos. That said, run in place and get your knees up to hip height…and no slouching your back.

*Go get your Agility Ladder

Forward / Back Agility – Just like the previous videos explained, you are just “running” both in and outside the rungs of the agility ladder from right to left, naturally when going from left to right lead with your right leg and vice versa on the way back. Go forward and back for the full allotted time period.

Stretch – Don’t Skip these, I am not going to go over the exact stretches as you will see them in the video.

If you don’t have the video set go buy it. I cannot tell you how many times I get emails from people wanting me to add the amount of time that each exercise is, how long each exercise video is, what are the “exact” stretches, “can you hurry up and post the Insanity … review,” and a ton of other informational requests because they either don’t want to buy the set, or cannot afford it. And every time I tell them to pay the $40 to become a coach and refer people then you WILL have the money to buy whatever you want. Just a couple days ago I got a commission check from Team Beachbody and I never even talked to the people who bought the stuff. Seriously, if you are already doing the program you may as well get paid while you’re at it. Any of you unemployed folks (20% of the population here in the US, so I know you are reading this) KNOW that mailbox money kicks all kinds of ass. Become a Coach by clicking here. If I can do it and only (half assed I may add) and still make money, you could KILL IT. Heck, if you are still unsure, email me at my Contact page above. I also suggest that you set up a company; that way you get 1099’d and keep it off your personal income.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Insanity Asylum Athletic Performance Assessment

Agility Heisman – If this is your first time reading my blog then welcome. DO NOT START OFF WITH THE INSANITY ASYLUM SERIES, start with the regular Insanity program. Or if you are an ultra-newbie, start out with Power 90 from Beachbody. For those of you who have been reading, then you know what a Heisman is. The only difference here is you will be going forward and aft of your agility ladder doing your Heisman alternating sides. Every FULL ladder movement (meaning up AND back) counts as 1 REP. Do as many reps as you can without killing yourself for the full minute. WRITE DOWN YOUR REPS AND KEEP THEM.

In & out Ab Progression – This is taken from one of the very first Asylum videos I reviewed. If you haven’t read it check it out here. For this exercise be sure and keep good form on your plank and don’t drop your hips. It is a 10x better feeling to know that you did these correctly and all your reps were solid than to go strictly for a ton of reps that were questionable.

Also for me I will write down on my sheet that I did “X # of Reps – ALL SOLID.” That way, when I come back in a month I know I really can’t screw around.

*NOTE: By Solid reps I mean you cannot hit your agility ladder. If you hit it, the rep does not count. You just fix your ladder and continue.

*NOTE 2: You are jumping into the 2nd box for all of the In & Out Ab Progressions.

Lat Push-Ups / Pull-Ups – For this assessment you are doing either/or, not both.  For your Lat Push-Ups you are working side to side, every side counts as 1 rep. If you decide to do Pull-Ups then you are doing dead-man pull-ups, meaning you are not using your legs or any other part of your body for momentum; this is strictly a Latissimus dorsi muscle (Lats) exercise with a wide grip and your palms facing outwards. Write down your reps.

Mountain Climber Switch Kicks – This is taken from the regular Insanity series. Be extra sure and take precaution with your form so you don’t fall and bust your ass. The key to this exercise is the upward reach and the outward kick, again just like high knees kick your feet just at or above your waist. Every kick counts as 1 rep. Write down your reps.

*Get your agility ladder set up again.

Agility Shoulder Taps – Just like your Forward Back Agility you will be working right to left. These are just like the shoulder tap push-ups we did in an earlier video only slightly easier. Here we are not going to be doing any push-ups, only moving left to right and tapping each shoulder consecutively as you move through the rungs of the ladder. Make sure your hands meet in each individual rung of the ladder and to keep your back straight. Ever full ladder movement (forward and aft) counts as 1 rep. Write down your reps.

X Jumps – I don’t think these have been done in the Insanity series. I think I remember doing these in some of my P90X reviews but I will assume that I have never talked about these. X jumps are just what they sound like, you start by tucking yourself over with your legs slightly bent and your hands touching your feet, then jump up and form a “X” in the air then return to your starting position. Jump as high as you can for the allotted time period and look forward the whole time; DO NOT LOOK AT THE GROUND, this will help your form so you don’t slouch over. Write down your reps.

*Get your agility ladder again

Moving Push-Ups – Just like the Agility Shoulder Taps you just did minus the shoulder tap thing, but adding a push-up between each rung of your ladder. Working from left to right then back again. Each full ladder movement counts as 1 rep. Remember these are push-ups, and not half-ups.  A full push up is where I could put my fist on the ground and your chest would touch it; not barely graze it but fully place your chest or sternum into my fist then back up. Write down your reps.

Agility Lateral Shuffle – Think speed, think agility but remember form. You will be running up and back as fast as you possibly can, make sure that each food touches on the inside of each ladder rung. One full ladder movement is 1 rep. Write down your reps.

Agility Bear Crawl – Really read my Speed and Agility review to make sure you know what the Agility Bear Crawl is. Please, Please control your movements here. If you jack up your shoulder, wrist or you pulled a hammy don’t hit me up ‘cause your form was stupid.

Water Break

Cool Down – Here is another set of stretches to increase your flexibility since your body is now warmed up and you are at maximum flexibility level for this workout. Do not skip this.

Finished

Conclusion:

There really is nothing to rate so no Charles Face ratings. Yeah, I know you are sad, but hey, assessments are important because they help you gauge where you came from and where you are going. I personally like the regular Insanity Fit Test better due to the simplicity; however, this one is actually better due to having more compound exercises, and overall, it’s a better assessment that is suited to the Asylum. But I also drive an old Audi S4 because I can work on it myself, so what do I know: P

This concludes my review on Insanity Asylum Athletic Performance Assessment.


Charles Lloyd
Charles Lloyd

Self processed fitness missionary and author of most of the ridiculous fitness articles written on Charles Lloyd Fitness.com. I am not really a writer, but a workout fiend who happens to have a blog. The single mission of this website is very simple: Get You In Shape. I have been blessed with the gift of good health and want to share it with you. Join Me.

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