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Background
Body Revolution and Insanity are both multi-disk programs designed to last several months, which focus mainly on strength training, but also some cardio. Body Revolution is currently on Amazon for $90, and comes with 15 disks, while Insanity is $145 for 10 disks, and both have 4.5 star ratings on Amazon. They each come with an eating plan, which I did not follow for either program, so I won't comment on that part here. I believe both are designed for people who already have a moderate level of fitness and want to focus on toning - I would not consider either of these to be programs for beginners. If you're looking for a good beginner's program, I would highly recommend Jillian Michaels' 30-Day Shred.
Difficulty Level
Body Revolution starts out easy, and gets progressively more difficult. In fact, the first few DVDs of Body Revolution seemed downright simple. It wasn't until the day after when I could feel the burn! It was really easy for me to get in a routine and stay motivated when the initial routines weren't too challenging, but felt effective at the same time. Every two weeks you move up a level and the exercises get more difficult. I am currently on disks 9 & 10 and the workouts are HARD.
Insanity had me struggling from Day 1. In fact, my daughter walked in while my husband and I were suffering through the first day and remarked, "Um, I think this workout might be too hard for you guys." I work out fairly regularly, and consider myself to be in pretty good shape, so I thought I would be fine. For me, Insanity was hard to stick with because it was so difficult, and I ended up giving up eventually. I think I lasted about 4 weeks.
Length
Body Revolution - 30 minutes each
Insanity - 30-80 minutes each
Results and Final Opinions
While the built-in fitness test with Insanity helped prove that I was getting more and more fit, I didn't really stick with it long enough to see noticeable results. With Body Revolution, I did not see a significant amount of weight loss. Part of this, I believe, was due to the fact that I was not adjusting my eating in an attempt to lose weight, and part of it was because I was gaining muscle mass. However, I did take measurements before I started the program, and a month into it, and I had lost a cumulative FIVE inches off my thighs, hips, and waist! I could also see noticeable definition in my arms, stomach, and booty.
While I know there are many people who are true devotees to Insanity and other Beachbody products, to me the time commitment and intensity level did not suit my lifestyle. On the other hand, with a quick 30 minutes at a time and so many DVDs to choose from, I can see myself continuing to use the Body Revolution videos for many years to come.
Bottom Line
Bite the bullet - the $100 for Body Revolution is totally worth it!
2 comments:
I am currently doing insanity. I completed jillians body revolution almost a year ago. I really like both but jillians really put me in shape. I also followed the meal plan on it and was able to punch through my plateau. You are right about the muscle definition as well. I still pop in discs 7 - 12 and cardio 3 on occassion. If I hadnt of done jillians dvds first I wouldn't be on month 2 of insanity thats for sure. Im mainly doing insanity to really shed body fat -my stomach is a problem area that no matter what I do, the last bit of stomach fat wouldnt go away. And since i love plyo training and hate running on the treadmill, i bought insanity.
I hadn't thought of using Body Revolution as sort of a "warm-up" to doing Insanity. Maybe I will try it again this summer - I should try and get my money's worth out of it anyway, right?
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