I often get a lot of questions of what Beachbody program I prefer most or which is the best. So I decided to review 5 of Beachbody's major programs and compare them to help those out there looking to get into a program but unsure which one to go with.
P90X
Muscle Building: 8
This is a great muscle building program, where at least 3 times a week you are doing resistance training. It's back to basics, good ol' fashioned, weight lifting, along with some newer modern lifting techniques mixed in. The only reason this didn't get a 10 is because P90X doesn't have a great leg routine...if you're really looking to build muscle in your legs you'll have to look elsewhere.
Cardio: 4
This is where P90X falls flat a little. It's plyo work out is good, but compares in no way to Insanity workouts. The Kenpo is fun the first time but just sort of fizzles out after doing it a few times. And it's cardio work out is just pathetic.
Variety: 9
This is where P90X shines. With P90X you get resistance training, plyometrics, yoga, stretching, and Kenpo. The only reason I didn't give a 10 is because you repeat phase 1 in phase 3 again, and while it was fun to see improvements you've made, it starts to feel like more of the same. But within a weekly basis, nothing beats P90X.
Total Points: 21
INSANITY
Muscle Building: 2
If you're main goal is to gain muscle, Insanity is not for you. Insanity is a cardio based work out program that will melt the fat off your body and get you toned and ripped, but it won't build much muscle, simply because you're using your body weight for all the exercise...no weights involved.
Cardio: 10
This is where Insanity excels...making you sweat puddles and work out til you drop from exhaustion.
Variety: 5
While Insanity has many workouts, the problem is that they begin to all blend together and seem the same. With P90X, you knew what the next work out entailed and how it's different from the rest. With Insanity, if I didn't look at the actual disc name, I probably wouldn't be able to guess what the workout actually was.
Total Points: 17
BODY BEAST
Muscle Building: 10
If you want to get big, this is your program. All lifting, heavy weights, great leg workouts compared to P90X.
Cardio: 2
This program has basically 1 cardio workout...you don't do it much during the program because the goal is to gain muscle and weight. While the cardio workout is good, it doesn't come close to Insanity.
Variety: 7
There are a lot of different resistance work outs in this program, and each one is very unique. However, you're not going to get variety like you do with P90X.
Total Score: 19
P90X2
Muscle Building: 7
P90X2 will build you some muscle, but this program differs from P90X in that it focuses more on functional fitness...in that you're doing work outs that focus more on your core, stability, and balance. Because of this, some of the resistance work outs require you to use lighter weights because your focusing on your stability and balance and also to prevent injury. However, you can tailor the program to help you focus more on building muscle and take away some of the stability/balance factors that prevent this.
Cardio: 3
P90X2 claims it has no specific cardio routines, so this was going to be a low score regardless. There's no Kenpo or any specific cardio work out, but Plyocide will get you sweating, and the other work outs have cardio qualities. But overall, this program can't stand toe to toe with an Insanity workout.
Variety: 10
P90X2 has the most unique work outs out there, and most importantly, are pretty darn fun. Every phase has different work outs (no repeating a phase like P90X or Body Beast), and if you buy the ultimate kit, it adds two other resistance work outs so you can add a 4th phase. The balance/stability aspects they added are great, as well as Phase 1 which is all about building a great core. There's still yoga, they added foam rolling as a recovery work out, and while I wasn't a big fan of PAP workouts initially, they've grown on me, and it really adds another dynamic to the program.
Total Score: 20
Insanity: The Asylum Volumes 1 and 2
Note: I combined volumes 1 and 2 since by themselves they only last 30 days. You can combine the two to make a 60 day program.Muscle Building: 6
The Asylum workouts finally added weights to the equation. The program is still primarily focused on cardio and speed/agility, but it does add muscle building work outs to the mix. You can build some muscle with the program, but the program's main goal is to make you into an explosive athlete.
Cardio: 10
Like Insanity, this program will make you sweat like no other program, and there's some form of cardio in every single work out.
Variety: 9
Unlike the original Insanity, none of these workouts begin to blend together. Every one is unique and different, and you know what to expect. Also the fact that it combines cardio and weight lifting in some workouts, while focusing on agility, speed, explosiveness, and balance in others, this come close to a very complete program. You're not going to get huge with this program like Body Beast, but all other forms of fitness are represented in this program.
Total Score: 25
And the winner is...The Asylum (Volumes 1 and 2). I've just always loved these programs, and while the volumes individually wouldn't match up with P90X, P90X2, or Body Beast, together they make the best program in my opinion.
At the end of the day what program may be the best for you depends on your goals. Looking to lose weight and get ripped? Insanity is for you. Looking to get huge? Body Beast. Looking to become a better athlete? P90X2 and the Asylum would be best. Looking for a good initial program that adds variety to your fitness...P90X. And of course there are many other Beachbody programs I haven't tried yet (Les Mills Pump, Less Mills Combat, Turbo Fire, 10 Minute Trainer, etc).
Vegan Update:
I know it's been a while since I've updated this blog, but I thought I'd give a quick update on my Vegan experiment. It lasted for a little over a month, and overall I felt going Vegan made me feel more energized. However, since I travel so much, it was very difficult to maintain a Vegan diet, and I started getting stressed out over maintaining the diet. I started to learn you can't treat your diet like a religion, otherwise, you'll just stress out and a good intentioned diet will begin having unhealthy effects. I thinking adding a little meat to your diet isn't a bad thing (the right kind of meat of course; chicken, some fish, NO read meat). I would now consider myself a "flexitarian", where about 80% of the time I eat vegan, but I also add some meat to my meals. I hardly ever will consume dairy now, as I'd like to continue to keep that out of my diet, but I'll still enjoy occasional icecream and cheese.
