Couch Potatoes Revolutionized

If you thought couch potato-ism didn't go hand in hand with an active lifestyle, think again — a series of revolutionary home exercises is now available to prove all those snarky, haughty outdoor athletes, mountain climbers and marathon runners wrong. Beachbody home fitness has revolutionized the world of exercising at home with their lines of massively popular workout videos that boast you only need a couple of square meters in front of your television to be fit. Sure, Jane Fonda has been releasing workout videos since the dawn of television, but Beachbody has taken it to a whole new level. For several months now I have been hearing people rave about Insanity and P90X, both workout and nutrition programs developed by Beachbody. Initially, I thought it was just another diet craze, but from what I have heard and seen, it really might just be the real thing. Yehia Farid, 29, is a living example of the wonders that the Beachbody videos can do for you. He lost 11 kilograms in the two months he followed the P90X and Insanity programs. Although he has always been active, he swears by the efficiency of the workouts. “It isn’t boring at all, and it’s very effective in losing weight,” he says. P90X is a workout and nutrition plan created and instructed by renowned personal trainer Tony Horton. It uses the idea of muscle confusion (constantly switching up the way you work out so you never hit a weight-loss or muscle-gain plateau) to achieve results. Insanity was developed by trainer Shaun T. and emphasizes interval training for maximum calorie burn. While Insanity is a 60-day program of six weekly, 40-minute exercises with an extra 17-minute ab workout, P90X is a 90-day program with workouts of varying length and intensities. Both combine various cardio, strength, stretch and plyometric (jump) moves. They programs come with the workout  DVDs, a nutrition guide and plan, a fitness guide to propor form and, my personal favorite, a calendar to mark your progress in weight, heart rate and measurements — just what you need for that extra motivational kick. What’s encouraging about these programs is that they mostly need no more tools than some dumbbells, an exercise mat and a stool — things I hope even our less-active readers already have. P90X also requires a pull-up bar, and I would suggest some really good shoes for anything involving plyometric training. Although both programs are intense in nutrition and exercises, your bod will eventually come to terms with the new routine. “During the first three days your body is in agony from the workout, but it’s because you shock your body. After this phase you get used to it,” he adds. After we'd established that both programs work, I, along with two of my best friends, decided to start right away — you know, what with the New Year and beginning anew, that sort of thing. But which program should we follow? For Farid, after trying out both, says Insanity is the way to go. “It is very high impact; it keeps you engaged because it is very intense and has a lot of cardio and you see the results.” To him, Insanity is more about losing weight and cardio training while P90X is more about toning and muscle definition than losing weight. So if buffing or toning up is what you’re after, go for P90X, but just because the classes and the program are shorter we decided to try out Insanity. Watch this space for my weekly blog about the trials and tribulations of three girls deciding to be fit by 2013 — and doing it from home. You can find both programs on www.beachbody.com or through Amazon. P90X costs around $145 and Insanity $140 on Amazon.