--- title: Is the Insanity Workout the Best Workout Routine For HIIT Fitness? description: Does the INSANITY workout deliver on its promise of weight loss and transformation? Find out what the research says about HIIT regimes. canonical: https://time.com/3739959/insanity-workout/ author: Markham Heid article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-11T12:45:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:42:22.163Z article:section: Health og:title: You Asked: Should I Do The Insanity Workout? og:description: Does the INSANITY workout deliver on its promise of weight loss and transformation? Find out what the research says about HIIT regimes. og:url: https://time.com/3739959/insanity-workout/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt319fb3da596ae95b/6987831f428a9ec7a9cc792a/you-asked-insanity-workouts.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: you-asked-insanity-workouts og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: You Asked: Should I Do The Insanity Workout? twitter:description: Does the INSANITY workout deliver on its promise of weight loss and transformation? Find out what the research says about HIIT regimes. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt319fb3da596ae95b/6987831f428a9ec7a9cc792a/you-asked-insanity-workouts.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # You Asked: Should I Do The Insanity Workout? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=f00c28cf-ed60-4d27-b3d5-73fbc44e2388&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=f00c28cf-ed60-4d27-b3d5-73fbc44e2388&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (daily health), Worth Your Time (culture, twice weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: Dr. Oz: Exercise Tips for Women [Watch (HLS stream): Dr. Oz: Exercise Tips for Women](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/IVzQG5RE.m3u8) (6:43)  _Published 2010-04-15. To demonstrate some useful exercises for better health, Dr. Mehmet Oz shares a workout routine with his personal trainer Joel Harper_ by [Markham Heid](https://time.com/author/markham-heid/) ## Markham Heid Markham Heid is a contributor at TIME. He is the author of The Habit Trap, due out in early 2027. Mar 11, 2015 12:45 PM UTC  Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME by [Markham Heid](https://time.com/author/markham-heid/) ## Markham Heid Markham Heid is a contributor at TIME. He is the author of The Habit Trap, due out in early 2027. Mar 11, 2015 12:45 PM UTC The name alone is a challenge—a dare. _You’d have to be insane to attempt this workout._ Of course, that’s a big part of the appeal. If the exercise is “extreme” or “crazy,” you assume the body benefits will be dramatic. And they may be—just not in the ways you’d expect from checking out the workout’s [promotional materials](http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness%5Fprograms/insanity.do), which emphasize weight loss. While it’s continually changing, the latest iteration of “INSANITY” is a 60-day program composed of 30-minute bouts of very high-intensity aerobic and resistance exercise, to be completed six days a week. While research has linked physical fitness gains to Insanity-style interval workouts, the evidence that these programs lead to weight loss is anything but rock solid. “We’ve shown that when it comes to cardiovascular fitness and function, greater intensity leads to greater adaptations,” says Todd Astorino, PhD, associate professor in the department of kinesiology at California State University, San Marcos. Astorino has studied the health and fitness effects of very rigorous bouts of interval training, often referred to as high-intensity interval training (HIIT). He says there’s little doubt your athletic condition—the ability of your heart and lungs to handle physical activity—would improve if you completed something along the lines of an Insanity workout. He also says your blood sugar levels would likely drop, a change that could help protect you from metabolic diseases like type-2 diabetes. Throw in the body-resistance component of Insanity workouts, and you’ll certainly grow stronger too. What about weight loss? “The research is very mixed, especially in the long term,” Astorino says. “I think it would help you avoid weight gain. But that’s not the same as losing weight.” Hundreds of studies have looked into the effect of regular exercise on body weight. While physical activity is unquestionably good for your health, exercise alone doesn’t have a huge impact on the number you see on your bathroom scale, concludes [one recent study](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-789X.2012.01012.x/abstract;jsessionid=30090470674BB655CAFB982ECDD55D4C.f02t01?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false) appearing in the journal _Obesity Reviews_. **MORE** [You Asked: Why Are People Addicted To CrossFit?](http://time.com/3083506/you-asked-why-are-people-addicted-to-crossfit-and-other-brutal-workouts/?iid=time%5Fspeed) Another study, this one from Stephen Boutcher, PhD, associate professor at Australia’s University of New South Wales, specifically examined the effect of Insanity-style HIIT training on body fat. Boutcher’s research found “significant” fat reduction—or a little more than 4 pounds of lost body fat after three months of training. That’s significant in science terms, but probably not what you’re expecting when starting a workout program that highlights happy customers who have lost 40, 50, or even 90 pounds. ### You Asked: Your Top 10 Health Questions Answered  You Asked: Are Cleanses Healthy? Potions that claim to clear your body of toxins might sound alluring, but do they deliver? Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Is Eating Dessert Really That Bad For Me? Bad news for sweet-eaters—except if you end your meals with this kind of treat. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: What’s the Best Way to Whiten My Teeth? Yes, teeth whitening actually works—but here's why you have to dish out major bucks to see results. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Is Meditation Really Worth It? From easing stress to lowering heart disease risk, focusing your mind can do some amazing things for your body. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: What’s the Healthiest Sweetener? Take a taste of the unsettled science of sweeteners. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Should I Go Paleo? The pros and cons of eating like a caveman. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Is Cracking Your Knuckles Bad? Here's what really happens to your joints when you snap, crackle and pop. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Is Running on a Treadmill as Good as Running Outside? You'll fool your body into thinking it's outside with this one small treadmill tweak. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Does Laughing Have Real Health Benefits? Here's proof that everybody could use a belly laugh. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: What Is My Poo Telling Me? If you listen hard enough, you'll hear all kinds of health stories from #2. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME Boutcher says there’s some evidence HIIT training may help suppress appetite in ways traditional aerobic exercise doesn’t. But to shed lots of weight—the kind of “total-body” transformation you see in product testimonials—you also have to eat a healthy diet, the research suggests. (Read the fine print on the [INSANITY website](http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness%5Fprograms/insanity.do?e=339315#successStories), and you’ll find analogous disclaimers stating a “proper diet” is necessary to achieve and maintain weight loss.) But for some people, even regular exercise and an improved diet won’t dramatically change the way their bodies look. “Many people are just naturally bigger,” Astorino says. “For them, trying to look physically lean would probably require some very dramatic diet restrictions.” Of course, none of this touches on the psychological perks of challenging yourself with a butt-whipping exercise regimen. Talk to someone who has run a marathon or finished an Insanity program, and you can hear the sense of accomplishment and pride they feel when they talk about their achievement. “If you can get through something like this, you’ll have confidence and a good understanding of what your body can tolerate,” Astorino says. Those benefits, along with improved endurance and metabolic health, are nothing to scoff at. But if you’re expecting to transform your body and drop several sizes with INSANITY, the results might not be as crazy as you’d hoped. _Read next:_ [_A Workout You Can Do Anywhere_](http://time.com/3728490/workout-you-can-do-anywhere/?iid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ## Transcript >> I'm Dr. Mehmet Oz and I write for TIME Magazine. You know, women don't appreciate how important it is to workout in order to live their best life especially as they grow older. And so, to get them to understand how to build the right kinds of muscles and stay limber as they do it, I've opted to try to help them exercise more wisely. So, what I've tried to do together with my friend, Joel Harper, who is my trainer, is to share the tips with you that he has given to me. If you follow them, you'll exercise smarter and wiser and you'll feel better for it. >> Now, let's get started. We're gonna do a little bit of yo- yo. It's great to line your spine back up. You've got a straight line from the top of head and you're just yo- yoing all around. Really breathe. Deep breaths. Now, we're gonna do a little bit of one- arm reach. It's great to lengthen your spine. Really elongated. Mehmet, put your hand on your waist there. There you go. Get a little bit more pressure. And switch sides. There you go. You're trying to get the longest distance from this fingertip all the way down the bottom. Now, you can do two arms by interweaving them all the way together and reaching all the way over. Really breathe. Relax your forehead. Get your hands a little bit further back. Pull your stomach in and switch sides. Details count on every one of these. You wanna make sure you have proper form. Now, we're gonna do some elbow circles. There you go. Mehmet, try to get your elbows a little bit closer together all the way. Try to tap 'em in the front. There you go. A little bit more. You really wanna open 'em up and switch directions. Keep breathing. Deep breaths. Come on. Get those elbows together. You gotta watch him, you know. Tries to cheat on me. >> I'm just trying to breathe. >> Good job. Now, do a forehead job. Now, he's just using his arms. He's not pulling down. He's just using the weight of his arms to drop his chin. He's breathing all the way into this area. If you work in the computer a lot all day long, you really wanna open up your shoulder blades and breathe. Deep breaths. Really breathe. Now, he's gonna slowly roll all the way down. He's gonna put his hands on his legs and drop all the way down just in case your lower back is tired than you thought it was. Now, you're really gonna breathe and disconnect. Act like your head weighs 500 pounds. It's elongating your spine. Really breathe, Mehmet. Deep breaths and walk to the other side. Really disconnect your head. You wanna make sure your hands are on either side of your foot. You don't wanna favor one or the other. You wanna make sure you're balancing your body back up. Now, he's gonna stretch his feet out. Everybody I know has tight feet. Nobody stretches 'em out. That's why I make all my clients stretch their feet out. It feels great. See how his heels are right over his toes? That's what you want. Yeah, it feels really good. Good job. Now he's gonna work his forearms out 'cause everybody I know works on a BlackBerry, works on their computer, so you wanna open all this area especially if you have tennis elbow or if you have any kind of carpal tunnel syndrome. This stretch is great for you. What he's doing, it's the correct pose. He makes sure his middle finger is pointing directly towards his knees and his elbows have a little bit of a bend in them. You don't wanna lock 'em out too. You wanna stretch your muscles out and we don't wanna do any damage on your joints. You really wanna breathe. Now, drop your head. Really relax your neck. Now, if he wants to go deeper, which I think is pretty tight for him, all he'd do is walk his knees back inch by inch until you got more of a stretch. Keep breathing. Deep breaths. Now, you will open up that chest. We wanna do the exact opposite. Really breathe. Deep breaths. Put your hands on your head and lift your chin and look all the way up. But if you want a little variation of this, you could take your hands. You could interweave 'em behind your tailbone and you can lift up this way. So, do every other. Works good. Really breathe. Deep breaths all the way into this area and release. Now, do some shoulder rolls. You want full range of movement. I get all my clients to do shoulder rolls. Some of them think they're silly, but they really, really work especially if you sleep on one side of your body all night long. That's why I make you do this next stretch. It's called chicken wing. Bring your head around like that. Really breathe. So now, he's grabbing his elbow. He's pulling it all the way towards his bellybutton and he's just breathing. You wanna go where it feels good. So, a really good stretch also to do on an airplane. It's really, really good if you feel yourself starting to tighten out and switch sides. Really breathe. Your hand's a little too high. Walk it right down there. If this is too hard for you, all you do is you bring your hand behind your back and then reach throughout. As soon as it gets easier, you just grip it around your side and breathe. Deep breaths. Feels good, doesn't it? Now, we're gonna rock. You wanna massage that back open. This, I love this. Yup. Get your hands underneath your legs. There you go. And just rock. You wanna get those kinks out of your spine. Really breathe. Now, what he's doing is straightening his legs and bending them. Straightening and bending. Each time, his back gets a little more around. Really breathe. Inhale and exhale. And inhale and exhale. Keep going. Really breathe. Relax your forehead. Go get me two more and slowly float down to the mat and go on to thread the needle. You gotta open up those heels. You cannot go one day of your life without stretching your hips out. I make everybody stretch their hips out. Why is that? Because you have lower back tension, you need to stretch your hips out because your lower back is pulling all the time on your hips. And if your hips are tight, your lower back is gonna be tight. So, if you have lower back tension, do hip stretch to open those hips out, which will free your lower back up. And switch. Really breathe. Elongate spine, drop your head, pull that knee all the way in and really breathe. Feels good, doesn't it? This is great to do in the bed in the morning. Right when you wake up, do the stretch. And I was gonna do a little bit of a bridge. He's gonna put his hands all the way down, interweave them all the way together, act like you have a string on your tailbone, and lift that up inch by inch. Good work. It feels comfortable. Keep your face completely relaxed and close your eyes. It's great to the blood flow into your head. Really breath. Relax your toes. Yeah, if you want a little bit more of a shoulder stretch, see how his hands are floating. You wanna caress those hands back down to the mat. Feel how that increases it a little bit? Deep breaths. Let that blood flow into your head. And float back down to the mat. Bring your hands all the way up. Turn your palms up and just melt into the mat. Deep breaths. You wanna scan your body wherever you feel tension. Get it out of there. you have no reason for it. And breathe and enjoy. >> Thanks, Joel. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3739959/insanity-workout/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3739959/insanity-workout/"},"headline":"You Asked: Should I Do The Insanity Workout?","datePublished":"2015-03-11T12:45:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:42:22.163Z","description":"Expect results—though maybe not the ones you’d hoped for.","url":"https://time.com/3739959/insanity-workout/","keywords":["Exercise & Fitness","fitness","Exercise","Workout","You Asked"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt319fb3da596ae95b/6987831f428a9ec7a9cc792a/you-asked-insanity-workouts.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Markham Heid","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/markham-heid/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt319fb3da596ae95b/6987831f428a9ec7a9cc792a/you-asked-insanity-workouts.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"you-asked-insanity-workouts","caption":"","creditText":"Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/exercisefitness/","name":"Exercise & Fitness"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3739959/insanity-workout/","name":"You Asked: Should I Do The Insanity Workout?"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Dr. Oz: Exercise Tips for Women","description":"To demonstrate some useful exercises for better health, Dr. Mehmet Oz shares a workout routine with his personal trainer Joel Harper","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/IVzQG5RE/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2010-04-15T22:28:03.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/IVzQG5RE.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3739959/insanity-workout/","duration":"PT6M43S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3739959/insanity-workout/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```