Alternatives to Insanity

[SunsetRunner]

After 3 failed attempts (I did make it to week 5 the first time), I'm going to have to accept that I might need to leave Insanity due to a recurring ankle injury. I have rested it as much as possible but am getting fed up with the amount of time I'm spending icing and elevating my ankle!

I've had a couple of weeks off now and am ready to get back into it. What will give me similar results but doesn't involve all of the jumping around? I've done Hip Hop Abs and absolutely loved that it was fun and high intensity as well. I thought I'd love Zumba but only really enjoyed one of the workouts - the other stuff had too much stopping and starting for me.

Any ideas on what I can try next? I'm considering P90X but is there anything I might be forgetting or not know about yet?

Thanks in advance!

[Becca_in_Denver]

I'm sorry I don't have a good answer to your question.  But I do wonder about that underlying issue - that recurring ankle injury.

I hate ankle injuries.  Like you, I'm super prone to them and I've done some reading over the years about each of my injuries (recurring achilles or peroneal tendonitis + 2 peroneal tendon dislocations).  From what I've read, a lot of times recurring ankle issues have more to do with:

• the shoes you are wearing and
• the legs & feet you were born with

rather than with the activity you are doing.

One of my peroneal tendon dislocations came from running and stepping on a rock wrong.  The other came while just walking down a mountain.  My foot shape drives how all of my lower leg muscles and joints work and it does make me more prone to injury and overuse injuries.

It sucks and it does suck letting your ankle rest and re-heal.  You are a rock star for doing the right thing and taking care of your ankle correctly.  It took me years to get there.

Have you been fit for shoes at a running store lately?  And, do you use orthotics, which can help your foot and leg alignment when you land and can significantly reducing the chance of injury?  My last underlying tip for ankle injuries is stretching calves and hamstrings 5 times a day for 45 seconds on each side.

When I do re-injure my ankles, I use a lot of biking to help me stay active while not re-damaging my ankle.  I've only been to spin class once but I loved it.  Unfortunately, I don't go to that gym any more.

Another choice is to start learning to modify activity for you.  Sometimes, I end up doing aerobics on a whim and won't have the right shoes or orthotics to be doing all that jumping.  If I'm not wearing my orthotics, I change jumping moves into knee raising or glute swinging moves.  It still gets my heart up but doesn't put all of that impact on my feet.

Maybe some other people will come forward with some good substitutions but if you love Insanity and it's working, I'd hate to see you have to give it up.

[kleoniki]

i m sorry for ur problem.Here's what i ve done once in ur situation: is called chair aerobics, no jumping and running but good heart rate.U can find on youtube or elsewhere i prefered one with a guy named Eugene but there are plenty of them with coach Nicole as well to name one.Good luck, dear co fitbiter!

[Malpeg]

In my late 20's I had a series of bad ankle sprains. I finally eliminated them by focusing on strengthening my ankles. Mostly I did toe raises. I kept a 2 inch block of wood handy and would do 3 sets of 20 on a daily basis.

[L0uise]

Have you looked at Turbo Fire, it's another BeachBody DVD set. I've not tried it yet but I'm thinking that might be my next purchase

[Abwise]

Keeping in the theme of BeachBody programmes, I'd recommend Shaun T's T25 programme. 

Short snappy 25 minute workouts, plus you have Tania 'The Machine' there after, doing a low impact version of all the movements, so less jumping and stamping of the feet (which is great for people who have joint problems). 

You still get a challenging workout, but can avoid doing the exercises that will aggrovate your ankle by following Tania's low impact version. 

[stormdore]

Hi, Chenn.  I tried Insanity 5 years ago and could not handle all of the jumping and high impact.  I was making great progress and was in the best shape I'd been in for years!  I had to give it up after 5 weeks as well.  I've tried some other programs.  They've been OK.  But then I found the 21 Day Fix and have loved it!  There is a person who always modifies if you can't do higher impact.  There's also structured (but flexible) nutrition program that goes along with it. 

I've stuck with lower impact and have still had awesome results.  After 6 weeks, I am 11 lbs down and have lost 4 inches in my mid-section!  I've done the DVDs over and over and I'm not bored. It doesn't put as much steps on upper body and lower body days, but I love that it has weight bearing exercises - something I think was missing with Insanity.  

Let me know if you have any questions about my experience.  

~TERRI

[SunsetRunner]

Hi Terri,
Thanks so much for that. I'll definitely check out 21 Day Fix. I agree
about Insanity giving results so quickly. I was really sad to stop but had
the same issue when I went back to it...

I've been doing bodyweight exercises recently and although my step can't
has drastically reduced (I'm no longer automatically winning challenges!),
I definitely feel and look a lot better after just a few weeks. Weight
bearing exercises and nutrition are really worth it!

Chenn

[stormdore · Accepted solution]

No problem, Chenn.  And the good news is... I couldn't walk without limping 3 months ago.... now I'm doing some of the exercises that I couldn't even TOUCH before!!  I feel that 21 Day Fix is a great strengthening program - and since my leg muscles are stronger, my knee problems are lessening.  I'm sure the decreased weight has helped as well!  

Feel free to message me if you have any other questions about 21 Day FIx.  Best of luck to you!

~TERRI