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What is the Hardest Beachbody Program?

Posted on by John T
  • Updated 12/8/16 to include Core De Force
  • Updated 8/15/16 to include the original 21 Day Fix

I get asked all the time, “is this Beachbody program harder than that program?”  That’s a difficult question to answer because the hardest Beachbody program for one person may not be the hardest program for another depending on their physical condition, limitations, and interest level.  But it is possible to compare programs’ intensity level by using objective data like heart rate monitor (HRM) data.  Being the engineer and data junkie that I am, I’ve been cataloging my Heart Rate and Calorie Burn data for the past several years.  If you would like to see how some of the most popular programs stack up, you came to the right place.

Popular Beachbody Programs Evaluated

Back in the summer of 2014 I created my “Beachbody Bracket” to determine what the “best” workouts were from this list (read about the Best Beachbody Workout here). I recorded HRM data at least once for every workout:

  • P90X
  • P90X2
  • P90X3
  • Insanity
  • Focus T25
  • Rev Abs
  • Les Mills Combat

Since 2014 I have added this list of new programs to my database:

  • 21 Day Fix
  • 21 Day Fix Extreme
  • Insanity Max:30
  • Body Beast
  • Master’s Hammer and Chisel
  • Insanity Asylum Volume 1
  • 22 Minute Hard Corps
  • Core De Force

Heart Rate Monitor Data Recorded

I’ve been using the same $40 Timex Analog HRM since I started my fitness journey with Insanity over 4 years ago.  The only thing that’s changed over the past few years has been my age 🙂  Here is a definition of what I record:

  • Date: date of the workout.
  • HRM Time: the total elapsed time from the very start of the workout until I stop it at the end, inclusive of any pauses or breaks during the workout.
  • Avg HR: average heart rate over the total HRM Time as reported by the HRM; I have my HRM set up to record data 100% of the time between Start and Stop, not only in a specific HR zone.
  • Max HR: the maximum reported HR during the workout; a good estimate for your maximum possible heart rate is 220 minus your age–for me that would be 168 right now.  An intense cardio program like Insanity should get your maximum HR up near this level.
  • Calories: the total calculated calories burned over the elapsed HRM Time of the workout; in an absolute sense this is a very useful number, but you can’t use this to determine which workout is more intense than another–longer workouts by nature will burn more total calories.
  • Calories/Hour: calories burned divided by the HRM Time; this ends up being almost analogous to Avg HR but is another good way to compare relative intensity levels between workouts.

The Hardest Beachbody Programs

My complete database is available below, but here are how the 13 15 programs stack up for three of my metrics.  For the purpose of creating the charts (which are “averages of averages”), I only used each program’s typical full-length workouts in the calculations.  I omitted the shorter ab routines, the yoga and stretching workouts, as well as any of the Deluxe or free Team Beachbody Bonus workouts that were not typical length (for example, I omitted workouts like Hammer & Chisel 15-Minute Leg Hammer and Glute Chisel).

Average Heart Rate

Average Heart Rate is a great measure of relative intensity or difficulty, and according to this metric Insanity Asylum Volume 1 is the hardest Beachbody program that I’ve done.  Surprisingly Core De Force is right up there with the Shaun T programs. One thing to note however is that the four programs on the low end of the chart (P90X, Body Beast, P90X2 and Rev Abs) have lower averages in part because they are longer, have somewhat longer warmups and cooldowns, and have longer breaks than the other programs.  Trust me, you still get work out of these four programs as shown in the next two charts.  (NOTE: as of this post I just started doing Asylum Volume 1 workouts and have only recorded data for 3 workouts.  I will come back and update my charts after I record data for the remaining routines; 8/15/16 added 21 Day Fix; 12/8/16 added Core De Force)

Beachbody Average Heart Rate Rev 3

Total Calories Burned

Average Total Calories Burned paints an entirely different picture, although Asylum still comes out first as the hardest Beachbody program.  The conclusion here is pretty simple–the longer the workouts, the more total calories you burn.  The chart is a little misleading for programs that have variable length workouts like Insanity, Body Beast and Core De Force since I average the shorter and longer workouts together.  That’s why in the last chart I normalize them over workout time. (8/15/16 added 21 Day Fix; 12/8/16 added Core De Force)

Beachbody Average Calories Burned Rev 2

Calories Burned Per Hour

In my opinion Average Calories Burned per Hour is a pretty good representation of the level of intensity you must maintain over the course of the workout from start to finish.  Using this metric Max:30 is the hardest Beachbody program.  Just remember though, you will not actually burn this many calories in programs like Max: 30, T25, and 21 DFX unless you do two 30-minute workouts back to back (see previous chart for single workout burn).  What this chart doesn’t take into account, however, are the long warmups and cooldowns of the longer workouts on the right side of the chart.  In fact I could argue that P90X2 is the hardest Beachbody program because of the complexity of the moves, but I’ll leave that opinion to you 🙂 (8/15/16 added 21 Day Fix; 12/8/16 added Core De Force)

Beachbody Average Calories Burned Per Hour Rev 2

Beachbody Heart Rate and Calorie Burn Database

What do you think?  If you have a different opinion please let me know in the Comments below.  Here is my complete database, enjoy scrolling, searching and comparing different workouts and programs.  A few notes to get the most out of the data:

  • “TBD”  under Date means I have not yet recorded HRM data for that specific workout yet
  • To sort any column, click on the small up and down arrows at the top of the column
  • To Search or Filter for a specific program or workout, enter the name or keyword in the Search box
  • You can Show 25, 50, 100 or All Entries at one time
  • If you do not see all columns, look for the horizontal scroll bar
Program Phase Workout Date HRM Time Avg HR Max HR Cals Cal/Hr
Body Beast Build Chest & Tris 10/27/2014 0:55:39 108 145 420 453
Body Beast Build Legs 10/28/2014 0:48:21 120 152 464 576
Body Beast Build Back & Bis 11/5/2014 1:00:31 120 167 581 576
Body Beast Build Shoulders 5/8/2016 0:41:11 113 142 335 488
Body Beast Beast Cardio 10/30/2014 0:30:00 127 151 324 648
Body Beast Beast Abs 10/30/2014 0:10:35 113 136 89 505
Body Beast Bulk Chest 12/14/2014 0:35:25 112 147 292 495
Body Beast Bulk Legs 12/15/2014 0:47:49 132 157 557 699
Body Beast Bulk Arms 12/16/2014 0:44:42 112 143 368 494
Body Beast Bulk Back & Bi 12/17/2014 0:38:31 125 155 380 592
Body Beast Bulk Shoulders 12/18/2014 0:39:24 113 151 331 504
Body Beast Beast Total Body 12/23/2014 0:43:43 128 156 479 657
Body Beast Tempo Chest & Tris 12/29/2014 0:55:59 102 134 366 392
Body Beast Tempo Back & Bis TBD
Body Beast Bonus Lucky 7 5/10/2016 0:23:45 122 142 228 576
Insanity Max: 30 Month 1 Cardio Challenge 12/11/2014 0:29:24 151 167 461 941
Insanity Max: 30 Month 1 Sweat Intervals 12/13/2014 0:31:43 154 168 489 925
Insanity Max: 30 Month 1 Friday Fight 1 12/18/2014 0:32:15 144 168 442 822
Insanity Max: 30 Month 1 Tabata Power 1/3/2015 0:32:21 134 162 388 720
Insanity Max: 30 Month 1 Tabata Strength 5/7/2016 0:32:03 137 158 388 726
Insanity Max: 30 Month 2 Max Out Cardio 4/19/2016 0:32:32 144 164 431 795
Insanity Max: 30 Month 2 Max Out Sweat 4/28/2016 0:32:25 143 164 424 785
Insanity Max: 30 Month 2 Max Out Strength 5/3/2016 0:32:48 122 142 315 576
Insanity Max: 30 Month 2 Max Out Power 5/1/2016 0:32:16 126 149 332 617
Insanity Max: 30 Month 2 Friday Fight 2 4/16/2016 0:33:00 149 167 465 845
Insanity Max: 30 Bonus Sweat Fest 5/9/2016 0:30:47 139 166 383 747
21 Day Fix Base Upper Fix 8/9/2016 0:31:32 116 140 272 518
21 Day Fix Base Lower Fix 8/10/2016 0:29:28 123 147 288 586
21 Day Fix Base Pilates Fix 8/11/2016 0:32:50 91 110 147 269
21 Day Fix Base Total Body Cardio Fix 8/8/2016 0:29:37 124 154 294 596
21 Day Fix Base Cardio Fix 8/5/2016 0:31:14 133 153 357 686
21 Day Fix Base Dirty 30 8/7/2016 0:27:33 114 140 228 497
21 Day Fix Base Yoga Fix 8/8/2016 0:30:35 92 122 142 279
21 Day Fix Bonus Plyo Fix 8/12/2016 0:31:34 138 163 387 736
21 Day Fix Extreme Base Cardio Fix Extreme 9/11/2015 0:31:25 138 157 385 735
21 Day Fix Extreme Base Hardcore 9/11/2015 0:10:47 116 138 93 517
21 Day Fix Extreme Base Plyo Fix Extreme 9/14/2015 0:30:00 136 159 358 716
21 Day Fix Extreme Base Upper Fix Extreme 9/15/2015 0:34:32 123 143 338 587
21 Day Fix Extreme Base Lower Fix Extreme 9/17/2015 0:35:30 138 157 435 735
21 Day Fix Extreme Base Dirty 30 Extreme 9/19/2015 0:30:16 133 158 346 686
21 Day Fix Extreme Bonus The Fix Challenge 8/15/2016 0:29:04 141 167 371 766
Insanity Asylum Volume 1 Vertical Plyo 7/9/2016 0:38:55 142 163 503 776
Insanity Asylum Volume 1 Speed & Agility 6/20/2016 0:45:32 148 168 634 835
Insanity Asylum Volume 1 Strength 6/18/2016 0:47:04 134 157 546 696
Insanity Asylum Volume 1 Game Day TBD
Insanity Asylum Volume 1 Back to Core 7/13/2016 0:42:20 107 141 303 429
Insanity Asylum Volume 1 Relief 6/23/16 0:23:31 87 103 90 230
Insanity Asylum Bonus Overtime TBD
Insanity Asylum Volume 2 X Trainer TBD
Insanity Asylum Volume 2 Upper Elite TBD
Insanity Asylum Volume 2 Power Legs TBD
Insanity Asylum Volume 2 Back & 6-Pack TBD
Insanity Asylum Volume 2 Championship TBD
Insanity Asylum Bonus Pure Contact TBD
22 Minute Hard Core Disk 1 Cardio 1 3/22/2016 0:21:04 134 151 244 695
22 Minute Hard Core Disk 1 Cardio 2 3/24/2016 0:22:32 131 154 250 666
22 Minute Hard Core Disk 1 Carido 3 3/29/2016 0:22:06 134 149 256 695
22 Minute Hard Core Deluxe Spec Ops Cardio 4/21/2016 0:22:16 130 148 243 655
22 Minute Hard Core Disk 2 Resistance 1 3/31/2016 0:21:57 130 155 240 656
22 Minute Hard Core Disk 2 Resistance 2 4/4/2016 0:22:03 128 156 234 637
22 Minute Hard Core Disk 2 Resistance 3 4/12/2016 0:21:53 121 148 207 568
22 Minute Hard Core Deluxe Spec Ops Resistance 4/23/2016 0:22:01 128 152 233 635
22 Minute Hard Core Disk 1 Core 1 3/22/2016 0:09:29 100 115 56 354
22 Minute Hard Core Disk 2 Core 2 3/24/2016 0:11:39 94 109 58 299
22 Minute Hard Core Deluxe Spec Ops Core 4/20/2016 0:15:54 114 135 132 498
22 Minute Hard Core Bonus Battle Buddy TBD
Hammer & Chisel Chisel Iso Strength Chisel 1/6/2016 0:35:12 126 157 362 617
Hammer & Chisel Chisel Chisel Endurance 1/9/2016 0:37:46 136 165 451 717
Hammer & Chisel Chisel Chisel Agility 1/13/2016 0:38:06 133 160 436 687
Hammer & Chisel Chisel Chisel Cardio 1/27/2016 0:39:09 135 160 461 707
Hammer & Chisel Chisel Total Body Chisel 2/1/2016 0:35:31 133 158 406 686
Hammer & Chisel Chisel Chisel Balance 2/3/2016 0:40:54 124 152 407 597
Hammer & Chisel Chisel 10 Minute Ab Chisel 1/16/2016 0:09:56 97 122 54 326
Hammer & Chisel Hammer Hammer Plyo 1/5/2016 0:28:26 135 163 335 707
Hammer & Chisel Hammer Iso Speed Hammer 1/8/2016 0:23:58 119 159 218 546
Hammer & Chisel Hammer Total Body Hammer 1/10/2016 0:47:21 135 163 558 707
Hammer & Chisel Hammer Max Hammer Strength 1/12/2016 0:39:52 130 160 436 656
Hammer & Chisel Hammer Hammer Power 1/15/2016 0:41:41 124 161 415 597
Hammer & Chisel Hammer Hammer Conditioning 1/17/2016 0:32:25 125 155 329 609
Hammer & Chisel Hammer 10 Minute Ab Hammer 1/10/2016 0:12:00 96 117 63 315
Hammer & Chisel Bonus Master's Cardio 1/19/2016 0:16:33 121 146 156 566
Hammer & Chisel Deluxe 15 Minute Glute Chisel 1/13/2016 0:18:06 132 155 204 676
Hammer & Chisel Deluxe Power Chisel 1/16/2016 0:35:30 130 155 389 657
Hammer & Chisel Deluxe 15 Minute Leg Hammer 1/17/2016 0:18:02 133 156 206 685
Hammer & Chisel Deluxe Hammer Buildup 1/29/2016 0:39:12 118 145 351 537
1 on 1 Volume 1 Fountain of Youth 4/19/2014 0:49:10 97 124 279 340
Combat Deluxe Warrior 1: Upper Body 5/1/2014 0:25:54 125 149 271 628
Combat Deluxe Warrior 2: Lower Body 7/5/2014 0:30:18 129 164 337 667
Combat Base Combat 30 TBD
Combat Base Combat 60 Live TBD
Combat Base Combat 45 7/11/2014 0:47:27 130 164 537 679
Combat Base Combat 60 7/12/2014 0:54:36 135 157 665 731
Combat Base HIIT: Plyo 4/18/2014 0:35:00 120 160 350 600
Combat Base HIIT: Power 7/6/2014 0:29:43 133 157 351 709
Combat Deluxe Core Attack 7/5/2014 0:18:21 114 130 157 513
Combat Deluxe Inner Warrior 7/21/2014 0:18:31 91 110 86 279
Combat Bonus Combat 30 Live TBD
Insanity Month 1 Cardio Recovery 8/18/2014 0:38:00 100 119 231 365
Insanity Month 2 Max Recovery 8/21/2014 0:47:06 102 129 308 392
Insanity Month 1 Pure Cardio 4/22/2014 0:38:22 142 168 513 802
Insanity Month 2 Max Interval Circuit 7/15/2014 1:00:30 145 165 840 833
Insanity Month 2 Max Cardio Conditioning 8/1/2014 0:48:00 144 166 658 823
Insanity Month 1 Plyo Cardio Circuit 4/15/2014 0:44:18 137 164 554 750
Insanity Month 2 Max Interval Plyo 7/3/2014 0:54:52 138 161 694 759
Insanity Month 1 Cardio Power & Resistance 7/9/2014 0:41:09 145 163 571 833
Insanity Month 1 Core Cardio & Balance 5/3/2014 0:40:07 119 147 378 565
Insanity Month 1 Cardio Abs 4/22/2014 0:17:52 131 160 205 688
Insanity Bonus Fast & Furious TBD
Insanity Deluxe Insane Abs 4/24/2014 0:13:57 137 157 174 748
Insanity Deluxe Max Interval Sports Training 11/29/2015 0:54:27 135 160 641 706
Insanity Deluxe Upper Body Weighted Workout TBD
P90X Base Chest & Back 4/14/2014 0:55:34 127 160 600 648
P90X Base Chest, Shoulders & Triceps 6/5/2014 0:56:33 120 150 543 576
P90X Base Shoulders & Arms 5/5/2014 1:00:16 119 152 568 565
P90X Base Back & Biceps 6/19/2014 0:54:56 123 158 556 607
P90X Base Legs & Back 4/25/2014 0:57:29 123 164 582 607
P90X Base Kenpo X 6/15/2014 1:00:00 135 160 730 730
P90X Base Plyo X 6/27/2014 0:58:24 132 163 681 700
P90X Base Core Synergistics 4/21/2014 0:58:05 118 153 538 556
P90X Base Ab Ripper X 7/16/2014 0:16:00 102 122 104 390
P90X Base Yoga X 4/16/2014 1:30:25 94 126 467 310
P90X Base X Stretch 7/12/2014 0:44:40 86 127 169 227
P90X2 Base X2 Shoulders & Arms 4/17/2014 0:53:46 119 154 507 566
P90X2 Base Chest & Back & Balance 5/8/2014 0:56:47 115 155 497 525
P90X2 Base PAP Upper 6/30/2014 0:52:21 126 162 557 638
P90X2 Base Base & Back 4/27/2014 0:58:02 118 162 537 555
P90X2 Base PAP Lower 5/23/2014 1:02:16 116 155 555 535
P90X2 Base Plyocide 7/4/2014 0:53:56 134 165 647 720
P90X2 Base X2 Total Body 6/29/2014 1:01:27 125 157 643 628
P90X2 Base X2 Core 8/9/2014 0:46:02 110 154 363 473
P90X2 Base X2 Balance & Power 4/30/2014 1:04:22 111 147 519 484
P90X2 Base X2 Ab Ripper 7/21/2014 0:16:42 101 120 105 377
P90X2 Base X2 Recovery & Mobility 7/9/2014 0:56:28 88 112 233 248
P90X2 Base X2 Yoga 5/12/2014 1:07:19 95 129 359 320
P90X2 Deluxe V-Sculpt TBD
P90X2 Deluxe Chest, Shoulders & Tris TBD
P90X3 Base The Challenge 6/12/2014 0:32:28 131 159 373 689
P90X3 Base Eccentric Upper 7/3/2014 0:36:18 130 157 410 678
P90X3 Base Incinerator 8/8/2014 0:35:37 126 154 378 637
P90X3 Base Eccentric Lower 5/22/2014 0:34:27 116 143 307 535
P90X3 Base Agility X 4/29/2014 0:31:46 119 156 299 565
P90X3 Base CVX 7/29/2014 0:34:38 134 159 415 719
P90X3 Base MMX 6/16/2014 0:32:13 136 164 397 739
P90X3 Base Triometrics 7/1/2014 0:32:30 128 156 375 692
P90X3 Base Total Synergistics 4/24/2014 0:34:20 127 162 371 648
P90X3 Base The Warrior 7/30/2014 0:32:04 127 150 346 647
P90X3 Base X3 Yoga 5/8/2014 0:30:57 92 116 149 289
P90X3 Base Dynamix 7/16/2014 0:30:00 96 117 165 330
P90X3 Base Accelerator TBD
P90X3 Base Decelerator TBD
P90X3 Base Isometrix TBD
P90X3 Deluxe Complex Upper 8/6/2014 0:34:01 134 155 408 720
P90X3 Deluxe Complex Lower 8/19/2014 0:33:30 130 157 379 679
P90X3 Deluxe X3 Ab Ripper 8/19/2014 0:17:03 111 129 137 482
Rev Abs Base Power Intervals 2 5/2/2014 0:33:05 124 161 340 617
Rev Abs Base Full Throttle Intervals 5/13/2014 0:41:12 124 161 424 617
Rev Abs Base Total Strength 5/12/2014 0:44:19 116 153 395 535
Rev Abs Base Strength & Endurance 5/15/2014 0:38:12 123 158 386 606
Rev Abs Base Fat Burning Abs 7/22/2014 0:39:22 111 149 317 483
Rev Abs Base Full Throttle Abs 7/23/2014 0:41:23 98 131 242 351
Rev Abs Base Mercy Abs 5/12/2014 0:17:47 98 121 104 351
Rev Abs Base Merciless Abs 5/15/2014 0:15:31 108 131 117 452
Focus T25 Bonus Core Speed 5/14/2014 0:29:28 138 163 373 760
Focus T25 Alpha Speed 1.0 TBD
Focus T25 Alpha Lower Focus 7/2/2014 0:30:20 136 160 374 740
Focus T25 Alpha Cardio 4/27/2014 0:29:05 136 164 359 741
Focus T25 Alpha Total Body Circuit 6/27/2014 0:30:06 144 162 412 821
Focus T25 Alpha Ab Intervals 7/2/2014 0:29:29 135 157 359 731
Focus T25 Beta Core Cardio 5/7/2014 0:29:51 133 160 353 710
Focus T25 Beta Speed 2.0 7/18/2014 0:27:56 142 164 373 801
Focus T25 Beta Rip'T Circuit TBD
Focus T25 Beta Dynamic Core 8/7/2014 0:28:54 119 150 272 565
Focus T25 Gamma The Pyramid 4/28/2014 0:30:42 123 154 310 606
Focus T25 Gamma Speed 3.0 5/10/2014 0:28:52 148 165 415 863
Focus T25 Gamma Extreme Circuit 8/2/2014 0:30:04 130 156 340 678
Focus T25 Gamma Rip't Up TBD
Core De Force Base MMA Speed 11/14/2016 0:25:47 142 167 333 775
Core De Force Base Dynamic Strength 11/15/2016 0:46:50 120 146 435 557
Core De Force Base Power Sculpt 11/17/2016 0:36:04 137 163 437 727
Core De Force Base MMA Shred 11/21/2016 0:36:59 142 163 478 775
Core De Force Base MMA Power 11/25/2016 0:46:59 145 163 631 806
Core De Force Base MMA Plyo 11/27/2016 0:46:52 132 157 529 677
Core De Force Bonus MMA Mashup 11/23/2016 0:25:37 140 163 322 754
Core De Force Deluxe Agility Strength 11/24/2016 0:36:18 149 167 511 845
Core De Force Deluxe Agility Power 11/26/2016 0:26:09 144 165 347 796
Core De Force Deluxe MMA Kick Butt 11/28/2016 0:36:38 131 152 407 667
Core De Force BOD Only MMA Speed 2.0 1/10/2017 0:26:12 147 167 360 824
Core De Force BOD Only MMA Shred 2.0 1/21/2017 0:36:40 152 169 535 875
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About

I am an Independent Team Beachbody Coach who found success using Beachbody's fitness programs and nutriton guides. I'm here to see that you have the same success I have had using Beachbody programs.

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12 comments on “What is the Hardest Beachbody Program?”
  1. Daiane says:
    February 20, 2018 at 12:37 pm

    This is awesome! Thank you for putting this together

  2. Jade says:
    April 1, 2018 at 11:31 am

    This is great! Thanks! So in terms of weight loss, what program do you suggest? I’ve done P90X for two months back in 2009 and found it worked well, although I was thin to begin with. I’m a 42 year old female and need to lose 30-40lbs. Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks

    • John T says:
      April 1, 2018 at 11:54 am

      Hi Jade! Thanks for checking out my post. I know you probably are not going to like the answer but when it comes specifically to weight loss it really doesn’t matter which program you do, in fact you can lose weight without exercising at all (we lost 8 pounds each on the Ultimate Reset with no workouts). It always always comes back to nutrition, and following a rational nutrition plan. So that being said, the best program for you would be one where it’s simple to follow the nutrition plan. If I had to pick one best place for someone like you to start it would have to be 21 Day Fix. The workouts are basic yet challenging, have a great balance between weights, cardio and yoga, but most importantly it has the absolute best nutrition plan if you follow the color coded containers. 4 years later Susan and I are still eating according to the container plan. What other Beachbody programs have you done?

  3. Jade says:
    April 1, 2018 at 12:41 pm

    Yes! Abs are made in the kitchen! 🙂 I attempted 21 Day Fix a couple of years ago and to be honest, I was bored and don’t think I made it through the first workout. I also didn’t feel like it was going to be challenging enough and I gave those containers away! I have years of working out on and off but I haven’t done jack sh*t in over a year. Ugh….but hey, my excuse is that I quit smoking (just over a year now) and just ate instead! haha! I’ve ‘started’ a few….Insanity, Insanity Max, Piyo, Turbo FIre, P90X3 (a few times) and P90X.

    • John T says:
      April 1, 2018 at 12:47 pm

      Congrats on quitting smoking, but bad food is just as bad. Sounds like you are a chronic “starter” and not a finisher, so you know what you need to do 😉 I sent you an email as well, if you would like some help transforming into one who sticks to programs and gets results, take a minute to reply, and perhaps we can help you in one of my groups 🙂

  4. Michele Cavallaro says:
    April 18, 2018 at 7:04 pm

    this is super helpful thank you for posting! ive done the majority of these programs listed. I was curious if asylum 2 was worth trying or rev abs or p90x2. im finishing up hammer and chisel next week. ive done t25 (multiple times), 22 min hard corp, 21 dfx, 21 dfxe, shift shop, core de force, p90x3, piyo, regular insanity, insanity max and asylum vol 1. vol 2 looked like really long workouts so I wasn’t sure if I wanted to commit to it. I have 4 kids under the age of 5 so shorter workouts are better for me. trying to figure out my next plan.

    • John T says:
      April 18, 2018 at 8:11 pm

      Hi Michelle! Thanks for asking. I think it really depends on what you are trying to accomplish in your fitness world. I’m sorry but Asylum 2 is one that I have never gotten around to doing, although it’s on my short list. But our exercise lives at a marathon, so in the big scheme of things there is plenty of time for Asylum 2 either now or in the future. And just 3 short months ago everyone was saying that they didn’t have time for Autumn’s timed nutrition and long workouts in 80 Day Obsession, and now that the results are coming in everyone is happy they made the time. P90X2 is about the same duration workouts, but I wouldn’t do X2 before completing the original P90X first. I’ll drop you an email to find out a little more about what you hope to accomplish.

  5. Kyle says:
    November 15, 2019 at 3:00 pm

    Haha, my girlfriend and I were having this exact discussion, I said asylum, she said Insanity Maxx 30. I guess when you work out that hard there are no losers!! …but in this case…she was…she was the loser and I was right! So thank you John T! Haha JK….kinda

    • John T says:
      November 16, 2019 at 8:40 am

      Hi Kyle! Which ever way you cut it both programs are hard, it’s just a choice between whether you want 30 minutes of punishment or up to 60 minutes! But of course Shaun T takes a back seat to Amoila whose program comes out in April and is the absolute toughest one we have.

  6. Adrienne says:
    January 9, 2020 at 10:06 am

    I just signed up for the Beach Body on Demand 14 day trial. I have a lot of weight to lose (65+ pounds). I know that nutrition is 80% of losing weight and I am focusing on that with counting calories and a low carb diet. I workout all the time and I am pretty strong. I am on Day 5 of 80 Day Obsession and I don’t feel that it is challenging enough for me. I have a toddler at home, so 6am is the only time I can workout and I don’t want to waste my time with a program that wont yield the best results. I’ve done Insanity and T25 in the past when I was in better shape, but I’d like to try something new. Can you recommend a program that will help me burn the most calories and shred fat in a 45-60 min time frame?

    • John T says:
      January 9, 2020 at 7:48 pm

      Hi Adrienne!

      Thanks for asking–80 Day Obsession is pretty solid for adding muscle and losing fat, but only if you follow her specific nutrition plan. Since you are new to BOD this is the first time you are experiencing one of the Real Time programs, and by design they start slowly and progress as the days and weeks go by. 5 days is not long enough to get into the groove of the program nor see any real results, so I suggest you stick to it for at least 3-4 weeks before making any changes–your first few weeks are foundational, and prepare you for the more intense workouts later on. I will follow up with an email to ask a few more questions about your specific situation before suggesting any other alternatives.

      John