Check out all my hybrid schedules:
- P90X Focus T25 Hybrid
- P90X3 Focus T25 Hybrid
- P90X3 Elite Focus T25 Gamma Hybrid
- P90X3 Insanity Max:30 Hybrid
- And More Hybrids!
Post Updated on April 3, 2015. I am in Week 10 of the schedule and decided to make some revisions so beginning today you’ll receive Revision 1. Updates to the post are noted below–John T
Shaun T’s newest program INSANITY MAX:30 was just released. For those of you who have been waiting for a 30-minute version of the original Insanity this is it plus more. The program is a combination of high intensity cardio plus Tabata-style strength and power moves using only body weight (no additional equipment is required). But if you are like me and you don’t want to give up all the muscle you may have just gained from a round of P90X, X3 or Body Beast, this schedule is a way to “max out” with Shaun T while still getting your weekly dose of weights.
INSANITY MAX:30
Max:30 by itself is a 60-day program broken into 2 months. Each workout week is structured with two cardio/interval days alternating with two power/strength days and culminating in the challenge Shaun T calls “Friday Fight”, which is reminiscent of Insanity’s Pure Cardio. Month 1 routines may be the hardest workouts you will have done to date, and the intensity steps up in Month 2 with the “Max Out” version of cardio, intervals, power, strength, and Friday Fight Round 2. These indeed were the hardest workouts I have ever done–my average heart rate for several that I monitored hit 146 BPM which is higher than any average I saw during my summer Beachbody Bracket except for Gamma Speed 3.0 (see my heart rate data and the full database here).
The program includes a modifier demonstrating low-impact versions of each move, and for the first time you can select the “Modifier Track” on the DVD so the modifier appears in a window on your screen throughout the workout. I’ve had the Modifier Track on each time for the inevitable moment when I had to dial back my intensity.
MAX:30 vs Insanity vs T25
If you’re wondering how the new Max:30 compares to the original Insanity, or even to Focus T25, here are a few comparisons:
“Maxing Out”
The program concept is to perform each workout at your own personal pace for as long as you can without taking an unscheduled break, and then recording the time that you “maxed out”. Shaun T defines maxing out as “to stop or fail for the first time in the workout.” In a video webinar I watched he went on to clarify that maxing out includes pausing or slowing down your own personal pace because you can’t maintain the pace. For example during push-ups, if you are maintaining a steady cadence but you have to stop and hold at the top for a mid-set break, then you have maxed out. If you stop the move early in transition when he starts counting down 4-3-2-1 then you have maxed out.
Be careful comparing Max Out times that you see others post or comment on because everyone’s intensity is different. Everyone is lifting their legs to a different height during Power Jumps, everyone brings their knees in to a different position during In & Outs. Your Max Out time is your personal time and can’t be compared to others’ times.
UPDATE 4/3/15: I’ve heard several times now from Shaun T and he mentions it in the intro to Cardio Challenge that you should go at their pace as long as you can, and as soon as you can’t keep their pace then you have maxed out. Early on I found myself dogging it just so I could say I went longer than the previous week and realized that was defeating the purpose of the workout. You are supposed to max out, and if you don’t max out in 30 minutes you need to push harder.
“If you’re not MAXING OUT you’re not working hard enough!”–Shaun T
The P90X3 Insanity Max:30 Hybrid
Here’s my approach to the X3-Max:30 Hybrid:
- The schedule generally follows the P90X3 Classic schedule with 13 weeks broken up into 3 phases.
- The best of the X3 resistance workouts occur on Days 1, 3 and 5 of each week.
- Days 2, 4 and 6 belong to the Max:30 cardio routines.
- Rather than a simple low impact “Transition Week” or “Recovery Week” at the end of each phase, I have inserted the Tabata Power and Tabata Strength routines into what I call “Fit Test Week”. These weeks occur at the end of Phase 1 and 2, and in the first and last weeks of Phase 3.
- The schedule ends with your “Final Exam” week with Max Out Power and Max Out Strength.
- For those who want to add more core work Ab Attack 10 can be added to any workout up to 3 times per week.
- A box is included on the schedule for all Max:30 days to record your max out time and so you can measure your progress week to week.
- UPDATE 4/3/15: Since everyone can now access the P90X3 Complex Upper and Lower Workouts Free for 30 days I have included them in Phase 3. Complex Lower is one of the most athletic workouts you will do so it’s worth the effort. To get it free visit my Beachbody On Demand page and sign up for the 30 day Free trail.
- UPDATE 4/3/15: I swapped Incinerator and The Challenge in Phase 3 to separate Max Out Strength from The Challenge–too many pushups in two consecutive days! I moved Sweat Fest to Phase 1 since it is an easier workout than Sweat Intervals.
A Note About “Leg Day”
In my other hybrids (and like the original P90X) Day 5 has typically been Leg Day. Since Insanity Max:30 is so stressing on the legs, Leg Day will probably present the biggest challenge to most people. In Phase 1 I’ve addressed this by replacing Leg Day with X3 Yoga to ease your body into the hybrid. Phase 2 & 3 however include Eccentric Lower and CVX. If you feel these leg workouts sandwiched between two Max:30 routines is too much feel free to replace them with X3 Yoga as in Phase 1. If you have ever done Body Beast Bulk:Legs you will know what I’m talking about.
UPDATE 4/3/15: To add more upper body resistance work I have made Incinerator optional on Day 5 of Phase 1.
To receive a high-resolution printable copy of the P90X3-Insanity Max:30 Hybrid schedule, click the link or the picture below:
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Let me Know What You Think
As always I appreciate feedback on my hybrid schedules so please feel free to leave a comment below or send me a private note using the “Contact Me” link at the top of the page. Enjoy the hybrid and Keep Pushing Play!
Check out all the hybrid schedules:
- P90X Focus T25 Hybrid
- P90X3 Focus T25 Hybrid
- P90X3 Elite Focus T25 Gamma Hybrid
- P90X3 Insanity Max:30 Hybrid
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.
hey there 🙂 great schedule! I was wondering if you could also make a P90X3 (Mass Schedule)/Insanity Max 30 hybrid?
greetings
Thanks Michael. To make the hybrid more “Mass-like” you could replace X3 Yoga in Phase 1 with Incinerator, and do Eccentric Upper on both Days 1 and 3 each week in Phases 2 & 3. Keep Eccentric Lower on Day 5, and since Max:30 is so heavy on leg work you won’t need a second day of Eccentric Lower. What really makes the P90X3 Mass program though is eating more food and altering your technique like Tony explains on page 18 of the fitness guide, so make sure you eat up. Of course if mass is what you want then consider switching to Body Beast–it can also be blended into a hybrid with some extra cardio.
How about for arms?
Hi Manny, thanks for downloading the schedule. Do you mean why isn’t there more arm work? This schedule retains 2 days a week of upper body and arm work just like the Classic P90X3 schedule. In fact you will get more chest and tricep work with the Max:30 routines too, so there is plenty of arm work. Not enough?
I love how you break down the programs and provide some great insight as to how the schedules work together. Awesome work!!
Hi Brooke! Thanks for taking the time to read the post 🙂 I’m glad you found the schedule and I hope you have as much fun with it as Susan and I are having. We just started Week 5 today! Let me know what you think in a couple weeks.
What about rotating each program each week? For instance, do week 1 P90X3, then follow that with a full week 1 of Max 30, and continue to week 2 for both and then rotate for the next 13 weeks?
Good question Vinny. I suppose you could do that for variety but what you would miss is the week to week growth and improvement that you should get by doing the structured 3-4 week phases of X3. You should look at the X3 schedule as a “4 steps forward 1 step back” kind of schedule where you improve your numbers every week for 3 weeks, recover during transition week, and then fall back a little as you start a new phase and Tony’s muscle confusion takes over. If you did resistance training every other week I feel you would be going 1 step forward 1 step backward the whole time, or simply maintaining. If you try it please let me know how it goes and if you are able to increase reps and weight every other week, or if you are able to increase your Challenge numbers every other week. Thanks!
Thanks for the response John. I took some time off from viddos,so I’m taking two weeks to round myself back into shape. After reading your response, I am going to follow your hybrid schedule. I plan to start on April 13,but will he doing various p90x3 and max 30 workouts until then to prepare. I will keep you updated
Hey everybody, I just released an update to the P90X3/Max 30 hybrid. You can read about my changes in the post above but if you would like to receive a copy of the new schedule send me an email at info@johntfitness.com and I’ll send you the new link. Thanks
Hello, John T – Thanks for putting a P90X3 / MAX30 hybrid schedule together. I finished my first round of MAX30 yesterday and need to continue my fitness journey with another predefined schedule and the X3 / MAX30 may be it… But I was wondering if you have put together a original P90X / MAX30 hybrid as well? Thanks in advance.
Hi Tom, thanks for downloading the schedule. I don’t have a P90X version of this hybrid because 30 minute workouts are all the rage, but if you notice I pretty much keep Days 1, 3, and 5 as resistance days, so all you have to do is drop in P90X Days 1, 3, and 5 as they are into this schedule and you have your X/Max 30 hybrid. I miss the original myself and I think that’s our next program in a few weeks when we finish this one. What do you think?
Im look.for a really tough max 30 and insanity hybrid
Hi Chris–good to hear from you again. Did you find the P90X/Insanity hybrid you emailed me about? Not sure about a Max30/Insanity hybrid since they are basically the same type of program. I guess if you wanted a “really tough” hybrid of the two programs you could take the second month workouts from each and blend them together. Maybe take the 3 Max30 month 2 cardio workouts (Cardio, Sweat and Friday Fight) and interleave them with 2 or 3 Insanity month 2 workouts. Then create a week where you use the power and strength workouts instead. If you work something up I would be happy to take a look at it for you.
Hi John, I’m curently halfway through the max phase original INSANITY program. I have been wondering what I was going to do next after I was done and I happened to find this hybrid p90x3 and insanity max30 you created. I have p90x3 but not insanity max 30. Is there anyway to create a hybrid plan with p90x3 and the original Insanity?
Hi Brandon–good question. Yes all I would do would be to swap in Plyo Cardio Circuit, Cardio Power & Resistance and Pure Cardio into days 2, 4 and 6 respectively for about 6 weeks, and then Max Interval Plyo, Max Cardio Conditioning, and Max Interval Circuit on the same days for the second half of the schedule. For the recovery weeks choose from Cardio Recovery, Max Recovery and Core Cardio & Balance. What do you think?
That sounds great. On the schedule I’m looking at, I don’t see a recovery week. Would they be after each phase.
Oh sorry, I forgot that on this schedule I called the traditional “recovery” weeks the “Fit Test” weeks. So that would be weeks 4, 8 and 13. If you want to keep with the intent of my Fit Test weeks you could also do the Insanity Fit Test on the Max:30 days in those weeks. Let me know what you end up doing.
One more questions. Do you think the hybrid programs give better results than the original programs.
No, not at all. You should be able to get great results either way–if hybrids were any better than the original programs then the trainers would have designed them that way in the first place 😉 At the end of the day your results depend so much more on your nutrition anyway, so as long as you are doing resistance 3 days a week and something complementary 3 days a week it’s all basically the same. The hybrids are good to give you variety and keep you from getting bored, so if that makes you work harder than either original program then yes, they may give you better results.
Hi, I will begin the P90x3/Insanity MAX30 tomorrow. It looks interesting and challenging.
Also, I’m looking for an Hybrid workout routine between P90x3 and Les Mills Pump. Do you have any recommendation or suggestion about my request? Thanks in advanced.
Hi Luis–glad you are starting the Max 30 hybrid. I have not personally done Pump so I do not have a hybrid myself. Both have resistance workouts, which parts of both programs would you keep?
Thanks for the great hybrid John, much appreciated. I’m curious about your exclusion of MMX from the schedule though. Do you think alternate between Friday Fight Round 1 and MMX is a good mix?
Andre–glad you like the schedule so far. It wasn’t so much an exclusion of MMX as I was trying to get a 50/50 balance between the resistance of X3 and the cardio of Max:30. If you enjoy MMX then by all means substitute it, or any other favorite cardio routine, since Friday Fight is not really martial arts anyway (the fight refers to the inner fight in your head to keep going). Friday Fight will most likely be higher intensity and burn more calories than MMX however. A few tips to make sure you get the highest intensity out of MMX (or Kenpo X or Combat or any of the martial arts workouts) are to use your body for the punches, make sure your punches have a definite starting and ending point (a target), use your muscles to stop the punches and kicks and retract them rather than just letting your arms drift back to the start. Like Tony says in MMX, it’s all about your intensity.
Can you make a P90X and Insanity Max: 30 hybrid? I can’t find any anywhere
Hi Brandon–not surprised you can’t find that anywhere as 30 minute workouts are all the rage now, although like I covered in a recent blog post you will definitely get more work done in P90X than X3. All you have to do is start with this X3/Max 30 hybrid and drop the P90X day 1, 3 and 5 resistance workouts into the schedule. Modify my “Fit Test” recovery weeks with whatever recovery workouts you have access to like Yoga X, X Stretch, or something else. Make sense to you?
Yea man that sounds good! Thank you! So do you believe the hybrid schedules are better than the regular schedules?
No, not at all. That would mean that I’m smarter than Tony Horton or Shaun T, and as much as I would like to think, that’s just not the case 🙂 Everyone should do the program as designed straight through first before doing a hybrid. I only do hybrids to add variety and to make sure I enjoy all 7 workouts in the week rather than sometimes doing a workout that I am not excited about. That doesn’t mean that the workouts I leave out of the schedules are not effective because they absolutely are. It’s just a matter of preference.
Ohh I see. I was thinking the P90X and Insanity would be more effective because Insanity is a little more intense. I will stick to the original P90X schedule. Thanks man!
Assuming you mean Insanity Max:30 and not the original Insanity, you should burn more calories doing P90X PlyoX and Kenpo X simply because they are twice as long (and again, assuming similar intensity where you raise your peak and average HR to similar levels). Don’t forget that “results”, especially if you are talking about weight loss, is more about burning more than you eat, so if you are doing a program that burns less calories (like X3 vs X, or Max 30 vs Insanity) you need to eat less to get the same results.
Oh okay sounds good man! I have another question. I am 5 feet and 8.5 inches and I’m 143lbs. I am not fat at all but I am not a twig. I am wanting to gain size and obtain larger muscles in my arms and be able to show a six pack as well. Should I eat more calories then I burn to gain size? Or is simply eating healthy appropriate amount of foods going to be fine? I don’t count my calories or macros I just eat healthy all day, I mostly eat lean meats and vegetables. I try to get as much protein as I can and take protein shakes as well. Is this a good way to gain size in my body but without getting a lot of fat? Like a lean bulk? Sorry for this long message.
Simply put you have to eat more to gain more, both protein and carbs, much like Tony describes on page 18 of the P90X3 Fitness Guide (also this is how the Body Beast Nutrition Guide works to grow your muscle too). You have to count calories and macros or follow a plan that does the math for you in order to know where you are starting from. I will send you an email and we can get into the specifics for your situation.
Hi John, my husband and I are Max out this evening! It was a tough 2 months but we are glad we did it and got very good results. Since he liked the resistance training of P90X and I love the cardio in Max 30. I am planning on doing P90X Day 1, 3 and 5, and for day 2, 4, 6 do Cardio Challenge, Sweat Intervals, and Friday fight. I was planning on keeping the 3 blocks of 4 weeks from P90X. I am not sure what to do with the recovery weeks. A week is a long time…
thank you
Nat
Hi Nathaly–
Thanks for reading my post and asking about mixing P90X and Max 30. What you described is basically what I did with this X3/Max30 hybrid schedule, so you could start with this and drop in P90X on days 1, 3, and 5 like you suggest. For the Recovery week I would mimic what Tony does in the P90X recovery week, perhaps mix in X Stretch, Yoga X (as much as your time allows), Kenpo X, and Max30 Pulse plus a rest day. Enjoy the recovery weeks because that’s where you muscles really get to grow and recuperate before you move on to the next block of workouts. Have you downloaded this X3/Max30 hybrid yet for comparison? I’d be happy to email you the direct link.
I do not have the hybrid schedule yet. Thank you.
Nat
OK, I will be sending a download link to your email address shortly. Enjoy!
Hi, since last yeAr, I have done rounds of 21 day extreme, a few rounds of insanity max 30 p, most recently insanity asylum and last week I began p90x3. I am looking to lose my last few pounds(less than 10), lose inches and tone up. I kind of like p90x3, but my favorite workout is max 30. My question is, should I do a hybrid to shred those stubborn pounds and inches or do a round of p90 x3? Thanks
That’s a difficult question to answer without knowing more about your specifics like age, height, and weight, but from what you have said I would say that your previous history was rather heavy on cardio and light on resistance work. Resistance (weights) is ultimately what will tighten you up and shrink your body down, so the best course of action for you may be to complete a straight round of P90X3 Classic (don’t do Lean, there is not enough resistance work in Lean and it is not designed to help grow muscle). Too much cardio can actually contribute to losing muscle which is exactly what you don’t want happening. It’s usually best to do a full program first before launching into a hybrid like this also. Of course, none of this matters if you don’t eat appropriately, but since you have done Autumn’s 21 DFX you have the color coded containers and you should continue to use them religiously to get the results you want. What do you think?
Thank you. I am 39 and 125 pounds at 5’6. I am more concerned about losing inches and tightening up then weight loss. I do follow the 21 day eating plan. I am not always perfect, but I follow the 80/20 rationale. I am in week 2 of p90x3. I like it, but I don’t feel completely exhausted at the end of some workouts the way I do with max 30. I feel tempted to abandon it and try something else, which is what I have done in the past. Sometimes I have trouble trusting the process. I know I need more strength trainIng, I just crave the cardio too.
Unless you are smarter than the trainers and know what your body needs, you have to trust the process, and you have not yet applied the process which is go through all phases of a program like X3 Classic. The first phase is foundational, but the second month is where you will get into hypertrophy which is where you will start to experience real muscle growth. And one round will rarely be enough. You are young, so you have plenty of time for multiple rounds, or followup one round with this hybrid. Exhaustion does not necessarily equate to lost inches and tightening up. If you really feel underwhelmed with P90X3 and you can do all the push-ups from your feet, and all the pull-ups unassisted, and the last 3 reps in Incinerator moves are extremely difficult, then consider moving on to the more strenuous P90X.
touché! I definitely do not know more. You have inspired me. I am kicking my cardio addiction, trying a new approach and sticking to It. Thanks so much for the input. I really appreciate it.
Could you please PLEASE do a hammer and chisel Insanity Max 30th hybrid schedule?
Umm, look around my site–you may be surprised by what you find 😉
https://johntfitness.com/hammer-chisel-max30-hybrid/
Hi John,
Thanks a lot for this hybrid routine. I’ve enjoyed it a lot since I completed both workouts by themselves(along with P90X1 and all of the Insanity programs). Now that I completed this and got great results I was thinking on doing another round but as “doubles”. Which workouts would you recommend to add, and in which days? (thinking about am and pm workouts).
Thanks!
I’m not a big fan of “doubles” since I get all the work I need in one workout a day, and if you go all out during that one workout you shouldn’t need a second workout to achieve better results. But I know that many folks enjoy a second workout. I would follow the model that Tony uses in both the P90X3 Guide (page 35) and P90X guide (page 26). Add an extra cardio workout on resistance days, or add an extra recovery workout like Dynamix or Isometrix. Or if you work upper body in the morning then add a lower body workout in the afternoon, or vice versa. If I had to do doubles my preference is to do cardio in the morning on an empty stomach and resistance in the afternoon when my muscles are fully charged just as Tony explains on page 26 of the P90X guide. Let me know what you end up doing.
Hi John,
Can you please double confirm if days 58 & 60 is correct workout?
I am thinking it should be “Max:30 cardio routines”?
Thank you and have a nice day 🙂
Yes it’s correct. I put Max Out Power and Strength there to ease you into the Month 2 workouts 🙂
Hi John,
Thank you very much 🙂 🙂
Hi John, thank you for the X3/Max30 hybrid schedule. I am going to start this next week. I just finished Insanity Max and have already completed X3 Classic and Doubles since last Oct. Feeling amazing and looking forward to moving along with a hybrid calendar. I like what you did here. Tks
Hi Doug–sounds good, glad you finished both programs separately, that’s always the best way to go. Stop in and let me know what you think in a few weeks 🙂
John
Any chance you created a p90x (classic) and max:30 hybrid schedule? I know beachbody has the p90x/insanity hybrid, but was looking to do max:30 instead of insanity.
Thanks.
Hi Jared–no I do not have that hybrid. I suggest you start with the P90X/Insanity hybrid you are familiar with and drop in you favorite cardio workouts from Max 30 instead of Insanity. Alternatively start with my X3/Max 30 schedule and drop in the P90X resistance workouts into Days 1, 3, and 5 for the X3 routines. Either way will get you close to what you are looking for. What do you think you’ll do?
This workout looks like you put a lot of thought into it. I’m 45 and I did the first two months of P90X3, I gained strength but did not lose body fat. My goal is to lose a few pounds of body fat (4lbs) and tone up. I’d like to have toned, lean legs and arms. (I agree with you on why some of the p90x3 routines didn’t make the cut). Would this be a good program to achieve my goals? Or would you recommend another hybrid?
Hi Melissa! Glad you like the looks of the schedule. It’s hard to say since 2 months into a program like X3 is not really long enough to gauge results, after all you’ve only done 3 weeks of hypertrophy training with the heavy weight routines. It also depends on where you’re starting from in terms of weight and body fat %. What is your current height and weight?
What is your take on Lift 4?
Do you have any plans on creating a hybrid schedule with Lift 4 & Insanity Max 30? I live in a rented apartment and do not have the option to stick pullup bars or hooks for bands. I do have those adjustable weights (Powerblock). From the sample video on Lift 4, looks like one needs only weights.
I have managed to finish Month 2 of Insanity Max 30 and was planning on incorporating some weights. I do not see much difference in terms of weight loss, but can see size reduction (waist line, man boobs etc.). If one completes the full course, should the person restart from Day 1 or Month 2? To be frank, my max out time started with few minutes and towards the end of 2 months, I could stretch it to around 8 mins.
Congrats on extending your maxout times during Max 30, it’s a great way to measure progress. LIIFT4 is our new favorite program, and my wife and I do several rounds of it in one form or another each year. It hits everything from weights to cardio to core in a very efficient 4 days a week. We have created several hybrids with it but now I only provide our new hybrids exclusively to our Beachbody customers. If you google Joel Freeman LIIFT4 hybrids however you may be able to locate Joel’s hybrids that he himself created for LIIFT4. As far as restarting Max 30 I would start at the beginning, but IMO it would be better to cycle your body off the intense cardio and onto something different for a couple months. A resistance program like LIIFT4, Body Beast or Hammer & Chisel would be perfect.