Insanity Workout's Shaun T. Dishes On His New Workout DVD

After sweating my way through the Beachbody Insanity program, I was left with several thoughts. One, that I was in darn good shape, as was my husband -- this was the first workout program we'd ever (ever) done together.

Two, that Shaun T might be a little crazy, but his intensity and commitment is exactly what kept me coming back for more throughout the two-month program.

And three, I wanted more.

For the last month or two, I've satiated myself with working the occasional Insanity workout into my routine of running, swimming, and reviewing other DVDs, but I've got good news -- there's more Insanity on the horizon.

Shaun T, who's been busy launching his own site called Shaun T Fitness, a line of apparel, and a new "Fast and Furious" 20-minute workout to add on to Insanity, gave That's Fit the inside scoop on how Insanity came to be, why he doesn't offer modifications, and, most importantly, what to expect next.

That's Fit: You have an impressive dance background, having choreographed NCAA Final Four halftime routines, dancing with Mariah Carey, and coming out with several successful dance-based workout programs. What made you decide to create Insanity as a completely non-dance-based workout?

Shaun T: Most people know me as a dancer because I became a professional dancer shortly after I stopped working in the corporate world. What they don't know is that I was an athlete. I played football from the time I was five. I played basketball, I ran track at the high school and collegiate levels. I didn't start dancing until I was 21 years old, so the athletic side was really my background.

TF: So how did you convince Beachbody to let you do Insanity?

ST: Beachbody wanted to create a really intense fitness program and they were looking for another trainer. They didn't look at me as athletic type of instructor. I told them, "I'll get you a DVD in two days to show you the workout I'm going to do." Within minutes [of receiving the DVD], they called.

TF: Do you have a favorite exercise from Insanity?

ST: I absolutely love power jumps. I can do them all day, every day. I love power jumps and diamond jumps -- I just love to jump. When it comes to core, I love push up jacks and moving push ups.

TF: Are there any moves you find really challenging?

ST: Going from ski abs to in-and-out abs is like death. Hate. Hate! [For the record, this writer couldn't agree more. Hate!]

TF: With all your different types of exercise backgrounds, what workouts do you focus on when you're trying to get yourself in top shape for, say an event or a shoot?

ST: I just went through that because we just shot a second version of the Insanity infomercial! What I do is, here in New York, I go to Chelsea Piers, I run around the track, just anything that keeps my body at that Insanity pace. But sometimes, I'll have to do dumbbells because I need to make my biceps pop for that shoot, or my shoulders. I do lots of push ups, some kettlebell training and stability training with the BOSU. I'm very well-rounded; I just love cross-training.

TF: Insanity has had some critics who've said that you don't provide enough instruction on form, and that some of the moves can cause injury, particularly to the joints. What do you say to that?

ST: Anybody who has ever done Insanity knows that I explain the move -- every single move -- before you do it. Get in position, get your butt down, knees behind the toes you know? Some people don't pay attention, for one, and some people don't have the body awareness that others have. I've had people come to a live event who say, "I do Insanity, I love it!" and then their form is horrible. I tell them the same thing I do in the video, but some people need you to physically fix them. There's constructive criticism everywhere, but I just say that if you really pay attention to the instructions, you'll get what you need out of it.

TF: Another common critique of Insanity is that there are no modifications offered. Was that ever a consideration?

ST: There was a point at which it was discussed, but you can't really modify Insanity moves and get the same energy from looking at it. I know there are people who do modify at home; they can't do a power jump, so they might do squats. But can you imagine, if someone was doing a squat next to somebody doing a power jump? It's definitely not the same killer output. The way I designed Insanity is that you can go as slow as you need to go. We're not going to the beat of the music; you can take your time. And, it's designed to be one of the hardest workouts on DVD for people who really wanted to go for it. I feel like if I put modifications in, like every other Beachbody program, it wouldn't really set that standard.

TF: What's next for you? What can you tell us that nobody else knows?

ST: Next up is Asylum. It's very athletic, all sports-specific training. There's a video called Game Day where you're doing football, basketball, track and field, tennis, rock climbing, soccer, speed skating, baseball -- it's heavy, heavy, heavy sports-specific training. Another thing that's crazy about Asylum is that it's going to have a strength video where you're using dumbbells, and you get into this thing called a Cardio Dumbbell Rotation. It's something like you've never experienced before [laughs].

There's another video called Overtime, so even if you've done one of the Asylum workouts, if you want more, it's another 15 minutes of just pure going for it. Asylum is going to take people who did Insanity, take their fitness level, and then put their skill to the test.

The great thing about Asylum is that there will be a couple of pieces of equipment, but it can all fit in your suitcase, so you can still do it in your hotel room.

TF: So when does it launch?

ST: I'm guessing February; I feel like I need to add two more videos to make it more well-rounded, so I guess it all depends on me.

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