FITNESS ZONE
REVIEW – Insanity: Max 30 AB MAXIMIZER + Sweat Fest
For the filthy rich among you, the option exists to go all out and buy the Ab Maximizer Kit upgrade for Insanity: Max 30 ( reviewed here ). The package advertises itself as two workouts + 1 bonus ( Max Out 15 ). Each ab workout is 15 minutes long.
Lo and behold, there also exists a lone DVD, Sweat Fest which is an optional $20 add-on. So how vital are these to anyone who has already purchased the Max 30 program? Allow me to fill you in by putting my abs in Shaun T’s meat-grinder.
MAX OUT 15
I’ll be honest, this is a killer fifteen minute cardio-core attack, but it’s not really a targeted abdominal routine. I would go after this if you didn’t have enough time to go the full 30 minutes but didn’t want to feel like you sat around on the couch with a bag of Jiffy-Pop watching Netflix.
Power kicks, speed knees, hit the floor tuck jumps, etc…lots of high knee moves. You will be entirely on your feet and not doing any crunches. So be sure you put on your training shoes as I unsuspectingly went into this barefoot expecting something like Ab Ripper X. A two minute cooldown is also thrown in.
360 ABS
This is like a hybrid of the first two: Alternating each minute from being on your back to front so the lower back gets attention. Just about every move is unique, such as “stabbing abs” which certainly tries to live up to its name. This follows the flow of a more traditional abdominal workout and will be a favorite for sure.
MAX OUT ABS
What you do up, you do down. This alternates between cardio and crunches. Each move is one minute and each set standing up is related to the one on your back. For example, Genie Abs moves into Genie Tuck Jumps.
SWEAT FEST
Time: 30 minutes
This is an optional standalone workout ( $20 ), separate from the Ab Maximizer Kit. There’s a few familiar faces here too such as Tanya from Insanity and T25 who is in the crowd. Looks like it’s all hands on deck as the the A-Team is called in to get busy.
I’m not sure what to think here…from a fitness standpoint this is balls-to-the-wall, but it’s no harder than Max Out Cardio. Plus, something in me feels like this is re-branded test footage ( my opinion only ) and was scrapped in favor of the better, more polished Max 30 set we are familiar with. Call it a hunch. Either way, I wouldn’t recommend running out and getting this as it’s not going to add anything essential to your Max 30 experience.
CONCLUSION
Sick of doing Ab Ripper X a million times? Need more variety in the abdominals? Bam…here you go. Shaun T has it all and takes no prisoners as he destroys your abs like only he knows how to do.
Here’s the kicker though kids…the price. The Ab Maximizer Kit is 3 butt-puckering payments of $40.
Sure, Beachbody throws in a fat caliper, yoga mat and some rubber containers…but who really needs or wants any of that stuff? If you’ve come this far in your fitness, you probably already own a mat and well, I guess you can regift the protein shaker as a Christmas present. Granted, you can buy just the disks on Amazon…but still, even $70 is a whopper of a price tag for just 45 minutes of watching people sweat. That’s a shame because these are great workouts.
4 Feathers out of 5 for the Ab Maximizer Kit
3 Feathers out of 5 for Sweat Fest
Jay
February 21, 2020 at
Ab ripper x a million times??? spot on!
Matthew Seltzer
April 15, 2016 at
I like Sweat Fest, it’s a lot of fun, but as far as Max:30 goes it felt like a day off. It also felt like an old-school Insanity workout, and I’m surprised I’m going something that feels like an Insanity workout a day off. There are so many breaks in it! The long stretch, the breaks between each interval….it just felt so slow compared to everything I’ve accomplished in M:30.
Juan David
June 22, 2016 at
Do you recommend change Sweat Intervals for Sweat Fest?
Dysfunctional Parrot
June 27, 2016 at
I would do Intervals over Fest. Personal preference.
Steve MacKenzie
November 16, 2015 at
Beachbody gets do greedy price wise sometimes. I would agree that Sweat fest was re-purposed footage. Old Logo and old formatting with the stretching. I have it because it came with my set. As for the other ab routines I will not spend that kind of money on them. It was bad enough that they pulled the T25 Gamma Fiasco pricing and that sounds like a deal compared to the butt puckering. Can’t they be content fleecing people with the shakes?
Alex from Ottawa
November 6, 2015 at
Sweat Fest is more like a “infomercial workout” for the original Insanity. Shaun T repeats about 3,000 times that “Insanity will give you results in just 60 days”. So it’s completely unrelated to Max 30, as there is no Maxing Out, a different set, and different type of workout (like a stretching part during the workout). It’s indeed a good workout but not worth the money, and not worth integrating in your Max 30 calendar (not even substituting Sweat Intervals, as indicated in the manual).
Byrdman
February 22, 2017 at
Completely disagree. Sweat Fest is one of the best workouts I’ve ever done from Shaun T and I’ve done all 4 INSANITY branded workouts. I burn almost the exact amount of calories as Sweat Intervals but with the added benefit of a full and complete stretching routine. Lack of stretching is one of MAX: 30’s weakest points. The workout was shot for a new INSANITY infomercial then they realized that is was a great workout and used it. I’m glad they did.
PorFavorAyudaMe
May 10, 2015 at
Hello, what program would you suggest for a very fit individual looking to get in the best cardio/endurance shape that he can? Thanks
Dysfunctional Parrot
May 12, 2015 at
For cardio endurance, I’m pretty stoked about Max 30. Thus far it has been one of the hardest programs I have done to date. For track and field style fitness I’d also consider Asylum.
ktern
April 14, 2015 at
picked these up (just the discs) and while my wallet hurt a bit, my abs hurt a lot more so i stopped noticing
i feel like these might actually be shaun t’s best dedicated ab workouts so far, and asylum 2’s ab shredder is fantastic so that really says something. but i wish i’d had some warning that the ab workouts end with a notice to cool down afterwards instead of an actual cooldown sequence. very disappointing with that hefty price tag (and previously unheard of from shaun)! but i just do max out 15 afterwards and then do its stretch so all’s well that ends as a sweaty heap on the floor i suppose
DK
March 24, 2015 at
DP,
How long are each of these Max Ab workouts?
Dysfunctional Parrot
March 25, 2015 at
All ab routines in this package are exactly 15 minutes.
Jollem
March 11, 2015 at
What is the length of 360 ABS and Max out ABS please?
Koel
March 9, 2015 at
I just want to say that your use of “butt-puckering” to describe the price tag is absolutely hilarious. I could not stop laughing.
Mariflor Rabe
February 20, 2015 at
I am excited for your review of Weider Ruthless. I tried it but I think it was too advanced for me (and I had to stop exercises for months).
shauntaddict
January 10, 2015 at
You can buy the DVD’s only through Beachbody, also! FYI!
Dysfunctional Parrot
January 10, 2015 at
I had a doozy of a time finding the link for them!
ktern
January 9, 2015 at
oh my. thanks so much for making my review dreams come true
dave
January 9, 2015 at
Apparently Sweat fest was recorded during one of those insanity commercial shoots, guess they decided to throw it in because of the whole 30min thing
Dysfunctional Parrot
January 9, 2015 at
That actually would explain a great deal then!