Can my knees handle the pounding of P90X and Insanity?

Knees. They are two of the most important joints in the body. We use them a lot and, so, they are subject to injury.

You may be wondering if your knees can handle P90X or Insanity. I wondered the same thing about my own knees.

I used to run a lot, but then my knees started to bother me. The incessant pounding running puts on your joints is tough on them, so I stopped.

When it came time for me to start P90X, I really wondered if my knees would be able to take it. After all, the Plyo workout includes a lot of high impact moves. Of course, there are modified moves for people concerned about the high impact nature of the routine, but I didn't want to modify, if I didn't have to. (Yeah, I can be stubborn -- I am just not into this "getting too old for that" stuff.)

At first, good sense -- based on Tony's suggestions during the routine -- got the better of me and I did do the modified moves. My knees had some issues, but nothing I couldn't work through.

This is a good time to mention that you really need to listen to your body. You can tell if you are pushing too hard. You can tell if the pain you feel is something that you can work through or something that should make you stop.

As it turns out, I have a bit of arthritis in my left knee. It hurts, but exercise actually makes it feel better. Go figure.

Anyway, I made it all the way through P90X, eventually working up to the full high impact Plyo routine, and my knees are still intact. In fact, they are better off than before, because now the muscles around them are stronger.

I haven't tried out Insanity yet. It has a lot more aerobics, and, so, a lot more knee-pounding. I will enter that program cautiously sometime later this year and report back on the results.