T25 Review

This is not an April Fools joke:  I am forever grateful to my very best friend, Rachel, for writing this review of T25 for me.  I have tried all of the workouts, but Rachel just completed the entire program.  Don't let her downplay her results... they are awesome!

When it comes to making a commitment to a fitness lifestyle, there are many excuses and complaints. Probably the most common one I hear is that people can’t find the time to fit exercise into their busy schedules. I’m not going to get into how your health should be a non-negotiable; I’ll leave that for Michelle to tackle. But I AM going to get into how T25 is the workout for your busy lifestyle.

Ok, fine, I know. My life isn’t that busy. Even though I work full time at a job an hour away that often requires more than the 40 hours I get paid for, the fact is that once I get home, I have no one else to worry about but myself. Being single and childless, I don’t have much else to do except workout and eat some semblance of dinner. But, I have a very short attention span when it comes to exercise. If the workout is more than 30 minutes, I lose interest quickly, get a mental block, and start slacking on the moves (don’t even get me started on PiYo Drench…). One day, over a bottle of wine (duh), I complained about this to Michelle, and being my wonderful coach, she recommended I give Focus T25 a try. Since I’ll basically do (almost) anything Michelle tells me to do, I clicked on over to www.TeamBeachbody.com and ordered myself a brand new workout.

Having completed PiYo as my first Beachbody workout, I wasn’t accustomed to high-cardio/impact exercises. It was difficult at first, but now having completed T25, I feel very strongly that PiYo and T25 complement each other very well. Both are high-intensity workouts and increase strength but T25 aids in building your cardiac endurance while PiYo really improves your flexibility. Strength, endurance, and flexibility - three things that everyone needs!

What is Focus T25?

Focus T25 is a high-intensity, 25-minute, full-body workout created by Shaun T, the same guy who created Insanity. It is considered Focus Interval Training, where every muscle group gets worked, and then worked again. With this plan, you get the benefits of an hour long workout packed into a short 25 minutes, and there are NO water breaks. It’s no joke… it’s hard work and there’s lots of sweat, but after 25 minutes, you’re done. That’s ONLY 1.7% of your day! You still have 98.3% of the day to do whatever else it is you need to do.

How does it work?

T25 is broken down into two blocks, Alpha and Beta. There is also a Gamma cycle that can be purchased separately (I did not do the Gamma cycle, so no review of it here). Each block is 5 weeks long and has a different focus. For every week, you do one workout Monday through Thursday, a double on Friday, rest on Saturday, and stretch on Sunday. Shaun T recommends doing the double on Friday for maximum results, but if "T50" (as I like to call it) does not fit into your schedule, that’s ok. You can do the second workout over the weekend. I don’t have the patience for Friday doubles so I always spread it into the weekend. For every workout, there is a modifier who shows you how to do low-impact versions of the exercises. Don’t be fooled though. Even though the modifier is low-impact, you’re doing just as much work as everyone else (sometimes even more because you don’t have the momentum from the jumps!). After every 25-minute workout, there is a 3 minute stretch/cooldown to help your muscles recover.

What do I get?

You mean, other than a hot, fit, bod? So much! You get 10 different high intensity workouts, a Stretch workout, a Quick Start guide, a 5-Day Fast Track guide, the Get It Done Nutrition guide, an Alpha-Beta wall calendar that shows you which workouts to do on which day, and a pro-grade resistance band. If you order through Michelle, you will also get a bonus Core Speed workout.

What else do I need?

The right shoes! Do not wear running sneakers to do T25. Your feet will cry. You might cry too. T25 has a lot of quick, lateral movements for which running shoes will not give you the proper support. I learned this the hard way when my wide, flat feet started cramping and burning within the first 10 minutes of every workout. Don’t make my mistake. In the end, I found that doing the workouts barefoot was actually the most pain-free option for me. This won’t be the case for everyone, but it's definitely something to consider if you're having some foot pain.  I also purchased some interlocking foam exercise mats (http://tinyurl.com/p4wfj7g) to cushion my landing and the world was right again. For the rare instances that I do decide to put shoes on, I found a pair of low profile New Balance cross-trainers (http://tinyurl.com/ougb9bh) that give me good lateral support with minimal cramping. Look for a crosstrainer that gives you support for side-to-side movements and is also flexible, allowing your feet to move naturally.

Some other optional equipment you might want are a soft workout mat and a set of dumbbells. The workout mat comes in handy for some of the exercises on the floor to cushion your back and knees. Dumbbells can be used in the Beta cycle in place of the resistance band that comes with the program. Choose a dumbbell weight that is doable but also challenging.

You should also know that for the entirety of T25, you should be focused on form over speed. Sometimes, those people on the screen with the perfect six pack abs and ripped arms will be going so fast, and you are doing your darndest to keep pace with them. But, it does you no good to keep pace with bad form. You end up cheating yourself of the proper focus and could also cause injury (to yourself and/or your pet/person/tiny person/tv). Stay with Tania the modifier when you have to and go at your own pace. With practice, you will work your way up to speed.

ALPHA - Focus: The Foundation

In the Alpha round, your main focus is building a strong foundation using just your body weight. The workouts are Cardio, Speed 1.0, Total Body Circuit, Ab Intervals, Lower Focus, and Stretch.

Cardio - A full 25 minutes of non-stop cardio. Get ready for heavy breathing!

Speed 1.0 - This is the only workout in Alpha that does not give you the option of turning off the music.  This is because it’s a workout focused on improving your speed and agility with interspersed stretching intervals. Speed 1.0 is one of my favorites from the Alpha cycle because it feels like a dance routine as opposed to a workout.

Total Body Circuit - TBC is, I think, the hardest workout of the entire program. It makes me want to lay down on the couch and start thinking to myself that maybe having some extra fat padding and a subpar cardiovascular system really isn’t that bad. You certainly work your entire body and there are, what feels like, endless planks and pushups. I had to follow the modifier the most for this workout and take breaks as needed, but by the end of the Alpha cycle, I was able to take less or no breaks and only follow the modifier for a few moves or when I got really tired.

Ab Intervals - Shaun takes you through a slew of ab work with cardio recovery in between. You will V-sit like a pro after this video.

Lower Focus - Leg day is here. You will definitely feel the burn with Lower Focus as you work the largest muscle groups in your legs and glutes.

Stretch - Confession… I have never actually done the Stretch video. But The Google tells me that it helps you lengthen, stretch, and recover the body. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Sure, ok.  That's what PiYo is for.

BETA - Focus: The Core

After you’ve built up a good foundation in Alpha, you move on to the Beta round where your main focus is your core. You will notice that for every video, Shaun puts an emphasis on keeping your core engaged even if it is not an ab-based exercise. The workouts are Core Cardio, Speed 2.0, Rip’T Circuit, Dynamic Core, and Upper Focus.

Core Cardio - Another non-stop cardio workout. I personally think this is the hardest Beta workout just because it’s so cardio heavy and your heart rate never really goes down.

Speed 2.0 - My (and Michelle's) favorite of all the T25 workouts! Just like Speed 1.0, this video focuses on your speed and agility with repeating sequences that build and are done in shorter and shorter intervals as you progress through the video. Also just like Speed 1.0, it feels like a dance routine, and I can bring out my inner hip hop dancer.

Rip’T Circuit - When I first saw the name of this video, I groaned because I thought it was going to be TBC x1000. I was pleasantly surprised that I did not want to kill myself the first time I did Rip’T. In this video, Shaun takes you through intervals of CULA - Cardio, Upper, Lower, Abs. It is the first instance where you will use your resistance band/dumbbells. It’s not as tear-inducing as TBC, but you still work hard using a lot of muscular and cardio endurance.

Dynamic Core - A great core workout using seven standing exercises and seven floor exercises. You also get to witness Shaun T punch a girl in the stomach. That’s my favorite line from T25 - “Now watch, as Jen goes by, I’m gonna punch her in the stomach.”

Upper Focus - The most difficult part of Upper Focus is trying to figure out why Shaun T is wearing a polo shirt. Who works out in a polo shirt? Anyway. If you’re a lifting junkie, this video will probably be your favorite. The resistance band/dumbbells are heavily featured in this workout to build your upper body strength.

Results

In doing Focus T25, I lost 2.6 lbs and 4 inches overall. I know it’s not a super impressive drop in weight, but let me tell you… I fit into so many clothes that I didn’t fit into a year ago. Talk about reclaiming my closet! I also saw improvement in strength and endurance as I progressed through each week. Things that were hard to do in Week 1 were not nearly as hard in Week 5. In reminding you, dear readers, I am also reminding myself that the numbers don’t tell the whole story. Stick to it. Show perseverance and persistence. It’s only 25 minutes a day. Do the work and then you can enjoy your results for the remaining 23 hours and 35 minutes of your day.