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[SteveMeister]

Did the Alpha: Cardio workout today at a coaches' gathering. Great workout! It started out slowly but built up steam. The moves build up - you start marching high knees, and that evolves to a high knee run to mountain climbers, etc. There are "burn out" periods where you go at high intensity, and periods of active recovery where you're starting a new progression. Everyone worked up a sweat & enjoyed it. I start for real on Monday!

 

[SteveMeister]

Today was Day Two of T25: Alpha: Speed 1.0. I really love the way this workout was structured. Read my full review here.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Did the first workout (in my test week) last night and my calves are dead. So many "now up on your toes!" workouts. I do really like how you start with a small, easier, part of the move then add the medium part of the move, then go to the full hard move. The overtime (or whatever they were called) sections where you do all the final hard parts of each move fast were interesting to.

It did kill me though, my calves got more work last night than any workout.

 

[SteveMeister]

Here's a link to my thoughts about Day 3 in the Beachbody thread in community.

So Focus T25 Alpha: Total Body Circuit. Holy crap, this was a tough one. I was absolutely drenched. Lots of speed & agility moves coupled with floor work. Read my review here.

I remain very, very impressed with Focus T25.

 

[Le-mo]

Just finished Alpha Cardio 1. I haven't sweat so much in a long time. Took about 5 breaks. Love it.

 

[SteveMeister]

Shaun T just announced the Focus T25 Challenge -- he wants to get 25,000 people doing Focus T25 with him starting August 5th. Here's more info. Not much yet, but I'll post more as soon as I find out about it!

And here's his promo video for the challenge.

Almost makes me wish I hadn't started already. Apparently there are going to be prizes. Sounds like a lot of fun!

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Had to miss yesterday but I will be on Day 3 today. We'll see how it goes. Pairing this with two days a week of 24 hour fasting, today being one of those days. It'll propel me through the workout knowing that when I'm done I get to eat for the first time today.

 

[The Abominable Snowman]

So what equipment is recommended? As far as dumbells or resistance bands or etc

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

So what equipment is recommended? As far as dumbells or resistance bands or etc

Basically none, The DVDs come with a resistance band, and that will get you through the workout. You can use a light dumbbell if you have them, but not needed.

 

[SteveMeister]

So what equipment is recommended? As far as dumbells or resistance bands or etc

It comes with a resistance band. In the Alpha phase (first 5 weeks) there's no equipment needed other than maybe a mat for the Ab routines. In the Beta phase, there are two workouts where you need either dumbbells or can use the included resistance band.

The optional third phase, Gamma, is more focused on strength and you'll need dumbbells or resistance bands for some of those workouts as well.

 

[Not a Jellyfish]

Will be starting this July 22 when I get back from a trip to NOLA.

Excited!

 

[Bollocks]

"C'mon yall, lets gooooo!"

oh god, the sound of horror

 

[PhatSaqs]

Started this last night. Calves and ass are shot. Looking cautiously forward to day two,

 

[Gumbie]

Started this last night. Calves and ass are shot. Looking cautiously forward to day two,

Prepare to squat and lunge till your fucking legs fall off.

 

[T.O.P]

Just got mine off ebay (Europe)


hope it gets here asap, can't wait to start this ᕦ(° Д°)ᕤ

 

[PhatSaqs]

Prepare to squat and lunge till your fucking legs fall off.

Le sigh....

 

[ShyGuy]

Did a "test run" a month ago and did the first 8 'days' of the program, staggered over a two-week period.

Let it slide for a month, and today I restarted again. Back to day 1, with the Alpha Cardio workout.

I'm starting with the modified version because I think I'm pretty unfit, but I got through the first month of Insanity late last year and I felt that was too hardcore, so I'm doing T25 'properly' now.

This thread seems pretty quiet so does that mean most gaffers are doing the other main programs? (Insantiy, P90X, etc?)

 

[SteveMeister]

Did a "test run" a month ago and did the first 8 'days' of the program, staggered over a two-week period.

Let it slide for a month, and today I restarted again. Back to day 1, with the Alpha Cardio workout.

I'm starting with the modified version because I think I'm pretty unfit, but I got through the first month of Insanity late last year and I felt that was too hardcore, so I'm doing T25 'properly' now.

This thread seems pretty quiet so does that mean most gaffers are doing the other main programs? (Insantiy, P90X, etc?)

Good on you for restarting!

I just finished Beta last week, so I'm finished with the "base" T25 package. This morning my wife & I have our first Gamma workout.

I love this program. Really well designed, challenging, and fun. As you go forward, you'll find yourself needing to modify less & less.

This is a quiet thread. Most of the activity is in the Beachbody thread on OT Community.

 

[TwiztidElf]

Did a "test run" a month ago and did the first 8 'days' of the program, staggered over a two-week period.
Let it slide for a month, and today I restarted again. Back to day 1, with the Alpha Cardio workout.

Day one you and me both ShyGuy.
(Although I'm slightly modifying. Pulling out Speed 1 in Alpha - too easy, and Upper Focus and Rip't from Beta - rather go to the gym).

Like you, I went through all of them once through the last month just to get a feel for them.
Day 1, Alpha Cardio.
Absolutely smashed Alpha Cardio. Pretty much kept up the whole way through. (I'm pretty fit already).

 

[SteveMeister]

Day one you and me both ShyGuy.
(Although I'm slightly modifying. Pulling out Speed 1 in Alpha - too easy, and Upper Focus and Rip't from Beta - rather go to the gym).

Like you, I went through all of them once through the last month just to get a feel for them.
Day 1, Alpha Cardio.
Absolutely smashed Alpha Cardio. Pretty much kept up the whole way through. (I'm pretty fit already).

Even though you've previewed them, I'd still recommend leaving Rip'T Circuit and Upper Focus in -- you'll want the core & cardio conditioning they do.

Just started Gamma this morning -- Speed 3.0 is TOUGH. At the same pace as Speed 1.0 but adds in a bunch of burpee/plank moves. Great stuff.

 

[BertramCooper]

I love P90X and Insanity, but I'm kind of skeptical on this one.

I'm sure it's incredibly intense, but 25 minutes still seems way too short. I prefer workouts that keep my heart rate elevated for closer to an hour.

 

[SteveMeister]

I love P90X and Insanity, but I'm kind of skeptical on this one.

I'm sure it's incredibly intense, but 25 minutes still seems way too short. I prefer workouts that keep my heart rate elevated for closer to an hour.

These are very efficient workouts. Unless you can do Insanity workouts without breaking a sweat, you'll get a lot out of T25. Remember, there's no warmup and no breaks. You get right into it and give it everything you've got for 25 minutes, followed by a ~3 minute cooldown.

Oh and (assuming you start on a Monday) you do two workouts on Fridays.

 

[TwiztidElf]

Even though you've previewed them, I'd still recommend leaving Rip'T Circuit and Upper Focus in -- you'll want the core & cardio conditioning they do..

Thanks for the tip SteveM. I'll see how I go squeezing them back in. Time is the limiting factor. I can 'double day' with gym 2-3 times a week, but I'm terrified of losing muscle I've worked hard to build.

 

[pubba]

Hi guys, I tried the Insanity program and struggled with it for a week or so, but I'm just too overweight to even do modified versions of what the DVD shows. I felt like a manatee floundering around and it was really demotivating.

I was 266 pounds then, but have lost 15 over the last few weeks from eating less and walking more. So, at 251 pounds do you think the T25 program will be ok?

 

[Chris R]

Hi guys, I tried the Insanity program and struggled with it for a week or so, but I'm just too overweight to even do modified versions of what the DVD shows. I felt like a manatee floundering around and it was really demotivating.

I was 266 pounds then, but have lost 15 over the last few weeks from eating less and walking more. So, at 251 pounds do you think the T25 program will be ok?

It will, just switch to the modify if you need. The first week KICKED my ass, and I was only ~15lb lighter than you. Weight doesn't really matter, if you are in shape you shouldn't have too much trouble, but I had to shower after the workout for the first three weeks. Beta starts next week for me after putting off Alpha for a few weeks, stupid cold still hasn't gone away, deep congestion in my lungs makes working out suck so much.

 

[big_z]

I love P90X and Insanity, but I'm kind of skeptical on this one.

I'm sure it's incredibly intense, but 25 minutes still seems way too short. I prefer workouts that keep my heart rate elevated for closer to an hour.

I'm a huge fan of insanity myself and gave t25 a go. I did two episodes a day back to back and even doing that I found t25 to be a lot easier. A bunch of the moves are toned down variations of insanity stuff and they have Tanya doing even easier modifications which are a joke IMO.

Shaun t has said that if you've done insanity this isn't really for you. I agree. Personally I started insanity at my worst fitness level of my life. It was hard as hell and I felt like shit struggling to keep up but if you do as Shaun says and do what you can do you'll get great results. If recommend insanity over t25 any day.

I've heard they've updated insanity so the stretching is incorporated throughout the workout as well as added a few more moves. It would be great if they updated the videos.

 

[SteveMeister]

I'm a huge fan of insanity myself and gave t25 a go. I did two episodes a day back to back and even doing that I found t25 to be a lot easier. A bunch of the moves are toned down variations of insanity stuff and they have Tanya doing even easier modifications which are a joke IMO.

Shaun t has said that if you've done insanity this isn't really for you. I agree. Personally I started insanity at my worst fitness level of my life. It was hard as hell and I felt like shit struggling to keep up but if you do as Shaun says and do what you can do you'll get great results. If recommend insanity over t25 any day.

I've been telling Insanity vets to do the last 3 weeks of Alpha & move right into Beta. That way you learn the moves and flow. And when you're doing them, focus on FULL range of motion and perfect form for every move. Also, I'd only do that (or skip alpha altogether) if you can get through Insanity month 2 workouts without any real challenge. Unless you're in amazing shape, if you're putting everything you have into the T25 workouts you're going to get a lot out of it.

Or do Asylum 1/2 instead.

I've heard they've updated insanity so the stretching is incorporated throughout the workout as well as added a few more moves. It would be great if they updated the videos.

Well, the live classes have been updated to do more dynamic stretches instead of statics like the videos, but I haven't heard of any plans to update the videos themselves. Considering Insanity already has two sequels plus T25 itself, I'm not sure they'll do it.

I'm hoping for a Delta phase myself

There are rumors of a Shaun T/Chalene Johnson team-up. That might be interesting. I haven't done any of her workouts but they're supposed to be really good.

 

[SteveMeister]

My wife & I finished the Gamma phase this morning. We did the "Pure Strength" schedule, which incorporated workouts from Alpha and Beta and had you do doubles on day 5 of each week.

This was a REALLY intense schedule. We both got a lot out of it, and neither of us feel like we came as close to "mastering" the workouts as we did Alpha and Beta. So we're going to do it again starting on Monday, with a couple of modifications.

First, we're going to do Alpha: Total Body Circuit more often. Once a week. It's still one of the tougher workouts in the entire program. I replaced a couple of stand-alone Beta: Upper Focus workouts with Total Body Circuit. There's plenty of upper body work in the other Gamma Workouts and we felt that it was more important to do a full-body workout on those days.

Next, I'm incorporating the Core Speed workout. This is a bonus workout that you get if you ordered it from a Coach (i.e. not from Amazon or a 1-800 number). I've replaced two of the Gamma: Speed 3.0 sessions with Core Speed, so that we alternate the two workouts where they are scheduled.

Here's the resulting schedule:

 

[Bigfoot]

Decided to start this on Monday. Wish me luck.

 

[ShyGuy]

I last posted 9/9/13 and said I was starting again...well...I made it for 2 weeks straight, then got an injury...hamstring REALLY hurt and I could walk but anything else would really hurt, so no running and I decided to take a break from T25.

I let it heal over 4-5 days and just continued where I left off, got to end of "week 3" and got sick, some weird gastro thing that knocked me out for 2 days...hahah so I didn't have any energy to start week 4.

Anyway, it's now 21st October in AU, and I just finished Week 4 day 3 "Lower Focus", so I'm kind out of synch with the days of the week (at this rate I'll do "Friday" double workout on Wednesday) but whatever...

I'm pushing through, getting towards the end of Alpha.

I'm ALWAYS ticking the "Barely Made It" box haha!

I'm determined to at least make it to Beta, because as a point of comparison when I did Insanity I got to the "week in between month 1 and 2" and stopped there. I don't want to quit T25 either!

 

[Fatalah]

I'm just getting into the T25 workout now. I see this thread has fallen off -- did anyone stick with the program? Looking for first-hand stories about your results!