I mentioned in my last post that Shaun T is my fitness idol. I’ve done about half of his 60-day Insanity program before, but was derailed by a vacation. Insanity is intense, but I loved it. And as things have gotten busier and busier, I’ve realized that the days of doing 1.5 – 2 hours of P90X each night isn’t really sustainable. So lo’ and behold! When Shaun T and Beachbody announced the Focus T25 program, I was super excited.
Why? Because T25 stands for Time: 25 minutes. (Well, according to one of his videos, the “T” also stands for the T in Shaun “T” :D). What’s awesome about this workout is that each video is 25 minutes long. That’s it! And it’s a full body workout with lots of cardio, core work, and resistance training in the form of body weight and actual weights. I’m usually dripping sweat by the end of the 25 minutes.
Twenty-five minutes may seem short, but as the name suggests, the program is all about focus. It’s important to push yourself throughout the 25 minutes and really focus on the intensity and form of the moves. Don’t just do the workout! I try to give 100% all the time, but sometimes that doesn’t happen. I need to step it up myself.
The program is divided into the Alpha Cycle (The Foundation: 5 weeks), Beta Cycle (The Core: 5 weeks), and Gamma Cycle (Strength: 4 weeks). I’m looking forward to the Gamma Phase- there’s some awesome weight training in that segment. Technically, my day one was July 15th. We’re close to the end of September, so my 5 week Alpha Cycle has taken me 11 weeks. But I did remain active with many different hiking trips, so it makes sense (to me) that things would be a bit spaced out. So far, I think I’m seeing results. I gained some weight post-Ireland and I’m happy that I’m trimming down a bit. But as the Alpha Cycle winds down, I’m gearing up for an intense Beta Cycle with minimal days missed. My brother is about to start a Focus T25 challenge on September 30th with his friends and coworkers, and I’ll be joining the intensity, but starting with the Beta Cycle. As he puts it:
“…there are 525,949 minutes in a year. These 10 weeks will have us working out for approx 1500 minutes of the year. That is .3% of our total time this year. I don’t know about you but .3% of my time in a year is just an incredible bargain to taking big steps to a more fit and healthier life =)”
Well said bro. Well said.
Also, this won’t be the last of these high-intensity at-home programs I will do. It was recently announced that P90X3 will be available in December of this year! P90X3!! I’m SUPER excited about this. Once Focus T25 is complete, I know what I’ll be doing :). It’s been a while since I’ve heard Tony’s pterodactyl jokes…
HIKES & HAMSTRINGS 