First week of T25... oh, the pain.

I completed my first week of Focus T25 a few days ago. I'm proud that I did each workout each day... and I'm glad it didn't kill me.

I have been working out for almost 2 months. I was using the elliptical and rowing machine several times a week to get in my cardio. And I'm not totally out of shape.

But this... this is intense.

T25, Alpha Cycle (total of 5 weeks)
Week 1:

Day 1: Cardio DVD
Good lord, what a way to start! My heart rate shot up and my sweat started pouring just in the first 3 minutes! Shaun T wasn't kidding when he said it was intense.
~~ I did have to follow Tania (the modifier) a little bit and I didn't feel bad about it. LOL. Like I said, I'm not totally out of shape but when your are moving like that for a constant 25 minutes, anyone is going to feel knocked down at the end.
~~ There is no jumping involved like with Insanity and if you follow Tania, your feet really won't leave the ground which is great of you have ankle, knee, or back problems. Or if your boobs are too large, which was my problem. I could have done some of the hopping if I had strapped my chest down with duct tape.

Day 2: Speed 1.0 DVD
As it suggests on the title of this one, it's all about going balls to the wall. And from doing standing mountain climbers the day before, my arms were screaming at me. I was actually worried I wouldn't be able to do the workout. Well, 1 minute in and I forgot about my arms. My heart rate shot up and I didn't feel any soreness during the workout.
~~ Again, I followed Tania quite a bit... except during the yoga type poses. My balance is great, it seems.
~~ My husband was in the room for this one, checking it out. I wanted to find out how many calories I was burning during the 25 minutes so I strapped on my Polar HRM.
~~ Sadly, my soreness was not all I forgot. My dumb butt forgot to hit START on the watch and I didn't realize it until there was only 8 minutes left in the workout. I was pissed. And did I quit? NO. Did I finish? NO. I started that whole damn thing over again. (Call me crazy but I wanted the info from the HRM.)
~~ Since I started it over, my husband decided to try it out with me. He told me after that he was having a hell of a time keeping up since he really doesn't work out at all. He also said he has no rhythm. LOL.
~~ In that second workout (doing the whole thing), I burned about 400 calories. In 25 minutes. I have NEVER burned that much in the same amount of time on the elliptical.

Day 3: Total Body Circuit DVD
Arghhhh! The planks! He was making me do planks. A LOT OF PLANKING. And push-ups. Then again, the time spent doing push-ups helped me forget that my calves were on FIRE from the previous day's workout. That's right... I did make myself get up on my toes and hop and my calves yelled at me the entire next day.
~~ Yep, you guessed it. I was still following Tania most of the time. Especially during the 'tap shoulder/push-up'. Yikes.
~ My goal by the end of this is to be able to do more moves without modifying. I know that the stronger my legs get, the more I'll be able to do without modifying.

Day 4: Ab Interval DVD
Holy hell. That is a little bit more intense than I usually do on my own with just varying crunches. Ouch. Staying in a 'V' position on the floor really puts the focus and strain on your abs.
~~ Oh, yeah. I was modifying it up! Even with the modifier, my abs were being pushed hard core.

Day 5: Lower Focus
I am pretty sure that my quads, if at all possible, would have jumped out of my body during this workout and stabbed me repeatedly. That way, I'd feel their pain exactly.
~~ Thank god Tania is there to show you the modifier.
~~ Sadly, I did have to back off and release a few times due the pain/strain that I was feeling, mainly in those stabby quads. I'm am ever hopeful and optimistic that over time, I'll get better at those moves. (Although the grunting noises coming from the crew on the DVD tells me that you never truly 'get used to it'.

I didn't do the Double Day Friday. After doing Lower Focus, I was focused on staying alive so I didn't throw in the Cardio DVD again. Let's build up to that, shall we?


I survived my first week of T25 and I felt great because I did keep pushing myself and didn't quit. I am hopeful that if I stick with this and make sure I eat enough food that I will see some body changes soon. I've been making more of an effort to eat less fast food and making sure I get enough protein and carbs.


Wish me luck as I start the 2nd week!