Focus T25 by Shaun T - Just starting. Accountability and motivation.
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@Heartlight441 I don't know if you have ever done a workout like T25 before, but I think you are going to find that your body is going to need more than 1200 calories a day. I imagine you are eating at 1200 calories because you set your profile to sedentary and to lose 2 pounds a week. The reason I assume that is because I'm a 200+ lb male and MFP only gives me 1500 a day.
That amount of calories takes into account zero activity. I wear a HRM when I do T25 and I find it burns anywhere from 280-320 calories. I find that if I continue to eat at the restricted amount I can last for a couple days but then just get burnt out. I literally get to the point where I HAVE to eat more, and once I let myself get to the point of being that hungry I will overeat. I have now learned to listen to my body and know when I am actually hungry, I believe your body will start to tell you the same thing. Don't eat more just because you think you should, eat more if your body tells you too. For someone to not see results doing this program, they are either way over eating, or not doing all of the exercises.
It is my opinion that if you should be able to continue having a 1200-1300 calorie base but on days when you work out you are going to need to bump it up by a couple hundred. T25 is extremely intense and you will sweat buckets. Your legs will ache, your feet will hurt, your arms will burn, but at the end of each workout you will feel amazing. Your body is probably going to need the extra fuel. The neat part that I found is when I first started I was modifying and resting some of the time, I kept thinking it was going to get easier but as my body got used to the hard work I was able to modify and rest less making the workout just as hard if not harder than before. Anyone that can do all of workouts, unmodified at full speed is a fitness freak. I can only dream of getting to that level of fitness.
No need to wait until Monday, pop in Alpha cardio today and get to it! The sooner you start it, the sooner you can look back and thank yourself for putting in the effort. I know I am mad at myself for doing so well and then just stopping it!
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Wow thank you SO SO much!! You said what I needed to hear!
I'm also trying to fit in my C25K with this as I'm in week 4 now and don't want to have to stop. I'll have to figure out how to work this in. It's 3 days a week.
I think I will definitely stagger my calories to bump up a bit more on those days I do this... I am still looking over the schedule too so just figuring it out.0 -
Thanks girls I think I will move onto Beta and will try it for a week to decide if it's right for me, that way I at least tried and if I need to redo Alpha I will. I'm a bit intimidated by weights because I have such poor strength in my upper body I'm sure alot to do with the areas I also had radiotherapy focused on. We shall see how it goes I am a week and a half off yet and have ordered in the weights!
Update on my wrong areas I measured which was meant to be waist bust and hip.. actually bust belly button and just below hip I guess haha. Another 3 and a half inches lost. I will have to update on my sheet but going to wait.. I have stayed same weight all week no change but my lower back is taking great shape my inner lower thighs calf and shoulder blades/bust area. Keep tightening straps on my bras at least every week. Two pairs of jeans that didn't fit me a month ago now fit comfortably and baggy in the leg (super skinnies too no stretch in them) yet I believe I've only lost 3-4lbs in total!
@50extra - welcome to the thread alot of people just starting right where you are. Everyone is welcome to this thread for any support and motivation they need. I look forward to your updates.
@SCP0914 - perfect timing a few of the people on the thread are wee one alpha. Goodluck and keep us informed.
@Heartlight441 - I wouldn't worry so much about calories to how you feel I'm set at 1200 and try to stay at that although the book said 1600 I find this works well for my energy sometimes I eat back workout call taking me above 1400 but knowing I have 1600 at best I don't panic if I go slightly over this keeps me fairly sane. So far I'm doing okay I find it very hard to eat alot. Now I've added protein to up my cals I'm more energetic and I know it's purely healthy satisfying food going into my body.
@real149 - I thought exactly the same I assumed with meats etc I was eating alot of protein boy how wrong was I!! My protein was always my lowest in my macro or fat and carbs sky high.. I'm making changes now I've been logging my food thanks to an earlier poster.. now it's starting to even out a little but could still do with alot of help. Slowly but surely I will win the race.0 -
So happy to see all the new posts! It's great to have motivation to get fit. I had to miss T25 last night because I did something to my shoulder and didn't want to make it worse. I was able to get the elliptical in though. Saturday marks 2 weeks for me, wondering if I should do my measurements again or wait.0
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@Heartlight441 I found it extremely difficult to mix in C25K and T25 at the same time. I am not saying it is impossible but I found it difficult. The only way I was able to do it was to run during my daughters nap at around noon and then hit the T25 with my wife at around 9-10pm. I'm not a very experienced runner and my legs get quite sore so doing a workout like lower focus after doing a 28 minute run was difficult. My personal opinion is that my T25 does more for my body than the running did so if I was only going to work out once it was with T25. I did try to run first and then jump into a T25 workout shortly after and failed at it miserably. Also I did a T25 workout and tried to hop on the treadmill after and that wasn't going to work either.
T25 is extremely demanding on the lower half, at least it was for me at the start, which is why it makes it so hard to do both at the same time.0 -
Ohhhh thanks for that warning!! I will attempt it but be ok to drop the C25K as I suspect my cardio will be improving with this program alone!@Heartlight441 I found it extremely difficult to mix in C25K and T25 at the same time. I am not saying it is impossible but I found it difficult. The only way I was able to do it was to run during my daughters nap at around noon and then hit the T25 with my wife at around 9-10pm. I'm not a very experienced runner and my legs get quite sore so doing a workout like lower focus after doing a 28 minute run was difficult. My personal opinion is that my T25 does more for my body than the running did so if I was only going to work out once it was with T25. I did try to run first and then jump into a T25 workout shortly after and failed at it miserably. Also I did a T25 workout and tried to hop on the treadmill after and that wasn't going to work either.
T25 is extremely demanding on the lower half, at least it was for me at the start, which is why it makes it so hard to do both at the same time.
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Heartlight441 wrote: »My kit arrived! I was going to start last night but I want to read through the booklet first and get the poster up on the wall etc. I decided I'll start next week (Monday). Did you all follow the nutrition? I'm supposed to eat for 1600 calories and this really has me nervous. I've been eating between 1200 and 1300 and losing well. Do you really feel 1600 is necessary on this program? I do want to make sure I have energy to give it my all, but don't want my weight losses to stall and god-forbid to gain! Thx Real149 even said she went up to 1800 but that scares me to go up so much. I'm currently 161.8 and my goal is 140. Once there, then I'll set a new goal as I'm only 5'3".
My advice is to just see how you feel, if you start feeling lethargic then bump your calories up until you have enough energy to really give it your all
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@RachelRiley87 start low with the weights, you can always buy heavier ones at a later date as you increase body strength best to do lower weights and go through the full range of movement for each rep than risk pulling a muscle 2
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Thanks @kittehkitteh88! I actually decided to increase from 1200 to 1400 or 1500 depending on activity that day BUT I don't eat back any of my activity calories 'earned'. I have a fitbit (Blaze) which will be good to see how many calories I'm burning. I will definitely monitor how I'm feeling and adjust up or down as needed but the more I'm thinking on this, 1200 is not enough to start with. Even now with all my walking and my C25K, I feel I'm pushing a bit low. I am trying to get out of the mindset of losing on the scale, to fueling like an athlete. I'm definitely going to take before/during/after pics and measurements because I'm hoping for body recomposition and not just to be 'skinny fat'. 0
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Ok so I literally just finished Alpha Cardio and just like I suspected it felt like the first time again. This time my feet were on fire and my hip flexor kept tightening up. My heart was beating like crazy and each time it got up around 170 beats I had to rest.
The workout was kind of a disaster in itself. I got all setup to do the workout and realized I left the programs in my office. No problem, I'll just do what everyone else does and steal it off the net until tomorrow. So I find a place to stream alpha cardio and start kicking it. 9 minutes in the streaming stops, I hate 2 more minutes and find another place, start streaming again from where I left off but there's no sound, oh well I'll do it to my iPod. 6 minutes left it quits again, restart my computer find a new location and redo the last 10 or so minutes of it.
My HRM says I burned 320 calories over the 30 minutes I was working out and judging by the look of my shirt I believe it.
Tomorrow is speed 1.0 and I will have the discs then and make sure that I don't have these problems again. I'm amazed at how much j lost by taking a month off from the programs.
It doesn't matter though, I'm back at it and sweating my butt off. Now to hit the stationary and burn another couple hundred cals for the night!4 -
In regards to how many calories to eat, I just use what MFP tells me. I have my diary set to lose 1 lb/week and sedentary but I try to eat back my exercise calories (I use a HRM).
I'm excited to try Dynamic Core today but it'll have to wait until tonight since I accidentally overslept.
Have a great day everyone!2 -
Hi all, I did total body circuit today for the first time and boy was it hard, maybe because it didn't have music it felt harder but I was really struggling even with the modifications. Hope all is good for everyone.2
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@50extra, I travel a lot for work too, so i expect I'll get backed up a couple of days if I can't make up the workouts. Which at this rate I doubt, each of these are kicking my butt!
Today was ab intervals and while I didn't have to modify as much as with the other workouts so far, at some point I really just could't lift my legs of the damn mat!0 -
Only a couple more hours to go before the end of my day today. Anyone doing a workout today/tonight? I got Speed 1.0.1
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I did Thursday's workout on Wednesday since I knew I had meetings and stuff after work so I'm still on schedule, but it felt odd to not do anything yesterday. I had planned to workout over lunch, but I completely overslept and in my rush to hit the road I left my gym bag.
Today will be my first double duty day for Beta...I think it's Upper Focus and Core Cardio. This will be the first time doing Upper Focus so we'll see how that goes. I definitely lack upper body strength so hopefully it will be challenging but doable!1 -
@kittehkitteh88 - yes I will build up from the lowest weights, even that has me terrified though. I'm half excited though as this week I feel I'm finally managing more of the workouts before I burn out in different exercises. I'm not sure if it's because I'm not doing whey protein and a banana half hr to hr before I work out or if I've just generally improved.
@50extra - I have abs and speed today but I may do speed tomorrow it really depends if I can fit it in have a great workout speeds my favorite!Also total body is my hardest with the planks and push ups but I've learned to love it as I feel I'm getting the most out of doing these even thou i modify plank this last week I've attempted to do them unmodified and I'm doing 50/50 which I couldn't do to start.
@blessedmommy87 - hope you managed to fit in your workout x
@argieach - I just did abs and I can barely lift my leg off the mat either.. it starts to shake uncontrollably and I wonder if it's still working my core at all.. I don't know if I'll get better I manage only a few seconds each side but I do try.. just sucks there is really no modifying on some as most I can even do the modified version of. I was told some people put in insanity abs instead of the focus t25 and meant to be easier to start from.. I don't know if this is true or not but I'm going to stick to the programme as it is for now.
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@motivatedsister - Goodluck with the workouts let us know how you got on and if you double up or split the days. I'm really interested in learning more about the upper focus I don't watch the dvds ahead. Since I have more time the past few weeks with just main work events I think I'll be able to dedicate a couple of hrs to see what I'm letting myself in for.. unless you think it might put me off
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@RachelRiley87 and others... is it recommended to watch them first? I was wondering! Part of me thinks it may be good to have an idea yet another part of me might watch and become scared. ha-ha I'm gearing up for my start on Monday!! SO excited!0
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has anyone done the T25 stretch dvd? I am wondering if it is helpful, I do a lot of stretching on my own but I am thinking maybe it will be worth a try?1
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I did the stretch dvd last time after week 2. It was a god send because I was so sore. I'm a big guy and yoga isn't for me, but that stretching video was a nice break.1
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I haven't done the stretch video once since I've been doing T25. I always say I'm going to, but am too lazy on Sunday lol. I probably need to, I try to get a massage once a month and the therapist always nags me that I need to stretch!
When I first started I was good about at least doing the stretches at the end of the workout, but I've been lax about that too now. I do Pilates and yoga maybe once a week though...need to be better!1 -
@Heartlight441 - I prefer not to know then I learn as I go and time feels faster when my body is breaking but for some people it probably is really nice to be fully prepared! It's personal choice I think.
@cgibs87 - I don't do the stretch dvd I use sunday as a recovery day regardless of if I split up the double day or not.. I like a full day off to rest and recover I will probably add it sometime if I really feel I need to.. as @50extra said if your really sore this could be the remedy.. I'm always telling clients to stretch out when they are in for sports massage people often neglect it. However I find the cool down does wonders and my after exercise whey shake has helped even more so I don't need the extra stretching. If you want to become more flexible maybe add it in or follow programme to a t.. I just don't feel it's necessary and the one time I did try it first week I found it pointless and didn't help .. I felt no different however I was not sore in the first week just a slight bit on shoulders and arms.1 -
Just finished ab interval, I don't like it but I don't like any ab workout. I always get a pain in the neck during and after. @RachelRiley87 There's really not alot off modifiers, I kept on watching Tanya feeling disappointed, lol. But we will get better.1
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When lifting legs off the floor, it's really important to flex your abs first and focus on lifting from there. It's really easy to start arching your back instead, which is a no-no as it puts horrible stress on it. If your core is engaged and your legs are shaking and your back isn't arching, then yes, your abs are definitely working! 1
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So I just finished Speed 1.0 and am extremely happy with my efforts. I make it to the 17 minute mark without stopping or modifying but had to stop quite regularly after that even doing the moves slower. Regardless it felt much better tonight then last night.
Time to hop on the bike and burn off the rest of my chili.0 -
Good morning everyone! How is your STATurday going? Mine started out on a high note. I lost 3 pounds this week! Idk if it's because I started Beta, I tried to drink a lot of water, or what but whatever it is, I'll take it! I've been losing very slowly since starting T25 but I figured I was gaining muscle. I kind of changed my mind set about not focusing so much on the scale but seeing that big (for me) loss was really encouraging. Only 5-10 pounds from my goal weight (shooting for a range of 150-155 lb, I'm 5'10").1
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Surprise date night last night, so no workout yesterday. I was a little bum about missing workouts, but with our schedules the chances of us going out on a Friday night like normal people rarely happens so of course I didn't turn that down. Luckily he told me early enough during the day that I was able to eat a super light lunch so that I could enjoy dinner without worrying about going over calories.
So did my usual BodyPump class this AM, and I just finished up Upper Focus and Core Cardio that I missed yesterday. I have no upper body strength so was looking forward to finally working on that in T25, but I need heavier weights it was way too easy. I used the heaviest I have at home, 5 lbs, and that just wasn't enough.
Struggled through Core Cardio despite the first time doing it on Monday being able to do all the moves. I almost quit...I was dying!
3 lbs is awesome @Blessed_Mommy86 , WTG!0
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