FOCUS T25: Week 1

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This thread reserved for discussion during the first week of the program. What worked for you, and what didn't work? How are you modifying the moves to accommodate your fitness level.

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  • chandraminick
    chandraminick Posts: 452 Member
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    I just finished day 1: Alpha Cardio. It went by way faster than I thought it would. I looked at the counter around 18 minutes remaining and then again about 10 minutes, and then it flew by. I'm waiting on an eBay auction for a heart rate monitor and calorie counter. I'm sure it will help me focus on working out at the right level of intensity so that I can try to "nail it". I think I nailed some of the target ranges, but definitely not on all of the exercises, so I just put "barely made it" for today. I am 5'3" and 192 lbs, so I don't expect to be able to nail it all the way through because I have more fat mass than lean trained muscle like the bad *kitten* in the DVD. I did modifications on all but one of the beginning moves, and just trying to keep form as well as T. was a challenge, but I kept the focus and put the intensity into the L.I. moves using the trick to push off the floor with the balls of the feet like he coached; and, that did help a lot when keeping the abs tight. I don't think there was anything that I didn't like except that my sports bra is too small, and it gives me headaches from too much pressure on the muscles around my neck, but it will have to do until I loose some weight. I would like to have Shakeology, but want to make sure I commit before investing. I made my own protein smoothie with a banana, blueberries, and some weird veggies no one wants to read about for breakfast. I've been doing this for a while and plan to eat these all week with the addition of boiled egg whites, light string cheese and turkey breast for snacks. I'm keeping the smoothies around 175 calories and the protein meals around 300 like the quick start guide. I'm still working on a meal plan for next week.
  • katie2400
    katie2400 Posts: 78 Member
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    Day 1 in the books, again! lol my knee has been bothering me a bit so i modified some of the moves. Didn't go over my calories! On Halloween no less!
    I have heard from some friends and online fitness trainers that the shakeology isn't the best. it's so expensive as well. i did some research and decided to buy my own protein pwd and i put amazing grass in it. Get my protein and all my greens and superfoods for a reasonable price!
  • chandraminick
    chandraminick Posts: 452 Member
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    FOCUS T25 SPEED 1.0 AKA day 2 done! So, eight hoursafter cardio yesterday I started to get really sore. I took some pamprin and rotated ice packs and a heating pad for about an hour and mmost of that declined in intensity. This morning it was gone. SPEED 1.0 was a lot less difficult for me than cardio. I performed better this morning even though I did a lot of modification. I did do one round of " hop hop turn" without much trouble, but modified the Heisman so that I could slow down and contract better on my form. Still not nailing it, but definitely a little better than just made it. Did not eat any junk food yesterday, and stayed within my range. Going to go catch some rays and kill it again today!
  • chandraminick
    chandraminick Posts: 452 Member
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    Today I previewed total body workout and stretch. Not only did I preview them, I also did a test run. I sweated like crazy, but the total body workout wasn't all that bad doing modifications. Stretch was a little more difficult than I had figured. It was actually quite challenging, but I feel really good and am quite happy that I found a program that I can actually do considering I am fat and 43. I think Stretch wouldn't have been as difficult if my belly wasn't in the way, but I can see already that is going to resolve itself quite quickly. I followed my meal plans again today, and feel pretty proud of what I have accomplished in the past few days. I think another benefit of this program is that the moves help the body to push things through the intestinal tract quicker. I have been struggling just to get a few pounds off during the past month, and in the past two days, I have lost five pounds. I'm sure some is from burning calories, but most is from moving blockages from my gut because the hard lump I used to have in front under my ribs is gone. I can see much more success than I originally estimated, and I'm going to push through this hard as I can!
  • kitawmi
    kitawmi Posts: 10 Member
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    Week 1 Day 1 - 11/1/2016
    Week 1 Day 2 - Completed this morning. I am heading to work now.
  • chandraminick
    chandraminick Posts: 452 Member
    edited November 2016
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    FOCUS T25 TOTAL BODY WORKOUT AKA day 3. I really need to invest in some sweat bands rather than the rag shoved onto my waist band, and maybe even the head band. I had 150 calories worth of whole wheat thin macaroni and ground turkey red sauce about 30 minutes before this workout. I did that last might too, and it helped with sustaining the workout. I'm having a difficult time eating enough with just smoothies and protein because I always have no appetite the first few weeks of a new program. Then, about the third week I have cravings and wind up binging, so this time isn't all about loosing weight again. I'm looking for recepies that will sustain workouts , satisfy to combat binges and still lost weight because I already know from experience that eating only like 800 to 1000 calories a day doesn't make me lose weight nearly as fast as slow and steady at 1000- 1200. This afternoon I might give the abs interval DVD a trial run.
  • paytenpar
    paytenpar Posts: 34 Member
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    Day 3 Complete for me! I am loving these workouts so far!!

    For meals, I love to eat chicken breast baked, which sounds so boring. Lately I've been making a nice salad with spinach, black beans (that I cooked myself), tomato, and a few small pieces of avocado. That has been pretty filling for me! I also make protein smoothies from home after my workout- I ordered Shakology, but am using Muscle Milk while I wait for it to arrive. Another thing I love to make is meatballs with the leanest ground beef with protein noodles and a little sauce. I usually make 6 meatballs from 1lb of beef and will eat 1 (1 1/2 if I'm really hungry). So delicious and filling!!!
  • chandraminick
    chandraminick Posts: 452 Member
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    FOCUS T25 AB INTERVALS AKA day 4, and I got spanked! Don't try to do this one on anything other than an empty stomach. It is a lot of work, and I think it will be the most difficult of all of the routines in Alpha. I took some pics ofy gut yesterday to compare with my preworkout pics, and I can already see a difference. I'm excited to take my second stats Saturday. I think an intervals only burns about 200 calories for my weight and height, so I'm going to do Lowe body focus tonight and tomorrow to get the bigger calorie deficit today.
  • paytenpar
    paytenpar Posts: 34 Member
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    I LOVED Ab intervals! I'm genuinely surprised because I usually dread Ab workouts, but man one made me feel so good! I burned 227 calories according to my polar A360, so 200 is probably accurate! Even though it was low cardio, I'm still dripping sweat!
  • chandraminick
    chandraminick Posts: 452 Member
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    I gave lower focus a test run today. It wasn't too bad. It was a lot like the previous routines with squats, lunges and cardio. The toughest past was probably pulsing in the lunges, but not ridiculously hard. I did have to come out of that move early each time, but the routine went by really fast. Tomorrow is our double workout day.
  • katie2400
    katie2400 Posts: 78 Member
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    Halloween has crushed me! there is so much candy at work! But i'm pushing through!
  • chandraminick
    chandraminick Posts: 452 Member
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    Day 5 double routines: For the first routine, I did lower body focus. Giving it a trial run last night helped me today because I knew the moves and the pace. In between workouts, I took my dog for a 20 minute walk, and then I did cardio last. I reread what I wrote about cardio the first time I did it. I was surprised that I much better this time able to many more of the unmodified moves for the right length of time. Some are still unobtainable for my fitness level and weight of course, but I am happy over all. Afterwards, I went shopping and did meal prep for the coming week. My newest find for my veggie smoothies is PB FIT powdered peanut butter. It was absolutely wonderful with my chocolate protein powder. Tomorrow will be a well deserved recovery day.
  • katie2400
    katie2400 Posts: 78 Member
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    Really been enjoying these workouts! Had a bit of set backs in the nutrition dept over halloween.. but back at it today.
  • chandraminick
    chandraminick Posts: 452 Member
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    katie2400 wrote: »
    Really been enjoying these workouts! Had a bit of set backs in the nutrition dept over halloween.. but back at it today.

    I agree about these workouts. I was doing Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred before this. Those workouts were only 20 minutes each, but these seem to go faster even with the cool down. I like them more because they are more intense than the Shred, and the fitness level you can reach is more defininitive. I am sleeping better this week, and I am walking better and taller without as much gut pulling me forward and off balance. I'm looking forward to what I can achieve this week. Yesterday I even went to the lake and walked around the trails for 45 minutes because it is still sunny and about 60 in Idaho this November! With the 30 Day Shred circuits involving pushups are popular. I found my self getting the urge to do pushups right there on the trail every time my heart rate elevated, so I just did them because it felt right. Before I left, I had done four sets of ten, and worked up a sweat. Another bonus of this type of training. I'm going to go back out today before the weather changes, and just do whatever feels right. It is a paved trail, and I think it would be a good idea while taking a leisurely walk to just take a jump rope so, that if the feeling hit, bust out a little higher intensity cardio or use it to help stretch.
  • paytenpar
    paytenpar Posts: 34 Member
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    Am I the only one who sweated during that Stretch workout?! Haha! I'm still loving all of these and I'm excited to start Week 2!!!