JustSilence

Focus T25 Day5a (Lower)

315 calories

Barely made it.

I wasn’t able to do the Focus T25 program on the suggested day (Friday). That morning, I had my regular workout and we went for a moonlight paddle in the nearby bay in the evening. Saturday didn’t work out very well, as we had other commitments. I knew that I would have time on Sunday to do the double T25 workout, so I didn’t worry about it.

I know that’s not as ideal as a Friday session, which leaves two days of rest before the next week. But it’s the best I could do with my schedule.

So, the lower body workout. It wasn’t as bad as Day 4’s ab intervals, or day 2/3’s total body. But it was tiring. The squats and especially squat pulses almost killed me. That’s right, spontaneous human combustion because my legs were on fire.

Well, not quite that bad, but squat after squat was too much. I concentrated more on getting the movements right, rather than keeping up. This was especially true on the lunge squat progressions, where I was could not keep my balance during the hops. I slowed it down, and, while still a little off-balance, I didn’t feel like I was on the edge of falling over.

Focus T25 Day 4 (Ab Intervals)

275 calories. (estimated)

Barely made it.

The 275 calories (according to the Fitbit) was an estimate. I forgot to start the timer until 1:45 left in the routine. I rounded up to two minutes and then extrapolated it to the full 25 minutes. Granted, it’s not the most accurate, but since I question the Fitbit’s accounting as well, I’m not worried.

I have a Fitbit Surge which measures the heart rate, but I found it to be inaccurate much of the time, underestimating it considerably during heavy work. I first noticed it at the gym, when I’d be huffing and puffing and it would read something like 120bpm, when I know it was 145+. Fitbit calculates the calories burned by taking the heart rate into account, so the good news is that all these burned calories during heavy work are most likely being underreported.

Now back to the routine. This was a tough one. My nemesis in a typical workout (non-T25) has traditionally been planking. For a while, I had done pretty well; a year and a half ago, I did the 30 day (make that 20 or so day) plank challenge and was able to make it past the three minute  mark. However, due to subsequent inactivity, I now shake uncontrollably after one minute.

So with the planking and Superman exercises in this routine, I was modifying a lot. Actually cheating. Well, if you look at Shaun T or the others when they sit in the ‘V’ position, their hands are placed down by their hips. I couldn’t do that. My hands were out to the side and behind my back. Of course this is giving me support so I’m not working the abs as much.

Plus, I can’t get my back as straight as in the video, and my knees were bent more than most. I have a lot to work on.

At the end of the routine, I didn’t feel sore (other that my calves from the previous day), so I suspect that I didn’t work my abs as much as I should have. In the future, I will need to…dare I say…Focus.

Focus Day 3 (Total Body)

276 calories.

Barely made it.

Still sore from yesterday’s Focus T25 session and an unrelated evening total body workout, I started on Day 3. After about five minutes into it, I noticed that it was awfully similar to Day 2, with its numerous pushups and squats. I realized that my Day 2 workout was not Speed 1.0, but this one, Total Body. I had the choice of stopping the video and starting Speed 1.0 instead, but I already put in five minutes of work and I wasn’t going to waste it.

It also gave me the chance to improve on yesterday’s disaster. I was at home again so I didn’t have to watch it on a tiny screen. It helped considerably.

Even so, I was still winded and could not make it through the pushup/plank session without modifying a lot. I had less trouble today on the footwork as well, although I’m still not satisfied with it. I slowed it down a little so while I didn’t keep up, I had more control over my movements and that is important.

All in all, I felt much better about my effort today than yesterday. As of right now (about an hour after completing Day 3), my calves are still sore, and while I can feel it in the rest of my body, I’m not doing too bad.

Update: Day 2 is supposed to be Speed 1.0 but I selected the wrong video. So this is about the total body workout.

Focus T25 Day 2 (Speed 1.0) No, wait, it was total body.

290 calories.

Barely made it.

I wasn’t at home when I started the workout and the laptop couldn’t decode the video file so I had to watch it on my phone. It was not ideal because I could not read what moves I was doing or even get a good look at the moves.

That probably didn’t have much of an effect anyway, as I would have stumbled my way through this routine regardless. There were lot of pushups, lunges and footwork. I couldn’t keep up, especially with the footwork and pushups. I couldn’t see the modifiers due to the small screen, so I ended up just jogging in place about ten percent of the time. I was especially tired and noticed that, near the end, I would take about two second breaks between exercises, which I didn’t do on day 1. I need to work on that.

I’d say that the biggest problem with today was that my footwork was terrible. I was trying to keep up but I didn’t have the control necessary. It didn’t help that the mat I was using was slipping. Next time around, I’ll go slower. Even if I’m out of sync with everyone on the video, I’m sure I’ll do much better.

Afterwards, my calves were sore. Very sore. Later that day was my regular full-body gym workout, which includes five minutes of rope jumping as a warmup. I didn’t think I’d make it through.

I did, though, and while my calves are still sore, I’m ready for day 3.

I am considered overweight. Apparently a BMI of exactly 25 was enough to prompt my doctor at Kaiser Permanente to add “obesity” to my ongoing health conditions. While I would rather like to attribute my weight to height ratio to bulging muscles (hey, I’ve been working out!), I know that I could drop a few pounds.

I used to be thin. Well, that is until I started a desk job. In high school, my weight dropped down below 130lbs. I’ll admit it was not a healthy weight for someone 6’3″ tall. 24 years later, here I am at 200lbs. Nobody would accuse me of being thin anymore. However, few would call me fat, either. It’s not a bad weight, but I’d like to drop a few pounds.

I already go to the gym about three times per week for an hour each session. I like our trainer; she’s doing the best she can with us. But I also wanted something to do at home, every day.

Enter Focus T25.

It’s  a 25 minute workout that I can do at home. The before and after pictures and stories are impressive (but then again, you never hear about those who give up after a week).

So I started it yesterday. And here’s how it goes.

Focus T25 Day 1 (Cardio)

345 calories.

Nailed it.

I started in the morning, in the living room. I actually did pretty well. If I could find the poster, I’d mark “Nailed it”. The moves were straightforward and not very advanced. I was winded a few times and had to modify, but for the most part, I could keep up. The Fitbit reported 345 calories burned, although I’m not too confident on that, especially the heart rate.