Focus T25 Workout: What To Know
The most common New Year's resolution is to lose weight, usually by dieting or exercise or both, but you can start a fitness program at any time of the year. If you want to sweat at home rather than pay for a gym, there are numerous videos designed to help get you fit. However, finding the right one can be a challenge since some may be too challenging if you haven't worked out in a while or if you have certain physical limitations. If you are new to fitness or would like to work out but find your time limited, the Focus T25 workout might be just what you need.
Focus T25 comes from the same trainer that designed the ever-popular Insanity Fitness program: Shaun T. He promises to deliver an intense workout in 25 minutes a day, five days a week, for 10 weeks. Each workout focuses on different areas of fitness like cardio, strength, and even flexibility, sometimes combining them in a single workout. There are two main phases in the program, the Alpha phase, which builds your strength and stamina via bodyweight cardio and exercises, and the Beta phase, which adds to the base you created in Alpha by including tougher cardio and weights. There is a third optional phase, Gamma, but it is generally sold separately.
Focus T25 comes from the same trainer that designed the ever-popular Insanity Fitness program: Shaun T. He promises to deliver an intense workout in 25 minutes a day, five days a week, for 10 weeks. Each workout focuses on different areas of fitness like cardio, strength, and even flexibility, sometimes combining them in a single workout. There are two main phases in the program, the Alpha phase, which builds your strength and stamina via bodyweight cardio and exercises, and the Beta phase, which adds to the base you created in Alpha by including tougher cardio and weights. There is a third optional phase, Gamma, but it is generally sold separately.
For each T25 workout, Shaun T takes you through a warm-up cycle which gradually gets more intense before diving into the workout. However, don't think these are slow, monotonous movements with plenty of breaks! In order to fit everything into 25 minutes, he and his demonstrators shift from one move to the next without stopping. It can be hard to keep up with at first, but you'll find that the time flies by, and before you know it, you're done with your workout for the day.
Luckily for those new to exercise and in need of modifications, one of Shaun T's cast, Tania, offers low-impact variations of all the exercises. If you ever feel like the "normal" versions of the exercises are too much or you get tired during the workout (and you will!), follow Tania for safer modifications which improve your fitness without compromising safety.
Although the Focus T25 workout program touts that it's only 25 minutes a day, it actually isn't. Usually, there is a two to three minute cool-down after the main workout which is crucial for bringing down your heart rate and stretching out your muscles. At no point do you want to stop everything right after the main workout because just stopping can have negative effects on your fitness goals.
Also, the "five days a week" promise isn't quite accurate either. If you look at the schedule, you find that the workouts actually double up on Friday and have an optional, but not so optional for your fitness goals, stretching and recovery video on Saturdays. If you decided to spread out the two workouts on Fridays to Saturdays and move the recovery video to Sundays, you're looking at a program that's really six to seven days a week.
If you're looking for even more of a challenge in less than 30 minutes, continue on to the Gamma phase after completing the Alpha and Beta rounds. It suggests using heavier weights, utilizes harder exercises, and calls for more intensity and focus than the previous two phases.
While the videos are closer to 30 minutes long and at least six days a week, the Focus T25 workout program can be a great introduction to fitness or a wonderful challenge that doesn't take up much time. It can even serve as an "Introduction to Insanity" for some to get you fit enough to start the Insanity program at the end of the Alpha and Beta phase of T25.