Focus T25 – Week 1 (Beta)

The Beta phase of Focus T25 is a welcome change!  Not only are most of the workouts a little more challenging, but I finally get to use my dumbbells.

Here is an outline of what the Beta workouts entail:

Cardio core – I would venture to say that this is the most exhausting of the five workouts in this phase.  Everything you do somehow engages the core.  Lots of jumping and twisting which means lots and lots of sweat!
Speed 2.0 – Like in the alpha phase, the focus of this workout is still speed and agility with everything being 2x faster.  I like how he breaks the workout up into different levels that progress in speed (a little hard to explain).  This is one of my favorites!
Rip’t Circuit – I was expecting this workout to be hell, but it’s easier than the Total Body Circuit workout from the Alpha phase.  It’s a mix of bodyweight and dumbbell moves that work the entire body.  A little disappointed by this one to be honest.
Dynamic Core – Again, this workout includes lots of jumping and twisting to engage the core.  For the first half of the workout, you do a bunch of standing exercises, and for the second half, you move down to the floor.  What makes this go by quickly is the bursts of cardio in between the various moves.
Upper Focus – This workout also uses dumbbells, which I love!  There’s a little bit of everything – jabs, punches, raises, curls, presses, and even some core work towards the end.  And of course, there’s a little bit of cardio to keep things interesting!

What week one looked like for me:

Monday – Core cardio
Tuesday – Speed 2.0
Wednesday  – Rip’t Circuit
Thursday – Dynamic Core + 2.0 mile run
Friday – Upper Focus + 2.0 mile run
Saturday – Core cardio
Sunday – REST!

My initial thoughts on Beta:

I like all of the workouts except for Rip’t Circuit (and only because it’s not as hard as I think it should have been).  Perhaps upping the amount of weight I’m lifting will change my mind…we’ll see!  Overall, I’m still working up a good amount of sweat after each and feeling really good.  I think I’ll be able to fit in more runs during the week, especially since most of the workouts aren’t heavily focused on the bottom half of the body.  Woo hoo!

Shaun T. and his crew are still great.  I love his style and how he coaches and motivates you through the workouts.  And just like in the Alpha phase, you can really tell that everyone finds the workouts to be challenging.  There are literally little pools of sweat by most of the people – intense I tell you!

Progress:

I was talking to Vishnu about the program over the weekend and telling him that I definitely feel stronger than I did six weeks ago, especially in my legs.  And even though my core looks nothing like I want it to, it also feels a lot stronger than before.  And I’m able to do the majority of the core moves without modifying which is a huge win for me.

As far as inches lost, I am yet again hesitant to say anything.  What I can tell you is that I think I’ve lost a tiny bit from everywhere I measured.  Hey, I’ll take it!  We’ll see what the final count is at the end of this phase.

Here’s to an even better week 2!

What did your week of workouts look like?

And just in case you’re interested in my weekly recaps…

Alpha Week 1 
Alpha Week 2 
Alpha Week 3 
Alpha Week 4 
Alpha Week 5