Focus T25

Welcome to Try-Athlete the blog where I try all the latest fitness and diet trends so you don't have to. This week I tried the newest workout from BeachBody called "Focus T25," the workouts are taught by Shaun T the same guy that brings you Insanity and Asylum.
I had received an email from BeachBody notifying me that Focus T25 was out and I could order it. I was intrigued immediately so I watched the commercial for it and it was on. The commercial claims all the workouts are 25 minutes long hence the name T25 and it boasts that you can get just as good results with these twenty five minute workouts as an hour workout. The slogan is "It's about time," so we ordered it and it arrived Monday.
It was time to see if this workout would give the same results Insanity or Asylum gives in only 25 minutes. The first workout was "Cardio" it was pretty easy and I got through it without breaking a sweat. It was a good workout but nothing like Insanity which I am used to. We built on the exercises so instead of just doing switch kicks we started with a low kick and added on from there.
Tuesday I did "Speed 1.0" it was a bit harder than Cardio but still not as tough as I'm used to. We built on exercises again and had to do them faster and faster. It involved a lot of jumping and cross jumps too. This workout made me sweat but only a little.
Wednesday was "Total Body Circuit" and let me tell you, up to this point I had underestimated this new workout. Total Body Circuit kicked my ass...and in only 25 minutes and I dripping with sweat. Sweat was pouring down my face, I even got some in my eyes. Everything was covered in sweat! This was what I had been waiting for, a hard core workout in only 25 minutes. We worked core, legs, arms...everything. We did push-ups and squats and lots of jumps too it was tough to get through this workout. I was stoked at the end of this workout because I knew T25 was going to give me the results it promised.
Thursday was "Ab Intervals" which focused on all ab work. This workout left me sweaty and sore. My abs and my lats were hurting, which was exciting for me because that meant I had worked them hard. We did plank holds and added jumping and piking to them. Each exercise got harder and harder till I was almost unable to do them because I was so tired from the previous exercise.
Friday was double time, I had to do 2 of the workouts so a total of 50 minutes. I started with "Lower Focus" which is all about the lower body and had a lot of lunges and squats and was a pretty good workout. Then when I was finished with that I had to do "Cardio" which I had started with Monday. Doing it by itself is one thing but doing another workout before it is another. I am excited to see what week 2 is gonna be like. After my double workout I can't wait to see how each week gets harder.
Overall, I think I got a great workout this week. At the beginning of the week I wasn't sure but by the end of the week my faith was restored and I know I'm going to get results from Focus T25. So untill next week stay fit!

Trampoline Hot Mess

Welcome to Try-Athlete, the blog where I try the latest fitness and diet trends so you don't have to. This week I tried working out on a trampoline. I signed up for a trampoline class at the trapeze school in Los Angeles, CA. One of my friends had told me about a trampoline class she had been to and it sounded tough but fun. When I signed up for this trampoline class I didn't realize it wasn't anything like the class my friend had been to.
When I got to school it was located on the Santa Monica Pier. It was outside so tourists and onlookers could watch you. Since it was located on the pier it smelled like cotton candy and popcorn. The trampoline was an Olympic size trampoline and the class ended being learning tricks on the trampoline. Usually each class had about 4 people in them and each person worked on a trick and then the next person would go and the others would observe and watch.
In my class it was just me, I was the only one who signed up that day. I was super excited because that meant the whole hour would just me learning tricks on the trampoline. My instructor had me stretch out to start, when I got on the trampoline he had me learn basic jumps. How to jump the correct way and then had me do jump turns the correct way. He taught me how to stop myself if I got out of control and how to always be safe.
After I had learned the basics he taught me how to do different kinds of jumps. When I had all 4 down he had me do series with all of them together. This was about the time of the class when I started to get tired. The sun was out and it was hot, I was sweating a lot. Then we moved on to back-flips, the instructor put a harness on me to protect me during the backflips. Backflips look really fun and I was very excited to try them. I did 2 of them and I was exhausted. You use almost every muscle to do a backflip and I was already tired before I started the backflips.
After the backflips I got a much needed break. I was sweating and the sun was beating down on me and I was tired. I workout all the time and do hard workouts everyday so I didn't know why this was effecting me in such a way. I couldn't believe I had 20 minutes left in the class and I wasn't sure if I could finish the hour class. After the break I started doing the jumps I had already learned and then moved on to a jump where you fall back, your back hits the trampoline and bounces back up. On one of the attempts of this jump I did a backwards summersault on accident because I got to much bounce and I hurt something in my neck. I probably should have stopped at that time but I wanted to finish the class and it was just sore it wasn't hurting when I moved it. The last 10 minutes of the class where the hardest I had no energy left and I was so hot. The class ended with going over everything I had learned and I really had to use my mind to get through it because I was so exhausted.
When the class was over I felt nauseous and fatigued. I realized if their had been other people in the class it would have given me more breaks I wouldn't have gotten so worked. I would recommend this class to someone who was adventurous with their workout and wanted to learn new things. I would say make sure for your first class that you aren't the only person in the class. Even though I had a somewhat bad experience I would try this class again. I would take a friend with me and make sure other people had signed up for the class. Have a great week and until next time stay fit.

Summer Slump

Welcome to Try-Athlete, the blog where I try all the latest fitness and diet trends so you don't have to. We are in the heat of summer and this last week I went on vacation. I got back Friday and I have found it very hard to find the motivation to workout. Even as the "Try-Athlete" I love to try new fitness trends but this week I just didn't have any motivation.
It's summer so it's extremely important to look good in your swimsuit. Since I just got back from vacation and don't have anything planned yet I had no motivation. I was also busy after work each day so I used that as an excuse but I ALWAYS make time to workout so I knew something was up. It's been over a 112 degrees everyday here in Palm Springs, CA where I live and I used the heat as an excuse as well. Neither of those things is a valid excuse because you can always make time to workout and you can always go to a fitness class or gym that will be in air-conditioning.
I decided to reach out on Twitter and asked my followers "how do you get out of a workout slump?" I received so many helpful comments and advice. One person told me to have make a new goal for myself. I thought this was great advice because whenever I have a goal or trip planned I workout extra hard because of it. I really want to run a marathon this year and their is one in Vegas in November so I'm seriously thinking about training for it. Also their is a new BeachBody workout with my favorite trainer Shaun T so I could buy that too. I'm also researching a trip to Hawaii in August so maybe that will be motivation as well.
Another person said they stand in front of the mirror for 10 minutes before getting in the shower everyday. Looking at yourself will motivate you to workout to get the body you had before or the body you have always wanted. Admire what you like and see what you want to tweak.
Someone else said take a break and refocus. This is also great advice because giving yourself a couple days off to rest will refocus your mind and then you can get back into it.
After reading all these helpful comments I was ready to get back in the game. I had taken a week off due to my vacation and lack of motivation. But instead of getting down on myself which would just make me feel worse about myself, I decided to make good choices starting today. I decided to go for a run even though it was very hot outside and I had a lot of things on my to-do list for today.
I ran for a little over 2 miles and my confidence and motivation is slowly coming back. I'm still in shape and will continue to build on my fitness level and accomplish my goals and dreams. So when you are in a fitness slump and can't find your motivation don't get down on yourself it happens to everyone. Happy to say I'm back in the saddle so until next time stay fit.