Focus T25 Day 37: Speed 2.0

Welcome back to another review of T25.  Today is day 2 of month 2 and I am really excited to see what the next few weeks hold in terms of my results.  When I talk about results, I'm not just talking about what I see in the mirror and definitely not the number on the scale (that scale is a lying bitch).  I am talking about how much I can accomplish, how I can further challenge myself with each work, and how I can mentally push myself each and every day.  Let's get started with today's review!

Here are some things about this workout before we get started:

• this workout is FAST:  it hits the ground running and doesn't stop until the end;
• this workout is FIERCE:  you will be sweating, you will be pushing your cardio, agility, and mental focus;
• omg, this workout is FUN:  seriously, the most fun yet in the program!

Workout:  Speed 2.0
Time:  25 minutes, plus the cardio cool down, which is 2 1/2 minutes
Equipment:  None

The set-up of this workout is a little different.  Instead of building moves and then doing them all in a burnout, you jump right into the moves.  You repeat them for a whole round, then you do it again, but for fewer counts, then again, and then you move onto the next circuit of moves.  In this workout, there are two circuits, and then you get a little surprise at the end.  :)

There is no warm-up.  This is all cardio and it does...not...stop until the end of 25 minutes.  Brace yourself.

Circuit 1, Round 1:  Do each of these moves for (what I think is) 6 8-counts.  I really tried to count, but the timing is different on several of the moves and I was also trying to focus on actually doing the workout.

• Out and Out Turn:  jack in and out two times to the front, turn left, repeat, center, repeat, right, repeat
• Quick Feet Up and Back:  turned to the right, move your feet quickly up and back, like you're running in place
• Alt. Speed Knee Slow:  we've done this before:  alternate left and right knee up slowly
• Slow Mountain Climber:  start with your right knee up and move slow
• Jab Out:  feet wide, knees bent, jab to the front alternating
• Low Switch Kick:  done this before, too:  do a switch kick, keeping feet low, arms moving fast
• Speed and Agility:  and this:  up center, back center, out wide two
• Up and Over:  aaaaaand this:  lift the left knee, tap the left foot to the outside of the right leg, switch sides

Circuit 1, Round 2:  Do it again, this time cut the 8 counts and do it for 3

Circuit 1, Round 2:  One more time, 2 8 counts this round.  You are moving fast, not only in the movement, but from one to the next

No time for resting, you move straight into the next circuit.  It has the same set-up as the first with doing Round 1, then Round 2 for less time, then Round 3 for 2 8 counts.

Circuit 2:

• Low Crossjack:  alternate jacks crossing front and back, arms crossing in the front
• Hop Up and Back:  hop forward and back, keeping your hands up in front of you
• Hop Hop Squat:  we've done this a lot:  two hops to the left, into a squat, two hops back to the right, into a squat
• Squat Hop Up and Back:  in a squat position (which you just landed in at the end of Hop Hop Squat), arms up in front of your face, stay low and squat two times up, two times back
• Single Leg Speed Knee (L):  bring your left knee up to your waist or higher fast and hop on your right leg
• Single Leg Speed Knee (R):  same thing, other side
• Jack Uppercut:  as you do a jumping jack, alternate left and right uppercuts
• Zigzag Hop:  move your legs left and right four times, then lift the left knee and then the right knee
• X-Lunge Speed Time:  turn to the left in a shallow lunge, turn to the right in a shallow lunge, hop up, center, hop back, repeat

Circuit 2, Round 2:  repeat all the moves for 3 8-counts

Circuit 2, Round 3:  repeat the moves again for 2 8-counts

• Jog Recovery:  don't get too excited because this is just a few seconds before you repeat all of the moves (both circuits) from the beginning for 2 8-counts

From the Top, Round 1 (yes, I said Round 1):

• Out and Out Turn
• Quick Feet Up and Back
• Alt. Speed Knee Slow
• Slow Mountain Climber
• Jab Out
• Low Siwtch Kick
• Speed and Agility
• Up and Over
• Low Crossjack 
• Hop Up and Back
• Hop Hop Squat
• Squat Hop Up and Back
• Single Leg Speed Knee (L)
• Single Leg Speed Knee (R)
• Jack Uppercut
• Zigzag Hop
• X-Lunge Speed Time

From the Top, Round 2:  Do it again!

• Jog Recovery:  okay, we're done, right?  Nope!  One more time, this time, you do each move for 1 8-count

From the Top, Round 3:

• Out and Out Turn
• Quick Feet Up and Back
• Alt. Speed Knee Slow
• Slow Mountain Climber
• Jab Out
• Low Siwtch Kick
• Speed and Agility
• Up and Over
• Low Crossjack 
• Hop Up and Back
• Hop Hop Squat
• Squat Hop Up and Back
• Single Leg Speed Knee (L)
• Single Leg Speed Knee (R)
• Jack Uppercut
• Zigzag Hop
• X-Lunge Speed Time

• Jog Recovery:  now this time I know we're done because Shaun says, "TIME!"  Cool down is the same as the one from Cardio and is about 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

I absolutely love this workout.  It is challenging in every way and once it gets started it does not stop.  I have been saying throughout this whole program that Shaun just seems "off."  Well, not in this workout!  This is right up his alley and he is really in his element in this workout.  I wish that Speed 1.0 had been more like this because even though I enjoyed the fact that we got a stretch in that workout, I would have appreciated the same set up for all of the "Speed" workouts in the program (Speed 3.0 is set up like this one).

Now, I will say this:  I really do love this workout and it is fun for me, but it is also extremely intense and there are NO BREAKS.  You are moving fast the entire time.  Yes, Tania is modifying, so keep your eyes on her, but if you need to take a break, please do so.  Jog in place, grab a swig of water, whatever you need to do.  There is no shame in having to stop as long as you get right back into it. 

And, I will also say this:  I am nervous and excited about tomorrow--first time using weights in the program!

Focus T25 Day 36: Core Cardio

Can you believe it??  It is already the start of MONTH 2 of Focus T25.  I know that I am shocked at how fast the last 5 weeks went.  I am done with month 1 and I am beyond ready to get started with the next 5 weeks.  For the life of me, I have no idea why I stopped T25 in the past and never completed the program.  (I mean, I know the reason why, but now I couldn't fathom it!)  I have gotten the best results in the shortest amount of time I have ever gotten in a workout program!  Let's get going to month 2!

Here are some things I learned from today's workout:

• pants=all around bad idea when doing a workout like this
• even after doing 5 weeks of hardcore cardio workouts, Shaun T still has a way of making me feel like I'm right back at day damn 1
• previously my reviews were based off of my memory; for month 2 I have decided to watch while I review, which means you get the actual names for moves, instead of just what I think it's called 

Workout:  Core Cardio
Time:  25 minutes, plus cool down
Equipment:  None

Just like Cardio (and other) workouts in Month 1, you will start with a pseudo-warmup and then go into circuits.  After completing 4 circuits, you will do a Burnout, then do another 4 circuits, another Burnout, and then the final group of exercises, followed by the cool down.

Warm-Up:

• Split Lunge Agility:  this has been done before:  alternate feet up and back, meeting in the middle
• Low Switch Kick:  alternate kicking feet out quickly, keeping legs low
• Double Switch Kick:  two hops on the left leg, switch to two hops on the right leg, keeping feet low
• High Switch Kick:  alternating switch kick, legs higher

• Static Uppercut:  feet together, alternate uppercuts
• Jack Uppercut:  do a jumping jack and alternate uppercuts

Circuit 1:

• Hop Front and Back:  we've done this before, too (it was part of the power move in Cardio):  hop forward and back, arms up and down
• Hop Side to Side:  (power move from Cardio):  keeping your upper body as still as possible, quickly move your feet side to side, working the core
• Alt. Speed Knee Slow:  tap alternating knees up slowly
• Alt. Speed Knee Fast:  tap alternating knees up fast

Circuit 2:

• Twisting X-Lunge:  do a shallow lunge to the right, meet feet together, do a shallow lunge to the left
• Twisting X-Lunge Deep:  same as above, but move slower so you can go deeper in the lunge
• X-Lunge Touch Shin:  same as above, but touch your shin as you go down *make sure to keep your back flat and your chest up)
• X-Lunge Touch Floor:  same as above, but this time touch the floor, putting your other hand on your thigh for balance *if you can't touch the floor without rounding your back, just go as low as you can*

Circuit 3:

• Demi Squat Walk:  arms up in guard position, move left and right in a shallow squat
• Deep Squat Walk:  same as above, but this time go deeper into the squat
• Squat Walk Touch Floor:  same as above, but this time your hands touch the floor when you go into the squat
• Air Plank Jump:  stay in squat position touching the floor, jump up with hands out straight in front of you, back into squat and repeat

Circuit 4:

• T Twist Front Pulse:  in a sumo squat position with feet turned out, keep your arms out straight to the sides and pulse up and down
• T Twist Lunge Pulse (L):  turn to the left in the same position and pulse the lunge up and down
• T Twist Lunge Pulse (R):  same as above, but turn to the right
• Rotating T Twist:  staying in the same position, turn left and right into a lunge *stay deep into the lunge and squat here and you will really feel the burn!*

Burnout 1:

• Alt. Speed Knee Fast
• X-Lunge Touch Floor
• Air Plank Jump
• Rotating T Twist

Circuit 5:

• High Jump in Place:  feet together, jump up and down
• Control Hop Side to Side:  same as above, this time jump to the right and left
• Double Hop Rotation:  face the left, do a hop and face the right, keeping your core tight and your knees pressed together
• Single Hop Rotation:  in a single jump, turn 180° from the left to right

Circuit 6:

• Hammer Kick (L):  put your weight on your left leg and kick your right leg up, touching your toe as your foot comes up
• Speed Kick (L):  (this is similar to what we did in Ab Intervals Month 1):  hop on the left leg quickly while your kick the right leg back and out (unlike in month 1, though, your leg is low and not parallel to your hip)
• Hammer Kick (R):  same as above, other side
• Speed Kick (R):  kick the left leg in and out this time

Circuit 7:

• Shuffle Feet:  feet wide and move them as fast as you can
• Shuffle Hop Up and Back:  keep shuffling and move quickly up and back into a shuffle
• Shuffle Squat:  shuffle and then go into a squat, pop quickly back up into the shuffle
• Shuffle Burpee:  just as it says:  shuffle, burpee, shuffle, burpee, repeat

Circuit 8:

• Plank Tap Feet Out and In:  in a plank position and keeping your core as still and tight as possible, tap your left toe and then right toe out and in
• Plank Tap Arms Out and In:  same position as above, tap the left arm out and in and then the right
• Plank Diagonal Tap:  tap left arm and right leg out, back in, then right arm and left leg
• Plank Diagonal Lift:  lift the left arm and right leg, back in, then lift the right arm and left leg *it's really important to keep your core tight here and move slowly if you need to to maintain balance*

Burnout 2:

• Single Hop Rotation
• Speed Kick (L)/Speed Kick (R)
• Shuffle Burpee
• Plank Diagonal Lift

• Floor Sprints:  ugh, same as Total Body Cardio Month1:  you're exhausted, your sweating, your arms are burning, and now Shaun is telling you to move as fast as you can in a sprint
• Running Spider Lunge:  ooooh, boy, is this a fun one...spider lunge left and right, but instead of tapping your foot in the back, you're jumping to switch the feet
• Body Sprint:  back up into a body sprint, moving your feet and arms quickly in a small running motion
• Body Run:  same as above, but arms and legs are bigger now

Cooldown (2.5 minutes):  cardio cool down which is the same as the cool down after Cardio from month 1

Whew, we are done with Day 1, Month 2!  I like this workout.  Even though it was similar to some of the ones we had done in Month 1, it had a different feel to it.  The music was different and, I don't know, it kind of started off differently to where I thought it was going to be a little slower than some of the other workouts.  Brrrr, wrong!  (That's my buzzer noise, not me being cold--although it was pretty chilly here today...I digress.)  This was definitely a challenging workout and I worked up a good sweat.  I also like that this workout follows the same set-up as some of the Month 1 workouts with the circuits, the Burnout, and then another set of exercises.  I know that I am going to be feeling this in my legs tomorrow even though it was called core cardio!

Can I tell you what I'm really looking forward to?  Tomorrow's workout!  I actually did it recently when I was doing another program and it is a great workout.  See you then for the review!