Tag: T-25 challenge group

Workout – Focus T25 Week 1 of Beta

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I completed the first week of Beta round in T25 yesterday.  This is week 6 of our challenge group but week 1 of the Beta round, the new round of 5 different workouts.  The workouts in this phase are:

-Core Cardio     -Speed 2.0     -Rip’t Circuit     -Dynamic Core     -Upper Focus

All of the workouts are 25 minutes, just like the Alpha round, with a 2 to 3 minute cool down stretch at the end of each workout.

Below are some of the photo collages from the workouts:

Core Cardio Wk 1 of Beta Day 1

 wk 1 beta day 3 ript circuit

beta wk 1 day 4 dynamic core

 

 

I am loving the new workouts in this Beta round!  I think my body was ready for a change.  I had actually done the Alpha round for 8 weeks.  I had started the workouts before the challenge group started and had to begin all over again at week 1 of Alpha when the group started on July 29th.

The Beta round is a little more challenging since it seems faster paced.  Also, in a couple of the workouts you use some weights.  I used 10 pounds for Rip’t Circuit and 8 pounds for Upper Focus – you can also use an exercise band with handles that comes with the workout.  I was sweating a ton every day with each workout.  Speed 2.0 is so fast it was hard to keep up at times.

So far I think my favorite dvd in this round is Rip’t Circuit.  There is cardio and weight training in this workout – it is a great total body workout.  The time flew by on this one.  I can not wait to do it again next week.

Photo after finished Rip't Circuit - T25 - tons of sweat - also embroidered a new shirt that says "Get It Done" - Shaun T's motto
Photo after finished Rip’t Circuit – T25 – tons of sweat – also embroidered a new shirt that says “Get It Done” – Shaun T’s motto

In the above photo I am wearing a new workout shirt I embroidered that says GET IT DONE.  This is one of Shaun T’s phrases he uses in the workout.  I told my kids it is my-their new motto for getting things done that I ask them to do like chores, homework, etc.   I think I need to embroider more shirts and wear them every day as their reminder.

This week for a new recipe I made these Power Bites.  They are a blend of oats, protein powder, dried fruits with a nut butter and agave nectar.  They are no bake and pretty quick to make but your hands get kind of messy.  It is best to store them in the refrigerator in a container.

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I hope everyone had a great week and got their workouts in.  I am looking forward to week 2 of Beta round next week.  I am also looking forward to next Saturday as I will be attending the Shauntervention event in Dallas.  I can’t wait to go to this and see Shaun T, the creator of Focus T25, live and hear what he has to say.  Therefore, next week I will probably post about the workouts and the event on Sunday.

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Workout – Week 5 of Focus T25 Challenge

Today marks the end of the Alpha round for Focus T25.  I have completed the first 5 weeks of the challenge.  Now we are on to the Beta round.  I am excited and looking forward to the new workouts in this round and the challenges they will bring.

The following are some photo collages of the past week – week 5:

Week 5 Day 1 of Focus T25 Challenge group - KimberleesKorner
Week 5 Day 1 of Focus T25 Challenge group – KimberleesKorner

My cat is in the above collage because he had the grumpy cat face.  My workout schedule had to change the past week because of the kids starting school and early marching band practice for my oldest son.  The cat hangs out with me every day when I workout and he seemed upset about the time change – cats seem to be creatures of habit.

Week 5 Day 2 Ab Intervals KimberleesKorner
Week 5 Day 2 Ab Intervals KimberleesKorner

 

Last day of Alpha round - this was a double workout day doing Total Body Circuit and Lower Focus - very sweaty at the end of this  KimberleesKorner
Last day of Alpha round – this was a double workout day doing Total Body Circuit and Lower Focus – very sweaty at the end of this KimberleesKorner

This past week we had to do Total Body Circuit three times – it was tough!  I was pretty strong on Monday getting through most of those push ups on the toes but by Wednesday and Friday I had to do some of them on the knees toward the end of the workout.  Tons of sweat on those three days!

Also, I got a new fitness watch at the beginning of the past week.  It is a Timex Health Touch watch.  It has a heart rate monitor, stop watch, timer and and activity setting to see your calories burned.  It also has 2 time zone settings.  The instructions it came with are kind of vague.  It is easy enough to set the time and operate I just was not sure how the calories burned – activity setting and heart monitor setting worked until I used it for a couple of days.  I don’t think it measures the calories you burn per workout but rather for the entire duration of a day.  For example I set it on Thursday in active mode and it ran for 17 hours, from 6 am to 11 pm (it was a long day!) and it said I burned 2700 calories.  I kind of like the fact it calculates overall daily calories burned not just during your workout.  This is the first health watch with a heart rate montior I have had so I have nothing to compare it to.  Also, you do not have a chest strap to wear with this watch.  In the photo below it shows the activity setting for 6 hours and 8 minutes – I have burned 957 calories – this was my double workout day (Friday) so I really burned a lot of calories that day – it was amazing!

Health Watch has a heart rate monitor, stop watch, timer and calories burned setting KimberleesKorner
Health Watch has a heart rate monitor, stop watch, timer and calories burned setting
KimberleesKorner

I created another smoothie recipe this week using the Spectrum Decadent Blend with chia, flax seed, cocoa and coconut.  This one also has spinach in it for added greens and vitamins along with chocolate almond milk and peanut butter.  If you click on the below link it will take you to the ziplist link for the recipe or I have added it below the photo.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Protein Smoothie with Greens

peanut butter & chocolate protein smoothie with greens from KimberleesKorner
peanut butter & chocolate protein smoothie with greens from KimberleesKorner

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Protein Smoothie with Greens

  • Handful Spinach
  • 2 Tbls Spectrum Decadent Blend – chia, flax seed, cocoa, and coconut
  • 1 Tbls peanut butter
  • 1/4 c. peanuts
  • 1 scoop whey protein powder
  • 1 c. chocolate almond milk
  • 1/2 c. crushed ice

Place all of the above ingredients in blender or nutribullet and blend 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth.   Sometimes I forget to add the crushed ice so I just serve it over ice as seen in photo.

I hope everyone had a great week of working out.  Click on the Leave a Reply to let me know what workouts you are currently doing.  To receive future updates please subscribe via bloglovin, by email or RSS fee by clicking on any of the icons in the side bar.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!  photo 6cf2f16b-878e-4b05-bc30-12064a57b997_zpsa7a5e8ef.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

Workout – Week 4 of Focus T-25 Challenge

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Week 4 of of Focus T-25 – Nailed It!  The alpha phase of these workouts is almost through – only 1 more week to go then we go into the 5 week beta phase.  I can tell the workouts are getting easier for me and notice how much more stamina I have getting through them.  Especially on Friday – the double workout day.

Here are some highlight photos of the week.  I got into making photo collages this week with my pictures.  I got the idea from another person in my challenge group.

Photo collage of week 4 day 3, Lower Focus - T-25.  Me & my workout buddy + acai, blackberry protein smoothie  www.kimberleeskorner.com/blog
Photo collage of week 4 day 3, Lower Focus – T-25. Me & my workout buddy, the cat + acai, blackberry protein smoothie
www.kimberleeskorner.com/blog
some photos doing T-25 Total Body Circuit on week 4, day 4.  Tough workout for sure www.kimberleeskorner.com/blog
some photos doing T-25 Total Body Circuit on week 4, day 4. Tough workout for sure
www.kimberleeskorner.com/blog
Week 4, day 5 - double workout day - Speed 1.0 & Ab Intervals done - the cat was waiting for me in front of the TV when I got downstairs ready for the workouts - look at all the sweat I am pointing to after both were completed - feeling totally energized! www.kimberleeskorner.com/blog
Week 4, day 5 – double workout day – Speed 1.0 & Ab Intervals done – the cat was waiting for me in front of the TV when I got downstairs ready for the workouts – look at all the sweat I am pointing to after both were completed – feeling totally energized!
www.kimberleeskorner.com/blog

Also, I made up 2 new smoothie recipes and have those to share:

Acai, Blackberry, Spinach smoothie recipe copy

Cashew Butter & Chocolate Smoothie Recipe

I also created a new salad recipe.  The salad made quite a bit so I had half for lunch and the rest with dinner.  Here is the recipe:

Cucumber, Red Pepper & Onion salad recipe

I placed all the ingredients except lemon juice and olive oil in a bowl and chilled them for about an hour then put the last 2 ingredients on just before eating it for lunch.   This was a really good salad – I thought – a change from a normal lettuce based salad.   Note:  It is strong with the onion and garlic – best to have some gum or breath mints after eating.

To read previous posts on this T-25 journey you can click on the exercise tab in the above menu.

What workouts have you done this past week?  I would love to hear about them – click on the Leave A Reply to let me know.

You can subscribe to my blog via bloglovin, email or RSS feed by clicking on any of those icons in the sidebar.    Hope everyone has a great weekend!

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Workout – Week 2 of Focus T-25 Challenge

My second week of the ten week Focus T-25 challenge group has been completed.  I am feeling very energized and confident at the end of this week.  I even did the bonus workout today, Saturday, the Core Speed dvd.  That workout is fast paced and has you sweating a lot in 25 minutes.

The workouts this week were:  -Cardio, -Total Body Circuit, -Speed 1.0, -Cardio again, and double day on Friday  -Lower Focus and -Ab Intervals.  I then chose to do the Core Speed bonus dvd today, Saturday.

T-25 week 2 of challenge group - Keep Calm and Exercise
T-25 week 2 of challenge group – Keep Calm and Exercise

This is week 2 of my challenge group but actually my 5th completed week of the program.  I started over for this challenge group.  I am really liking these 25 minute workouts and the results I am seeing from them.  I am not trying to lose weight as I was already pretty fit due to my daily workout regimen but I can tell my clothes are getting a little loose and my core is really getting tighter.

The most challenging workout is the alpha round – which you do for the first 5 weeks, then go to 5 weeks of beta – is the Total Body Circuit for me.  That one has me sweating a ton.  There are quite a few push ups in that particular workout.  I am able to get through at least 1/2 to 2/3 of them on my toes but have to do the rest on my knees.  It is tough!

Also included in this workout program is an eating plan with recipes.  I forgot to mention that in my week 1 post.  I am personally not following that part of the program as I feel I already have a pretty healthy diet.  Also, with 3 kids it is hard to cook something different every night for yourself.  I find it easier to make us one big healthy meal.

One thing I am doing with this program is having a protein shake, or smoothie, every morning for breakfast instead of eating.  I have also been trying to add some greens to my smoothies like kale or spinach.  This way I figure I am getting at least 1 or 2 fruits and 1 vegetable serving at the start of the day.  I also think this helps to influence me to eat better the rest of the day.  A new protein smoothie I created this week has a raw beet in it.  It it very refreshing and gives you energy.  See the recipe in the photo below:

Beet & Berry Smoothie - made with a raw beet, spinach, frozen berries, frozen cherries, protein powder, chia seeds and cranberry juice
Beet & Berry Smoothie – made with a raw beet, spinach, frozen berries, frozen cherries, protein powder, chia seeds and cranberry juice

Well, tomorrow is the Stretch dvd day for the program.  It is a great 25 minute total body stretch that feels great after all the hard workouts.  Monday will start week 3 of the challenge group for me.  I’ll update you at the end of next week on how that goes.

I hope you enjoyed this update.  Please subscribe to my blog via bloglovin, email or RSS feed by clicking one of the icons in the sidebar to receive future updates.  I hope you have a great weekend!

My faithful morning exercise partner - all wore out after week 2 of T-25
My faithful morning exercise partner – all wore out after week 2 of T-25