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How and why I started with the Focus T25 workout
The Focus T25 workout… So where do we start? If you’ve read the introduction by Slavko, you might guess how fun this trial was. After a while of going back and forth, he convinced me to try it out. Not that I was skeptical or anything of the like (seeing the results he got from Insanity and Insanity Asylum), but knowing how hard those workouts were I never really seemed to harness the will power.
That and not having time were my go-to excuses whenever he would bring the subject of fitness up. Now that I’ve never tried Insanity is not entirely true. He probably don’t even know this, but I’ve once put one DVD and did the warm up after which I decided to abandon exercise altogether. To say it was hard would be a huge understatement.
He tried convincing me on a couple of occasions, reassuring me that I would reach my fitness goals – achieving less body fat percentage by losing weight, adding some muscle mass and definition, and overall an improved physical condition – but weighting that on one side of the scale against how hard the process was going to be, I somehow never seemed convinced enough.
And when the Focus T25 workout came out, he couldn’t say it better, I was the perfect lab rat for this Focus T25 review.
Focus T25 review – the Alpha phase
The Focus T25 workout is divided into three phases. And I can easily see Beachbody turning this into longer series. They did so with the Insanity when Asylum and Asylum Vol.2 followed. This on the other hand, building more of a foundation for fitness novices, can stretch for much further.
There are three phases, each building onto the previous one.
Phase alpha is consisted of five workouts, and over the course of the first month it serves as a preparation and building a solid foundation for your fitness progress. The workouts are still pretty hard, but it never leaves you wasted like Slavko complained when he first started Insanity.
I used to go to the gym way back, and it always seemed like a huge waste of time, going back and forth, deciding what to wear each day etc. The relief here was that the Focus T25 workouts took exactly 25 minutes, and that was it. No additional sets, no “do this additional video for better results” nothing. Just 25 minutes. Except of course the optional double take every Friday, where it is advised to complete two videos back to back.
Sometimes I followed through on this and other times not (mostly at the beginning) but it worked out great at the end. Besides, you are doing this in the comfort of your own home. Which brings me to another important point- you do not need so much space as it is required for Insanity, and definitely far less space than you need for the Asylum. This was a BIG plus for me.
And the workouts kinda flew really fast.
What I suspect helps in this time perception is the music. And it should, considering the fact that they’ve spend quarter of a million dollars just for the music alone (Don’t take my word for it though; it might only be a rumor). It slowly builds up, in a way dictating the dynamic and tempo of the exercises, helping you push more and more providing additional focus. And then all of the sudden it is all over.
What I especially liked here was the cast size – handful of people, great camera angles, allowing you to pay better attention to form.
What I didn’t like was the fact that there is no rest. This actually makes the Focus T25 workout really hard considering the 25 minutes it takes to do it.
Granted, you have exercises designed to lower your heart rate here and there, but overall it is all intensity all the time. You will be surprised how much sweat will come out of you in only 25 minutes.
What is interesting in this phase is that you are faced with a huge lifestyle change (working out and eating healthy by following the nutrition plan), and yet you are not overwhelmed whatsoever.
I guess this is due to the fact that Focus T25 has you working out 25 minutes per day, not making you fatigue, not creating any major food cravings, leaving room for more stress and energy to be put into healthy choices and habits. Not to mention that your schedule will not take any hit at all. Another thing I liked a lot.
Focus T25 review – The Beta phase
Focus T25 Beta phase review – the workouts
First of all the workouts shift gear, centering quite more upon core strength. One of the videos – dynamic core- requires so many ab contractions that you feel the switch in intensity from the alpha phase right away.
The speed video requires way more leg work and ups the ante quite a bit too.
But what made this phase even more interesting was adding the resistance. I used 12 pound dumbbells, and these two workouts – Rip’t circuit and upper focus – have increased my upper body strength by quite a lot. I also started to notice more muscle definition, especially in the shoulders and arms.
Slavko mentioned that he recognized more exercises from the asylum workouts in some form, so I guess that added to the aspect of strength. Even the cardio video – core cardio – tackles strength quite noticeably.
As for speed, I noticed being even lighter on my feet and my coordination, balance in space, and control over the whole body as a whole have increased exponentially.
The warm-ups are also getting noticeably harder, making you able to jump right into the hard part more easily. Needless to say, every move becomes more dynamic while lot of new ones are being introduced.
What is also noticeable at first is that the music is slightly more dynamic, and the speed 2.0 video will have you dancing like you wouldn’t believe. I was also surprised when I heard flute during the core cardio video – I guess that rumor about Beachbody having spent all that money on music was not out of nowhere.
I especially liked the upper focus video exercises, and this video actually challenges your strength by introducing as complex exercises as the chest fly with your legs raised.
What I didn’t like were the modifications. If they made sense a lot during alpha phase, here they seemed very easy and rather funny. Anyway…
