Anyone else starting a Beachbody workout programme? (T25, insanity etc)

[yumyumpoppycat]

Ok so my Focus T25 box has arrived today! Costs a lot but it has 11 25 minute work outs and some stretchy exercise band things. Idea is that because I have spent a lot I will have to knuckle down and see it through for the next 2 months.

I will probably try it over the weekend and start properly on mon. I am 3 stone overweight so this is going to be a mega challenge! Has anyone else recently started something similar or a new workout dvd and want to help motivate each other?

poppy and Purple, hope you are both on the mend today. Purple well done on your weight loss - 4kgs in 5 weeks seems like a good steady rate of loss. Is your DS only 14 weeks now or have I read that wrong? Even more good on you for the exercise and weightloss with a tiny DC if so!

NewRule I'm another one who believes exercise alone generally won't lose you lots of weight, as it would be pretty hard to exercise enough to create a big enough calorie deficit.

Rest day yesterday - well actually I did the introductory workout of Piyo (the new Beachbody pilates/yoga style workouts), which DH has just bought for himself as T25 was too hard on his knees. Hmm. Not sure about it. I never quite "get" a lot of yoga type moves, and am naturally sceptical of anything that doesn't involve lots of sweating. Still I reckon I might try to fit a bit of it in on top of my other workouts if I get the chance. It does leave you feeling quite virtuous, wholesome and stretched.

Hi guys, sorry not been back for a few days. On last day of week 4 of Alpha today. It's been a tough week, I've had a cold but battled through and actually think that exercise helped me recover quicker!

Boobz and Jackster, you girls ROCK!!!!!!!!! What an amazing achievement from both of you! I've taken my before pics but I don't think I'm at 30 days yet, will post before and after next Friday when I finish Alpha.

Purple, I've found that calorie counting is not for me either. That's why I'm doing the 5:2 and on my fast days I simply eat nothing, just drink plenty of green tea.

Question: Have any of you had to deal with shoulder or knee injuries whilst on this program? I visit osteopath for my bad shoulder but I'm still so weak that I feel ill never be able to do my push-ups properly without knees. Total body circuit always kills me :( And to add to that my left knee and hip have been sore this week too :( So any advice or tips would be much appreciated.

I've also bought this Whey Protein and started making shakes after the exercise. I feel like my muscles hurt a bit more every day after the workout, not sure if it's because of the protein?

www.myprotein.com/sports-nutrition/impact-diet-whey/10530657.html?utm_source=googleprod&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=gp_sports&affil=thggpsad&switchcurrency=GBP&gclid=Cj0KEQiA6dGmBRC_3Mi-x_XywKsBEiQA1lcFP0T1_FB1Vklwa1CEgTP33PXHEN8DDzQGCh0rWFq4tCcaAp4A8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

Anyway, an essay from me too so better get on and do my two workouts of today ;)

Full steam my knees got sore too. I think it is all the jumping. It wasn't an injury just a bit of overuse so I swapped the order of work outs around if it was aching - eg did ab work out to give my knee a rest.
I found weeks 4 and 5 the toughest on alpha so well done for keeping going.
Yes my ds is 14wks. Can't really do 5:2 as I'm bf. No way I'm posting a 30 days pic. Just looked in the mirror. I've def got less flab but my c section overhang has therefore got more overhang-y and wobbly. Is awful to look at. Hopefully as I lose more weight it will tighten up but at the mo I think it looks worse not better!
Did beta core Cardio this am. Not as bad as I was expecting!

Fullsteam I don't have a knee injury but do find Shaun T stuff hard on the knees (and DH has had to give it up for this reason). I do have one knee that turns inwards and I have to watch it doing squats in particular; I also had to stop running because it was hurting that knee (I think because the impact was going up through the side of my knee rather than straight up the middle).

Purple, beta core cardio is quite fun isn't it? Don't be disheartened re the CS overhang. You can get rid of it! I have quite a "dent" from 2x EMCS but no overhang, and you can only (just) see the dent when I'm in underwear or swimwear, not through clothes.

Insanity "cardio power and resistance" done today, so have now tried all the month one workouts. Was expecting this one to be the worst but was pleasantly surprised. Less of the non-stop nausea-inducing cardio! Shorter cardio intervals interspersed with strength moves. Actually quite enjoyable!

(ps now worried my last post sounded a bit smug / patronising to purple, which was absolutely not intended - it was meant as encouraging! )

Today was the last day of week three.

I want to take a sustainable approach to my nutrition. For years I could eat whatever I like and not gain weight. With age this is no longer the case. I have always been active, 10ks, marathons, etc. Also doing well tough murder in May.

I would like to drop a few pounds but that is proving difficult. I guess I will need to calorie count for a while?

Don't worry jackster - I didn't think it was patronising.
Maybe try portion control new rule? I found all my portions were just too big.
Did speed 2.0 this am. Was super fun. Am feeling it now tho

Yes, portion control and reduction of carbs.

My general diet at the moment:

Breakfast: 2 eggs on brown buttered toast (1 slice), tea with dash of milk and half a glass of OJ
Snack: 2oz tuna, 6 cashew nuts, 2 crackers
Lunch: 2oz chicken salad (loaded with broccoli, pine nuts, peppers and tomatoes)
Snack: Half an apple
Dinner: 2oz fatty steak, 1 cup of steamed rice, 1 cup green beans.

Water throughout the day, tea with only dash of milk (no sugar), no fruit juice or squash except for half a glass at breakfast, no cereals, carby veg, pasta, bread (except for 1 slice of toast in morning) etc.

No idea how many calories that is though...

Portion control is a good idea. Boobz my diet is not that different from yours except I have a little more carbs. I have either pasta/couscous/bread, etc for lunch and some type of carb at dinner (though not in any great quantity, . But I can increase the veg/salad and reduce the amount if carbs.

Hello can I join just started T25 after having my 2nd DC 3 months ago. It's my 2nd section so I have quite the overhang . My DH has been doing t25 since last August he is doing gamma now. I thought it looked good so giving it a go. I'm enjoying the exercise but my diet is rubbish. I'm breastfeeding so have massive hunger spurts. Is anyone doing protein shakes for recovery can you take these whilst breastfeeding? I asked this on infant feeding but didn't get a lot if traffic.

The ladies who posted pictures you look amazing (dreams of the day my stomach looks like yours)

Hesbeenaverynaughtyboy, hello and welcome :)

You and Purple are amazing! When my babies were the age of yours I mostly sat in bed and ate biscuits all day long! Way to go!

Thanks for the advice re knees guys. I think this week will be tough on the knees and shoulders with TBCx3?? But hey, the first one is already done and dusted :)

I couldn't work out properly whilst breast feeding as they were always full of milk even after a big feed! Breast fed all 3 for 8 months and then started working out after that.

Just finished Max Interval Circuits and did pretty much all of it without stopping. My arms are well muscly now - I think I need to do less press ups and more core strength. My bloody legs won't get any thinner now as well which is annoying me!

Love the post work out, post shower feeling.

Thanks Fullsteam. I still seem to have a lot of time sitting around but am trying to lay off the biscuits

Hasbeen, I don't see why protein drinks would be bad if you're bf but I don't know for sure.

I've now done 4 of the 5 t25 beta work outs and they seem to be more strength than cardio. I miss all the jumping around from alpha. I feel a lot less tired after them too so I'm worried I'm not working as hard.

Aaaarrrhhhh I did total body circuit today after having my first night out for a few drinks (little baby sleeping through now) absolutely killed me I couldn't even keep up with Tanya!!! I hate hate hate total body circuit hope your all getting on well.

The diet thing is a real bummer. It is so easy to consume 1500 calories and before you know it, you're up to 2000.

Any thoughts on the below? Should I drop all snacks?

Today I had
Morning:
Muesli with yoghurt (smallish pot from Crussh)
Small skinny cappuccino

Morning snack:
Brioche (someone brought in some goodies so this was a cheat). Ordinarily would have had an apple.

Lunch:
Spaghetti (small portion about a large mug amount) and a pork medallion
Small skinny cappuccino (unusual for me to have more than one coffee)

Snack:
Banana

Dinner:
Salad and chicken.

From what I can see there are too many carbs:

• Muesli
• Yoghurt (unless it is greek yoghurt)
• Brioche (but even an apple is a high carb option from the natural sugars in it)
• Spaghetti
• Banana

For breakfast I would swap in eggs/bacon/salmon
For snacks I would have tuna on rye cracker/cheese/deli meats etc.
For lunch replace the spaghetti with green veg (broccoli, green beans, Bok Choi, spinach, courgettes etc).

Drink lots of water to fill you up.

Don't drop snacks, especially if you are doing Insanity.

And don't have large portions.

This is the Zone diet - every person who I have recommended it to (and has stuck to it to the letter, give or take the extra glass of wine here and there!) has lost between 22 - 40 lbs in 60 days.

Zone diet download

HasBeen, I drink protein shakes, the link is in one of the posts above. I checked the packet today and it just says if pregnant or breastfeeding consult your doctor...

Boobz, the Zone looks so complicated, good on you for sticking to it. I'm not sure I'd be able to work out all the amounts!

It is a bit complicated to start with, with all the weighing faff. But then after about a month you can do it by eye. You get used to the blocks mentality too, and then it just becomes normal.

I defo have too many blocks of wine too!

How is everyone getting on this week? Am having a Jillian week this week but will be back to Shaun next week!

Just finished beta week 1. I'm tired and really need my rest day! Core cardio kicked my @ss this morning

Hope everyone else is getting on ok

I skipped a day yesterday, but just did Max Insanity Sports (or whatever it's called - it's an hour long with no stretch, but you're supposed to be able to use it instead of Core Cardio and Balance during "recovery week", so I think is supposed to be easier). Didn't feel easy this morning though!

I had a strappy top on the other day and had a picture snapped of me - I looked a bit body builder ish so am starting to think I might do some long runs instead of Insanity for a couple of weeks to try and even things out.

What are everyone's stats? Day 1 weight, Day x weight (whatever day you are on) - Day 1 photos, Day 30 photos? I love seeing the journey!

Starting core cardio and balance on Sunday. Yeah roll on recovery week. Think I am suffering from PMT. I have been devouring nuts for 3 days now. Not great for weight loss.

I will post my weight and measurements as of tomorrow.

Hi everyone, sorry to gatecrash - I posted this elsewhere but I think you're all on here!

I'm trying to decide between Insanity and T25 - I usually do JM but fancy a change this year. Not done any exercise since last summer so I am a bit out of shape but I don't need to lose weight, just increase fitness and tone up bum/tum area. I quite like doing weights but these two seem to be mostly cardio? Is one longer/tougher than the other? What do you think?

Thanks guys

Hi caitlin. I have done T25 alpha and beta, the month 1 Insanity workouts, and many JM workouts.

I personally prefer T25 over Insanity. I'd say it's more similar to JM (although still quite different in parts - I was taken aback by the fast pace when I started). Insanity is the more cardio-focussed one IMO, whereas T25 is more balanced between strength and cardio. I find Insanity quite a big step up from JM whereas T25 is more on a level with it.

Disclaimer though - from hanging around on these threads I know people can have really differing views about the comparative difficulty of different workouts - obviously it depends on your personal strengths and weaknesses!