My office held a 6 week biggest loser style competition and I signed up right away for some workout motivation. I am a male, age 23, 5'5", and I started at 191.4 lbs which is quite overweight. TLDR: I came in second place (missed by 1%) after losing 21 lbs in 6 weeks using T25 as my exercise routine and eating much healthier. The greatest rewards I received from this experience was some good habits and feeling more comfortable overall.
My strategy for the competition was to follow the T25 routine closely and lose a bit each weigh-in. I did not follow the diet of the biggest loser program nor the diet set out by T25 very closely. The diet I chose was a bit of a combination of the ideas found in both along with some freedom of choice and tons of water. Both recommended less than 2000 calories and suggested various healthy foods so I just used that as my daily guide.
T25 is an intense cardio workout with a few strength building exercises. Lots of sweat and high heart rates. I wouldn't say it's the best workout for gaining muscle but it is supposed to be good for losing fat. The main idea of T25 is constant movement, no breaks. If you are tired, follow the modified move. I still find myself needing to take a second or two in between some moves, it's just a bit too much at times. The move progression in each video is great. For example you start with a jog for about 30 seconds, move into a squat move for another 30 seconds and afterwards, do a running squat move. Each move leads to the next. I thought that was well done.
The whole program is split into two phases: Alpha and Beta. As of this writing I have just finished my second week of Beta. Alpha is 90% cardio workouts, all aimed at getting your heart rate up and sweating like crazy. Beta introduces some upper body muscle training. Each workout has a 'Burnout Round' which is usually the hardest moves all in a row. Every fifth day there is a 'Double Day' (2 workouts). I would do the extra workout from time to time. The sixth day is a rest day and the seventh is a stretch routine. I suggest doing some kind of exercise on the sixth day like going for a walk or something. It's hard to sleep without doing something. Each video is a 25 minute workout with a 3 minute cooldown stretch right afterwards so it should actually be called T28ish.
I will list each exercise and my thoughts on them. I will also assign some ratings to the from 1-5 (1 being the lowest).
Alpha Cardio: Difficulty - 3. Introduces you to many of the moves that are used throughout T25. Mostly running, jumping and squats. Virtually no upper body work at all. Is still pretty tough after a while, it caught me off guard in the last week of Alpha. I thought "wow this is still not that easy."
Speed 1.0: Difficulty - 1.5, Fun - 5. This is probably one of my favorite workouts. It goes to the music nicely, there are stretches in between moves and it is still a decent burn. It didn't happen too often but on days where I had some extra time and energy, I would fit this workout in as extra. It's pure cardio again but lower intensity.
Total Body Circuit: Difficulty - 5. Even after a few Beta workouts, I contend that Total Body Circuit is the most difficult (for me anyway). So much cardio. Even on the strength moves have a cardio element to them. A regular push-up? Not a chance. Plank walk to push up to squat position? Check. This workout is killer and I am still afraid of it. The last week of Alpha schedules this workout three times. THREE TIMES. Doesn't seem to get much easier either.
Ab Intervals: Difficulty - 2. Pretty laid back. Get it? This workout is a little bit of cardio and for the rest of the time you are spending on you back or your butt working out the abs. Not a terribly difficult workout but your abs do get a really crazy burn afterwards. Another workout that I could fit in as extra if I wanted.
Lower Focus: Difficulty - 4: Harder than regular cardio but not as bad as Total Body Circuit. Mostly lunging and squatting. Not very fun.
Stretch: Difficulty - 2.5. T25 introduced me to 'active stretching.' You flex a muscle while in position and then let it go. It seemed to make me more flexible actually but some of them can be hard to do. This also helped me with my balance. Still not perfect, but I did get better.
Beta is not as bad as I thought it would be. I think Alpha prepared me pretty well. There are some lifting exercises and T25 comes with a resistance band but it really is not good, especially when you are working out in your living room without shoes since you have to step on the band to hold it down. It also hits your wrist in some positions which is annoying. I went and grabbed some dumbbells right away. Here are my thoughts so far:
Core Cardio: Difficulty - 4. All the hardest cardio moves from Alpha and then some. Tough cardio but not impossible.
Speed 2.0: Difficulty - 4. This one is interesting. There are a few long sets of moves that you repeat a few times, a bit like Insanity. Really good cardio workout. Kind of fun actually but not quite as much as Speed 1.0.
Rip'T Circuit: Difficulty - 4. Rip't Circuit is supposed to be Total Body Circuit 2.0 but there is a bit more slower strength parts which makes it a bit easier. I really like this workout because of the lifting moves. It's nice to have a break from cardio.
Dynamic Core: Difficulty - 3.5. I thought it would be similar to Ab Intervals but in Dynamic Core you are on your feet most of the time, not laying down on the ground. It's basically a cardio workout but Sean T makes you think more about the core. To be honest I'd rather do the Ab Interval workout instead.
Upper Focus: Difficulty: 4.5. This is my favorite workout from Beta. Mostly lifting and some ab workouts. It's so fun to build some upper body muscles instead of hopping around all the time. It's just a nice touch of variety. Some strength moves are pretty tough - even more so if your weights are pretty big. I only use 10 lb dumbbells and it's really tough after several moves.
Overall the workouts are killer while you are doing them and I quite enjoyed the fact that it was only about a half hour long everyday. The one complaint I have is that the stretches are too short and I don't feel very stretched out after the cooldown or even the stretch video.
I did the scheduled workout everyday since it was easy to fit into a time slot. I think I only missed one and that was after of my biggest loser competition. I am very happy with the results so far. I get excited about working out everyday since I get such a huge feeling of accomplishment after only 30 minutes. It's pretty addictive and has taken over my video game addiction.
T25 has my recommendation for sure. Get dumbbells and modify whenever necessary.
| Item Package Dimensions L x W x H | 10.24 x 9.17 x 4.61 inches |
|---|---|
| Package Weight | 0.77 Kilograms |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 9.45 x 6.3 x 3.15 inches |
| Item Weight | 1.5 Pounds |
| Brand Name | Beachbody |
| Material | Plastic |
| Suggested Users | unisex-adult |
| Manufacturer | Beachbody |
| Part Number | T25DVD2107NF |
| Included Components | DVD |
| Size | 10 feet |
