Ten weeks ago I made a decision, and I set a goal.
The goal: complete T25, Shaun T’s new workout program that
had just been released by Beachbody.
The decision: I was going to do it by any means necessary.
As the program is written, it only calls for 25 minutes of
exercise per day – I, however, decided to maintain my strength and circuit
training regime and add my T25 as morning fasted cardio. This worked great for
me. Do you need to do double days in order to see results with this (or any
other) program? Absolutely not; but I had set a goal and I was determined to
not let anything get in my way.
Were there days that I didn’t want to push play? Honestly,
there wasn’t. The best part about this program was that given its short
duration, it was so easy for me to self-motivate. Think about it – unless you exercise
at home, you’re getting in your car to drive to the gym. You’re likely spending
at least 25 minutes in the car round-trip just en route to your fitness
facility. In that time, I was wrapping up my workout and floating on a cloud of
pride and satisfaction (and usually swimming in a puddle of sweat). The
workouts were fun, the music was great, and all of the movements were
progressive and scalable. It is HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) with a
focus on proper form and core activation. There’s lots of squatting, lunging,
planks, and you practically never stand still; for all those reasons and the
fact that it’s only 25 minutes: it flies by!
During this two-month duration I also committed to putting
an emphasis on proper nutrition, so that I could see the enhanced results of my
training. I drank Shakeology EVERY day. In fact, I looked forward to it each
morning. Not only do I think it’s incredibly delicious but I know that the small
investment is paying dividends as it is providing me with my daily dose of superfood
nutrition. Over the course of the two months the way I drink it has evolved and
now I prepare it as full blown brownie-batter consistency. (swoon). In
addition to that, I followed a mostly plant-based diet with the inclusion of
some lean proteins, greek yogurt, eggs and sheep’s milk feta. But mostly
fruits, veggies, nuts, and limited grains.
I also started each morning with a scoop of Beachbody Energy
& Endurance formula. While pre-workout supplements can be a hot topic among
certain crowds, I have done my research and feel confident that this natural product
was doing no harm to me and in fact, found evidence pointing to moderate caffeine consumption being beneficial to your health. I also know that it boosted my
energy and allowed me to nail those 6:30am workouts, alone in my backyard.
Would I say that it’s for everyone? No. But I do think it was a factor that
helped me to achieve my goal and desired outcomes? Absolutely.
Throughout the two months, I have also focusing on trying to
keep a balanced-life outlook. Did I indulge for Champ’s birthday weekend?
Absolutely! Did we celebrate the following weekend with CREAM ice cream cookie
sandwiches? Absolutely! Did I dwell on that and feel badly? A little (hey, I’m
being honest) but then I got right back on track, worked my tail off and
focused even harder. There were gains and losses along the way, but overall I
ended up happier and healthier than I’ve ever been.
Yesterday I completed my final day in the ten-week cycle. I
was overcome with pride and while the body recomposition that I achieved is
visible proof, I feel an even greater sense of personal achievement in the fact
that I pushed play everyday. And the best part? I’ve had a huge support network
through the whole thing. It all started with a small group of LEANATION coaches,
we each invited some people and in my own personal network, 32 people have
joined our T25 Challenge Group to date. They’re seeing awesome results, and it
is so inspiring to see success stories flooding our facebook group.
Just think: if you’d joined me when I started this journey,
you’d already be done. But it’s never too late to commit, there are new people
joining our group everyday (we’re up to 189 members). Contact me if you’re
ready to start your own success story today.
Decide. Commit. Succeed.
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