Tag Archives: T25

Weight Training Update

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I wanted to give an update on the strength training and the T25. 🙂 I have temporarily shelved the T25, but have plans to return to it once I get stronger. I found that although it didn’t bother my hip, it was starting to bother my knees….which I found strange. Again, I think it’s the strength issue. I think my joints need more muscular support from all the “helper muscles” to keep my joints stable when going through the T25 routines. Also the extra weight I am trying to lose is a factor in any joint pain from the lower back and hip on down. So for now it’s shelved but I will pick it back up again.

I did start lifting at work like I had planned. Kirmayer Fitness Center at KU Medical Center has an awesome weight area, two areas in fact. I headed for the machine area and I loved all of them. I had to overcome my inherent shyness because I picked the busiest day of the summer (when they were holding a student resources fair in Kirmayer) to begin my weight training and both areas were very busy. But I didn’t let it deter me and I felt good about making the effort.

Then my sister found a personal trainer here in town that used to work at Haskell as their certified trainer for their athletic department. She visited with him and discovered he was running an intro special on individual training sessions. He does Olympic-style weight lifting, something I didn’t have a clue about but was interested in. So Sharon set us up with an appointment last week and I’m heading into my 3rd session with Travis.

I was able to visit with him before we started our first session and I told him my health history and my goals. He did an excellent job of explaining how Olympic-style weight lifting will benefit me and my hip OA. He is very personable and very encouraging. You can tell immediately how knowledgeable he is about his work. From what he shared with me, Olympic-style weight lifting is all about learning how to do the “Clean and Jerk”, and I am fortunate that he is acquainted with a power lifter who has gone through total hip replacement surgery and still returned to lifting heavy

My sister and I are doing 2 individual training sessions per week with Travis. It’s fun working out with my sister again, so I am very grateful to her for finding this and encouraging me to try it. Right now we are all about learning technique and proper form. I really like how I can feel the different muscles in my back firing as well as the muscles that I know need to be strengthened around my hips and legs. We are learning at a good pace where I can tell later that day (or the next day) that I’ve put in some work, but I can still move around. My favorite thing about this is that it’s brand new to me….so it’s really interesting. I’m learning something new and it’s helped immensely at getting me motivated to lift again.

Travis has just created a website for those in my area that may be interested. Here is the link:
http://www.travisbarrett.com/

He also has a Facebook page, Barrett Sport Performance LLC.

I’ll update this later as I progress through this individual training program. I have another session today and I’m looking forward to it. 🙂

Trying a New Exercise Regimen: Focus T25

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I love to run. L.O.V.E. it. But with my hip arthritis its been a challenge to run consistently. I’ve been trying several different activities, seeking an alternative to running that’s easier on my joints but gives me as much satisfaction as running has in the past. Also trying to find an exercise regimen that will get me in shape for powwow season. Although I enjoy biking, it hasn’t really clicked with me yet, and walking for too long bothers my hip. I can’t always get to the stadium to walk the stairs either. I miss being able to just run out my door and around the neighborhood when I find myself with a spare 20-45 minutes. P90X is very time-intensive. I love to swim but getting to the pool is proving daunting as well. And even though I L.O.V.E. Bikram yoga, I can’t afford to go as often as I would like. I tend to have some “All or None” tendencies, so finding a healthy balance is also a challenge.

So….at a powwow in Ann Arbor, MI recently, I noticed that I am struggling to carry my old school flat-fringe shawl and my new beloved floral beadwork through 2 contest songs. The shawl and beadwork are both surprisingly heavy, and I need to get stronger just to wear them for contests. At the powwow I also noticed how in shape one of my shawl dance sisters appeared to be. So I complimented her on her conditioning at the end of the powwow. She immediately recommended Sean T’s Focus T25. She said she tried Insanity the year prior but as a busy mom and studio owner, she didn’t have the time to do an hour per day, and she said she felt tired all the time. She liked T25, said it didn’t bother the knee that she has trouble with, and said I would notice a difference after 1 week.  She had been doing the workouts for 10 days and said she felt alot better dancing during contest. So I came home and promtly ordered the workout series. Lol.

I am going to blog about my T25 experience because I think I need to share my struggles with wellness, with the challenges I have been presented with in terms of physical limitations, time, children, work, and finances. A few of my friends believe that I’ve never had a weight problem and that’s it’s “easy” for me to maintain my weight. It’s work, like everything else in life is. I’m concerned about maintaining lean muscle mass as I get older (I just turned 46 a few weeks ago) especially with not being able to train like I did 10-12 years ago. And if I can bring my weight lower it will ease some of the stress on my joints and make my arthritis easier to manage without getting cortisone shots. I have alot of reasons for wanting to do this, all of them for me and wanting to feel better and be able to continue to do the things I love to do….and modeling the behavior I want my children to emulate.

Focus T25 is a 10-week program. 5 workouts per week, the first 5 weeks is the “Alpha” series, the 2nd 5 weeks is the “Beta” series. And it’s just 25 intense minutes per day. That’s the draw for me. I received a nutrition guide and it looks as though I will need 1600 calories per day. The 5-Day Fast Track has a more limited calorie amount to get fast results in the first 5 days. All whole foods, except that they push BeachBody’s “Shakeology”. I am not going to buy into the Shakeology, I feel I can come up with plenty of good things to eat without the powdered meal supplement. Plus it’s too expensive….but I really just want to do this with my own whole foods. I had to take a “Before” picture and am promised a free t-shirt if I follow the program and submit my “Before” and “After” photos.

I just finished Day 2 of Focus T25. Yesterday was Core Cardio and today was Speed 1.0. Both workouts were very intense…but I was able to do almost all the exercises right along with Sean T and company. I had to modify 1 exercise yesterday and 1 exercise today because I couldn’t do them with my hip…but they have a lady that shows the modifications throughout the entire workout. Speed 1.0 actually had some moves similar to fancy shawl dancing…lol. That similarity is what helped me power through the tough parts of the workouts though.

The first workout, although intense, left me feeling energized. I was very sore yesterday, but not sore enough to avoid today’s workout. I experienced the same feeling of having energy. I still have that energy….I just feel good today. And I was so happy to discover that the exercises do NOT bother my hip!!

I’m looking forward to the next 3 days of my Week 1. I’m also hoping that blogging about it will help keep me accountable and help keep me consistent. I have no excuses, it’s only 25 minutes per day!! I did it the past 2 mornings before my kids got up for school, tomorrow I have the day off and can relax a little and do it after my kids go to school. I’m optimistic and excited about this.

So stay tuned for progress reports…..lol.