Life gets busy. We all know that. It’s one of the few things that is universally understood. So I don’t have the time—or the energy for that matter—to go to the gym at 5 a.m. to get an hour workout in. Now, there a probably a lot of people who will disagree with me on that who go every morning. And, that’s fine. I applaud you for having that kind of motivation.
It’s just that…I don’t.
But, just like probably 85 percent of population, I still want to look good and be healthy. So, I went out looking for a compromise. I had done the “Insanity” workouts by Shaun T before in college, but those are 45+ minutes and are literally insane.
As in—choice words were usually flying out of my mouth as I did the 100th Burpie of the DVD—insane. (It got me in awesome shape fast, but it wasn’t something I could keep up with nowadays.) But I learned recently about a new Shaun T workout set that came out and decided maybe this could work for me.
I’m five weeks in. Here are five reasons why this is the best workout program I’ve ever invested in.
1. Fast
They’re 25 minutes. (There’s an optional 3-minute stretch after each video, so I guess technically about 28 minutes.) Before you know it, you’re done and you broke a good sweat.
The best part about the shortness is that I don’t have any excuse not to get up 30 minutes early each day to work out for 25 minutes. In the grand scheme of a whole day, 25 minutes is nothing. And research shows that working out in the morning gives you better long-term results because you stay more consistent. It also increases your metabolism throughout the day and gives you more energy to be more productive! That sounds good to me.
2. Levels
There are two levels of difficulty with these DVDs. There’s the Alpha round first, which builds you a foundation of strength and cardio to get you in good enough shape for you to step up to the next level. You wouldn’t build a house without first building the foundation for it, right?
You’re supposed to do this for five weeks, but after about three weeks I felt good enough to step it up. The second level is Beta, which takes what you did in Alpha, kicks it up a notch, and adds some new moves to the mix.
What’s great is that I didn’t feel discouraged because I attempted something before I was ready. And when I was ready, I felt pretty dang awesome when I put a Beta DVD in.
3. Modifying Option
There’s always one person in the group on the DVD who’s “modifying.” This means they’re doing a lower impact version of what everyone else is doing. I always try to do the harder version, but sometimes I get tired and feel like I have bad form or just need a break. So I look to the modifier and keep moving and keep working, but in a lower impact way.
4. Realistic
It’s realistic that I’d get up to get a 25-minute workout in. It’s realistic that I’d not only make it through the entire workout, but I’d be more likely to really push myself knowing I only have to focus for that 25 minutes. And, it’s realistic that I can achieve great fitness and a goal weight when I’m more likely to actually do the workout.
5. Effective
I’m still a T-25 rookie, but I’ve seen some results already. Not only have I lost some weight, I feel an urge to eat healthier and be more active aside from just the morning workout. I won’t confirm or deny that I’ve checked out my more toned arms in the mirror once or twice. But I will confirm that I feel better about my health and body.
I may not always jump out of bed super excited about my morning workout (working out probably will never trump my comfy bed), but I do get up knowing that I just have to push through 25 minutes and that I’ll look and feel better by the end of it.