30 Day Breakaway - Results

30 Day Breakaway is a running and strength training program from Beachbody OnDemand.  Please follow my affiliate LINK for more product information.  And...if you get a hankerin' to order something, please do so on my site so I get a small commission.

Full disclosure - I did not finish this program.  I made it through three of the four weeks and decided to move on.  I knew from the first week that I wasn't going to like the strength training in this program.  

Let's focus on what I did like, first.

The treadmill runs - Oh gurrrl...if you have ever done any running on the treadmill and trying to figure out what to watch, getting bored of watching it, feeling alone and sorry for yourself that you can't run out doors at 5am - then these are for YOU.  Idalis and you run along the beaches and trails of Southern California.  She talks to you like she's your coach and the time just flies by.  There is a good mix of speedwork, tempo and easy runs.  They are all about 20-25 minutes in length.

The audio runs - I have never used an audio coach for my runs.  I ran nine stand-alone half marathons and have done countless hours of training, but nope...I thought I new better.  Well, I guess having to start back from square one has the advantage of humility. When I'm able to safely run outdoors, there is an audio only option for the runs that you can play on your phone.  There is a little motivational music in the background and Idalis coaching you in your ear.  Very pleasant and the time goes so fast!

The activation warm-ups - Before the strength training workouts, Idalis leads us through a warm up to activate the glutes, core and hamstrings.  I learned some new moves to keep me injury free!

There are a lot of redeeming qualities about these workouts.  I just felt that the strength training was just unenjoyable for several reasons:

1.  Run time - by the time you take out warm up and cool down, you're only lifting for 20 minutes.          

2.  Many times she tries to work multiple muscle groups in one move to be more efficient, but she    doesn't do enough reps to make it actually worth your while.

3.  Complexity of moves - she has some really odd combos that are intended to challenge you - but they are difficult to do safely, so you wind up being so careful that nothing is challenged.

I also wanted to share an unfortunate and painful transition that my legs had to go through.  I had about a week of both knees swelling.  They were swollen and stiff but not truly painful.  I kept icing them, taking ibuprofen, making sure I got a couple miles of a brisk walk in each day and drank gallons and gallons of water.  Woke up one morning, the swelling was way down and my shoes even fit better.  Running is a big commitment for your legs and joints and when you are overweight, the pounding takes a little getting used to.  I knew I wasn't "injured" but just working through the issues.

Another unfortunate biproduct of this program was that I really fell back in to some bad habits with my diet.  This program has at least two rest days per week - and my brain can't handle that.  I have to make the commitment each and every day to the nutrition and the exercise or things kind of unravel.  I plan to pick myself up, dust off and recommit when I start LIIFT4 on Monday.

The real question is - does this program deliver?  Does it train you to run a 5k in 30 days? I say YES.  I hadn't run in two years.  Not even a little jog.  When I started this program I was skeptical that I could run 3.1 miles.  Well, who's the dummy now?  I have run 20 minutes straight and I now believe that I will be able to run 3.1 miles without walking in another week.  I also believe that if I keep incorporating her run training in to my workouts, I will have no problem running a 10K (6.2 miles) in 5 weeks.




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