Tuesday, February 01, 2011

30 day shred


today marks the end of my 30 day shred resolution. i took my "after" pictures this morning. everyone should take before and after pictures. "before" pictures can be a little traumatic, but it also helped me to see the things that i already like about myself. i've got strong legs! my arms are so weak that i resemble a tyrannosaurus. my head is in proportion to the size of my neck! my gray hair is less visible when you see my glaringly white stomach!
i met my goal of completing the routine at least 20 times in the month. i actually did it around 25. i loved it. LOVED it. it's never fun to get up at 545 to exercise, but the routine was quick, challenging and doable. i had a day about 2 weeks into it that i just felt great. my muscles felt strong, my clothes were fitting better and i reconfirmed to myself that i can do hard things!

THOUGHTS:
1. i started the program already being a regular exerciser. but jillian gives you options for everything. i could hardly lift the weights on day 1, but the lunges and cardio weren't that difficult for me. i just kept working my way towards doing the routine as close to perfect as possible.
2. i ran a half-marathon on day 8 of the workout. i cut down my running after that from about 20 miles a week to 10 miles a week. the jillian michael's 30 day shred only enhanced what i was already doing. while i was strong in lower body, i really needed the most results in my upper body and abs.
3. in conjuncition with the 30 day shred, i didn't eat any junk food in january. i lost about 3 pounds. that wasn't my goal(i wanted to build muscle), but a nice incentive. and i have more energy and desire to eat healthy.
4. i plan on doing this workout every morning. it's great and quick and it doesn't take long before the results become obvious. especially in my abs. i am really proud of my abs. i started working out in a sports bra like jillian does and that was great motivation too. but only in the privacy of my own home. while the rest of the world was asleep.
5. the routine only requires a couple of hand weights. that's it. and the dvd was only $7.
6. for further motivation, google 30 day shred images. very inspiring. i'll never post my pictures, but please enjoy ones others have posted.

the end.

9 comments:

Julie said...

What?! No before and afters? That's a rip-off:-). Consistently working out and NO junk food?!?! Sounds like torture to me, but I'm totally impressed.

amber lynn said...

great review! i have been contemplating a workout dvd to start and this was one of them. i have been hearing good things, so maybe i'll just bite the bullet and give it a try :)

Kaitlyn said...

i was expecting to see your before and afters! oh well.. i'll take your word for it ;) i still haven't opened my shred dvd.. ha. i have been dieting and exercising at the gym all month though.. so that makes up for it, right? great job!

Emily C said...

hmmm. this is interesting. i'm not an excerciser but yet want to loose 20 pounds. maybe this is the route i should go. my goal for jan was to loose 5 pounds, and i did. mostly by eating healthier and lots more vegetables. and keeping baking to a minimum. my goal for february was to add excercising to the mix. so i'm gonna look into this. i'm such a lazy ass though. so wish me luck.

Brittney said...

that's it. i'm googling this right now. stat. my abs need some serious help. they're suffocating in non-muscular substances. and it's not pretty.
seriously. you should get a commission.
-brittney
http://adayinlifetoo.blogspot.com

modernmom said...

Heidi, you are great to have around... :)
AND I read your post about the 30 day shred. I have been running (still), but I am bumping up the strength training, too. I borrowed that video from my girlfriend for the days I don't want to drive to the gym.
(Re-posting to your profile. ;)

Jessica said...

wow this is super motivational for after i have this baby. i always hate doing videos though because i totally lack the motivation if i'm not at a gym or around other people. do you ever have this problem?

Barry & Margo Swartz said...

That video is awesome!

Julie said...

Thank you for commenting on my blog because now I'm going to be able to be an avid reader of yours!

I'm on level 2 of the 30 day shred right now. The biggest difference I've noticed is my butt and I kinda love it. My butt is like, perky...which it so wasn't before when I was only running.

Have you done level 3? It scares me because level 2 is so difficult.