Original Review of The 30 Day Shred - Level 3!

Originally posted on my "real" blog on May 25th. Reposted for your benefit here...

Awhile back I reviewed Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred, Levels 1 & 2. I've progressed to Level 3 now so I thought I'd post a review.

I just finished the workout and I'm sitting here still sweating away! No point in showering till you're done sweating right?

This. Is. One. Tough. Workout!

The toughest thing about this workout is that so many of the moves qualify as both muscle conditioning AND cardio. Sometimes abs are also kicked in for a triple killer.

For example - one cardio circuit included doing butt kicks, jumping jacks and punches - WITH weights. Wow, talk about an arm workout while getting that heart pumping. Another cardio circuit had mountain climbers (tough move totally involving abs) and sumo squats (which obviously work the thighs - inner thighs specifically).

Other tough moves in this workout include travelling pushups, jumping lunges, jumping squats and rock stars. I'm exhausted just typing that out.

I found that Level 1 had quite easy ab moves. Level 2 was slightly harder, and Level 3 does kick it up a notch in this area as well. Pike situps, full situps, double leg raise with scissor kicks (add a LOT of inner thigh on that one!) and side lifts are a few of the delicacies you will experience in Level 3.

Edited to add: My reviews seem to be scaring people away from this workout - and that is not my intention! This workout is awesome!! It is customizable to varying fitness levels. One of the girls always demonstrates an easier version of all the moves, so you can definitely follow her. You can also simply use lighter weights - or even no weights at all if necessary. You can customize it to your fitness level. Just do it!

The actually purpose of this workout is to workout 30 days in a row without fail. I have not done that, and I'm sure if you did you would see more impressive results. I have definitely noticed an increase in strength. I have not noticed any movement on the scale - however, I'm trying to keep in mind that muscle weighs more than fat and I've definitely been gaining muscle and losing fat, so that's a good thing.

If I could be more disciplined with my eating (or should I say snacking!) that would probably help a lot. My plan with that is to avoid chips. I've recently developed this awful habit of having some chips with my sandwhich virtually every day for lunch during the week. Even though I am keeping the portion size under control, having it every day is definitely adding to my calorie intake! So, no chips at home. Chips and desserts are only allowed when we go to someone's house, or have people over, and even then I'm going to pick and choose. For ex - yesterday we had my family over for Mother's Day/Father's Day and I was able to pass on the ice cream sandwiches fairly easily. Though I like ice cream sandwiches, it's not a weakness and if I'm going to say no, that's an easier one for me. On Saturday we had Pam's family over for supper, and then we had ice cream sundaes - which I was able to at least limit to ice cream and strawberries (I CAN'T pass up ice cream and strawberries!). So, hopefully these decisions will help. Making a fairly specific plan like this helps me to make better food choices, much better than just generically saying I'm planning to eat better. What does that mean exactly anyway?

Why are those last 7 pounds so hard to lose?! Grrr.

Original Review of The 30 Day Shred

Originally posted at my "real" blog on February 19th. Reposted for your benefit here..

I've been getting frustrated at my lack of progress with the Push Up Challenge (still can't move past week 4), so I've decided to shake things up a bit. I had heard good things about The 30 Day Shred by Jillian Michaels (Biggest Loser fitness guru) so I decided to give it a whirl.

People - I have exercised at least 4 days a week for the past 10 years - and I found this TOUGH! You can tone it down a bit (there are 2 girls showing beginner and advance versions of the exercises) - you're just not allowed to stop! Well, maybe if you pass out you can stop for a few seconds. This is a very short workout - not counting warmup and cool down it is 18 mins of pure torture! She does 3 minutes of strength, then 2 minutes of cardio and then 1 minute of abs - and then does that same circuit over again three times in total, changing up the moves each time. There are 3 different workouts on the dvd (3 different levels). I have tried both level 1 and 2 so far.

I will keep you updated on how things are going, but I have a feeling this is going to get some results. This has got to be one of the most time effective, tough workouts I have ever done.

She is tough, no nonsense and brutally honest. Here are a few of her phrases.....
"I want you to feel like you're gargalling your heart"
"I want you to feel like you are going to die"

And, yes..... you do!

Edited to add: Just thought I should add on a little more info about the types of exercises performed during the workouts.

Strength moves: these usually incorporate lower and upper body moves simultaneously - such as bicep curls while doing lunges, or shoulder presses and squats, or front lateral raise with side squat, etc - and pushups of course!

Cardio: not for those with knee problems as there's a lot of jumping going on. Jumping jacks, butt kicks, high knee runs, "fake" jumping rope, etc - yep, brutal I tell ya.

Abs: pretty traditional moves - crunches, reverse crunches, both together, bicycles, ab moves from the plank position, etc.

There ya have it!