Day 20 - Level 2

Just finished Level 2. And Day 20 - that means I'm 2/3 done the challenge!!

Another thing that is improving is my flexibility. On the stretches at the end I can now touch my forehead to my knees - just barely, but I can!

So, I had emailed the Jillian Michaels website to ask about consecutive day muscle training in the Shred and this is the response I got today...

With the 30-day Shred, I do believe that you should have 2 resting days, not right in a row. But, I do know that it is suggested to workout for 5 days out of a week. I hope that answers your question.

This still isn't every other day, but it does kinda make sense. It would also work out to doing 2 weeks (5 days per week) on Level 1, 2 weeks on Level 2 and 2 weeks on Level 3 for a total of 6 weeks (30 days). You know, if I was following the actual program, which I'm not.

So, now I'm not sure what I should do - if I should add a couple rest days to my workout schedule. It would sure make it easier! I just don't want it to seem like a cop out or that I'm giving up or not able to do it.

In some ways, I'm thinking I really should though. Today I was absolutely exhausted doing this workout. I had to do just legs and drop the arms on a couple of the reps for biceps and the front arm raises. My guess is this is likely because my muscles are not getting the proper 48 hr rest and recovery period that they need.

What do you think?

I'm leaning towards making tomorrow my first rest day in 3 weeks.

Day 19 - Level 3

Another day of Level 3 complete.

Man, this is a tough workout. Seriously. Dude.

You should try it!

Day 18 - Level 1

Today was Level 1 again.

I can definitely tell I'm getting stronger. I can now do both sets of the front arm raises fairly comfortably with my 5lb weights which means I should really increase them, at least for the first set, next time. Going to 8lbs is going to be a killer though - I'm gonna be wishing for 6's or 7's that's for sure!

I made the chest flies harder by only lifting my 8lbers just over half way up - this makes a huge difference!

I'm going to finish off this rotation (1,3,2,3) one more time and then switch things up again. I hope I'm not going to bite off more than I can chew. I'll leave you in suspense for the time being - stay tuned!

Day 17 - Level 3

Managed (gasp) to finish (panting) Level 3 (drip, drip) one more time!

My legs are feeling the burn.

Day 16 - Level 2

Today was Level 2 again. For some reason I was sweating virtually as much as I do for Level 3. It was really tough. Biceps I had to drop from 8lbs down to 5 lbs for the 2nd set. I really need some weights in between those two. Plus heavier ones for the chest flies and some of the back rows.

There is one thing that I don't quite get about these workouts. All I've ever heard and read (including Jillian Michaels' book Making the Cut) says to perform muscle conditioning workouts every other day, allowing time for your muscles to recover and rebuild, getting bigger and stronger. And if you want to weight train every day you need to use train different muscle groups on different days. But in this workout DVD you're supposed to train every single day, and you're definitely using the same muscle groups every day. So what's the deal? Anybody have any ideas?

Measure-in Wednesday

I decided to take Brooke's suggestion and measure myself.

I had purchased Jillian Michael's book Making the Cut awhile back and had done the measuring as per her instructions. So, my original measurements were taken Feb 20th, but I think that would still be pretty accurate numbers to use for how I likely was at the beginning of this challenge.

Hallelujah there's a difference!!

Bust - down 0.5"
Chest - down 2"!!
Waist (just above belly button) - down 1.5"!!
Hips - same
Right Thigh - same
Left Thigh - down 0.25"

Total inches lost - 4.25"!!!!

The thigh measurements I'm not 100% sure are accurate as it's a little more subjective measuring and I don't remember exactly where I took them.

I also measured my belly this time. The waist measurement isn't overly helpful anyway, it's not like we're buying pants that fit around the waist. They fit around the belly - you know, so it can push your post-pregnancy belly up and over into the muffin top look. Unfortunately my belly measurement is 3" bigger than my waist measurement.

I'm a bit disappointed that I haven't shrunk in the hip/thigh department - both important jean fit measurements. Hopefully by the end of the Shred there will be some improvement there.

Anyway, I am very encouraged by those numbers and I look forward to measuring again at the end of this torture shredding.

Day 15 - Level 3

I am half done!!! Woohoo!!

Today was Level 3 again - nothing much new to report.

The last circuit is by far the hardest one. I've noticed that I've been cheating on the strength training portion of this one.

Travelling pushups and then row and leg lift from a plank position. As you get tired you'll notice your butt sticking further and further up into the air - making it much easier on your core. I noticed that I've been doing that especially on the row and leg lift exercise. So, today I focused on keeping my butt straight, totally engaging the core muscles - very difficult! I was not able to do it perfectly the whole time.