Starting the 30 Day Shred

February 1, 2010 No Comments

You may have heard of Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred. It seems pretty famous on the internet, even though it’s been out for years. The workout DVD is known all over the web for giving people real fitness and weight loss results while wearing them out.

Since I’m intent to lose weight, gain muscle and get healthy, I thought I’d take the challenge.

I started exercising 30 minutes every day since the start of the year. I mostly used my treadmill and some simpler workouts. Starting today, February 1st, I plan to start the 30 Day Shred and do it every day.

But first, some background on the shred:

About the 30 Day Shred

The 30 Day Shred DVD features 3 20-minute workouts, each with a different difficulty level. It suggests you do the level one workout every day until you feel confident enough to progress to level two.

Of all the reviews I saw, people said that they feel completely broken after just the first day. Jillian Michaels pushed them that hard.

All you need for the 30 Day Shred is some hand weights and a yoga mat (if you’re working out on a hard surface.)

First Impressions

I used the 30 Day Shred, level one, for the first time today. I was very excited and raring to go.

I didn’t expect to have as hard a time as some people since I’d been exercising every day for a month before this. Wow, was I wrong.

My first impression was, “holy crap!”

This workout is brutal. It’s deceptively hard. She doesn’t make you do anything that tough, but soon, you’re dying. You get no breaks. I had to stop several times because the cardio portions were so hard. I was breathing so hard I got just a bit light-headed.

The strength and ab work was hard, but I was able to get through it all. I was even able to do the first third of my push-ups un-modified.

Normally I feel really happy and energetic after a workout. After this one, I just want to take a nap. It’s been hours now and I’m still super tired. I guess I’ll sleep well tonight.

The 30 Day Shred is hard. There’s no doubt about it. I plan to keep going every day though. I’m hoping I’ll be able to get through the entire workout without stopping by Friday. I’ll check in with you at the end of the week so you can see how I’m doing.