Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred-Day 10

Alright...here I am, after 10 straight days of doing the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred-Level 1! I'm surviving!

Level 1 on YouTube

Level 2 on Vimeo.

Day 1 was definitely hard but Days 2-4 were probably the worst because I was SO SORE! My husband started doing it with me on my Day 2 and he was the same way. But once Day 5 rolled around I was confused because suddenly walking down the stairs didn't hurt anymore! How about that. You really just have to push through the pain and your muscles will get stronger.

Day 6 and 7 I could tell a definite increase in my endurance during the cardio. I wasn't stopped for breathers and water breaks as often and I was doing push ups like a champ! Ok I'm still doing "girl push ups" but I think I'll be rocking the "man push ups" in no time!

Days 8-10 I felt less motivated to do the workout but I made myself stick with it. It was a combination of it being a lazy weekend and Brian being out of town so I was doing it alone. It really helps to have a workout partner to motivate you!

I've got mixed feelings about Level 2 because I've read/watched multiple reviews that say Level 2 isn't good or fun. On the other hand, I'm ready to move on and continue to get stronger and healthier! Subscribe and follow my blog (both options are on the right side of the page) to see how it goes!

Results: I've lost about 8 pounds!!! I can hardly believe it! I'm so ready to keep this up if this is the direction it's taking me!

Are you doing it with me? If not, start now! Let's do this together!! 

Till next time,
Catherine

Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred-Day 1

As you may remember, my husband and I recently re-watched all of The Walking Dead and did The Walking Dead Workout along with it. Ok, so we did MOST of the workouts! I'm not going lie to you guys!

I started the 30 Day Shred kind of on a whim so I was a bad blogger and didn't get "before" pictures or measurements. Oops. I don't think I'm brave enough to share that mess on the internet anyhow!

Don't run out and buy the DVD! Level 1 and 3 are on YouTube and Level 2 is on Vimeo!

My husband and I did record our weight and measurements not too long ago so I'll be using those to give you guys an average amount of pounds/inches lost through this program. 

Like I said, I just kind of picked this workout on a whim as something to get myself moving. I've heard of plenty of people using this program with fantastic results. A quick YouTube search will help you get motivated and inspired! 

All you need for this workout is a couple of hand weights. 2lb, 3lb, or 5lb depending on your current level of fitness. A yoga mat is helpful too but I think I'll be fine without one. 

You'll definitely be working, that's for sure! I was sweating in no time. She makes you move and keep moving for the entire time! You do a warm up of dynamic stretching and cardio then move right into strength. The entire workout is less than 30 minutes so the point is to give you a more intense workout in less time. She likes to say, "20 minutes with this workout is better than hours of phoning it in at the gym." It's closer to 30 minutes including the warm up and cool down. 

Her concept is a basic 3-2-1 premise. 3 minutes of strength training, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of abdominal exercises. This repeats 3 different times with different exercises for each circuit. There are three different levels and you do each level for 10 days or until you're comfortable moving on. There are no strict rules, just do it how you feel works best for your body!

I'm excited to stick with it and see some results!! Jump in and join me! 

Do you like Jillian Michaels? Have you ever tried any of her workouts?

Till next time,

Catherine

First Morning Workout

I need this pillowcase.

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Today my husband and I worked out at 7am.

It was intense.

Many of you are probably like, "Psshhh Catherine! Morning workouts are great! What's your deal?"

My deal is that I'm not a morning person and working out has yet to become fun for me! I'm not exactly a night person either. Although, I'd rather get necessary things over with in the morning and have the afternoon/evening to do other things. I figured working out could be added to that without much fuss.

Ok it wasn't easy and there was plenty of fussin' but we did it!

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My husband and I *tried* to go to sleep early last night (which didn't work...we were both wide awake till almost midnight) and then got up at 6:30 in the morning to go to the gym. The hardest part was actually waking up and getting out of bed. I think if we can manage that, we'll be good. The bed is just soo comfortable! The actual workout wasn't really any easier or harder than doing it in the evening. So I think it just comes down to forcing ourselves out of bed. 

One thing we did that helped was that we each set alarms on our phone and we put them on opposite sides of the room so we had to physically get up to turn it off. I've heard it suggested to put your alarm clock in the other room...it works! We also set up EVERYTHING in advance. We had our gym clothes ready, our work clothes set out, the dog food ready to go, two delicious breakfast pockets in the fridge to thaw and even set out plates and forks. I was prepared. It helped! We had a tough time getting up so we were a few minutes behind schedule but because I didn't have to scramble for these other things, we both still made it to work on time. 

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We did the first week of Couch to 5k again. This is our third attempt to make it through the whole thing! Third time's the charm, right? I'm hoping so! I want to run a 5k with my husband in the spring. I think we can do it! 

We're also doing another cool challenge a friend suggested to me. It's called 1000 Miles Challenge. All you do is walk/jog/run 1000 miles in a year! That equates to about 2.7 miles a day. We're already quite behind but I'm excited to have another goal to work towards. I started a basic Excel spreadsheet to keep track. The first week of the Couch to 5k has you do about 1.75 miles or so but we ended up doing 1.8 this morning. 1.8 down, 998.2 to go! 

Do you like to workout in the morning or the evening? What gets you motivated to workout?

Till next time,

Catherine