30DS: Day 5

Done!

Holy crap.  Today was a killer.  Don't know if I wasn't quite warmed up enough or what, but the whole first circuit I really struggled today.  Got through jumping jacks just fine, but jump rope was a killer.  Sheesh.  I picked it up in the second and third circuit though except for those damn bicycle crunches at the very end.  I freakin' HATE those.  Jillian say it works "all your abdominal muscle groups at once" (blah blah blah).  I say, "EF THIS!"  It's hard as hell for somethone with NO ab muscles whatsoever.  I might have to start doing a round of those every night along with some push ups (did more of those today! Woop Woop!)

Anyway, since I just finished Day 5 I'm officially half way through Level 1.  You're supposed to do 10 days on each level OR move on whenever you're ready, so I'm really going to try to perfect those bicycle crunches AND work harder on my push ups over the next 5 days so I can move on in time and feel good about where I'm at!

5 days down, 25 days to go!  Come on Day 6!

(Here's a little video demonstrating these effin bicycle crunches...)



30 DS: Day 4

Done!

Just finished Day 4!  Although I'm finding that my enduracne has increased, still another tough day.  I pushed myself a little harder today and finally went for the full on push ups.  Up until now I've been doing push ups on my knees with Anita (that's the modified gal), but today I decided to try the real ones and I actually did it.  I made it through about half the push ups in the video before dropping to my knees to finish.  Now, no, my nose wasn't hitting the ground, but I did some damn push ups and I'm damn proud!  Still need major help with bicycle crunches though...there's always tomorrow!

4 days down, 26 days to do!  Day 5 tomorrow and I'm halfway done with Level 1!

Weigh in tomorrow as well!  Haven't weighed in since August 19th, so time to see how I've done over the past 2 weeks!

Today I had...

Total Calories-1193

Breakfast-Low fat cottage cheese w/pineapple tidbits
Lunch-Lean Cuisine Spaghetti w/meat sauce and mushrooms meal
Afternoon snacks-94% fat free popcorn, homemade shredded beef wrap
Dinner-Homemade chicken chili over baked potato


Notes:
Today I made a homemade shredded chicken breast chili with tomatoes, onion, garlic, jalapenos, unsalted chili beans, tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, and pepper, then served it over a quarter of a baked potato with a dollop of sour cream on top.  Yum-o!

30DS: Day 3

Done!

Just finished Day 3.  Did Level 1 again today and it almost seemed like it was a littler harder than it was Day 1, but I think that's because I was trying to sink a little deeper into the moves, and I know my butt kicks looked better today than they did the first day.  Pretty proud of that!  My arms are on fire again though and I need work on my bicycle crunches...but hey, that's what the next 27 days are for right?!

3 days down, 27 days to go!  Come on Day 4!

30DS: Day 2

Done!

Just finished Day 2 of the 30 Day Shred!  You're supposed to do Level 1 for 10 days then move to Level 2, but Josh is off today so we did Level 2 kind of as a comprimise.  It worked the same as Level 1, but with a little more intensity and the moves were a little more complex which made it more difficult for me, but I powered through it!  I did a lot of the "modified" moves which were a little more modified in Level 2 than in Level 1, so that was helpful, but jumping jacks were a piece of cake today!  I hate jumping jacks and they're usually one of the hardest things for me to do, but I conquered 'em today.  Now the double jump rope or whatever it was called...that was another story.  Single jump rope for me, but got the same cardio effect, so I was pleased with that.

Then we followed it up with the Biggest Loser Weight Loss Yoga on Level 1, which was surprisingly harder after just finishing 20+ minutes of The Shred, but I liked it because it was relaxing, but still a workout. 

So that was my (our) workout for today.  I'll be back to Level 1 tomorrow because I'd really like to perfect those moves before moving on.  2 days down, 28 days to go!  Onto Day 3!

Today I had...

Total Calories- 1196

Breakfast-Life cereal w/ fat free milk
Morning snack-Quaker Caramel Rice Cakes (2)
Lunch- Smart Ones Spaghetti w/Meat Sauce meal
Afternoon snack-Nature Valley crunchy granola bar
Dinner-Steak taco w/white rice

Notes:
I just realized that I was too starving and forgot to take a pic of my dinner, so no real pics today LOL But for dinner I cubed up some sirloin steak and marinated it in Kroger Chipotle Lime 30 Minute Marinade.  Then quick tossed it in a pan to heat and served it in a small tortilla with white rice (for a little extra "filling" since steak is higher in calories).

30DS: Day 1

Done!

Just did my very first workout of the 30 Day Shred and I did GREAT!  I loved it!  Definitely wasn't easy, but I didn't pass out or keel over dead, and I didn't even have to stop!  I'm so proud of myself!

Ok so let's start with the basics of the DVD.  Obviously hosted by Jillian Michaels and she has two lean, ripped chicks with her.  One going all out and the other doing "modified" versions.  I put modified in quotes because they're not really all that modified. LOL  Anyway, there is a short warm up, then there are three levels (1, 2, and 3) and each level goes through three circuits each.  A circuit consists of three minutes of strength training, two minutes of cardio, and one minute of abs.  Oh and NO rest.  LOL So you do the first circuit then move straight to the second, then to the third, then there's a short cool down.

All in all I think the DVD is great and so is Jillian at least in level one.  She was firm, but motivational and NOT a bitch by any means.  She wasn't a major hard ass, but she wasn't cutting any slack either.  At one point she has you go into jumping jacks then says, "If you're looking for a modified version of a jumping jack don't look at my girl so-and-so (the modified one...) because there is no modified version of jumping jack.  I've got 400lb people doing jumping jacks. YOU can do a jumping jack."  I actually thought it was pretty funny, but it did motivate me to push through ALL the jumping jacks.  Every single jumping jack in the workout.  Done.  In my Biggest Loser DVDs I had been doing modified jumping jacks at least half the time, but today I pushed through and I was actually surprised at how well I did.  Of course my legs were killing me and I had to close my eyes and picture myself lying on a beach for the last 5 seconds, but hey, I did it!

Anyway, back to Jillian, I actually really enjoyed her.  She clearly knows what she's doing and seems very trustworthy as a trainer.  Plus, she really explained all the moves and how to do them properly which has been one of the biggest challenges for me: getting the moves right. I never know if I'm doing it right, but she really went into how each move should be done and it helped a ton.  Not to mention the "moves" themselves weren't terribly sophisticated anyway.  She used a lot of basic moves that were "simple, yet effective", as she kept saying, and it was true because I could totally feel the burn LOL Especially in my arms.  Holy smokes!  This DVD has WAY more arms than my Biggest Loser ones.  I was only using 3lb weights and my arms are burning right now as I type this blog. Seriously.

As for me, I think I did great!  I did struggle a bit with bicycle crunches at the end and did end up yelling out "Holy shit!" when I had about six left LOL, but otherwise I did awesome.   The way the circuits work out was actually great because just about the time you're ready to give up on the move you're doing and you feel like that particular body part is about to fall off... BAM.  Time to move to the next step in the circuit, so it actually kept me going and kept me motivated because I could tell myself, "Only a few more seconds".

Anyway, I'm super proud of myself, I feel great, and I can't wait to do it again tomorrow!  She says by day 4 or 5 I'll be amazed at how much my endurance has improved.  Looking forward to it!