The Shred

On December 28, 2009, Jason and I decided that we had totally fallen into our "honeymoon" phase of living together. We both packed on the pounds and at the end of the year, after eating nothing but fudge for some meals (that is not even in the slightest way an exaggeration) , we were sick (literally) and tired of being heavier then we once were.

So we joined the gym that day and set our goal weights and our goal date, May 1, 2010.

We weighed in once a week and tracked our efforts on a little spreadsheet that we kept stuck to our fridge. With it now being May 12th, the results are in and we both kicked our goals in the moneymaker and lost 75 pounds combined (56 for him and 19 for me). We are both thrilled and so proud of ourselves, and each other, that we were able to accomplish our weight goals the good old fashion weigh (<-- get it?) :)



Now, I do not by any means think that I am fat, or anything of the sort. I actually think I am pretty fit for my age, but I am looking for more tone. I want to be able to walk around and not jiggle in places that once did not.

Insert- Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred.



This work out DVD came out in 2007 (a tad late I know), and contains 3-20 minute work out sessions, Level 1, Level 2, Level 3. The sessions are based on her 3-2-1 method of circuit training. 3 minutes of strength training, 2 minutes of cardio, 1 minute of abs. I love Jillian on the Biggest Loser and was thrilled to get the chance to bring her into my living room. I went to Amazon (the place I go for the best reviews on the web), and over 1,800 people have given this DVD 4.5 stars. People are seriously happy with this thing. So I decide to scope out some blogs with peoples results for this work out. These are some of the comments I read:

"but LO! THE PAIN. DEAR GOD THE PAIN"

"after my first attempt at Level 1 I was in pain, dude! PAIN. My legs were burning like they haven't in years"

"there is a muscle in my upper arms that I never knew existed but is now screaming in pain and has requested abdication from the rest of my body"

"the first attempt left me so crumpled and sore that I couldn't even roll over in bed without wincing for nearly a week"

"y’all, when those twenty minutes were over, my leg muscles were so exhausted that my very first thought was I’ll never walk normally again"

"it involved pain that was so horrible I couldn't move for days without wincing and grunting and wanting to hurt someone so they could feel even a smidgen of the pain that had consumed my entire body."



SAY WHAT? OK, maybe I'm getting in a little over my head. The scarier part is, 90% of the people who use this DVD, react the same way. From the sound of it, this may be the most painful thing on the planet, well maybe the second most...



So all day yesterday I was stoked to pick up this DVD at Target (yes, still, after all of that...$9 for an ass whopping so bad I wish I could sleep until August? 'eh why not).

I got home, pulled out my 3 pound weights out, slipped on my Mizunos, popped in the DVD, and played Level 1. As I was watching the intro, I was assured I could skip the warm seeing as my heart was already pounding from pure fear. I kept telling my self "you survived 2 hour session, 2-a-days in 105 degree heat, with one leg, and no water for a week (1/3 of that statement is true). NO WAY, this can even rank on the hard physical activities list."



I got started and turns out, I loved it. Basic, tried and true moves, packed together with no rest to get the most out of the 20 minutes. Lots of push ups, squats and jumping jacks and other fun things (not).

The Result: When I first got done my legs felt pretty jell-o-y, and my heart rate was up, and I had some condensation on my forehead, but nothing major yet. I woke up this morning and didn't make any sudden movements fearing I would whale out in pain. But I didn't...at all. I was not in the least bit sore. I'm shocked.



Am I just in better shape then these women? Is my body so used to a squat that it doesn't even phase me anymore? Yes I have been working out on and off for a while now, and I try to do squats in the elevator at work, and do planks during my lunch hour but still, I am a LAZY exerciser and can not believe that I am not sore.

I kind of feel let down. Maybe I secretly wanted to feel the agony these women felt, the agony of accomplishment.

I am going to try Level 2 today when I get home from work and hope that tomorrow morning it hurts to smile.

I will keep you posted. Also debating some before/after shots, but my before shot is in my bra and underoos so I'm not sure I'm ready to share all of that. Maybe I'll snap another quick one today of me in a bathing suit... well see!