30 Day Shred

It's no secret that I've been taking my fitness a lot more seriously in 2011.  I originally started working out in 2010 with some coworkers because I didn't want to gain weight.  One of the benefits of keeping fit is that my weight has essentially stayed the same since January.  I haven't weighed this little since I cut my calories substantially a few years ago.  There are many more benefits from working out than just maintaining a goal weight, such as the endorphin rush after a good workout and being able to lift things I couldn't dream of lifting last year.  I carried a 56 pound box all by myself on Monday, and can actually help my boyfriend lift super heavy things, like a bbq or couch.

Unfortunately, where I live, I haven't been able to find a gym nearby that doesn't require me to sign a contact for two years.  Two years is a long time to commit, and who knows if we'll be living in the same apartment next year.  The apartment building I live in has a gym with plenty of weights, but when it comes to cardio all it offers is a stairmaster (which is awesome), an elliptical that squeaks and the worst exercise bike in existence.  I go for runs outside, but I miss the structure of the boot camp classes I used to attend at my old gym.

I was reading a fitness blog the other day (I can't remember which one unfortunately), and the writer mentioned that she tried Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and was noticing results.  I was curious about it since it has over a hundred 5 star reviews on amazon, and since it was only $10 at Chapters I picked it up.

The DVD offers three different levels of difficulty.  All three levels are split into 5 sections: a 2 minute warm up, 3 6 minute circuits, and a 2 minute cool down.  Each circuit consists of 3 minutes of strength training, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of abs.  There are NO breaks in this workout.

I started off by trying level 1.  Level 1 is a decent challenge.  I was feeling good throughout the entire workout, and at the end I was covered in sweat.  It's a great starting level, especially if some of the strength training moves are new to you.  I highly recommend wearing sneakers for this workout.  I started barefoot and had to pause the dvd quickly to throw on some shoes. 

Since I was feeling pretty good afterwards, I decided to try level 2.  Level 2 is much more challenging compared to level 1.  There is one move that I couldn't do.  Holding hand weights, you have your palms facing outwards.  Then you squat down and do a V-lift with the weights.  I don't know why I couldn't do it, but my arms just aren't strong enough.  In any case, there is a significant difference between the levels.  Needless to say, I didn't try level 3 yet, but I plan to tomorrow.

When I first bought this dvd I was skeptical about the 20 minute workouts.  However, after 20 minutes you will feel like you worked out for an hour.  I think if you did one of these levels every day, you would notice a significant difference in your body.  I don't know if I can do it every day right now (since my parents are visiting for the weekend), but I can definitely fit in 20 minutes before or after work.

I will post updates if I notice a huge difference in my body throughout the month.  If you're looking for a cheap workout dvd that won't take up an hour or more of your time, this one is worth the pick up.