Goodbye Vacation, Hello Graduate School

Yesterday I started the next stage of my career: graduate school.  I was unbelievably nervous before my first day.  I believe I mentioned this in a previous blog post, but I switched from analytical chemistry to a biochemistry lab where I'll be doing more synthesis and product characterization.  This is completely out of my chemistry comfort zone, but it's something I want to do.  I feel it's a much better fit, at least in terms of my interest and future career goals.  I was mostly worried that I would be completely lost in the lab and have zero idea what was going on.

Luckily for me, my lab group is super nice.  I know all of the theory behind the lab techniques, but I've never done any biology or biochemistry labs.  I'm not really sure why I was so worried.  They don't expect me to know how to do everything.  They are also happy to explain a lot of things, which is good because I'm full of questions.  I know I'm only a few days in, but I can confidently say that I chose the right lab group.

That being said, in terms of my Mini Happiness Project I'm failing.  I missed 3 days of Yelp Reviews, 5 days of blog posts, and 6 days of contacting people I haven't spoken to in awhile.  I've managed to get some things off of my to-do list, but it's mostly cleaning.  The one place where I'm succeeding is getting off the internet quickly in the morning.  I've only been on my computer for 30 minutes twice in the morning this month so far.  The rest of the days I'm able to walk away after 10 or 15 min. 

The best part about this is that I was actually able to fit in Level 3 of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred this morning before I went to work.  This never would have happened before.  It felt good to knock out the workout in the morning since I've been slacking the past few days.  On that note, Level 3 is vastly superior to Level 2.  It's much easier on the knees and you really feel the workout afterwards.  I'm especially a fan of all of the jumping.

Okay, enough text.  Let's end on a fashion note.  I'm hooked on these Talula Bustier's from Aritzia.  I now own it in 4 colors: black, white, purple, and bright pink.  They're excellent for wearing when I go out at night, and for $30 the price is definitely right. 

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.