30 Day Shred: DONE!

I recently got Jillian Michaels's 30 Day Shred at a yard sale.  I decided to do it as a personal challenge to myself, and I'm happy to report that I did the DVD for 30 consecutive days- August 18 to September 16.  No breaks.  :D

The concept is that there are 3 workouts: 1, 2, 3 (increasing difficulty).  Each workout consists of 3 circuits, and each circuit has 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of abs.  You would do 10 days of Workout 1 and then move on to Workout 2 for another 10 days and then finally Workout 3 for the last 10 days.  Hence, the 30 Day Shred.

I already had a mat and a set of 5 pound weights at home so this was perfect.  I could wobble and wheeze and gasp for breath in the comfort of my own home.  Even though the workouts were short, they were very efficient.  At the end of each workout, I was sweating so badly.  If I was in public, it would have been embarrassing!

I can’t believe it that I was actually able to do it!  I've been wanting to incorporate strength training into my workouts, so this DVD came into my life at the right time.  I tracked my progress through a chart that I found on Pinterest.  It was a satisfying feeling to be able to cross the days off over the course of a month.

Results: My weight didn’t change at all: 152.3 to 152.5 with some fluctuation in the middle. However, the changes that I do notice are that my arms, shoulders and butt look more defined and my poochy isn't as...poochy. I can wear a belt with my jeans now.  Not too bad in a month’s worth of work and some sprinkling of emotional eating. In retrospect, I should have taken measurements during this process, but in all honesty, I didn’t want to in case I wasn’t able to see results. I should have had more faith in myself.  After I finished my last workout last night, I promptly purchased my Groupon for a 60-minute signature massage and detoxifying foot scrub that I've been eyeing for a while.  Tee hee.

This was as much a mental exercise as a physical one and while I don't see dramatic results (who would, in 30 days anyway? That probably wouldn't be healthy.), I'm proud of myself for being committed and proving to myself that I could do it.  Here's to getting fit!