How many times have you made a goal – to exercise every day, perhaps, or to stop eating out for 3 months, and then mid-way through you slip up? It can be discouraging when that happens, and many times our first instinct is to think, well, I already had a donut / bought a new shirt / spent a day lazying on the couch instead of working out, so why not just do it again?

The point of all that is that, well, I missed Day 8 (yesterday) of the 30 Day Shred. I know! I am disappointed in myself too. Though I first tried to justify that surely 2 hours of tango (i.e. traveling across the dance floor at the speed of music) will suffice for one day’s exercise allotment, I started hearing Jillian’s voice in my head “that’s a false message of lethargy that does you no favors!” click here

So I’ve decided to do Day 8 & Day 9 of the Shred on, well, the actual Day 9. I finished Day 8 just now, and will be hitting the mat at around 8pm for Day 9. That means I can still say I stayed on the wagon, right? I’ve also decided I’m going to work ahead and finish Friday’s workout on Thursday, so I don’t have to lug a heavy laptop to NYC. Here is my Shredule (get it?) for the week:

Monday (Day 8): Fell off the Shred wagon. No excuses.
Tuesday (Day 9): Make up Day 8 & finish Day 9 workout.
Wednesday (Day 10): Day 10 workout.
Thursday (Day 11): Day 11 & Day 12 workout
Friday (Day 12): No need to worry while I’m in NYC!
Saturday (Day 13): Back on schedule with Day 13.

A reader said that doing the 30-Day Shred is as mental as it is physical. I agree. After missing the workout yesterday, I realized how easy it is to get off track. But I’ve committed to the 30 Day Shred, and I’m going to do 30 workouts in 30 days even if Jillian kills me. Setbacks shouldn’t mean that we should let go of our big goals, if anything, the victory will be all the sweeter having had – and overcome – these setbacks.

At least that’s what I’ll be telling myself over the next 22 Shred workouts!

Before I started the Shred, if you would’ve told me I’d exercise on the weekends, I would’ve laughed.

But guess what I was doing at 9 PM on a Saturday? Day 6 of the Shred!

I am now officially done with 20% of the 30 Day Shred. Time for some dinner as celebration.

When did you start seeing results from the 30 Day Shred?

(Jillian can bully me all she wants if I can get abs like hers.)

Today will be Day 5. It’s funny – every day I’m reluctant to start the pain The Shred, but once I begin the workout becomes more bearable. It’s still hard and it hurts, but starting means that I’m only 20 minutes away from finishing the workout for the day. Though I know I need to allow Jillian to do her magic for the next 25 days, I’m getting a bit impatient for results.

The workouts are still difficult. Still on Level 1. Doing pushups with knees. Can’t finish the arm presses. Most definitely still get winded during the jump rope sequence (I actually find jumping jacks and butt kicks much easier than jump rope).

I suppose I feel a little bit stronger when it comes to some of the cardio, but that might also be wistful thinking. While grocery shopping with mom yesterday, I deliberately parked the car at the very other end of the parking lot so we’d have to walk further. But I also did the Shred for the day – no false messages of lethargy for me, Jillian!

After Day 4 (yesterday) I am a little less sore than I was the previous days. I even managed to go to a 1.5 hour tango session after doing the Shred an hour earlier. So I consider that progress. But soon I hope progress would also be marked by the measuring tape.

Must remind self that just as I did not get to my current state of physical (un)fitness in 5 days, it’s unrealistic to expect me to turn into a Jillian carbon-copy in 5 days (or 5 years – ha!).

image source: ybyl.com

When I described the Shred workout to CB – 3 sets of a 6-minute circuit composed of 3 minutes of strength training (squats, lounges, pushups, arm presses, etc.), 2 minutes of cardio (jumping jacks, jump ropes), and 1 minute of abs (all the variety of crunches you can imagine) – he paused, then said, wow, that sounds really hard.

That, my friends, is a very accurate assessment of Jillian Michaels’ the 30 Day Shred (affiliate link).

It’s hard and it hurts. I am only using 2-pound weights, but those are plenty hard for me. The good thing about the Shred is how short it is – only 20 minutes a day. Throw in time rolling out the yoga mat and listening to Jillian’s inspirational-but-tough pep talk before the beginning of the video, and I’m still clocking in at under half an hour.

The surprising thing, though, is how much I like Jillian. I’ve always thought exercise video gurus as either too cheesy faux-upbeat or too in-your-face, but Jillian is a nice balance between the two. She tells you like it is – “abs like this don’t come for free”, but somehow you really believe that she is rooting for you – “I’m 100% committed to results”.

She’s no-nonsense and she dispels all sorts of romantic notions I’ve had that going on a leisurely walk after dinner or taking the stairs is “enough” exercise. After all, I’m moving around, right? This is the type of advice I see a lot in lifestyle magazines, i.e. just make these small little adjustments to your routine – take the stairs, park the car farther from the office, walk your dogs – and you are being good to your health. In fact, Jillian says advice such as these sends “a false message of lethargy.” Zing! I think that might have been my favorite line from this entire video.

All I know is that I am working harder in her 20-minute workouts than I have ever worked during hour-long gym excursions. And I’m only doing Level 1, the easiest level, and following Anita, the lady doing the “moderated versions” of harder exercises, i.e. not sinking as deep into the squats, push-ups with knees on the floor, etc. But it’s still the hardest workout I’ve ever had in my life. If I ever win the mega lotto, I am hiring Jillian as my personal trainer. For real.

As for results, well, 3 days is too soon to tell. I’ve decided not to measure myself until I’m done with Day 10, lest I get too discouraged by the lack of progress. But I do know that I have discovered muscles in my arms, shoulders, and calves that I previously had not known existed. They now make their existence known with pain.

Shredders, tell me how your Shred is going!