Day 4 - 30 Day Shred

So technically this was not day 4... yup... I took 3 days off, whoops! It wasn't that I needed it, its that I didn't have time Friday or Saturday and I was lazy on Sunday. Sundays are my lazy days and there was a snowstorm... I wanted to stay cuddled up all day and not move! Yeah so anyway, "Day 4" was Monday night and even though I took a few days off it wasn't so bad. Still trouble with the arms, I think I will always feel it since I'm so weak there. I am thinking just a couple more days of Level 1 and I might be ready for Level 2!

Here are some pictures from this morning (after Day 4 and after 3 days off):

I honestly can't see much, maybe a bit more definition in my abs and arms looking more toned.  I am excited to see results within the next week. And it should be easier for me to keep up with working out this weekend, I don't have many plans besides cleaning, blogging and working out!  As far as my diet, I've been trying to eat more fruits and veggies. Dinner we have been making chicken, rice, veggies and for lunch I have been eating soup or a half sandwich with fruit. Didn't eat the best over the weekend though, I hate when I set myself back like that! I'm trying to get ready for potential early swimsuit season in Vegas!

Day 3 - 30 Day Shred

Guys... I DID NOT want to do Day 3 because I was still sore and tired from Day 2. I had to ask my boyfriend to give me some high fives and motivation to do it! He told me "You can do it, just go get it over with." So I started at 8:15 p.m. and was done before 9 p.m.  That's what I love about this workout... it is intense, don't get me wrong, but you are done with warm-up, workout and cool down in 25 minutes. That's it... 25 minutes a day! Let's pretend you wake up at 7 a.m. and are in bed by 7 p.m. A 12-hour day, guess what? 25 minutes is only 3.4% of a 12-hour day. I cannot make excuses with this!

So the workout was NOT as bad as I expected. Cardio and Abs were fairly easy and even the Strength portion got better. I think I will be able to start Level 2 on Sunday (still doing Level 1 tonight and tomorrow).  Have a great weekend and let's keep getting in shape!

Day 2 - 30 Day Shred

Well Day 2 was okay, not great. I felt really sore in my arms (which have always been one of the weakest parts of my body and the one part of my body I REALLY really would like to tone). The combo moves during the Strength portion of Level 1 hurt and were really hard for me to finish. In the first circuit of Strength moves, the squat and press was extremely painful... weak arms made it very difficult to lift the weights as high as they should go. Strength during the third circuit was also difficult with the side lunge/lifting weights to eye level (could barely lift to eye level). Let's just say I always look forward to the abs because my core is really strong and no matter how painful the ab portion is, I can always make it through!

Aside from that, I did feel my endurance improve, especially during the Cardio intervals. Makes me hope that Level 1 will get easier over the next couple days and I can push myself even harder. Then Level 2 will come and I'll be back to complaining here... haha! But seriously though, I can feel my body changing a little bit (again probably can feel this already from my very first week, which was two weeks ago). My muscles feel tighter... and I feel less sluggish during the day.Here is a quote I recently pinned on Pinterest (you can find my Fitness/Fitness Inspiration board here):

 This quote is SO true. Last year when I was only working out maybe once a week, I was always disappointed and you do just start to feel sluggish. Even though you can be super sore from working out, I always think its better than not feeling sore and mad at yourself. So here we go, Day 3 now!

Day 1 - 30 Day Shred

I received Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and Jillian's Shred-It With Weights (Kettlebell) DVDs as gifts for my birthday (because I asked for work out DVDs, hopefully not because my sister thought I really needed it haha). I at first decided to give it a try as a shorter workout during the week when I didn't have time to go to the gym and didn't feel like walking out in the cold to go to the gym. Little did I know I was in for a pleasant (and painful) surprise. The workout might only be 20 minutes but it kicks your butt! There are 3 levels and each Level has a 3 circuit workout - 3 minutes of Strength - 2 minutes of Cardio - 1 min of Abs and is repeated 3 times.

So I did Level 1 four times in my first week, then it was my birthday so I took a day off. And then I took a week off, isn't that the way it goes? But I was so disappointed in how well I got back into the groove of working out and then completely failed the next week that I have decided to actually DO the 30 day shred for the next month!

Anyway, let's talk about Day 1 (getting back into it). Since I did the workout a couple weeks before I knew what to expect and thought it couldn't be THAT bad since I would be using the same moves/muscles. Nope, I was wrong. It still kicked my butt and almost felt worse than my VERY FIRST first day.

I pushed through it and felt very sore (I think it was because of already doing the same workout 4 times before and taking too long of a break). For most others I would say Day 1, Level 1 will be tough, but you won't feel too sore. Definitely sore, but not unbearable. Tomorrow I will let you know more about Day 2, which I will be doing tonight. Definitely still going to be on Level 1!

Here are some of my pictures this morning (after Day 1). I will try to update the photos every few days and hopefully show some results.

I am mostly using this as a way to jump start my workout routine in 2013, I used to be a hardcore runner and gym enthusiast, but 2012 did not go well for me, both in working out or in eating as healthy as I should.  I want to get back into shape and have the shape I had when I felt my healthiest (about 2 years ago).