30 Day Shred

Weight loss: 0, +1 pound
Total weight loss: 18.6 pounds

Seriously? How did this happen? I worked out and ate (mostly) healthy. My theories are that I've gained muscle, or hit a plateau and need to switch things up.

I did Jillian's 30 Day Shred yesterday for the first time with my friend Mallory.

Here's my review on the DVD, in case anybody cares.

I spent a solid hour reading reviews on Amazon about the workout before I decided to purchase it. The reviews were ALL positive. My favorite being, "This workout has brought me closer to religion because I have faith that it works." Seriously, people were being all kinds of crazy.

A lot of reviewers claimed that they've run marathons and are "gym rats" and that even for them, level 1 was a killer. To those people, I call BS. (Unless their idea of being a gym rat is scurrying around the gym's trash can looking for food..or maybe they think a marathon is measured in feet, rather than miles.)

The TOTAL length of the workout is 27 minutes. I went into it thinking that if the self-proclaimed gym rats couldn't finish level 1, then I was sure to die.

False. I did not die. And while the workout IS difficult (but definitely not unbearable), I truly believe that anybody that believes they could lose 20 pounds in 30 days while strictly doing this DVD needs a reality check.

That being said, I really enjoyed the workout itself. I'm sore today, and definitely think that it's a great exercise to tone, which I need. If it was coupled with 3-4 days of cardio, and  a healthy eating regime, I could see it having excellent results. However, I've only done one day, so my opinion isn't worth much.

I plan on supplementing it for my workouts on days I don't make it to the gym, and potentially doing both on days that I have time. I'm sure I'll add a more educated review once I've done it for a month or so, but for now, this is where I stand.

"There is no secret routine, there is no magical number of reps and sets. What there is, is confidence, belief, hard work on a consistent basis, and a desire to succeed." -Steve Justa