May 30 Day Shred - come one, come all

Is it your time of the month Lambzig? I can easily gain 2-3 lb due to water retention around that time.

30DS L3D7 done and man am I sweaty!

Well, I am very fed up as on RI30 L1D5 and I have put on 4lb since Monday. I measure exactly the same, but it can't be muscle can it? (I did 30DS straight before). I had been bragging on the April thread on Monday that I lost 11lb and many cm on 30DS, and now I have put half the weight back on.

I haven't been eating to excess, no meals out or drinking, just veg soups and low carb dinners, so I just don't understand.

Must say I am glad I did 30DS first as I think RI30 is much harder, but less boring so far.

Off to sulk.

Ok so making up for last night' take out got up and shredded. You are right Errol I can kind of do the bum out sideways lunge if I don't move my arms and really concentrate, am dividing it and doing arms and legs separately or nothing gets exercised! Am dreadfully uncoordinated... Will improve. Press ups are coming, easier with a solid middle and hurting my hip less.

I peeped at level 2, cardio intro fine but those walk out press ups, I can't touch my toes am no where near so it won't be pretty. My single biggest fitness fail is flexibility, I have non and it takes me weeks or practise to reach my ankles when straight legged. Pregnancy is the only time I have a bit of give!

Anyway am generally inspired so thanks all...I want to be where you are Stuntnun ( excellent name)

He pounds pavements usually but that just reflects where he runs rather than a preference. He got shin and knee problems before he changed his style and shoes.

Errol-100k? Wow

That's interesting. Babesh what sort of surface does you BIL run on?

Errol I was running on either pavement or a path around the local national trust property, a lot of which was a muddy track. I can't remember if one was worse than the other.

Amelia - apart from getting shoes that suit your feet, another thing that could make a difference is the surface you're running on. I do a little on and off, was OK on a roughish grass towpath but running on pavements gave me hip pain (not just while I was doing it, was affecting things like walking or getting on a bike). I thought it was simply the hardness but a friend who is a serious runner (she's done a couple of 100K, no typo!) said that uneven surfaces can be kinder than level ones because you're not pounding in exactly the same way each stride. (maybe there's something similar going on with barefoot running?)

Amelia I know nothing about whether this is often true but my bil was plagued with shin issues and then bought into the whole barefoot running movement. He has had no problems since and runs faster too.

30DS L3D6 done. Almost there!

I started C25K last year but my shins started to hurt so stopped. I'm hoping to get proper running shoes fitted and then will start again.

Right, that's level 3 of Ri30 done - should I be worried about level 4? Gulp! Can't say i found level 3 easy (still a wobbly from it actually!)

Perhaps it was harder today as I had 2 year old DD 'helping me', in other words doing a rolly polly on the mat and jumping on my back during down faced dog position! Fun times!

Just found you ahem

I've still got l2d8 to do so I've not doing very well in April to get the whole shred done mostly due to long working hours knocking out 3 days a week. Still I'm getting on with level 2 and not grunting at every move now! And I'm lost cm but not weight (ignores extra pound or two on the scales today) for me it's more about shape than numbers but I do have a wedding to go to on 30th which I'd like to look great at so I'll be portion watching and snack cutting this month

I'm not finding that the shred is really helping with the weightloss - I've had some great weeks, but then the week after I stay the same, so it evens out to about what I was losing before.

I feel and look better though since starting it, so I'm quite pleased.

I also can't really moan about weight loss as I have lost 3 st 12 in the last 6 or 7 months.

I've been thinking about doing C25K as well, but I need to teach the dog that running doesn't mean please come and bounce on me and he's not been well this week so I'm putting it off a bit.

I hope so Errol, hmm might wander over to the 5:2 thread but when that would show commitment:) I did do it but with no knowledge and poor practice ( six low cal hot chocolates a day and a chunk of cheese) plus fruit and carrot sticks! Worked though!

I can't remember what day of level 3 I'm on. Jillian has destroyed me, in a good way. I tried KB & T which was painful and the kick boxing workout which damn near killed me.

Doing sod all diet wise at the moment. I'm trying to make other changes in my life, so eating habits can wait a little while.

'just practising and not trying to get too deep until I do it more fluidly. '

Yes! Also, you will probably find that as your legs get stronger you can balance better - I certainly have.

Babesh - if you want to try 5:2 there's loads of advice under it's own topic and a friendly support thread.

Amelia I did C25K in the autumn. It's really good. I used the NHS podcasts - slightly lame music but v. encouraging voiceover - but I think you can get loads of different ones.

I am just using 1kg weights as I have never used weights before and have rheumatoid arthritis which effects my wrists in particular so need to be a bit careful. Before I got hold of the weights I was just using tins of beans (which are about 0.5 kg)!

I also can't flex my wrists back because of the arthritis so for the pressups I make a fist and keep my wrist straight if you see what I mean. This is an adaption a hospital physio once showed me.

I don't have time to do it every day but I am aiming for slightly more than every other day - four times a week. I am not overweight (bmi is 21 I think) so I'm not combining it with other things, I just want to be a bit fitter and stronger again and this seems like a v. efficient method!

30DSL1D9

Not too bad today though the first section is still a bit tough!

"What are you all doing diet and lifestyle wise whilst doing this?"

I am dieting by cutting down on my calorie intake to about 1200 and walking more than I was before. I am hoping to buy some running shoes soon and will then start the C25K.

Oh Errol very helpful answers, yup will shop for more weight this weekend. Have been practising my sideways big bum move and struggle full stop, I do have awful balance so think it is just practising and not trying to get too deep until I do it more fluidly.

Have just practised press ups again and actually if I put my arms a bit wider I can do a few, think my body was in the wrong position with bum in air. I feel like I should be able to do press ups as have comparatively good upper body strength but have a dodgy hip and problem with my pelvis. Seeing if careful exercise and better core stability helps.

Your experience sounds really positive, I want to do that same edging up of fitness, down of weight and keep improving. Having lived at the top of my bmi for years and years am now in the middle and going to the bottom which is my running weight. I have been fit in the ancient past and as am getting older and mankier I feel for the first time that I can't carry the extra chub happily anymore and that I need to work for my fitness and flexibility. Am relatively active but have been getting less and less fit, it will only get harder if I leave it. Booze, crisps and chips are my downfall with late night curries a speciality. Am banned from all until half term!

I have given up crisps, chocolate and booze all of which I consume way too much of and I am meaning to do 5:2 but have failed miserably thus far. In fact I ate 500 cals of pain au chocolate for breakfast this am so am clearly not yet committed to this though have dropped 2lbs this week. Plan to lose 2lbs a week every week for a month or so and know that will get harder...

"What are you all doing diet and lifestyle wise whilst doing this?

I'm doing 5:2, which has led to eating less carbs/sugar and more veg. I have a sedentary job, but we usually take the dog for a couple of walks in the week (he's a convenient beast who doesn't need a long walk every day but will happily walk miles somewhere nice), and do something at weekends (walk, hopefully cycle, and in summer watersports...which was what started me on JM as I had such puny arms). I've lost over a stone gradually (back in the healthy BMI range now) and am definitely a lot stronger than I was.

Just done my NMTZ for the 4th time. Not sure whether to do it next week or try one of the others.

Babesh - some very good questions!

Sideways Lunges - and other squats - you need to (a) think in terms of sticking your butt out behind rather than about bending your knees and (b) make sure your calf is either upright or leaning back, not forward over the foot. Practice a few without the arm movements - 'lead with your behind'. Whatever you do don't strain your knees... if they won't go happily beyond a certain point don't force them. Muscle aches are good, joint pains aren't.

Weights - most people find that it helps to have at least a couple of sizes. What you want is a weight that lets you do all (or most) of the set with good form. I've got a somewhat odd combo of metric and imperial - I use 3kgs for some, 10lbs for something like a bicep curl, but those anterior raises I use 1.5kgs. There's one move in the Ri30 where those were too much so I used a couple of 500ml (ie .5kg) water bottles.

Press-ups - I started doing JM stuff last summer and still can't do a proper full pressup but I'm getting closer. You need strong core and upper body... so doing things like extra tricep dips and holding planks can help. Also try doing sets of inclined pressups and gradually working down to lower levels.

"What are you all doing diet and lifestyle wise whilst doing this?"

I walk my dog, so about 3 or 4 miles a day (I'd go further but he's got health problems) and I've been doing Slimming World which works fine, but I wanted to boost it a bit and actually tone up and get a bit fitter at the same time as losing weight.