April 30 day shred anyone?

[Chuckthefucklebrothers]

I hope there isn't already a thread, had a look & could only find the March one. I have it on good authority that Tesco have the DVD for a fiver - I'm off to spend some club card points so that I have no excuse to not get cracking tomorrow!

I've also taken a 'before' photo (eek!) so that I can marvel at my transformation at the end of it if the shred doesn't kill me first

Who's with me?!

Me. But I'm only aiming for 4/5 days a week. I don't think my knees are up to Jillian every day. I've started a few times before and it's great but I've never got beyond a few days of level 2. I'm hoping being on a thread might keep me motivated. I would like to loose 7 to 10lbs by summer.

PhDmummy I started with 1 kg weights but quickly found I needed 2 kg weights so it might be worth getting a dumbbell or fitbell set. The ones with hexagonal ends are good as they don't roll away and you can use them as supports for push ups to take the pressure off your wrists. If you get ones with rounded ends then putting one over the other at an angle stops them rolling away mid-workout.

OK, the crowd off the March thread have found you and will start invading!

I'm a serial shredder - currently doing Ripped in 30 instead so if you want I can share a bit of advice.

Masquerade - absolutely right about weights, some exercises are really hard (e.g the anterior raises) so most people find 1/1.5 kg enough for those, but can go higher for others. Aim for weights that let you do all or most of a set with good form. I've got a rather random selection - 1.5 and 3 kg, 5 and 10 lb pairs.

HappyGoLuckyGirl - typically people are sore (esp legs) for 3-4 days and then it wears off - honestly!

mmack - and others with dodgy knees - do be very careful about form; if a joint starts to hurt don't push it - go easy esp on lunges and if necessary find alternatives to any cardio intervals which cause joint pain.

Evening Shredders

I completed my 1st 30DS Jan / Feb thanks to the great support of the MN Shred Thread and am currently doing Ri30 more like Ri60 to be honest which I try and do whilst DP is bathing DC (5+3) who enjoy any opportunity to be an enthusiastic audience / co Shredders if they manage to sneak out of the bath early.
I feel so much stronger and fitter than a few months ago.

Am out tomorrow evening so will try and 'Shred' on weds but like to keep active on the thread to ensure I keep it going.

I am in. Have completed the 30ds once before with great results . Looking forward to getting back on it. Make sure you take measurements before you start as often you lose inches before lbs .

Arghhh, alarm's just gone off - who's idea was this?!

...and done!

Thanks Monty, good to know that it does actually work! Measurements are a good idea too

Morning ladies

Ri30 L4 done

Looks like a busy month for shredding! I'm currently doing killer buns and thighs but fancied a change so did ripped in 30.

To the newbies I would take measurements, it's great to see inch loss

Well done Chuckle! If you can fit it in first thing in the morning it can work really well - all done and dusted. I will be doing mine shortly.

Yes, do measure - scales don't always show much change - depend also a lot on your eating and you may well find that you lose fat but gain muscle.

Cheers Errol - I strongly suspect that my legs won't be talking to me tomorrow though!

Morning all. I'm on level3 day 7 of the Shred. Just waiting for Ri30 to arrive from amazon.

Found being on thread really kept me going last month. Managed to lose 2" off my tummy. Hoping to do the same this month too!

To anyone who hasn't done this before, it is amazing how much fitter you get in such a short time. The first few times I did this I thought I was going to die - nopw, although still hard I know I can manage. Worth the pain!

Just finished day 1, don't have weights so I used tinned tomatoes they were a bit light, might have to find something else tomorrow!
Was manageable I think, the only thing I struggled with was lunges on my left knee I used to get dodgy knees from too much running and hillwalking but never this bad, any ideas what I could do instead of lunges? I might try with a knee support tomorrow and see how I get on.
Fil is coming to stay tonight until fri so not sure how I'm going to fit it in, think I'll have to set my alarm for six and hope he doesn't walk into the living room. Was exercising in my nursing bra today and imagining I looked like the women in the video

GandTnow two inches off your waist, that's amazing in a month

D5L2 30DS done. I'dKickJillian'sAss on the bread front I believe wholeMEAL is as bad as white but wholeGRAIN - so things like pumpernickel and some varieties of Vogel or Burgen - are acceptably hardcore to turn immediately to bloat in the guts.

Sourdough is faffy the first time you make it, like most things, but when you get in the swing of it, it is straightforward. We made our own starter about 3 years ago and it is still going (whiffs but am told this is the lovely fruity smell of good health ).

I am not very good at exclusion diets. Nothing kills my spirit faster. But I find that concentrating on getting the good things in - plain live yoghurt, oily fish and avocados, hot lemon in white tea, eases the general bloat and achieves enough for me without making me reach for the razor blades.

Anyway, happy April, all. And as Jillian would say, "Hit it"

Er that's "not to turn immediately to bloat in the guts". Soz.

Thanks yadah

Knees This is a common problem, there was quite a bit of discussion in the January thread, and the Feb thread started with this advice, from a very expert exerciser who has troublesome knees:

^The secret is to build up the teeny muscles that support the side of the patella:

LOTS of balancing and yoga

• stand with feet 6 inches apart, knees slightly bent, lift one foot off the floor, close eyes and see how long you can hold, repeat to other side.
• stand with feet 6 inches apart, up onto tiptoes with legs straight, close eyes for as long as you can
• stand on one foot, move the other foot to the front, side, back, side, in smooth semicircles about two inches off the floor - five each way each side before resting.

Alternative to skipping : march on the spot, bringing your knees up as high as you can.
Alternative to running : walk at jogging pace, pumping arms up to ceiling
Alternative to jumping jacks : half jacks, pump arms alternate sides and ceiling.^

Perhaps if your knees are really bad its better to skip the lunges and do some of those balancing exercises instead?

IIRC she also reckoned that knee supports weren't helpful longterm - masking the problem/allowing more strain.

Yadah that book I was reading also advised that whole grains were a completely different matter to wholemeal but cautioned that wholeMEAL wasn't any better than white bread. In fact if can be worse as it's more likely to contain sugar than white bread.

I'm in! I started last week but have fallen of the bandwagon already need to have the motivation to actually get off my bum and do it so hopefully this thread will inspire.

I nene to lose weight, been doing WW and have lost 7lbs in 2 weeks so pleased with that but I've got another stone to go. I also need to get rid of my baby belly ( my baby will be 8 in a fortnight!!)

Every book seems to say something different and everyone has different triggers, I'd be awful at cutting out a whole food group I just watch portion size and eat as natural as possible, it was the copious amounts of alcohol that did for me this weekend

Forgot to say earlier, did Ri30 L3 D2. I'm significantly better at the balancing on one leg things than when I first did it back before xmas.

That reminds me - for everyone starting out - your quads will hurt for a few days, but doing good quad stretches should help For some reason Jillian forgets one vital piece of advice in L1 - if you can't do a quad stretch properly wobbling on one leg, just grab some furniture for support!

do I really want to commit to thid again? I was doing so well. I got to day 9. then stopped and couldn't get back into it even though I could see a difference. let's see if I can get past day 9 this month

NMTZ done, I've got a HIIT class later so no more Jillian for today

Mamma g'wan g'wan - you wouldn't be here if you didn't want to do it.

Have shredded the last two evenings. I'm in agony! Every muscle in my body is hurting. Will work through it...L1D3 tonight!
I'm also doing 1500 calories and trying to lose weight as well as firm up. At 10st 7 at 5ft 3 I have a way to go! Hoping to be feeling much fitter this time next month :)