Oct 2014 Shred Thread - because Christmas is still coming...

[yadahyadah]

... And this goose ain't planning on being fat. Don't fall off the exercise wagon just because the nights are drawing in. Join us in our adoration - and autumnal exasperation - with Jillian Michaels and her many ass kicking exercise programs.

Body Rev Phase 2, week 5, workout 5 second time done. Hate the warm up. Hate the one legged crab thingies, the rest was ok, although my left knee made a horrid creaky tearing sound during the one legged squats. No pain, but that can't be good can it?

Killer Abs L2 D9 done. Got half way through and realised this should have been a Shred day - never mind. I ought really to preview L3 of Killer Abs for next week, but I'm not sure I can bear to.

Lambzig, my knee did that the other day and no ill-effects seem to have resulted, but it was very alarming at the time. I'm also finding that my poor abused shoulders are making a lot of creaky clicky noises.

body rev phase 2 week 8 workout 7 done. yay.

30DS L2D8 done. Phoned it in a bit this morning - cardio and abs were OK but my shoulders are still killing me so some of the strength moves were a bit beyond me. Anyone have any tips for easing a really sore neck and shoulders from working at a keyboard all day?

Diet has gone out of the window a bit this week, sadly - work is manic and I need the calories!

Body Rev phase 2, week 8, workout 8 done and after the strange abs stitch of last week I have noticed that I am suddenly doing the hardcore core moves really well. Progress. Hurrah.

Imogen try hinging from the waist head and neck down and just allow the weight of your neck and shoulders to lengthen your spine and perform the restorative stretch. Hold it for as long as it feels good.

ShowMe a five day break will not take you back to square one by a long shot. I have memories of how hard life can be during those red-eyed, unwashed phases. Give yourself the time you need to get through these few days and pick up Shred when you feel it is okay to put yourself through its paces again. Trust your motivation to kick in when you've got the energy reserves to handle it. It is hard enough to do without suffering sleep deprivation at the same time.

Would you recommend 30DS for someone who's really unfit? Or should I start on something gentler, like Davina?

Body Rev Phase 2 week 5 cardio second time. Actually managed to do a few Burpees today.

Show me, seriously, it takes three weeks to lose all your fitness of doing nothing, so five days won't hurt. Get some sleep, don't weigh yourself and get back to it tomorrow.

Balls I would recommend just doing it. I had done no exercise for 9 months when i started. It is hard, really hard, but four or five days in its suddenly easier and by day 20 you can feel your fitness is there and how much stronger you are. It's 20 mins a day and you can do anything for 20 mins.

Thanks Lambzig. I shall order it :)

Come and join us when you start.

Hello have finally got my 30DS dvd out of its box and did day 1 today. I run about 2 or 3 times a week so am not totally unfit but could do with being better toned.

What size weights do people use? I used two tins of tomatoes but see there is a wide variety available on amazon.

30DS L1 D5 done. Things are starting to feel a bit easier . I'm kind of looking forward to L2, I can remember enjoying the jump up a notch last time and felt like my fitness was really changing.
ShowMe hang in there and don't be tough on yourself. I understand how you're feeling. The only reason I've managed to carry on is DS did 3 reasonable nights in a row where I must have got about 5 hours sleep with only a couple of wake ups. I felt almost human but it was only a minor blip and we were back to hourly waking last night . Just give yourself time to rest and you'll be back on it in no time.
Lambzig and Yadah, what is body rev like? Is it loads tougher than all her other dvds? I've got a friend that's done insanity and fancy something longer and more involved. If the sleep deprivation doesn't brake me I might consider getting it for Christmas and starting in the new year

Miranda, I started with 1.5kg and have just jumped up to my 3kg ones. That's as heavy as I've gone in the past but it's plenty for me and I got some reasonable definition last time I did it. I've no idea what others use so I might be being a complete lightweight! I think it depends a bit on how your fitness is to start with but just start light and work your way up.

Miranda, I started with 2, worked my way up to 3 and now use 5 in Body Rev when it calls for heavy weights. I think it would be fine to start with 1kg if you wanted. I was/am used to lugging a 15kg baby about. It's fine to use two different weights depending on the exercise too.

Body Rev is good. It mixes it up so much that I think it's less boring than shred or ripped. I am on week 5 (which is taking me longer than 5 weeks as I never manage 6 times a week) and it has had a more drastic effect on my stomach and CS overhang had than doing shred and ripped consecutively.

It takes around 35 mins so needs a bit more time commitment. I find it quite motivating. Annoyingly, despite a 50 minute a day school run and Body Rev, I am not losing any weight at all, but I am in my thin jeans and my muffin top is going fast.

Thank you - I am definitely feeling muscles in my inner thighs have been working which is a good thing :) will have a look for either 1.5kg or 2kg weights I think.

I am a total weed with no upper body strength, so I started with 1kg and switched to 2 on my second run through the Shred - even now I'm struggling with the 2s on some of the moves. But I am pathetic and most people can do better than that.

ShowMe, just wanted to give and sympathy. It's utterly grim, isn't it? Could you run to a night nanny to give you a break and try to get the baby into good habits? We did it for 5 nights when DS was 9 months, and I was back at work and on my knees with exhaustion from breastfeeding every two hours all night every night. She cracked the night feeding habit for us, and also gave me a solid run of uninterrupted nights which probably saved my sanity. I won't lie, it was expensive - our holiday that year was 3 nights in a UK holiday park- but it was so, so worth it. DS was still a bad sleeper after that but at least DH and I could share the load.

Killer Abs L2 D10 done. Eek - no hiding from L3 now.

Body Rev phase 2 cardio 2 done. Feels like a fkg holiday after the metabolic workouts. Lambzig I am looking forward to hearing your feedback on weeks 7&8.

Sometimes I like Body Rev a lot. You build up steadily at a pretty quick pace and it certainly pushes both your fitness and your body shape into a new place. Once I finish this round of it. I am going back to Shred and Ripped and will then come back to BR as the pre-summer slammer.

Miranda Weights-wise I started with 1.5 for the evil anterior raises and 2kgs for everything else. Then I got some 3kgs and really use all three sets for different moves. When I want to concentrate on getting the form right I use lighter weights and heavy it up as I get to grips with it.

Some 2kg weights are winging their way to me (thank you amazon prime). Went for a 3k run this morning - felt a little stiff but not too bad. Will do the shred later on (when the weights have arrived)

Weights safely arrived. Am now wondering whether 2kg was sensible but will find out later when I try them. They definitely weigh more than a can of tinned tomatoes anyway..

2kg weights were quite hard work The DC watched and have suggestions too...

Well, my plan to do a week at each level of Ri30 hit a roadblock last week - we decided to spring clean the house, working through getting carpets cleaned which meant I did 2 days L1 last week (was still a bit poorly on the monday), then the living room was full of stuff from the dining room for the rest of the week (TV inaccessible and no floor space), then this week I did another day of L1 on monday and then TV etc moved out of the living room.... just got it reassembled, just a couple of bedrooms to go now. So I should be able to do 2 more days this week and then on to L2 next week.

I've accumulated quite a few weights now - and used just about all of them on Monday! 1.5 kg for the chair squat/fly thing, 5lb for anterior raises (yay! up from 1.5!), 3kg for the halo, 10lb bicep curls, 6kgs deadlift/upright row, and a single 8kg for the swing thing and 'good morning'!

Imogen - way upthread you asked 'Anyone have any tips for easing a really sore neck and shoulders from working at a keyboard all day?' -Yes...I don't know a cure so recommend prevention. I write software and occasionally get this, but really only if I'm not sitting properly relative to my computers (I've got 2 keyboards and 3 screens at the moment) - if you're getting sore then spend some time looking at your position, adjusting the height of your monitor/chair etc, and in particular make sure that you're not twisting at all - if you need to turn to look at a screen swivel your chair don't just turn your head. HTH!