The November Shred Thread: all Jillian Michaels devotees welcome!

[ImogenQuy]

It's cold, it's dark, but that's not going to stop us pounding on through Jillian's many evil exercise programmes however much some of us may hate them. The goal is to be in shape and looking fabulous at this year's Christmas parties! Come on, you know you want to...

Hi all I am going on holiday in less than 4 weeks I need to get firmer quick! I can't find my shred DVD but I know it's here somewhere so I'm not buying another one.

I need to exercise but I also have a neck / shoulder injury are there any that won't effect my neck so much?

How have you all found no more trouble zones? Can you do selected circuits or do you have to do all?

I mainly need to work on belly and thighs, but crunches hurt my neck!

Hugs for you fullsteam

I'm doing ok just did L1 D10, although actually tried a L2 last week, tough but managed ok.

I'm really having trouble with my knees/shins. I cannot do jumping jacks anymore otherwise I get shooting pains down the outsides of both legs. I substitute with butt kicks or vigorous marching on the spot. In fact I think I prefer level 2 as it's more intense on the arms with the plank type expercises and less jumping jacks, which is fine by me!

NMTZ half done - I did the warmup, the cool-down and four circuits out of seven. I simply can't find 50 minutes for exercise in the morning. I'm wondering whether to just do NMTZ for a couple of weeks, relying on my bike for cardio, and do half one morning and half the next, before I try to move on to something else. Errol, I think you said you've done it before - did you mix it up with something else or were you hardcore about it?

Sorry, pole, I didn't answer your question - the DVD's well set up so you can choose easily which circuits to do.

D1L1 Shred (again). Another lazy week last week but one in which my mood was becoming more and more erratic - kind of gnashy. I realised that quite apart from fitness and weight control exercise balances my mood immensely. So I am back huffing and puffing away. Feels good this side of the routine. 5kg weights! Zoinks that sounds fantastically hardcore.

30DS L2 D5 done.

Gingerbread, you are right, my knees were really sore on L1 but I'm managing L2 no problem. I do have an old injury to left shoulder so do struggle a bit with all plank excersices but am battling through for the moment. :)

Other half of NMTZ done. Ouch. If I do the whole workout ten times, that will realistically take me 20 exercise days, which takes me to the Christmas holidays. I think that works: then over the Christmas break I'll try out Yoga Meltdown and Kick Box Fast Fix, and settle on something to take me through January and February along with revisiting RI30. By which time I hope someone will have got fed up with Body Rev and put it on Ebay for me to buy in time to start it once the mornings get lighter and my motivation comes back!

yadah, glad you're back. I'm feeling gnashy in spite of the exercise - I'm not sure if it's the time of year or just work.

On a frustrating hiatus as DH has been struggling since Saturday with a migraine, so I'm looking after three boys by myself ATM. I was on a bloody roll too

I will be back as soon as DH is up to helping with bedtimes again...

D2L1 30DS done. Plan to do cardio tomorrow as someone up thread suggested that was a good way to approach it all. I think I need the fat burning that cardio gives.

Elpha that sounds tough. Hang in there and rejoin when things settle.

imogen happy to have made it back. Always fear during a break that that'll be it for me - flabby and cackling away into the exercise-free sunset. However, as I said it does the edge off the gnash and for that alone I remain grateful.

NMTZ first half, second time. My poor elbows are feeling the strain. I quite fancy cackling off into the exercise-free sunset, and I'm not very fussed about being flabby (no-one ever hired their accountant for her amazing abs), but I don't fancy being a frail old lady with osteoporosis in twenty years so I keep going through gritted teeth. Sod's law says I'll go under a bus in five years and all this effort will be wasted.

Elphaba, hope your DH has recovered and you can get back to it. A four day migraine sounds horrendous: I get them sometimes but the longest I've ever had was two days.

Cardio kickbox done. Quite enjoyed that. Fast paced and ... Kicky.

Yes there is the osteoporosis factor to consider too. Also I think I your muscles are supposed to protect your bones in old age from those tragic breaks that can otherwise occur from minor knocks. Alright, alright, I'm in again imogen. But come my 85th birthday, it'll be fags, and booze and cackling all the way.

KB&T L1 D3 done. Imogen, sorry I've only just caught up with the thread so only just saw your question - when I've done NMTZ I've done the whole thing. The other dvds all take me longer than they're supposed to because of my penchant for pausing to regain breath (under the guise of making it HIIT), so because NMTZ has less cardio (IIRC) I don't have to pause so much so it doesn't take significantly longer.

oh, and ITA on not wanting to be a frail old lady. Apart from the bone health, I'm sure that this stuff must improve balance ... I don't fancy the 'I've fallen and I can't get up' scenario at all.

30DS L2 D7 done :)

Have done nothing as full of cold and out of breath doing the stairs! I went to my dance class last week and coped so well as felt fitter

On a positive note right shoulder niggle is improving with the rest, may progress to 2lb weight

Hope the cold doesn't drag on too long, squeaky. But a few days off isn't always a bad thing, esp if you've got niggles.

NMTZ second half, second time. I feel feeble not doing it all in one go, but I just can't get out of bed before 6, especially at this time of year and when work is crazy. My idea of using the bike as cardio hasn't worked out, though: I cycled in on Monday morning and the bike's just sat in the garage at work since, because I've been working so late that I haven't been able to face cycling home. Especially in this sodding miserable weather.

yadah, I was planning on hitting the booze and cackling rather earlier than 85! When DS is grown up and I eventually get to retire, or at any rate cut down on work, I plan to behave disgracefully and have a lot of fun.

D4 L1 30DS done. Yay. First time in ages I have managed four mornings in a row.

I might have to cycle to work and come home late today and it is super foggy here at night at the mo ... Don't like the idea at all.

I am really hoping to get back to it tonight. DH has finally emerged (it was a cluster headache rather than a migraine which lasts considerably longer) so can do stories with DS1 while I Shred. I hope. Four nights of putting a baby and a toddler to bed solo, then seeing to all of their night wakings by myself has left me a little flattened, to say the least.

30DS L2 D3 done. I've had to really modify or sustitute any jumping moves due to knee/shin pain.

If anyone has any suggestions for cardio substitutes for jumping jacks, jump rope etc please share them. At the moment vigorous marching on the spot and the punching moves from level 1 are my go-to moves. But a bit of variety would be good!

You can up the intensity of punching by adding weights. Other arm-based ones (from her other DVDs) include standing in running position and then pumping your arms really hard, or (no idea how to describe this) stand with your arms bent in front of your chest and then roll them round each other really fast.

Do you find that the cardio in plank position (eg plank jacks, mountain climbers) are ok or not - I'd guess they might be as the weight is on the hands rather than the feet primarily.

oh, just remembered another one, 'military march' - basically goose-stepping with straight legs as high as they'll go and exaggerated arm swings.

NMTZ first half, third time. I think I'm going to get bored (even more bored than usual - spot the exercise enthusiast) if I just do this, so I'll mix it up with something else next week. It probably is pretty effective, though: it's all strength, no cardio, and it flipping hurts!

Thank you Errol for cardio suggestions! Used a few this morning. L2 D4 completed and legs feeling much better :)

I find the plank cardio fine. Although I'm doing the modified "Anita" ones for now.

my bed refused to let me go this morning so i did not do it! But I did do an hour cycle yesterday - including an evil hill - and a ridiculous frog march from the garage where I had to drop the car off back up the much-loved hill to pick up my child on time... frankly I deserve a rest!

Finished the Shred a couple of days ago, so started Ripped in 30 today...found week 1 quite easy, but perhaps I am not using heavy enough weights? I'd like to know what she means by 'heavy' and 'light' weights. My dumbells are 2kg each, do I need to invest in another set?