SHRED part 1- join me!

[Clarabumps]

I've had the 30 day shred for around a month. I've done three days at the start of the month and then "missed" a day and didnt pick it back up.

I have a wedding in a month and I have to shift the tummy.Plus i've recently had my hair cropped and now my face looks like a turnip.(bad dying escapade!)

Who's with me?Lets do it together and spur each other on!!

Starting tomorrow!

all the other threads are further on so I thought i's start a new one.

Bicycle crunches are a killer- when she says-the wee knot in your stomach..thats when i used to feel the knot really kill me but it is getting further away.
A tip I found useful for doing ab work when I used to do pilates (prior to two children that left my stomach like an empty carrier bag)was to really pull in your stomach. Almost like you're doing a pelvic floor exercise. It really makes you focus on those muscles and it's as though you can really feel them doing the work. Bloody tough though.. I start level two tomorrow.. not looking forward to it..but going to keep at it!
I seem to always start things and I'll do it a couple of times and then I "reward" myself with a night off and I never pick it up again. Not this time though..

Well done on the girly press ups! I still really shake when I do the girly ones and I cant get fully down..and I can only do about 7 of them before I die!
Hurray for us though!!! round of applause and welcome to anyone else who wants to join in!

Just think if we start just now then we don't have to panic six weeks before Christmas and then end up in tears looking for a Christmas outfit( a regular occurrence for me since I had my boys)

See you all tomorrow xx

Good luck with starting L2 Clarabumps; I did it Sat and it's a killer! Found my shoulders really ached yesterday from attempting the plank-jacks and plank-twists (which I failed miserably at). Will endeavor to do it again today, but if I'm still struggling after a few days then I might go back to L1 again as was enjoying that.

Today is L1 D4 for me, calves are killing me now, before it was just my shoulders and arms really.

Amazed I am still going but the fact it is only short seems to keep me motivated =D.
I wonder if I will ever be able to do a proper press up.

=].

Just finished Day 6 and actually found it really hard today. I really had to force myself to do it today, so maybe not being in the right frame of mind didn't help. I thought by now I would be well on the way to thinking about level 2 but at this rate I'll be 30 days on level 1!

Good tip about the abs work, Clara, it did help today.

I still can't manage the jacks / rope jump / jacks / rope jump section without stopping for a breather.

Like you, Clara, I often start things and don't finish them, and really don't want that to be the case with the Shred. I'm also on a diet - started at end of January and have lost 3 stones so far, but still have quite a way to go. I thought that by doing the Shred at the same time it would motivate me to stay on the diet, and the diet would motivate me to stay with the Shred. I'm 40 in September and I really don't want to spend my 40s fat and unfit.

biscuits- well done on losing 3 stones! I've been healthy eating for around 6 weeks now.I was Dukan diet before that. I've lost just over a stone. Although since doing the shred i've hardly lost anything(maybe a pound) I feel so much better and hopefully i'm building some lean muscle and I don't really care how much I weigh as long as I look good in my clothes and I feel better in myself.

I did an extra day or two of level one- I'm going to try level 2 tonight when I put the kids to bed. Its a no go really during the day as my 2ds just end up getting in the way and they're too old to put in babyjail.

Slinky- i've done it once before and literally looked like I had been in a shower I was sweating that much. Thought I was going to die. Still I'm going to psyche myself up for it. repeating the mantra- its only 20 minutes.

Metal-Me too..barely managing a girly one makes a full press up seem like a mountain to climb.
Hopefully if we just keep going maybe one day it'll just happen.

hi all, im on day 3 of l1, I agree, the fact that it is so short def makes it easier to stick to, I'd have given up or never started any longer dvds! So do you just keep sticking to level 1 until it gets easier or are you supposed to moveup to level 2 at a certain point?

the theory is you should do ten days of each level but this all depends on your fitness level. If you have little to no fitness then I'd stick on level one untill you feel like its getting easier. I wouldn't wait until you feel like its easy though as you should feel like you're pushing yourself. When I did level 2 about 5 days in I was struggling with plank jacks. I could hardly move my legs at all..this was too early(typical me rushing ahead) however I tried plank jacks yesterday at the end of my workout as a wee extra just to see if I could do them and they did kill me but I was better at them as my core stomach muscles have got marginally stronger.

i think it's just how you're body feels and being totally honest with yourself. Everyone knows what their own body is capable of(beginning to sound like Jillian now) and just try as hard as you can. I think as long as you feel in yourself that you are pushing yourself to the maximum then you'll be fine.

I used to always do dvds and it was as though I could cheat the dvd by doing the least amount of effort but I think when you change your mindset to the fact that it's only going to work if you really push yourself then you realise that if you "cheat" then its a waste of your own time.
This sounds really obvious but it wasn't for me previously..it was kind of like when I used to go on the cross trainer at the gym and read a magazine while I was on it. Who was I kidding really?I just thought that if I done the time then it would work...when I really would have been as well in the house watching eastenders as I never really broke a sweat.

ifancy how are you finding it so far? do you notice a change from day 1??

hello, i have been shredding and lurking on these threads for a few months. i keep getting in and out of the habit.
anyone care to mention how they cope with........bladder weakness during star jumps tbh it is the main reason why i keep stopping and starting
its getting better: after loosing a few pounds and following the dvd up with 5 minutes of pelvic floor exerces. i also try and do my squeezes during my two hour commute.
would i get the same calorie burn if i substitued all the start jumps for arse kicks or skipping.
i literally pmsl when jillian explains that fear leaving my body, i didnt know that fear smelt like wee-wee.

haha! I love that line it always makes me crack up laughing. I think it would burn roughly similar calories if you can't do jumping jacks, I think she just changes it so you don't get bored and mainly so you don't get tired doing the same repetitive movement. Thats just what i'm guessing anyways.
I was a bit like that after I had my second child and took up running. I could literally not run for five minutes without wanting to pee. I still can't go on a trampoline without that urge. keep going and I think the more exercise you do the stronger your muscles you will be.
I can't do my pelvic exercises without raising my eyebrows.

Clara, I'm not finding it too bad, hard work but i love that its only 20 mins. The first day was bloody hard but i noticed today my fitness levels are better so i can put more into it, strengthwise though i still have some way to go, i just cant do pushups!! Hopefully once i shed a few pounds it should get easier. I know exactly what you mean about cheating..... looking in the mirror and wondering why nothing was changing! I think thats why I always got on well with classes because I never wanted anyone to look at me and think i was slacking and you're trapped there for an hour! xxx

well thats level2 day 1 done!!i am sweating like a pig and at one point Jillian say "i want you to feel like you're about to die"- mission accomplished. my bum was too high in the air for most of the plank type moves but it was the best I could do. I feel amazing though- knackered but amazing!I'm dreading how sore i'll be tomorrow as my legs, actually everything seems to feel like jelly.
ooft!
away to treat myself to a yoghurt..and a shower..smelly!

Slinkyb how'd you get on after it? are u trapped on your sofa unable to move??

Can I join? I've had Shred for a couple of months now. I was really enthusiastic at the beginning and it really started to make a difference quite quickly (several people commented that I'd lost weight, and I wasn't dieting). Then work and general tiredness got in the way, I lost enthusiasm a bit and I've been floundering around level 2 for a while now, not doing it often enough for it to get a lot easier. Anyway, I'm going to try and do it 5 times a week. I think I'll do another 3 or 4 days on L2 and then move up to L3.

Hopefully we can all support each other!

clarabumps - I couldn't face doing L2 again yesterday as hated it so much! (am resistant to change) Have just done it now as figured it was twice as hard, so needed two days off to recover and although I started off well and thought it was a bit better than Sat, I still massively struggled! Workout 1 and 2 were ok, but by workout 3 I was ready to collapse in a heap - can't believe you finished it feeling 'amazing' last night - lucky you!

Well done for doing it at night too; on the days where I've told myself "I'll do it later", it hasn't happened. I have to do it first thing in the morning or it just won't get done. Wish I felt good after doing it, but hopefully that will come (am sure I'm endorphin-deficient as don't think I can ever recall feeling good after exercising !).

Oh, does anyone know what Jillian means when she says "I don't want you phoning this in"?! ... and those plank twists at the end of L2 workout 3 are impossible - I was on the floor doing bicycle crunches instead! (never thought they'd be the 'easy' option).

no clue what she means by that...erm??? answers on a postcard?
I'm actually not too sore today which leads me to believe that I didn't do it properly. The plank twists were ag-on-y!! Wish I could do them at the beginning and not at the end when I'm jiggered!
Going to try again today and see if I can actually do the plank without sticking my arse in the air.x

Oh, that's a relief, thought it was just me that didn't get the whole "don't phone it in now!" - odd, must be an American thing.

Good luck for tonight, if I still struggle tomorrow I may start alternating between L1 and L2 for a bit.

Phone it in=
Perform an act in a perfunctory, uncommitted fashion, as if it didn't matter.
"She sang the National Anthem, but she was just phoning it in as far as I could tell."

it bugged me so much I googled it..ta da! so now we know..

Ive completed day 4 and struggled, i just didnt have the motivation at all, i also made the mistake of having a goosie at level 2...god it looks hardcore!! I have noticed im aching a lot less today, did you guys have the same? I dont seem to have lost any weight though but i think i am firmer, thing is i have got at least 2 stone to shift so i hope it will start coming off at some point.

Ifancyanewname - I was the same as you on days 3/4ish and it started to get easier around 7 or 8. I did level 2 today but am still finding it tough because I haven't done it consistently. Gah.

Had to have a day off today as my knee was hurting a lot. I'm going on holiday in September and there is no way I want to be hobbling on holiday so I didn't want to risk making it worse. Thankfully it feels a lot better now, so I'll be back to the grindstone tomorrow. Actually a day off seems to have upped my motivation, so maybe it was the best thing for me to do.

I've just done day 2 level 2- killer..still pretty shite at most of the plank moves but sweating like a maniac. I too have not lost any weight in the last week but loads of people have commented that I look like i've lost weight. YEEHAA!! I feel firmer and i'm working on the principle that eventually the weight has to come off. I tried on the dress that I havent been able to get on for over a year and ...it fits!
I cant get over how hard level two is..does anyone know if it gets easier??
x

Hi, did day one of level 2 last night. It was very hard!

Clara, well done on getting into the dress. And yes, level 2 does get easier, if you stick at it. Remember, it's only 20 minutes. Last time, I found that the weight did start to come off while I was doing level 2, I think that it uses a lot more calories than level 1.

thanks Nolda. I think I've just hit a bit of a setback as I'm rubbish at level two and I was beginning to be able to do Level one. But I do feel like im working much harder.
When I was doing burpees last night I actually thought I was going to scream.

20 minutes..its only 20 minutes...repeat to fade!

How's everyone else feeling?? any wobbles?
Biscuit- how'd the knee??

Hi Clara,

Knee feels a lot better this morning thanks so have just completed Day 7. Very impressed at your dress! Well done!

Had a bit of a nightmare with the DVD though - our player decided it didn't want to play it, thought I'd try it in the Wii (no idea if DVDs can be played through a Wii but thought I'd give it a go) but that didn't work. Finally I remembered I could play it through my laptop!

I could have used it as an excuse to give it a miss but I didn't - got to be a good sign! It actually worked out for the best though, as my DD was much happier with TV on in the background so was happy to mostly leave me to it.

Yesterday was Level 1 Day 5, and I learnt not to leave the Shred until after dinner... gave it an hour but still found it much harder and way less motivation to continue when it hurt.

So will go on to do Level 1 Day 6 later, I haven't had a day off yet and am trying not to as I know if I do then I won't start again =/.
Motivation is already leaking away xD.