30 Day Shred. Good or Bad????

KNMD

Can it be done with knee issues? I've been thinking about getting it but not sure how tough it is on the knees.

My knees bother me too - she gives 'beginner' modifications for most exercises but there *is* quite a lot of jumping (she loves jumping jacks and there are other jumping movements as well). Whenever my knees were bothering me, I would just not go down as low on the squats and lunges, and I would either only jump very low or substitute in a different movement that wouldn't put as much stress on my knees. I started the Shred in November and finished in December, then kept doing it occasionally along with alternating some other Jillian dvds that I bought when I finished the first round - my knees still bother me some, but not nearly as much as when I first started. I think the strength exercises actually helped improve them - the key is to not overdo it and be aware of when you need to take it easy so that you don't injure yourself. Also pay careful attention to your form on the squats and lunges - you don't want your knee to go forward past your toes, you want it to stay over the top of your foot and make your butt go out behind you so your knees don't go forward. She points this out in the dvd but she has a bad habit of going through the exercise one time before pointing it out. I will say Level 3 has some serious jumping moves that I still have problems with b/c of my knees - like I said I just substitute in a different cardio movement during that time to keep my heartrate going.

Girls, here's something you might experiment with. I've struggled with knee issues for a couple years. Tried arch supports of various kinds...lots of different brands of shoes, etc. etc.

When I started the 30 day shred...the jumping exercises were killing my knees so I got a rebounder (mini tramp). That helped a lot, but still felt it a bit. Then I read on the forums here that some people were running barefoot to relieve the knee pain. At the time I thought that sounded like bad advise because I've always been told I need arch supports and good shoes.

BUT, I gave it a shot.....let me tell you...i've been doing shred level 2 for 5 days now barefoot and my knees feel better than they have in a longggg time. I'd have never believed it. I'm going to keep doing the entire dvd barefoot unless things change for the worse. When I mentioned this to a friend, she said a lot of the Crossfit exercises are done barefoot too because you get better movement.

Weird, but it's relieved a lot of stress on my knees. You might give it a shot...:)

I switched to exercising in cheap-o water shoes after I couldn't rid my life of shin splints. I even switched from running to elliptical and they followed me, then one day I was lazy and put on the water shoes. It was the first workout where I could feel the tension in my shins releasing and within 2 weeks I was 100% pain free. Plus, when they start smelling, I just soak them in some Hydrogen Peroxide and Baking soda and let them dry on my "off" day. Like barefoot, with a little protection.

Christinesyear

I'm liking it! I'm on Day 4 Level 2. I do believe I'll go back and do it all again, with even more effort the secod time around. I didn't take measurements, unfortunately. It's a great workout for just a few minutes out of your day. It's great to be able to get that in! Oh, and my kids sometimes do it with me. They are more interested in getting the moves down than checking out the wardrobe, so I wouldn't worry about that too much. I'm just happy they are being more active with me!