30 Day Shred - Starting April 15 2013

Glad to hear how well everyone is doing! Congratulations to everyone already seeing changes. I have 2 more days to go (woohoo!!!) then I'll take photos to compare the change from before this workout. I don't seem to have lost much in my tummy though, which is usually the area I lose weight first. Weirdly it's my shoulders and upper arms that seem to have shrunk. I've had a few startling moments wearing wide shoulder tops or dresses and looking down to see they have dropped to my cleavage...yikes...

About the weights for some of the moves in Level 3, I assume that if you use the 5lb weights and can't keep up with the pace of the jumping jacks at first, you will probably be able to do so in a few days if you stick with it. One thing that seems to be almost unanimous is that our strength and endurance are improving with each workout. I am no expert though so this may be terrible advice :-D Having said that, my right knee has started to hurt during the lunges in Level 3 so for the last 2 workouts I've done one of the Level 2 moves instead.

L2D7 done. 3. more. days.

Today was definitely better than yesterday, but Level 2 is still kicking my butt. Looking forward to a change next week.

I agree that it probably depends on whether or not you're doing cardio or strength on whether heavy and slow is better than light and fast. Cardio you need your heart rate up, so I'd think light and fast, whereas strength is better to increase the weight with fewer reps. That's in my completely uneducated opinion.

Ditto on the high fives. We are no joke rocking it - and, not in a negative way, but I didn't expect so many people (including myself) to stick with it this long! I seriously have commitment/easily bored issues so ROCK ON US!!!! :drinker:

ETA: 13 more days!!! WOOOHOOO!

L2 D9 down, and I swear, the only reason I dragged my butt out of bed go get it done is this thread and the posts about level 3!! One side of my brain wanted to sleep in, the other popped in and said, "Only two more days of this, then go away for the weekend, and start on the next level"!!

I'm so grateful to all of you and all of your posts....I tend to get easily bored also, and don't normally have the stick-to-itness needed to finish a program like this, and wouldn't have gone this far if it weren't for all of you, so I also want to give us all high fives!!

I agree with the weight thing, lower weights for cardio, higher ones for strength!!

Only ELEVEN more days, and then I'm going to work on pull ups, push ups, weighted squats and lunges until I can get my form down....(that'll probably last a week). According to MFP, I burn as many calories push mowing as I do with the 30ds, so that's where I'm going to get the cardio in, at least for the summer.

YEA US!! for going this far!! Can't wait to see the results!! I really wish I had a digital camera so I could have some before and after pics!!

Edited to add....Kjitos...sorry you're under the weather, hope you get to feeling better soon!!

Hey all, I've just completed day 1 level 3... And I was worried when I previewed the video yesterday, but honestly, I found it so much easier than level 2! Level 2 killed me every day! I'm hoping it means I'm stronger for level 3, rather than I may be doing it wrong

I love the motivation on this thread! I really don't want to do it today, but checking in here (and the thought that I only have 4 more level 2 workouts to do) is motivating me to just do it!

I have been running 3x a week in addtion to 30DS. Anyone else doing anything extra?

Amy, I get like that most days during Level 2 but I have to keep telling myself that the time will pass anyways might as well make the most of it. Plus it's only approx. 30 minutes so I can do it. Then during the whole workout I'm usually telling myself you can do it almost done almost done and thankfully by the time I know it that workout is done. I can't say I like Level 2 even with only 1 more day to go on it but I can say that I have noticed my endurance has been going up and I can hang with more and more of the video each day so it is working.

As far as anything extra I do these wall exercises I found on Prevention.com that's supposed to help sculpt abs, thighs, and buns. Let me tell you after I'm done with that (which it takes all but 10-15 minutes) I am sore and can hardly walk. It is pretty tough but I know it's working because my muscles are screaming during and after. That's pretty much all the extra I do plus I don't count it towards my exercise. I just log what my HRM shows for calories burned during 30DS which usually is around 250-300 per workout.

Thanks for the advice everyone…I thought corrsfan made a great point that as we all have been going through the workouts we notice that our strength and endurance gets better…so I decide to stick with the 5lb’ers and just tried to go as fast as I could and hope to be as fast as them on Day 10!

Kitjos – sorry to hear you are sick, it’s always so disappointing that your heart/spirit/mind wants to do it, but your body just isn't up for it. Get well soon and get shreddin’!

Sab8a – lol – did you ever think you’d be getting “no level 2” as a gift for your bday?  Happy early, bday!

Myverticalsmile – I thought the same thing when I “watched” it, but then once I started doing it I was surprised by my abilities!

Amy – I’m also running 3x per week, I happened to start a 5K training program the same day that I started the 30DS. I’m finding that the shred has really helped my endurance in running, too! I’m just not sure if the combo of the 2 is what’s causing my shin-splint (left leg) to linger? (I have the shoes, compression sleeves, and I ice, just hoping it’ll get better!)

Kanne – Great job on the REAL push-ups! I can’t wait until I can do 1!

Not sure if anyone else has thought of this yet or not, to motivate myself more (esp in Level 2), I put my laptop in the same room as I workout and put Pandora on and turn Jillian down (not sure if this will work well for ppl watching it online though?). After a few days, I pretty much have Jillian memorized anyways so, I just listen to the music instead of her (Actually, if it wasn't for Pandora, tonight, I might not have done the DVD at all…Havana Brown “We Run the Night” came on and I was ready to get moving!!)

And, something else I can add, maybe a head’s up for others who do their workout on carpeting - today I noticed I have “rug burns” on my elbows from the “walking planks” in L3, so I’m now using my yoga mat for those

Let’s keep it goin’ everyone…we’re doing GREAT!!!!!

I am pretty late to this party but I just finished day 5 of level 1 today. It is just challenging enough and I sweat like crazy but I've been lucky not to have any muscle soreness. However my knees have been very unhappy. I already notice a difference and have lost 1/2 inch of the waist so far. Really excited to see all the results, mine and yours.

Level. 2. Done!!! When the alarm went off this morning, I actually reset it to sleep an extra hour, rolled over and thought about this thread....that's why I got up and did it!! So, thanks to all of you!!

Congrats to all for increased endurance and strength!! I still can't do a "real" pushup, but at least now I know I can get stronger and I can do more jumping jacks, and I can do a squat thrust, and I can a whole lot more than I thought I could!!

Again, Thanks to all for this thread....

corrsfan, I'm planning on working on pull ups, push ups, squats and lunges after this, with cardio being push mowing 45 minutes/day...Mon., Wed. and Fri will be crunches, pushups, and assisted pull ups (until I can do them) and Tu, Thur, and Fri will be squats,, lunges and donkey kicks. I'm not sure how long I will do it though. To be honest, I wouldn't still be doing 30ds if it weren't for this thread!!

L2D8 done!!! AHHHH SOOO wish that I hadn't needed that extra rest earlier this week! Gonna push through and hopefully finish Level 2 on Sunday.

Amy - I've been trying to do additional exercise but it's been really tough especially this last week. Last night I did try the first day of C25k and I noticed my endurance was WAY up from the last time I tried jogging a few months ago. I'm going to officially start Week 1 of it next week and am really excited!

I owe a lot to this thread and Jillian, but yeah...I can't stand her during the workouts. I love the idea of music during the workout! I watch it on my laptop but I have my husband's laptop, and will have to try that on Monday when he's at work!

Congrats everyone on the awesome progress! 12 days left!!!! :drinker:

Amy Andrews-I just finished LiveFit last week. Definately challenging, especially for someone new to weight lifting. I didn't lose much as far as pounds, but I didn't comply with her diet 100% either, but can see a difference in body composition, and I really like the muscles I've found. So good luck to you, just do your best and if you need encouragement I'm here for you. I did post pictures of my results on my profile if you are interested. Now I am doing 30 DS to try and lean down some more. I still have 22 lbs to lose. I am only on Level 1 but am seeing a difference already and due to the weight training I've never been sore with doing 30DS.

Hey everyone, i have been using the fitness pal along with the 30 day shred. I started level 3 today. I havent been losing any weight but have just started to notice the top of my tummy dipping in. I do 5 days and have a days rest then start again. Sometimes it draining but i keep saying its only 20 minutes as normally i never carry on the exercise longer than 2 weeks.

Level one and three are on youtube but i found level 2 on a different site. i think level 1 and 3 are the hardest ones but i have heard a lot of good things about it even tho im only seeing a tiny difference.

\keep it up girls :-) xx

L2D9 done!

I'm not sure what I'm going to do after this. I am starting c25k this next week so I may focus on that for a week or so. I do want some strength training though. I may do something like 30 ds each level once a week? Not sure, but eventually I'd like to build up enough to do P90X or insanity.

I just started the 30 Day Shred this week, and you all are so inspiring.

I thought I wasn't going to be able to do it when I watched it the first time, and I just about cried when I finished it without taking a rest. I'm so excited to see how my body changes when I finish this.

30 DS done! Goodbye (for a while) Jillian! Saturday was my last day and I was so glad I got to the end of it. I have been taking photos along the way to see if my body has been changing and I can see some small changes I'm happy with - nowhere near as drastic as a lot of the pictures I've seen here but I'm happy anyway. Even small changes are encouraging cause it means I'm on the right track. Tomorrow I get back into Zumba which I'll alternate with a couple of days of resistance training. I don't think I'll be able to resist checking into this thread everyday though :-) Have a great week everyone!

Well, today should've been D1 L3, but I didn't get my lazy butt out of bed in time!! Maybe I'll have the gumption when I get home from work this evening!!

Let's keep shredding!!