30 Day Shred Question?

30 Day Shred is circuit training, which Jillian Michaels favors to combine strength training and cardio. You are supposed to do it - according to the program - 5-6x /week for 30 days. On her podcasts, Jillian says since becoming a parent she just looks for people to exercise 4x/week around 30 minutes (in terms of giving-it-your-all exercise).

So to answer your question I think what you are really asking is if you should do the program as it was designed or if you should deviate.

I haven't done 30 Day Shred, but I am in the middle of Ripped in 30 and did Insanity.

My approach is to do the program exactly as the fitness professional created it, and, IF I feel like it, do something extra when I want. So maybe I throw in a quick run or go lift weights with my husband. But I prioritize doing the program workout as my day's exercise. Otherwise, what's the point of doing the program?

Jillian Michaels had recommended the first "2 days of shred, 1 day of cardio, 2 days of shred, 1 day of cardio, 1 day off" on a webcast. That makes more sense since some of the moves can be hard on the knees and back and there are weights involved. I don't know which works best as far as inches lost, I just know that if you get injured you won’t be able to exercise at all, so do what works best for you.

I'm in my second round of doing Ripped in 30 and I like that much better than the Shred. I lost a whole pants size the first time I did it.

Do whatever you think you will be most consistent with. I got really bored doing the same level over and over so I would do the 30DS 3 times a week and mix it up with other workouts. The weights are so light in the 30DS that I don't really consider it strength training. It's still pretty much cardio. You might want to consider throwing in a day or 2 of strength training in the mix

I'm on day 9 of level 1, and I do it 3x a week with 2 other days of pure cardio and 2 rest days. I like rest days. I like to imagine my muscles knitting themselves together, stronger. As I sleep in instead of getting up at 5am.

Try whatever works for your schedule for a couple of weeks. Keep track of your weight and measurements. Change it up if you're not getting reasonable results. When deciding what's reasonable, be...reasonable.

For someone who already has a base set of muscles/fitness, everyday is great.

For someone who doesn't have the fitness, I don't see how you could do it every day. I was doing it every other day and that was kicking my butt and it was perfect. A few months later, I can totally do it every day.

So you shouldn't try to plan too strictly! Just get started and when you are feeling sore, do something else that day to workout and/or work different muscles.