Does the 30 Day Shred work?

I'm sure it does for some people. I am interested in doing it but worry it may be too much of a strain on my body, I can do a 60min zumba class no problem but the vast majority of what I read about 30DS is people in insane amounts of pain after it! Is it really a good idea to be in so much pain from working out? I ache after zumba and can have stiffness the next day (I'm 234lb) but not sure how much I could be doing with days of pain after 1 20 min work out haha!

It's not going to make you LOOK like Jillian or her fitness models in 30 days. However, it can put you on a path to fitness, and along with proper diet make you look better over the long term. It is rather high impact though so some people who are heavier or older can have problems with it. I started with this at age 49 and I did okay with it, I lost a few pounds and increased my fitness. The point is you have to continue with diet and with some form of exercise. It was good for me because I was really weak when I began and it made me stronger and able to do other more advanced strength training from there.

There's a great thread here with 30DS result pics! It's motivating! Have a look. A lot of people had amazing results.

I bet it works if you can stick to it.

When I started it the first time, I got through a circuit and a half and just gave up because I couldn't breathe. So I had to work up to it, honestly. So I just started doing more cardio and I did yoga because it kinda helped me with breathing techniques, I could never get that right before.

So after two weeks of that and a little strength training, I could do the full workout (pausing a couple of times, granted) and was sweating bullets, but that's good.

But I haven't done it for a while, for some reason. I think I'm starting it again in about 15 minutes. We'll see how that goes.

I am not sore when I'm done. I wasn't before and I'm pretty much an exercise noob.

Give it a shot! It seems like a great program to get you going! Don't pressure yourself to not take breaks at first though, that's really defeating and I think a huge part of my problem.

I'm sure it does for some people. I am interested in doing it but worry it may be too much of a strain on my body, I can do a 60min zumba class no problem but the vast majority of what I read about 30DS is people in insane amounts of pain after it! Is it really a good idea to be in so much pain from working out? I ache after zumba and can have stiffness the next day (I'm 234lb) but not sure how much I could be doing with days of pain after 1 20 min work out haha!

I was sore after the first day, I was VERY sore after the second day. I skipped a day and then after that it got better. Keep in mind that I was 49 years old and went from zero exercise to that, so it was not unexpected. But then just about any exercise would do that under those conditions. Is it worth it? Yes, it is a temporary unpleasant side effect, you'll get over it. And you won't see any change in your muscles unless you work them.