♥ Top: Forever 21 *** Running shorts: Topshop ♥ A slightly different kind of outfit post! Not the greatest pictures as I had just got back from my run and rushed them so I could have a nice cold shower! This is my current "work out" outfit. I rarely wear graphic print tops but when I seen this in Forever 21 I couldn't pass it up. Its from their regular line and a size Large but very stretchy hence my being able to wear it! Clueless is one of my favorite movies. I loved the tv show too and rewatched the
episode with N*Sync recently. I am pretty sure Justin Timberlakes part in that clip was the beginning of my obsession with him!
Before I begin talking about the shred, I must say that I wasn't paid or asked to review this DVD by anyone. I decided to do it myself and picked this particular DVD based on reviews I had read online in the past. I also didn't do this workout with a goal to lose weight, my only goal was to tone up my body more and get fitter! I didn't change my diet at all, i'm a vegetarian but I eat a lot of carbs - pasta and bread are my weakness. I also had takeout one night. I didn't do any kind of dieting - no restricting or calorie counting - nothing.
The "30 Day Shred" is a thirty day workout program (
by Jillian Michaels of The Biggest Loser) designed to tone up your entire body and "shred" inches. I used to run every day but during the winter I got a little bit lazy and decided not to work out at all. I knew from watching The Biggest Loser that Jillian is a no-frills kind of gal - shes hardcore and you'll probably hate her by the midpoint of the thirty days, but she gets results. The DVD contains three levels and its recommended to do each level for 10 days before moving to the next. Each level is less than thirty minutes including some warm up and cool down moves. Each level has three circuits which contain three minutes of strength, two minutes cardio and one minute abs. You can view a full break down of all the circuits
here. You don't need much equipment which was a huge plus for me - just some space, an exercise mat and hand weights (I used 3lb weights) Jillian has her "two best girls" in the background doing the moves also. Natalie, who goes all out with advanced moves and Anita who does modified versions for people who may not be as flexible.
Day one was hard but I made it through, my body hurt the next day but not enough to make me stop. Day two was the real killer though - I had to really push myself to make it to the end of the workout and for the rest of that day every single muscle in my body was hurting. By day four I was able to do the whole workout without a break and my body wasn't aching any more. On day eight I got bored of level one so I switched it up to level two. I have to be honest.. I really hated level two. I wanted to yell at Jillian on the tv every day. As a whole, level two wasn't
that awful, but the lunges are what made me hate it. I could do them, but I really had to push myself and I didn't enjoy them at all. I switched to level three around day 15 or 16 and did that for the remaining days. My favorite parts of the shred were the walk out pushup's on level two, situps in level three and shadowboxing with dumbbells in a half squat on level three. My least favorites were the lunges in every level.
Overall, the exercises weren't as hard as I expected. They were hard for the first couple of days but once your body gets used to it and you push yourself, it gets easier. I had problems with certain moves at first, the "superman" in level three was very hard for me but I pushed myself and now I can do them without feeling like i'm going to die!
I didn't take my measurements at the beginning of the DVD which is a shame. It was day 10 when I finally weighed and measured myself so my full results are probably even better than the ones I have from day 10-30. I am beyond happy with what I "shredded" in those twenty days though. I didn't include before and after pictures because my "before" pictures were really bad iphone pictures, sorry. I didn't take "proper" photographs because I didn't expect such a huge result. If you look at
this outfit post and
this one you can see a little bit of a difference with how the belt fits me.
From day 10-30 of the shred -
I lost a total of 15lbs. I lost a lot of inches too and I feel so much stronger and fitter than I did before. I'll include a breakdown of the inches I lost below incase anyone is interested!
Inches lost:
Upper arms: one inch
Calves: - half inch
Thighs: one and a half inches
Under bust: two inches
Natural waist: two and a half inches
Belly: three inches
Lower waist: one and a half inches
I also ran most days after the shred, just because I didn't feel like my legs were getting *enough* of a workout compared to my abs but I really think the shred was the main source of inch loss for me. I'm going to continue working out but probably get a DVD that focuses on targeting certain areas because my upper arms are mostly what I would like to tone up! I would highly recommend the 30 Day Shred to everyone who would like to tone up their body with a workout that is quick and won't break the bank (the dvd retails at roughly $10)
xoxo
