The Boo and I are getting married in 258 days (or for those of you who aren’t keeping a countdown…October 16, 2010.) Obviously I want to look my best for the big day and a large part of that goes back to a little goal of mine from back when I was actually a good blogger.
You know that whole losing weight gig I tried? Yea, we’re revisiting that.
But I’m going about it a little differently these days. That is to say, no more running for me. No sir! That shit was WHACK! I could never build up endurance, got awful shin splints, couldn’t breathe, hated the blistering heat of the outdoors and the monotony of the treadmill. It was not for me and honestly, I think I was kidding myself by even attempting it in the first place.
Then I moved on to the elliptical but that lasted for a good 3 weeks or so and I was over it. Again, too boring, couldn’t breathe (ie. Whack.)
But now I’ve finally found something that’s actually working for me. I love her. I hate her. I’m slightly obsessed. (The Boo announced the other day that he thinks she’s got me hooked like a cult follower. Sadly, this may be true.) Ladies and gentleman please meet my trainer, Jillian Michaels.
Yea she’s a hardcore badass who’s a little bit mean and a whole lotta crazy but damnit, she’s inspiring.
I started with her 30 Day Shred and good God it was rough. I felt like a giant hippo trying to get through it. And honestly, in the beginning, there were things I couldn’t do all the way through. But I worked it out and made it through all three levels for all 30 days. After it was over I had lost some weight, felt stronger, and couldn’t bear to be left to my own devices without my new workout BFF. Soooo I started doing these.
These workouts are much harder than the 30 day Shred (at 58 minutes apiece as opposed to the 20 minute workouts in the Shred). But wow I feel amazing afterwards. I’ve worked my way up to doing these three times a week (alternating between the No More Trouble Zones which is strength training based and Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism which is cardio based) with a little Jackie Warner 1-on-1 workouts on the days in between.
(Side Note: Does anyone else think it’s totally awesome that Jillian and Jackie own Sky Sport and Spa together? My two favorite trainers own the same kickass gym with its own Bravo show. Love it!)
But Jillian remains my favorite. I’ve found that her no BS attitude, tough love approach is perfect for me – the kind of person who will ALWAYS find the easy way out when it comes to exercise. Her workouts have pushed me to my absolute limits and when I think I can’t do one more squat or two seconds more of mountain climbers I’ve dug deeper and slowly found that strength to keep going.
And let me tell you, my body is definitely changing. I’ve lost 33 pounds so far. My muscles are stronger and leaner. I feel more energized and I’m starting to like the way I look again…finally!
There’s lots more work to be done before I’m where I want to be but I can definitely say I’ll be keeping Ms. Michaels by my side to get there.
Fo sho.
9 comments:
That's fantastic! Yay for you. Maybe I should give that a try sometime lol.
33 pounds? holy crap girl - you didn't have that much to lose!! glad it's going so well! :)
Thanks for this post! I attempted the the 30 day shred last month but doing the same workout for so long led to boredom. This month, I'm switching it up with some other dvds and looking to add either no more trouble zones or banish fat, boost metabolism to my collection. Which dvd do you recommend most?
33 pounds!? Holy crap. Congrats! Is this what you've been doing instead of blogging for the last several months? :)
Running is bs way to lose weight - what you're doing is far more effective. You need cardio, but strength training is also necessary so no wonder you've had results!
I love Jillian, too, because of her attitude!
Thanks ladies!! I appreciate all of the positive feedback!! :)
@Baker Girl - the no more trouble zones dvd is my favorite. i tend to gravitate more towards weight training than cardio so i seem to enjoy the days when i do nmtz more than the other one. but both are great, kick butt workouts. just really depends on if you'd rather jump up and down and do a bunch of plyometrics for one hour or if you'd rather jump up and down a little but mostly lift weights (low weight, high reps) for an hour. good luck!! :)
you GO girl.
knock that sh*t out!
:)
jillian scares/fascinates me.
:)
That is awesome! I have been looking for a little more motivation myself. I may have to also jump on this wagon. I am also getting married in October. Have a great day!
33 pounds!? That's crazy. Congrats. Maybe I need to actually attempt this. Bloggers have been chatting about it for a while now after all.
Wow, I am definitely impressed! I recently got hooked on the Shred and I'd love to graduate to some of her longer DVDs. I think a lot of the appeal of 30 day Shred is that it's short, so it's easier for me to force myself to do it. I'd really like to try No More Trouble Zones, though...you may have just motivated me to go out and buy it!
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