Friday, August 15, 2008

Day 1: My ass. Seriously kicked.

When I finally bothered to amble out to the mailbox Wednesday night, I found my Amazon order containing Jillian Michael's box set of exercise DVDs and the 30-Day Shred. That was my cue that it was time for a health kick, time to eat better (or at least less) and get some exercise. Yesterday, I decided to watch the 30-Day Shred DVD to see what it involved before I actually started. It has three levels, and I had heard that they were pretty tough and that it wouldn't hurt to be in pretty decent shape before you even tried the DVD, so I figured I'd start with Level 1 and watched that. It consisted of a warm up, three 6-minute circuits that each contained 3 minutes of strength training, 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of abdominal work. Then a short cool down. A total of about 22 minutes. It didn't seem too bad. Ha HA! You know that old adage: "Looks can be deceiving."? Um, yeah. This morning I had my ass handed to me on a silver platter.

I got up at 5:00, threw on a sports bra, had a nice cup of coffee while I read a chapter of the book I'm currently reading, then moved furniture out of the way and turned on the DVD. Warm-up? Easy. Strength part of first circuit? No problem. Cardio? Not too bad, but starting to get winded by the end. Abs? OK. Second circuit. Strength? Tougher, but manageable. Cardio? Got winded earlier, but got through it by not doing the last two jumping jacks and gasping for breath instead. Abs? Tougher, since it's hard to tighten those abs when you're breathing like a pack mule that just ran a horse race. Third circuit. Strength? Once again, tough but manageable. Cardio? OH MY GOD, just kill me now. When did I get so out of shape? Can't. Breathe. Abs? Yeah. See: pack mule, horse race. I was so thankful when she got to the cool down, I could have kissed her, but I was too whipped to get up off the floor and walk over to the TV.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jillian Michaels... she's on "The Biggest Loser" right? I may have to look into getting that DVD, and I'm sure it'll kick my butt. I had a taebo dvd I used to do every once in a while and how things look so easy and hurt SO BAD is way beyond me!

I got my PiF prize in the mail yesterday!!! Thank you again!! Now I gotta figure out what sort of prize I want to give away!

TheWeyrd1 said...

Snicker...and that's why I got a dog and not a treadmill...

Tess said...

I keep hearing good things about this DVD, but as usual it will take MONTHS of that before I actually try it myself.

Plus, I sort of hate Jillian. Is she as annoying on the video?

Fiona Picklebottom said...

Tessie - I like her because I need someone who's a bit scary and a little nuts commanding me what to do, even if it is just on TV. Otherwise, I'd just watch it on the couch while eating, like I do the early morning yoga lady. The most annoying thing to me was that she could talk easily through the whole damn thing, while I was DYING. The NERVE! At least PRETEND a slight increase in respiration. I can see where she might inspire a "sort of hate" feeling, though.

Shelly said...

Sounds like a great workout. I should totally get this.

Jess said...

I'm not sure I'd be up for this routine. I keep hearing great things about her videos, but for now I think I'm going to stick with my normal gym routine.

Pickles and Dimes said...

Tessie hates Jillian! BOO.

I LOVE her. I think I'll have to get this DVD. I half-read her book in Target the other day, and I like how sensible her advice is.

Anonymous said...

I might have to break down and try this DVD. Of course, I'm still working on the WiiFit (still kicks butt!) and my next 4 week boot camp starts monday, so maybe i should wait until I finish that? Hmm. By then, someone is bound to be sick of their DVD, and trying to give it away in their PiF contest, right? ;)

Susiewearsthepants said...

I said that once I finished school I was going to begin some kind of exercise routine. I don't need to lose weight, but I am terribly out of shape from plucking a computer all day. That was in March. My current exercise routine consists of me lifting my arm with the remote in my hand to change the channel. Shame on me. Shame!

Anonymous said...

Ugh. Don't even want to touch this subject. Ugh!!

Wanted to let you know I got my prize yesterday as well. Thanks again! And here I was all set for a five year wait. ;-) Now that I think about it, considering you worked out this a.m. AND managed to mail things before a month had passed -- you are my HERO!

Alice said...

i am super impressed! i keep hearing how this dvd = INSTANT DEATH, but you made it all the way through, which is awesome, right?

meanwhile, i just ate 86,000 gummi bears, and did not do any pushups today. fail!

Anonymous said...

You're a better woman than I.