The Shred: Work-Out Tips Needed
Two nights ago Matthew and I were wide-awake at 3 am, thanks to Elias napping a lot that day and deciding to wake up and want to nurse and play at 1 am. He was able to fall back asleep an hour later, but not mommy and daddy.
We started talking about the gym, my disdain for exercise, how do I possibly fit it in, etc. I decided I need to try something different.
As luck would have it, I noticed that my blog friend Andrea is doing 30 Day Shred
I bought it immediately.
I plan on doing this DVD in the morning before work. Matthew will be asleep, so that will keep me from feeling dumb in front of him (he is quite the exerciser).
Hopefully with the combination of this dvd, weaning and a little motivation I will be wearing all my pre-maternity clothes in six weeks, instead of just some of them. I love my summer clothes, but they aren’t nearly as forgiving as winter clothes. They show EVERYTHING.
Now I want to hear from you. I have never worked out at home. Never, ever. Have you? What has worked well for you? What keeps you motivated?
Also, don’t forget to enter to win My Quotable Kid. You have til Sunday, so tell your friends. I have been laughing hysterically at some of the things people have posted!
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Jessica, I’m with you. I have never worked out at home, or worked out period! I hate it plus I would feel stupid in front of my husband. I need to shed the baby weight as well…maybe I will give it a try…but not in the mornings 🙂
Jessica, I have heard nothing but wonderful things about the Shred. I was considering getting it myself. I heard it kicks your butt, but in a good way 🙂
Try the “10-Minute Solution” series. They have everything from kickboxing, fitness ball, pilates, dancing, toning…you name it. Each DVD has 5 10-minute workouts that focus on a different area – do them all, do just 1 or 2, doesn’t matter. They aren’t hard, but they aren’t so easy that it’s a waste of time. That’s all I did after my son was born, and they were great! Find them on Amazon for $7-$12.
I say go for it! You can’t knock it until you have tried it.
I have 2 exercise dvds and before I started my nursing training I used to do 3x 30 min workouts a week with it and loved it! I go running now because it wakes me up more to do my shiftwork. I reccomend it and keep us updated. 🙂 xxx.
I have never worked out at home but do at the gym…but here is what I can tell you.
Your health is much more important that what you think people are thinking about you while working out. not a confusing statement at all 🙂
I used to always think people were watching me at the gym and the reality is they are not. I finally realized this after I noticed I could not remember anyone I saw during my workouts…plus, everyone thinks this so you are not alone.
and plus…let your husband know this is important to you…it was the first step I had to take with my wife.
now I love working out…still a chunky monkey, but love to work out and how it makes me feel.
Good luck.
11 weeks ago I started the Shred, 4 weeks later I had lost 5 pounds, then right after that I started Biggest Loser Cardio Max and love it, this is my last week and I am down 1 pant size so far. I weigh and measure on Friday, its been 6 weeks since I weighed and measured last. On Friday I begin the Biggest Loser Boot camp. I have been updating my weekly stuff on my blog. I have loved all of them – good luck, I will check back for updates!
slim in 6 worked for me. I lost 25pds. in 6 weeks. I hadn’t worked out in years, it was really low impact and works you into it slowly. your thighs will kill just to warn you! 🙂 But it worked for me. I bought mine off of beachbody.com but you can find it cheaper on ebay. You also have to follow a low carb high protein diet. First excercise program I ever followed through all the way! I just had another baby on April 14th via c-section and now can’t wait to get the go from my doc to excercise because I want to do the dvd again!
Jessica,
I havent’ done The Shred, but I have worked out at home before, and I have found that it can work!!! The point is not so much what you do, but that you do something with comittment and consistency, whether it’s at the gym or at home. My son is 8 mos. old and I too am still needing to lose weight. UG. I am wanting to do a combo of an exercise video I have and jogging and bike riding. We’ll see! Here’s to losing the baby weight before it get’s too hot!!! 🙂 Good luck!
Ruthie 🙂
I go to the gym mostly during the week but I needed to get me over the rut I am in right now. You need to add resistance training into your workout and I just ordered Chalean Extreme. I have heard tons of great things about it and I am looking forward to my great results! It was between Chalean Extreme and P90X.
I also am a Turbo Kick instructor and since a few months ago, I became a Beachbody Coach. They have tons of great products and the best thing is I get to earn money by doing what I love!
Check out my site sometime for the great products.
http://www.teambeachbody.com/christinat93
I also must recommend Shakeology. The healthiest meal of the day! Shakeology.com!
I just ordered this video and can’t wait to start!
I usually hate working out to videos, but the Shred is SOOO good. I have recommended it to everyone I meet. The first few times are horrible, but it gets better, and it is only 20 minutes. I do the Shred and some ball exercises when I can’t make it to the gym. Good luck!
I have 30 day shred and her two new ones, no more trouble zones and boost your metabalism. My friend and I do them on our cross training days from running…but before there was running i started getting back into shape using the 30 day shred. I think you’ll find that you’ll LOVE it. I did and still do!
have fun! I love JM dvds…but she’s scary and a tad mean, I find I get through it by just turning her off and my iTunes ON 🙂 BUt her workout is amazing! I LOVE IT 🙂
I LOVE The Shred! And I hate, with the fire of a thousand suns, to exercise. The idea of 20 minutes sold me, because I thought that even if that wasn’t enough, it would break me through the wall and at least get me started.
Those 20 minutes are no joke! I’m actually starting it up again because I “fell off the wagon”.
I’m also a home worker outer because I have serious gym issues. I feel for some reason like I need to be in shape before I go there! (bad thing to think, I know). It’s my school gym, so hopefully over the summer the crowds will thin and I can shake my phobia of public exercise 🙂
Good luck!
I started the Shred 2 weeks ago. Be prepared to sweat and want to cuss and puke and wonder how in the world “jump roping in place” can be so hard!!! My plan is 10 weekdays on Level 1 10 weekdays on Level 2 and 10 weekdays on Level 3 – all with 5 lb weights. Then I plan on increasing my dumbbells to 10 lbs and starting on Level 1. That 20 minutes is no joke! I wondered at first how hard it could really be, but I’m telling you- it’s INTENSE!!!! It’s awesome, but it’s INTENSE!!! And I had to start over with my 10 weekdays on Level 1 because I slacked off and it was HARDER to get back into it the 2nd time around. I need help in the accountability section, so my sweet husband is doing it with me, and he says it’s a great workout!!! Make sure you have dumbbells!!!
YES, we will be sore and shred together!!! Just tell Matthew to get his massaging hands ready cause you’re gonna need it!!
Before I had kids, I never thought I would be one of *those moms* who did workout DVD’s at home. But, my friends have used this and raved about it so I thought I would try it.
I will tell you, I run 4-5 miles and then do the DVD. I can barely walk after the DVD, not the mileage! It’s crazy how just these 20 minutes can work! I haven’t lost any weight yet, but I’m using it more for toning.
Can’t wait to hear how you like it!! U should get on dailymile.com and log your workouts (feeds them to twitter). We can tweet our pain…er..um..body transformation together!!
I used to be a workout crazy person. I did a lot of home workouts, and I would have been starting The Shred the minute it came out. The only thing about working out at home is that it’s easy to blow off… so motivation and accountability are huge.
Really, I always found day 2 the hardest… cuz you’ll hurt if you really work on day 1 and then day 2 seems easy to blow off just to “rest those sore muscles for a day”. But if you know you have to report to someone that you didn’t workout, the embarrassment will keep you going… at least it always motivated me! 🙂
I’ve never done The Shred but I’ll have to check it out. I do Leslie Sansone walking videos and love them. I have lost 11 lbs and feel much better. I think using small hand weights has helped and variety is also important..I get bored if it’s the same video so I have 5 different ones that concentrate on different areas. I’m much better at doing home workout than motivating myself to go to a gym..plus it’s cheaper. I’ve been married 23 yrs so working out in front of my husband is no big deal..he knows better than to make fun of me 🙂
I’ve been doing the Shred for about 3 weeks…and it’s AWESOME…It’s so intense, and my first week was rough. I was in a lot of pain. But it’s a fabulous work out in just 20 min! This blog post is what inspired me to start: http://www.healthytippingpoint.com/2009/04/my-review-of-30-day-shred.html
HA! I just saw this video in target today, and I got another one instead. I got weights, yago mat and a video and tell myself I will start working out at home or else.
Lets see how it goes. I don’t want to shred, I want to keep what I have and just tone it up like a brick. LOL
I bought it too!!!! =)
I’m with you on not having time for the gym….I am usually a gym girl and don’t really work out at home but I recently started the 30 day shred a week ago and I am loving it. I think the key is to change into your workout clothes quickly before you have a chance to rethink it…
Be prepared to want to quit in the first 3 days…but take it from me, it will get better!! And you will already feel better after a few days.
GOOD LUCK!
I am doing this workout now and let me just tell you, be prepared to be SORE after the first day. I was so sore I could hardly get out of bed!! I just started it and I’m on Day 2 but I am so excited to
(hopefully) get results!! Keep us updated on how you’re doing!! good luck!!
you will be sweaty after shred! I have worked out at home for years with dvds my favorite right now is cathe friedrich – she is insane!!
Jessica,
I have to be honest – I have worked out at home and worked out in a gym…my work outs at home were not intense and I had a tendency to slack off. For me, I found that by paying for a gym membership it made me actually go to the gym (I hate to waste money!). And despite the fact that no one is watching me, my work outs are more intense. I have heard nothing but rave reviews for The Shred so I wish you the best of luck. But if you find yourself getting lazy or saying, “tomorrow” all the time, know that you are not alone and need to either join the gym or take some time in the evenings and do it with a friend. Good luck!
Jessica, Hooray for you! Can’t wait to hear about your progress. The only way I lost my baby fat, and I tried everything, was Weight Watchers and walking. LOVED IT! Good luck! Emily
I can’t work out at home, either…as evidenced by the Pilates DVDS and stretchy-band-thing that is still sitting on my bookshelf, only having been used once. The one thing I am doing at home is the hundred pushups challenge: http://www.hundredpushups.com and I feel so strong! I’m in the middle of it and have had to repeat some weeks, but my husband and I are doing it together and it’s fun to encourage each other.
My tip for you, since I don’t work out at home…is…group fitness, i.e., not working out at home! When Zeke was 2 months old I got back to the gym and started back into spinning/cycling classes, weight lifting classes, and anything else I could safely take. When he was 6 months old, I completed training to teach BodyPump, a weight lifting class set to music by the Les Mills company. You can check it out at http://www.lesmills.com. Anyway, now that I’m teaching (VERY part time) I have no excuse not to work out. I truly believe in the power of group fitness and absolutely love it. What a blessing it is to sweat alongside others who can truly sympathize with you!!
Good luck with the Shred…I had never heard of it until you posted this!
love
Rachel
Everyone is doing the 30 Day Shred, it seems! I’m yet another “follower”. After putting an hour in at the gym, I didn’t even sweat as much as I did doing 30 minutes of this DVD. Best of luck!
I started the Shred yesterday and I had been walking/running about 1-2 miles 5 days a week and thought I was doing well….but holy cow…be ready to choose the “music only” under audio options as I couldn’t handle Jillian’s voice and talking after a while. I am SORE today on day 2 but I know it is working. I just want to tone and have a good summer body…my muscles are definitely working hard! Good luck!
I JUST ordered that the other day, too!! Can’t wait for it to arrive–have heard some amazing things.
I have done workouts at home before (I know it’s marketed toward older ladies, but Leslie Sansone’s Walk Away the Pounds is pretty good…nothing like Jillian though, I’m sure!) and I think the reason it works is that it’s so much easier and faster than going somewhere to work out. I enjoy it. But it really helps to have someone keep you accountable.
My roommate and I don’t work out together, but for a while we had a deal where if I didn’t work out on a day that I was supposed to, she was punished (by having to do 10 pushups); if she didn’t work out on a day she was supposed to, I was punished (by not being able to drink coffee the next day!). Not wanting to have the other person suffer for your own laziness is a pretty good motivator. 🙂
Let us know how it’s going! I’ll be shredding right there with you!
I work out at home and I think the biggest struggle is not being bored. I have been using the Tae Bo Boot Camp series with the “Billy Bands” sold as a set. You may need to invest in some more DVDs so you too don’t get bored! I have found some great DVDs at our local library…
I would suggest running (or jogging, whatever you want to call it). Invest in a good jogger and you can take your baby with you! We have three kids and now 2 joggers (a double and a single). The great think about running is it burns lots of calories in little time! Start small and keep building up! It’s worth it!
I’m with several of the previous commenters – I did Leslie Sansone’s Walk Away the Pounds videos. Leslie’s walking videos are perfect for in-home walking and you do a lot more than just walk. I did 2-milers throughout my 2nd pregnancy, right up to about 2 wks b4 I had Allie. I have a bunch of her videos and I walk mostly the 3-4 mile videos. Her newer ones are faster, which means I can get the same mileage in less time. They don’t work your abs much though – you’ll want to work that separately.
The 1st two weeks of in-home exercise are the hardest, as far as getting in a routine. After that, you’ll find that it’s not too hard to just get up and do it. And you’ll start to crave the after-workout feeling. You’ll have energy the rest of the day too. If you’re just not up for 3-4 miles at once (takes about 35-45 mins), just do 1-2 miles and keep the momentum. At least you did something – you could even do another 1-2 miles in the evening. She has a great Walk Club on her website (25/yr), which allows you to download streaming videos (3-4/mo – even a 5-min one which you can do at your desk!), basic menu plans and walking schedules.
Whew – sorry that was so long. I might have to check out the shred now too…
Jessica,
I am on Day 3 [today!] of The Shred, and I LOVE IT. I am already finding it easier, after 3 days!!!
Yes, I am sore. BUT, the soreness disappears after you start the warm-up stretches!!
Be encouraged. You CAN do this at home. And even today, I thought the 20 minutes went faster than day 1 [when I believed I was being tortured for 20 HOURS].
Good luck!!!
I hope The Shred works for you! I have a 22 month old and am pregnant again (due in less than 3 months) and gained a lot of weight with both pregnancies. I lost all of my weight with the first and hope I can do it again after this one. I would love to share what I did to loose the weight. Feel free to e-mail me at wethbesthoff@hotmail.com). I wish you the best of luck in becoming healthy! I know it’s not easy! It’s not just for you, it’s for your whole family.
Roommate!!!! I have this DVD too!!!!!
working out at home is tough. I do it, but we have equipment set up in our garage as my hubby is a personal trainer and i am a collegiate strength coach.
BUT, i worked out at home post giving birth and the hardest thing was that it was at home… so when i didn’t feel like doing it, i skipped. i know some people say, well, that should be the easy part. for me, it wasn’t, it was easy for me to skip b/c baby woke from a nap early, or i wanted to take a nap or i would rather scrap. so i think the biggest thing you can do to be successful is to make certain you have a specific time set aside each day and STICK TO IT!! otherwise, it’s too easy to skip.
good luck and keep us posted!
I work out every morning. I am a student and I take a PE class called “Boot Camp”. It’s at 7am. I’ve never heard about the shred, but I’ve worked out at home for a long time. I think excersizing (wait for it) topless (but with a bra), in front of a mirror kept me motivated. I just take a class to force myself to schedule it in.
Please let us know how this goes, and also, if it’s something that can be done in a second floor apartment…I don’t want to be rude or disruptive to the people living below me, but have heard nothing but good about this workout!
OMG. I bought this and did it once…and couldn’t walk for THREE DAYS without lots of soreness. 🙂
It’s a good workout.
I’m on day 7 of this dvd and it’s GREAT!! I am usually NOT motivated at ALL to work out at home, but it’s only 20 minutes and you feel sore but a good sore after…the kind of sore where you know your body will change soon!
I am doing The Shred and love it. It is such a great workout and I am only on level one!! It helps if you lay out your work out clothes and throw them on in the morning! AND I made myself a 30 day chart and I get to put a sticker on it each day. I know it sounds lame but it helps motivate me to see how many days I have worked out!!!! 🙂
This workout will kick you in the butt. I am a “FIRM” believer and have been using the “fanny lifter” for over 5 years. Since having 2 children, I have not been able to keep a routine and workout. Plus, I teach kindergarten, so I have no energy by the time I get home. My neighbor and I have been pretty dedicated for the past month and have been working out at 5 am every morning, doing the Shred and we have recently been alternating with Bob’s Boot Camp (hardcore too). I haven’t lost a lot of weight, but I am toning up. I try to run in the evenings or go outside and play with the kids. GOOD LUCK!!!!!!! Don’t give up!!! Courtney- Clarksville, TN
the shred is HARD. HARD HARD HARD. it hurts the first few days, but it gets easier and you’ll notice a difference soon. but just be prepared for it to BURN.
I am on day 15 of the 30 Day Shred. (Though I missed a couple days when I had a bad cold.) I usually don’t like working out at home and couldn’t stick with anything. But, this was 30 days and I wanted to see if it really worked. Oh my gosh. It is hard. Way harder than my hour at the gym! I lost about 5 lbs the first week alone (and only have 10 total to loose). It is also doing a great job of overall toning of my body. I love it. Jillian scares me on the shows, but she is actually pretty nice and encouraging on the video. It’s only 30 days. You can do it!
Jessica,
Thanks for letting us know about the workout. I have joined countless gyms and they only work if you go! Imagine that. This is my next step since my “baby” will be 2 in August. No more excuses! I hope it works for you (and me!).
I work out at home every morning, and Jillian Michael is my favorite! I would also recommend her ‘Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism’ workout. It doesn’t use weights and is broken down into ‘circuits’, so if you don’t have a lot of time, you can pick and choose what you want to do. Best of luck with the workouts!!