One thing I love about the 30 Day Shred workouts is how short they are. It's a full body cardio and strength workout in about 25 minutes. It's really hard to say you don't have time to work out when you know you can get a good one done in such a short about of time.
This was especially true for workouts 4 and 5. Friday night, we had some friends over to watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (which I'd never seen before). I popped in the DVD at 8pm and finished my workout, showered, and got ready before people came over at 9. I managed to somehow talk Adam into doing the workout with me. :-) He seemed fairly impressed with it, but I don't think it's something he'd ever do with any regularity.
Last night, I had my first of several holiday parties this season, so I was again grateful to have such a quick, thorough workout available to do before getting ready to go out. I bumped up the weights to 5 pounds, which I was able to handle for everything except the lateral raises at the end. Oof, that was tough.
After last night's workout, I promptly took a half hour nap before heading out to the party. I woke up this morning with a sore throat, so I think I might be coming down with a cold. I don't think I'm going to Shred today, but hopefully I'll be able to tomorrow morning.
Ouch.
Let me back up a bit. I didn't work out yesterday. I ended up sleeping in because I had trouble falling asleep again, so my plan was to work out after work. But then, I didn't end up following through on that because I worked too late. I'd only had a salad for lunch and didn't bring any snacks to work. (I had a work lunch and there was a possibility we'd go to a Thai place where I'd eat a not-so-good for me lunch, so I didn't want a snack to tempt me.) Then I ended up working late, so when I got home around 7:30, I was starving. Luckily, dinner was there waiting for me, but by the time I finished eating and digesting, it was too late to work out if I wanted to fall asleep at a reasonable hour.
So, if I want to accomplish all 30 days of the Shred before January 1, I need to do at least one double-session now. Eek.
I got up early this morning and did Day 3 of the Shred before work. I actually managed to leave at a regular time today, so when I got home I went to the gym for a 5K run. My legs were TIRED. Those first five minutes felt just awful, like my legs were made of lead. It got a little easier as the run went on and I finished the 5K in 32:30, which is exactly the pace I'd need to complete the 10K (65:00) next weekend if I want to qualify for the national half marathon. If I can't run a 10K in about that time this weekend, I'm not even going to sign up for the Jingle All the Way 10K.
After the run, Adam and I ate a quick dinner (salad with veggie chik'n nuggets) and then headed out to Target to tackle our shopping list that's been piling up over the last month. Halfway through our trip around the store, I started to get so sore. I'm not in pain or injured, but oh man, I am unbelievably sore. My leg muscles are screaming at me. I think this is definitely a good thing though... it shows that the Shred is really making a difference at least with my legs, which is not surprising considering how little I used to strength train them.
I think I'm going to skip the morning workout tomorrow. I have a 9AM conference call, and need to get there a bit earlier to prep, so I'd have to get up even earlier than usual to get a workout in and make it in on time. I don't have any post-work plans as of yet, so I'll just do the Shred after work.
My legs were SORE all day today. Sore in a good way, but I think I was starting to walk a little funny by the end of the day. :-) I slept terribly last night, not falling asleep until after 12:30, then up again at 1:15 until 3am, so I wasn't getting up at 7 to do the Shred before work today. My plan was to originally do the Shred in the morning and go for a run tonight (I'm still aiming to qualify for the National Half Marathon next year, but that's looking less and less likely at this point), but then with missing this morning I was going to run first, then do the Shred both tonight. But then, I was swamped at work and didn't get home until after 7, so I skipped the run altogether. I was starving, so I had a quick snack of some pretzel thins and hummus before queuing up Level 1 of the Shred.
Considering how sore my legs were, the workout felt pretty good. I even managed to do some real push-ups! (I usually have trouble keeping my balance doing those and my legs go shooting out from underneath me, but I really concentrated on keeping them in place this time.) I probably only did 5 or 7 real push-ups before resorting to girly push-ups, but it's better than nothing!
The cardio was still pretty easy for me. Maybe I need to work on making it a little more intense. Two days of jumping around and I haven't even felt a twinge in my leg where I had my stress fracture. That's really good news, considering how much the jumping rope in boxing class contributed to my stress fracture.
My abs were a little sore this morning, more than I thought they'd be, but I still don't feel like I'm getting as much of an abs workout as I'd like. I think I am going to add some weighted side bends and another set of crunches a couple days a week.
The leg exercises were still killer. Ugh, lunges. They always make me sore, which really just means they are doing their job. :-) My bum is so sore, it hurts if I sit down the wrong way!
I'm hoping I actually get a decent night's sleep tonight so that I can get up and do Day 3 in the morning and get in a run in the evening... although I'm pretty sure my legs are going to feel like they're going to fall off!
I borrowed a copy of the 30 Day Shred from a friend of mine (who documented her own Shred experience here). My plan is to accomplish all three levels of the Shred by January 1, 10 days at each level. This means, bringing the DVD with me when I go to my parents' for Christmas and possibly doing a few double sessions.
I started Day 1 by actually getting out of bed and doing the Shred before work. Shocking, I know. I rarely will actually do a morning workout, except on weekends. I am starting Level 1 with 3 lb. weights, although I think I will end up picking up some 5 lb. weights from Target this weekend. (The only other set I have is 8 lbs. and that's just too high for this workout.)
It didn't feel as difficult as I had expected, but my legs were already starting to get sore by the end of the work day. Even with all the running I do, I tend to neglect doing strength workouts with my legs, so this is where I'll need the most work. The chest flies were pretty easy for me (I usually do chest flies with 15 lb. weights), as was the abs workout. I'll probably add in some more abs exercises on some days. The cardio sessions were fairly easy as well. I need to work on my push-ups, though... my arms get tired so easily doing those!
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