30 Day Shred, Level One

Well, today is the last day of level one of the 30 day shred for me. Unfortunately I wasn't able to do it all 10 days in a row, which was a bit of a disappointment for me but, nevertheless, after today I will have completed 10 workouts in level 1 and will be graduating to level 2, for better or for worse.

I thought I'd post my thoughts/experiences about the shred at the end of every level. I've been using 2 pound weights...or more specifically, balls (they were on sale). These have been my companions over the last couple of weeks:

Sorry for the super dark photo, but you get the idea. I found that 2 pounds was pretty perfect. The shoulder exercises in the first circuit were hard at first with 2 pounds, but they got easier as the days went on. The flys in the third circuit were really easy right from the get-go, so heavier weights for that exercise would have been good. My bf has 5lb weights, and he had to put them down part way through the aforementioned shoulder exercises every time. Neither of us can do the full push-ups yet, and I'm a little unsure if I ever will be able to.

I've definitely noticed a big difference in my arms. After the first workout my abs and legs were really sore, but I wasn't sore at all after subsequent workouts. Don't get me wrong, it's hard stuff. I sweat a lot every time, I grunted, I begged Jillian to stop, but at the end it was totally worth it. My bf says he doesn't feel like he's getting as good of a workout as he would at the gym, but I think that's because he's 'phoning it in' (haha). I found that even though I was getting stronger, she presents you with enough modifications to keep it challenging every time.

My biggest criticism is that the stretching section leaves a little to be desired. I don't feel like my flexibility is increasing each time as a direct result of that section. I might start throwing some yoga back in a few days a week to supplement this workout, but at less than 30 minutes, you still have time to add other stuff in. I have to say I was a bit disappointed when I watched level 2 (I like to know what's coming up...and man does it look hard!) and she includes the exact same stretches as she did in level 1.

So, that's my experience with the first 10 days of the 30 Day Shred. Overall, I'm pretty happy that I hopped on this bandwagon.