Accountability and the Shred

Two weeks ago, I purchased Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred off of Ebay. Olive may only be 4 months old, but I'm impatient and ready to get my old body back... not my pre-motherhood body of course, that would be unrealistic, but those 2 months where I was back into shape after having Ivey but before I was preggo with Olive would be fine by me. I am exclusively nursing, so I can't go to any extremes with cutting calories or fat. I figured I could handle this 20 minute a day workout that I've heard so much about.

On day 1, the boys and I filled our water bottles and hit the living room floor for a challenge. They lasted 1.5 minutes, if that. The rest of the time, they sat on the couch making periodic comments about how hard it looked. They were right. I thought I was going to die... or at least collapse. My legs turned to jelly, my heart was pounding. This was no workout for the weak! When it was over, I could barely make it up the stairs to get Ivey from her nap.

By day 2, I did a little better, even though I was working through the pain in my legs caused by the day before. My hamstrings, calves and quads were shot. I have no idea how I made it through, but I did. At the end of the disk, while we re finishing up with cardio, Jillian says, "I want to see you floating off the ground. This is easy for you. You're strong. There's nothing you can't do."

Asa said, "She's being sarcastic, isn't she?"

Over the next 3 days, I did better and better, even though two days of abs were done with Ivey laying across my belly, I had to give directions on how to load math games on the computer while doing jumping jacks, and I learned that, although bicycle crunches may be hard, I shouldn't close my eyes or I won't see the hand weights dangling precariously above my face. After day 5, I came down with a tiny cold that ended up wreaking havoc on my chest. With the chest congestion, my asthma was out of control for a solid week. Drat.

So, now I start again. Today was day 1, again...but this was an easier day 1. There are before pictures, but I;m not posting them unless I complete my challenge... else they become "what Holly really looks like" pictures. Through naptimes cut short, toddlers in the dishwasher, or whatever else may come to pass... let's see if I can make it the full 30 days this time...