The 30 Day Shred

Since I last posted, I attended CASC's Advanced Skills Training to be a gamma again this year (which meant the trifecta of not sleeping enough, eating unhealthy food in unhealthy amounts, and no time for exercise; it also meant I was so detached from the world that I didn't hear about the Arizona tragedy until almost 24 hours later! My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected), stressed an insane amount, felt sorry for myself, and watched a lot of TV.

But, if you remember, I (and the rest of the world, or at least the United States) resolved to get healthier in 2011. So, following advice from a friend, I bought Jillian Michaels's 30 Day Shred dvd. It's a 20 minute workout, so I was expecting it to be pretty easy. Boy was I wrong. It was one of the harder workouts I've done, and I usually push myself pretty hard, so that's saying something. It combines strength training, cardio, and abs, which are my three workout staples, but I guess generally don't do them very affectively. Jillian seriously kicked my ass. I was sweating bullets, breathing heavily, and my muscles were shaking. But I was able to get through the 20 minutes, and I'm hoping that if I do it a few more times, I'll be able to move onto level 2. If anything, doing the workout was a reminder to me that I can do it, but I still have a long way to go to get back into volleyball shape. I guess I should clarify: I played on a travel volleyball team at the end of 8th grade, and I was in the most insane shape because all I did was go to school and play volleyball. I miss it, and am striving to get back to that point.

I think the 30 day shred and I are going to get along swimmingly. I'm all about immediate gratification and am truly one of the most (if not the most) impatient people I know. I think my obsessive compulsiveness and impatience go hand in hand. But back to the point at hand: Jillian's 20 minute workout is designed to totally change your body in just 30 days. I want to see results immediately, and hopefully Jillian can provide them. It's a new year and a new me!

Heading back to Berkeley on Sunday for what might be my last spring semester! Winter break went by really fast but I'm really excited about getting back into the swing of things. And, one of my favorite parts of living with all my best friends is that my very own personal trainer/motivator/inspiration lives right down the hall! Next week is serious business time.