Well folks, I DID IT!!
4 WEEKS.
4 LEVELS.
6 DAYS PER LEVEL.
D O N E.
I have completed another 4 week challenge and actually feel stronger than ever! My gift for finishing this challenge?? I got myself 2 this time because I deserved it – a new pair of workout shorts (in size XS!! holy!) and a new sports bra. You can see them in my after shots below. 😉
I never in a million years pegged myself as someone who would be able to do the daily workout thing before work and only 2 short months ago, I proved myself wrong. As tired as I still am when I drag my little butt out of bed in the mornings means nothing in comparison to the adreneline and overal incredible feeling that comes over me 35 minutes later as I have finished my workouts. This is going to sound crazy, but as much as I complain about how tired I am in the week, and as much as I love my rest day on Sunday, I keep finshing myself anxious to start a new week and challenge myself in new ways. I LOVE IT!
Anyway, I’m pretty sure you just want me to get down to the results now right? So here you go, my day-to-day run downs of Level 4!
Day 18 – January 30, 2012
Here we go, level 4!! As usual, day 1 is a little rough simply because it takes me a little bit to actually ‘get’ the new moves. I used my 3lb weights to get a feel for everything but might up them tomorrow. I’m used to having to sub moves for something else in these workouts and this level is no different. Unfortunately my knees have a hard time with a lot of the plyometric moves and in this level I’ve had to sub the scissor jumps for butt-kicks and the double jump rope, for single. No biggie though! As long as I keep on moving right? I am so determind to push my body to the limit this week in attempt to reach that total 10lb loss by next Monday! We shall see!! Oh and I also got a great ride in on Chelsea tonight for workout #2!
Day 19 – January 31, 2012
Wow my legs were sore this morning! I’m not sure if it’s because of level 4, or because of the extra added circuit workout I did on Saturday! 😉 Since I’m on the home stretch now, I told the 3lb weights to stay on the shelf this morning while only taking out the 5lb ones. WOW. Level 4 with heavier weights is HARD! If doing presses followed by rows all while remaining in the squat position wasn’t hard enough, doing the superman with 5lb weights was INSANE!! At least that gives me something to work towards this week. I went to the farm tonight after work despite feeling really tired and to my surprise, I ended up riding Chelsea for 40 minutes! Time flies when you’re having fun.
Day 20 – February 1, 2012
Boy was I tired this morning! I haven’t been sleeping very well the past few nights and this morning I could have easily used another hour or 2 of sleep – and that’s after getting just under 8!! Part of me really wanted to skip today, but I’ve been doing so well that I knew I would be mad at myself if I didn’t just suck it up. So off I went to the basement ‘gym’. I’m really starting to get the hang of this level, so I just went through the motions all while really trying to keep my intensity up. As I mentioned yesterday, the one move that is EXTREMELY hard is superman’s with the 5lb weights in hand. When you lift into the superman pose, you have to press/lift the weights up = HARD! I definitely struggle in that move, but like I said before, it gives me something to work towards in these last 3 days. All afternoon I had planned on taking the evening off – ie. no workout #2… But, I decided to pull out Jillian’s Yoga Meltdown and it made me feel so good!
Day 21 – February 2, 2012
Another day, another dollar…. er.. umm workout. 😉 As much as I’m loving the results and workouts from the Shred and now Ripped In 30, I think I’m starting to get a little bored of doing the same workout day after day. It gives me something to think about while trying to figure out my next plan though! Regardless, I found myself busting my little butt throughout this workout this morning all while cursing the lovely Jillian through my tv screen. Haha! There are a few points in this level where she’s yelling at you through the screen – as in the camera zooms right in on her face while she’s yelling at you. i love the girl, but I may let some not-so-nice words slip out of my mouth at those points.. while I’m catching my breath.. while doing burpees… 😉 I did the Yoga Meltdown again tonight and loved it! This might be my new after-work go-to dvd now!
Day 22 – February 3, 2012
Today was the first day that I seriously considered quitting at about the 8 minute mark. I had a bad sleep the night before and just really wanted to be back in my bed. I continued on with the workout though and began to really think WHY. WHY I was doing this in the first place. As soon as I realized that I had very good reasons to continue on, I did just that and made sure that I finished the workout strong. I’m really realizing that as much as you need to put all your strength into these workouts, there is just as much head and heart involved. It was during this workout when I had to remind myself that 30 minutes really isn’t that much and that I could do it! .. I did it… And even went and had a great ride on Chelsea after work to top it off.
Day 23 – February 4, 2012
WOW. I’m on the last day of my challenge already! I say it all the time, but I really can’t believe how fast time goes by. I can’t say enough how much I love doing this workout on Saturdays at the same time that Chris does his workout. It really pushes me so much harder. I literally went balls to the walls for this workout – LOL! And I did those superman’s with my 5lb weights like nobody’s business. Boo Ya!! I was feeling so strong after the workout that I followed it immediately with Jillians Yoga Meltdown. Now that may or may not have been the best decision because my arms were so tired at that point and it was H A R D. But, I didn’t quit and that’s what matters! 😉
Level 3/FINAL Statistics
Starting weight (Dec 6): 133
Weight after 30 Day Shred: 127.4
Weight after Level 1 Ripped In 30: 127.8
Weight after Level 2 Ripped In 30: 126.8
Weight after Level 3 Ripped In 30: 125.6
Weight after Level 4 Ripped In 30: 124.9
Measurements
upper arm = (left) 10.1″ (start 10.6″/post 30DS 10.3″) (right) 10.1″ (start 10.5″/post 30DS 10.3″)
thigh = (left) 21.6″ (start 23.3″/post 30DS 22.7″) (right) 21.6 (start 23″/post 30DS 22.7″)
high waist (as in skinniest part) = 27″ (start 29/post 30DS 27.5″)
low waist (right across the belly button) = 30″ (start 33.5″/post 30DS 31.8″)
hips = 35.5″ (start 37.6″/post 30DS 36.5″)
Total inches down from December 6 start: 11.6″!!!
Total weight down from December 6 start: 8.1lb
Before & After Photos
I’m SHRINKING!!! 🙂 I knew that I was really starting to achieve results about 2 weeks ago when I could notice differences when I’d wake up in the morning. The thing is though, I never really realized how extreme those difference were until I lined up these images side by side to do the comparisons. As embarassing as my day 1 photos are, I am very glad that I had the shots taken so that I can really literally see my hard work right in front of me!
I couldn’t be happier with my results and progress so far and am so excited to keep on going!!! 3.5 more weeks until I’m Jamaica-bound again, so there is a very good chance I’ll be super close to my goal by then! Stay tuned for challenge #3 – to come tomorrow! 🙂
My Pink Thumb 
That is a pretty good transformation. I thought about doing those programs and even bought it at a yard sale, but it is sorta weird for me since it is all women. haha
I do know of some guys who have done these programs with the same sort of success. As for the all girls thing, just think about it this way – you get to watch some hot girls do their thing as you work out! 😉
Yea, but the two problems with the videos are that the hot girls are sorta distracting and it motivational talking seems weird when they say stuff like “come on ladies, just two more lifts!” or talk about how an exercise will improve your bust-line haha.
ahahaha ok, I guess you made a good point there. Well, I’ve heard nothing but great things about Inanity from my male friends! 😉
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I definitely just bought 30 day shred and ripped in 30 after reading this!
so awesome!!! good luck with them!
Amazing!!! Congrats on getting through both of these, and for getting up early!! :)) You look awesome.
thank you!!!! 🙂 getting up early definitely still sucks, but being able to see results makes it SO worth it now!
I’ve tried P90X (lasted 7 weeks) and Insanity (did the 60 days, but took days off and didn’t see much results). I started 30 Day Shred, but again I’m falling off the wagon. But I like Jillian Michaels’ style as she’s not trying to get people to cram in as many reps as possible. Instead, they are slow and controlled. I actually get more sore doing her videos than Insanity or P90X (probably because I didn’t push myself because the moves were so hard). Anyway, after seeing your before and after pictures, I am inspired. I think I will turn this into a project or else I will not do the 30 days straight and not see results. Thanks!
Hi there! I am so glad that I could inspire you! If I were to give you a tip, I would say – don’t worry too much about doing the 30 days straight. Working out 7 days a week isn’t good for your body anyway. When I did Ripped In 30 and the 30 Day Shred, I did the workouts for 30 days, but it took more like 34-35 to do them as I made sure to make every Sunday a complete rest day. That method worked REALLY well for me and now that i’ve been maintaining for the past few months, I only work out 4-5 days a week. 🙂 Good luck!!
WOW – great results! That is really inspiring! I am just starting week 4 of Ripped in 30 – but I didn’t take any measurements or pictures, which I should have. I have a couple questions – when you finished Ripped in 30, what did you do? Start a new workout program? Also, did you do any sort of diet along with the videos? Thanks!
Hi Kacie! Thanks for the comment!! I wouldn’t say that I dieted when doing the videos, but I will say that I learned to practice my portion control while doing them. I’ve always been one to eat pretty healthy, so I never found myself limitting what I ate, BUT I did have to limit how much I ate. I used myfitnesspal.com as a tool for 3 months and ate around 1200-1400 calories a day. When I finished Ripped in 30, I was happy where I was at and began my maintain mode. I stopped counting calories and started to eat a bit more, but I had learned what proper portions looked like for me. As for workouts, I began to try a bunch of different things and then I started training for a 10K which I’ve since completed. The Shred and Ripped in 30 did what I needed them to do – they helped get me on track and loose the 9lbs that I needed to lose. I’ve been in maintain-mode now since March and have been doing very well! My workouts now come from various forms.. riding my horse, running, Jillian’s kick boxing video, Nike training app.. etc! 🙂 Good luck!!!
I just finished week 3 of 30day shred. Just wondering what you did for week 4?
Thanks so much and you look fabulous
Julie
Hi Julie – thanks for the comment! To spread the 30 Day Shred over a month, I actually did each level for 10 days. It sounds like you only did each level for a week, so why not alternate levels for week 4? ie. do level 1 one day, level 2 the next, level 3 the next, etc. Good luck! 🙂
From the pictures, it looks as if Ripped In 30 had more dramatic results than 30 Day Shred. Is this true? I was going to start Ripped In 30 first, but not sure.
If you plan to do both the 30 Day Shred and Ripped In 30, I would start with the 30DS. I say this simply because she seemed to lay a good foundation in the 30DS which helped maked Ripped better for me. My visible results were more dramatic with Ripped, but I still say that has a lot to do with having already completed the shred first. Good luck! 🙂
Thanks or the suggestion! I’m on D2 of the 30 Day Shred.
Awesome! Rock it! 🙂
Do you think you’d have attained the same results if you’d done 30 Day Shred for 60 days or is it important to switch to Ripped in 30 to challenge your muscles further?
I think it helped to switch to Ripped in 30 after the 30 Day Shred as it helped to work different muscles for a better overall result. 🙂
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congratulations!!
Way to go. I am starting Ripped in 30 this week and will do it in the morning and P90X in the evening. Keep it up!
hey…
i just completed my 30 day shred of level 1
10 days… n v disappointed din loose any b weight
very sad n upset n in tears
i m 5 feet 2 inchees
n i weigh 158 pounds gave a 4 months baby
i want to loose weight …
i was doing 3xercise but dint diet… u ppl think I s that the case
pls let me know what to do
today was my first day of level 2….
pls help me v sad
Hi there. I’m sorry to hear that you are feeling upset and discouraged. I know how hard it is to even start working out after having a baby. Many people don’t see results in any sort of workout program after only 10 days..give it a month and see where you’re at. But, you should also be mindful of what you are eating as well. If you are working out, but eating like crap, unfortunately you’re not going to get anywhere. Stay strong and keep at it. You can do it! 🙂
Hi , I see that you had done this a few years ago, but I am wondering if you followed a certain meal plan. Thanks
Hi Tiffany,
When I did this challenge, I concentrated on watching my calorie intake. Being 5’3 and between 125-130lbs, I was eating 1200 calories a day. I tried to use those calories eating as clean as possible… lots of veggies, proteins and grains. I always made a point to have 1 protein shake a day as well. I am actually going to be starting Shaun T’s new FOCUS T25 program within the next few weeks and am also working on a blog revival, so please keep checking back if you are interested. I will be sharing my progress within that program (need to get rid of my mommy tummy) and will also be sharing detailed meal plans/grocery lists! 🙂