Jillian

I'd like to introduce you to my personal trainer. Jillian. That's right, every morning at 6:00 a.m. she comes directly to my living room via my husbands "42 inches of pure bliss" to whip my sorry *ahem* into shape.

Now...I've worked with Jillian before. I become very much acquainted with her last summer as she kicked my butt through a 30 Day Shred. However, I've been on a fairly lengthy hiatus for a few months since I've been slightly consumed with other trivial things like...Christmas and getting married...stuff like that.

Not going to lie...Jillian was less than happy with me for choosing to ditch out on her for so long. And she let me know it. First day back...she made me cry. And the pain lasted a couple of days. But I'm getting back into the swing of it.

I started out...once again...with the 30 Day Shred. It's only a 20 minute workout. I figured...I can do it. But...the woman is GOOD at what she does. On this DVD there are 3 different levels. Level 1, 2, and -yup you guessed it- 3. Each level has 3 segments with 3 minutes of strength training, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of abs. 20 minute workout. And let me just tell you...it works. And it works well.

My first go around with the 30 Day Shred...Level 1 made me cry...but after about a week and 1/2 I got the hang of it. So I decided..."Sure...I can do level 2." Level 2...level 2 made me almost throw up. Who would have thought it would have been SO much harder?!?! My husband used to tease me about how much I hurt after I worked out for 20 minutes with sissy 3-5lb weights. But one day...when he needed a break from studying and it was too cold to go running...he plugged in Jillian with the notion that he MIGHT get his heart rate up a bit. Feeling a little cocky he opted to do Level 2 and skip Level 1. Yeah. He couldn't even FINISH level 2. He doesn't mock me any more.

Level 2 is rough...so rough in fact that by the time I was supposed to advance to level 3...I was terrified to do it. Once I finally got the guts...to give it a try...I realized...I had every right to be afraid of it. But I did it. And I will tell you what...it made me feel like an absolute POWER HOUSE when I finished. Seriously...if you're diligent...and you meet with Jillian every day...she will make you TOTALLY Shredded.

But...I started to get a little bored with the same old workout, albeit effective...I needed something different. SO...I went and got DVD #2. Banish Fat Boost Metabolism. I've only done it twice...and I've yet to actually DO the ENTIRE workout...I've about made it to 90%. The women practically maimed me in a 20 minute segment before...This one...this one is 40 min. She pushes you to inches of wanting to take your own life just to make it stop. I LOVE IT! That sounds a little masochistic, I know, but I feel like I actually got something out of my workout! I hate it when I work out for an hour and...feel like I have NOTHING to show for it. I LOVE feeling like I'm being pushed. I love feeling the burn. I love walking away from it...barely being able to walk! Because I feel like I actually GOT SOMETHING OUT OF MY EFFORTS!

I cancelled my gym membership...which was collecting dust anyway. I am saving myself $60/mon. AND for a mere $10/ea. I went to Target/Walmart and bought myself a personal trainer who brings results! She's one of the meanest, scariest, and most motivational trainers out there...and I'm hoping she will scare me right into a size 8!