Confession is good for the soul, right?

So, it’s confession time.  No, I’m not Catholic, but growing up, I couldn’t tell you how many times I heard my mother say those words.

I’ve been avoiding a certain question my sister’s keep pestering me with: what kind of workout are you doing?

Well, I decided to start The Shred.  First, I was curious about it to see what all the hype was about.  I’ve watched Biggest Loser and I really don’t care for Jillian.  She seems too arrogant to me.  I’ve always liked Bob better.  But friends kept going on about this workout. My curiosity didn’t get the better of me until my sister posted she was nearly done with the 30 days.  I couldn’t believe how fast the 30 days had gone by.  Surely I could do it for 30 days, right?  I didn’t tell too many people I’d started it… for one thing, if I decided to quit, no one would be the wiser!

I figured up the time I thought I would need to Shred + morning devotions + get my son and I ready =  I would need to get up around 5:30 AM each day.  I recently watched a special by Dr. Oz where he talked about getting the most from your workout.  He recommends a morning workout as you’re jump-starting your metabolism rather than working out in the evening when your body is working through all the calories you’ve ingested through out the day.  It made sense… so I’m up at 5:30.

Pre-day 1 – I borrowed the DVD from a friend at work; the night before Day 1, I watched part of the first workout and was scoffing.  Anyone can do jumping jacks, a few pushups, and chest flies.  What’s the big deal?

Day 1 – Tuesday: by the second circuit, I was about to die.  And feeling like an idiot for scoffing at the workout the night before.   I can’t do a minute of pushups (even the ‘easy’ way).  Jumping rope in place made me hack up a lung… And bicycle crunches… oh don’t go there!  Let’s just say, I’m glad no one saw that!  I made it through but my legs felt like jelly and I wondered how I’d make it through a shower!  I also noticed my right calf felt like it was locked – kinda like a “charley horse”.  I drank a very large, loaded-with-protein, smoothie for breakfast and was pleasantly surprised at how great I felt all day!

Day 2 – Wednesday: Surprisingly, day 2 was much easier than I anticipated.  In fact, my calf muscle opened right up and I was feeling good!  I’d already noticed an increase in my energy level.   After the workout, I drank another smoothie.  Man, them things are great!  Very little hunger after one of those protein packed babies!  However, after I’d cooled down, that calf muscle locked back up – tighter than before.  I limped the rest of the day. 

Keep in mind, I’ve never participated in any type of organized sports.  I know nothing about sport injuries and very little about stretching, etc.  But I knew what my body was telling me about my calf.  I was very concerned I’d pushed too far and was going to end up with a permanent injury.  I can handle sore – and boy was I sore.  But the calf was something altogether different than ‘sore.’ 

Thursday: when the alarm went off at 5:30, I could barely walk due to my calf.  I crawled back in bed wondering if the Shred was right for me.  That day, I looked online and found some good calf stretches and decided to work on that calf muscle throughout the day.  I was limping and had to do a lot of stretching throughout the day.

Friday: the calf is doing some better but I continued to limp some.  I continued stretching off and on throughout the day.  By Friday night, it was feeling much better.  I’m ready to Shred again!

Day 3 – Saturday: I got up and started shredding at 5:30.  About 5:45, my son came sleepily into the room and crawled on to the couch to watch.  After about 5 minutes, he’s up and “working out” with me!  That was so fun!  Especially when we’re punching… man he was swinging those arms, kicking his legs! He was going to town!  His crunches were especially cute too!   And to top it off, the workout was the easiest yet – plus no problems with the calf. (I’d noticed there aren’t many calf stretches on the DVD so I stretch before and after working out.)

Sunday – slept in!

Day 4 – Monday: I worked out and weighed myself.  The weight results were not what I wanted.   Plus, day 4 seemed to be about as hard as day 1!  What gives?  Needless to say, while I accept the .8 loss (which pushed me to a total weight loss of 28.2 lbs!), it was very disappointing after working out 4 out of 7 days.  I know; now I have to try to live by my own preaching, which is: be thankful for the little losses too!

Day 5, 6, 7, etc. have yet to happen.  This week I’ve not been faithful to get to bed at a decent time and therefore, when that alarm goes off at 5:30, it’s been very easy to hit snooze… or off… and keep right on sleeping.  Trust me, I’ve got all KINDS of excuses to stay in bed!

I’m not giving up on the Shred, I just need more motivation.  I expect I’ll get plenty nagging motivation now that I’ve confessed.

So girls, are you surprised?  Or were you expecting it all along?

PS: I also found out - when you work out in secret, you can't get any sympathy for your pain!