(Pretty catchy title huh?)

Yesterday was the final day of the 30 Day Shred.  For those of you that don’t know, it was created by Jillian Michaels who is one of the main fitness trainers on The Biggest Loser (a show I don’t watch).  The workout consists of 3 segments of strength, cardio and abs in a constant pace for 20 minutes.  I believe it also comes with a diet plan too, but since we just borrowed the DVD and didn’t buy it, we didn’t get all the information.

The box boasts that you could lose up to 20 pounds in 30 days through this program.  While I did not, I can’t say that it won’t do that for you since we didn’t use the diet program as well.  But while I didn’t lose much weight at all, I can say that I did gain a bunch of muscle and my abs when from a keg to a five pack (not quite a six pack).  I got lots of questions about the workout as we were doing it, but I wasn’t really sure what to tell people.  But now that it’s over here are my thoughts.

Girls: This is a great workout and it is designed for you.  It’s very aerobic-y and works the areas you want it to.  The arms, abs and thighs.  My wife, who blogged about her 30 Day Shred experience here, just had a baby and did this and looks great!  There is also a modified version of most of the exercises as well so you can easy your way into them.  But either way it’s exhausting.

Guys: While this isn’t created for you, it is still a good workout.  If you can get passed Jillian calling everyone “ladies” then you will probably be ok.  Beware that there are muscles that you have that girls use and want to work out that you don’t use.  These will not be fun.  Be prepared to get laughed at if you are not flexible.  Some of the stretches made me and my manly flexibility look pretty silly.  But after you get through all that the workout is pretty good, if you actually do everything as directed you will work up a very good sweat, and the results will be good.  It’s pretty exhausting.

Final Thoughts: If you are like us and don’t have a ton of time or money to workout at a gym, this is a good workout for you.  At $11 on Amazon isn’t very expensive either.  Start with level 1 and see how it goes.  We shot for 10 days on each level and now looking back I wish I had pushed to level 3 a little sooner (although to be completely honest at when we were moving up a level I was pretty sure I wasn’t ready).  I suspect that if you follow a strict diet and apply yourself for the entire workout for 30 days the weight and toning will be significant with such a short workout and time period.  My only real negative was that my knees hurt and made weird noises throughout the month (and it had nothing to do with me being old).  We are planning to continue using the workout in a 3 times a week plan, but I will definitely be replacing some of the exercises that put negative stress on the knees.

I would recommend this workout to anyone that wants to lose weight and build/tone muscle, can be disciplined enough to do it every day, and wants to save time and money by not using the gym.  Just make sure you don’t do it too late at night if you live in a complex because your neighbors won’t be a fan of all the running and jumping!  (And yes, I know I just completed a girly aerobics program and I’m ok with that.)

Anyone else done the 30 Day Shred?  How did it work for you?

Last week I had something on my mind and wrote a post called I Work Out Therefore I Am.  I don’t know why, but God brought up the issue of image and what others think.  Living in Orange County, people think that they are different than the rest of the world.  We aren’t any different here than anywhere else.  We still have issues. We still have money problems.  We still don’t understand the concept of using credit in our favor (and how that doesn’t mean to go buy a Lotus because the bank upped the limit).  But one of the biggest issues that I continue to see here is that of image.

I have seen in all over the place.  There is a constant need to be prettier or better dressed or have nicer stuff or write better, speak better, sing better, surf better than the next person.  But then as God put this on my heart last week, I came across a couple verses in my YouVersion reading plan that to me really nail it down.

“Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?

Matthew 6:27-30

“There’s trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them.

Luke 6:26

I love it.  Has fussing in the mirror ever made you taller?  No!  If He gives so much attention to some random flowers that no one ever sees, how much pride and love and thought did He pour into you?!  Be you!  That’s who you were made to be!  And for those of us that only live and breathe and do because we want the approval of others, we have a rough road ahead.  If those don’t smack you across the face either you either don’t have any issues with this at all or you didn’t read it!

I don’t know about you (well, I probably do), but what others think of me and what I think of me makes its way into my mind often.  I’m not a freak about it, but I know people who are.  But just because I’m not overly sensitive about it doesn’t mean it’s all good.  I still deal with it FAR more than I should.  Think about how much it dominates our thinking.  Makeup, working out, dieting, mirrors, fashion, etc.  These things are not bad, but that all comes down to why we use them.  Are you putting on makeup in hopes that others will think more of you?  Do you workout so that your muscles will be noticed?  Are you dieting so you can attempt to look like Britney Spears pre-breakdown?  Are you doing any of these things because you don’t feel good enough as you?

All week the People Of The Second Chance proposed an idea to change our online self portraits to ones of us looking like the #realme to drive home the truth that the best you is the you that God created.  The Bible says in Genesis that when we were created, we were done so in God’s image.  We were made to look like Him.  We were made to resemble Him.  That is pretty freakin’ cool.  If we are made to look like Him as we already are, then why is it that we try so hard to look like someone else?  Yes, be healthy.  Yes, workout.  Yes, wear clothes that you enjoy and check yourself in the mirror before you leave because you just might have toilet paper stuck to your pants (as my grandma always worries).  Just don’t do those things for the wrong reasons.  God already created you to be the best you there is!  Finding your identity in Him and not what others think or worse sometimes, what you think, is the way to go!

I don’t know how many times I have not been happy with something about myself.  But what am I saying about God’s creation?  Does God suck at creating?  Did He have a food coma after lunch the day He picked my thyroid?  Was He leaning because of a hangover the day He made my legs and now one is longer than the other?  The answer is no.  He put thought, effort and love into creating your face, your nose, your big toe, and your cowlicks.  He made you you on purpose.

Image is a big deal.  We live in a society that is completely wrapped up in it.  But there is only one image we should be wrapped up in.  God’s.  After all, that’s how we were created.