SHREDing in the Rain

I used to really want to like workout videos. They are seemingly the perfect exercise routine: can be done at any time in the comfort of your own home, relatively inexpensive to buy (or free from the library), and typically not involving any sort of costly equipment. However, in my early days of weight loss, I quickly nixed the workout video approach after several sessions of unsuccessful attempts to conquer fancy footwork dance moves and then practically punching my fist through the TV in a fitness boxing incident. In short, although I recognized the potential benefits of the fitness video, I swore off the videos in favor of other forms of fitness.

Fast-forward about 6 years. A few weeks ago while brainstorming ways to cut costs out of my monthly budget, I considered cutting the gym. My rationale? I live in Colorado where outdoor activities are plentiful- could I cut the gym and replace the treadmill and spinning classes with running on the roads and riding a real bike? Yes, yes I can do that! But what about the rainy days? Running or riding in the rain certainly wasn't going to happen, so I started to consider alternative indoor options. Since cost was what motivated me to consider cutting the gym, it didn't make sense to replace paying gym membership fess with payments on a exercise apparatus of any sort. Naturally, exercise videos (now DVDs!) came to mind. I quickly flashed backed to my stumbles and frustrations with my earlier attempts until I saw a thread on the weightwatchers.com "Fitness Ideas" message board. A lively group of members were discussing a fitness program led by Jillian Michaels (yes, that Jillian- of Biggest Loser fame). Although I don't regularly watch The Biggest Loser myself, and didn't know much about Jillian, I was immediately struck by what the members were posting about her 30-day SHRED program: Short workouts (20-minutes, plus warm up and stretching), no fancy equipment needed (just hand weights), straightforward instruction, and simple steps that don't involve dancing in any way, shape or form!

For less than $10 on amazon, it was worth a shot. I started "SHREDing" a few weeks ago, and I'm so glad that I did. I can follow the basic moves and focus on my fitness and form-- without worrying about if my side shimmy was in sync with the girl next to me. I can reap the benefits of the fitness video/DVDs that I've know have existed all along- I SHRED in my basement, sometimes late at night (after the gym has long since closed), and in less than 30 minutes I've gotten a hard (!) workout. The DVD has 3 levels on the single disk. All are a blend of basic cardio (think calisthenics), strength training (arms, core and legs) and of course some ab work in there too. Best of all? When I wake up to a rainy dreary day, as I did today, I SHRED in the rain!