Getting in Wedding Shape

The road to wedding fitness has been a long and bumpy one, with many stops at rest areas. Some time in March, after splitting a quart of cookie dough ice cream from Marble Slab with Liz, I decided it was time to start thinking about making some changes to my nonexistent diet and exercise plan. We ordered P90X, and I even roped Carl into getting on board with me. We were doing great- we took our measurements and our “before” pictures, but after about three weeks of torture we quit completely. P90X, we decided, was entirely too painful and time consuming. Days turned into weeks and then months, and all of a sudden it was the end of June and I was back to square one. In a moment of combined desperation and motivation, I made this workout chart:

Yes, I know it bears much resemblance to a child’s chore chart (minus the gold stars- my sticker collection isn’t what it once was), but filling in those boxes after each workout gives me more satisfaction than it should. So since P90X was an epic failure, what workouts have I been doing?

I started by ordering six of Jillian Michaels’ workout DVDs (Ripped in 30, Six Week Six Pack, Banish Fat Boost Metabolism, Yoga, No More Trouble Zones, and 30 Day Shred). My favorite ones by far are Ripped in 30 and 30 Day Shred. They’re half hour-long workouts with three circuits consisting of 3 minutes of cardio, 2 minutes of strength, and 1 minute of abs. Perfect for those of us with short attention spans. I really like Jillian, but she can be scary at times with that no-nonsense attitude. I think they're working, though. I find that I can hold a plank for longer than 3 seconds now, and I did my first push-up without my knees the other day!

Most recently I ordered The Firm Express workout system (my workout DVD collection is quite impressive at this point, much to Carl’s chagrin), which I started on Monday. The premise behind these videos is that you only have to work out 3 times a week for 20 minutes. The sequence of the moves combined with “8 second cardio bursts” allows you to get the same quality workout in 20 minutes that you would doing 40 minutes of traditional cardio. The girls in the infomercial lost 15-20 pounds in 30 days, so of course I was sold. So far I really like it! They’re challenging enough that I don’t feel like I’m wasting my time, but not so much so that I’ll easily give up. Also, as much as I’d like to think that one hour of working out each week will give me the results that I want, I’ve been incorporating my old Firm videos as well as the Jillian DVDs, just to play it safe. I’m on a mission to fill up my workout chart before the wedding, and nothing is getting in my way!

As I get further into The Firm Express, I’ll give a more comprehensive review. At this point, I’m not looking to lose those 15 promised pounds; I just want to tone up a little bit, so that I can look back at my wedding pictures one day and think about what a babe I used to be. Isn’t that what every girl wishes upon her future middle-aged self? I also plan to post more about what I’m doing diet-wise: smoothie and salad recipes, etc. Stay tuned!