Please help--question on J.M.'s 30 day shred!

Hello everyone!

I was watching Jillian Michael's 30 day shred video, and I've 2 questions:

1. What are the weight of the dumbbells that the girls work out with? It looks like 5 pounds each. If you are working out with the video can you please tell me what are you working with, and what do you think the girls are working with in the video?

2. How long is one supposed to continue each level? Such as, how long should one do Level 1? (how many days?)

Thanks so much for your time and answers and keep up the good work!

Sorry, I don't know the video you're referring to - but I thought I'd give you a bit of information on what I do with dumb bells in case you're wondering what you should lift.

I never really know what weights women lift, but 5 pounds seems low really? I usually lift between 3 and 5 kg dumb bells (6.6-11 lbs).

Do weight and resistance training 2-3 times a week.

I do a weight circuit, which lasts about 20 minutes, 3 times a week. This includes 10 repetitions of each move.

I started out with 3 lb weights, now I use 6 lb weights.  And I just did each level until I could do the next without stopping.

Hope  this helps.

I have 2, 3, 5, 12, and 15lb weights.  I use the heavier weights for the chest flys in Level 1 and the "squat presses" in Level 3.  I started out using 3lb and now use 5lbs for most other exercises.  I keep all my weights handy in case I want to go higher or lower at any point.

I did each level for 10 days.  Now, I am doing the 30DS for a second 30 days.  This time, I am rotating through each level.  For example, I do Level 1 on one day, then Level 2 on the next day and Level 3 on day 3.  I then go back to Level 1 and repeat.

I will caution you that doing 10 days of each level is sort of boring but still challenging.  By the time I moved to the next level, I could do the current level without feeling like I was going to stroke out.

Good luck.  I am always willing to answer questions about the 30DS.

Thanks so much for your replies, guys! I really appreciate your co-operation!

@Augenblick

Did you notice any change after the first 30 days in your weight/measurements/fitness levels?

each level is meant to do for 10 days...hense the 30 day shred and there being 3 levels.. you can move on faster or slower than that it doesn't really matter..

i use 3 lb. weights and it's challenging but i can still get through all 3 levels without stopping... i think the girls in the vide probably use from 3-6 lbs... do what works better for you and what you're strong enough for

Emo,

Yes, I did notice a  big difference in the way I feel and how my clothes fit.  My endurance and overall energy improved dramatically. 

I posted a separate thread that I share all my measurements and results.  I think the post starts with the word "RESULTS".

If you can't find it, let me know and I will try to help.

Also, there is another group under the fitness forum that is starting the 30 Day Shred together.  I believe the group was started by Dovette.  Let me know if you need help finding that group.

Well with me I only have two 8 pound weights and one 15 pounder. So I had no choice, but to workout with the 8 pounders which I knew would be a challenge, but I managed. Now I'm use to it..Only thing I will not do with them is the jumping jacks with the weights in level 3...I would prefer not to injure myself. Ha ha. So I drop them and just do jumping jacks at a very fast speed. I believe they are using 5 pound weights at the highest by how small they are.

The DVD recommends how long to do each level on the chapter at the beginning listed as "recommendations" or something similar to that you can follow that. I know a lot of people do Level 1 for 10 days Level 2 for 10 days and then Level 3, of course, for 10 days = 30 total days.

Myself, I did all levels at once because I thought I could handle it..which I could (mostly with the help of the beginner girl. Lmao.) But, I would advise the 10 days each thing you would probably get more benefits out of it.

It's a really great dvd. I would recommend this one with "The Biggest Loser: Cardio Max" dvd. They both work up a sweat with me.

I really want to try Jillian's two new dvd's as well which I heard incorporate more cardio more then anything else...Yowza!

i keep hearing people talk about this 30 shred in forums here. is it a workout dvd? if so, is it only available in the USA because it sounds damn good but im in the UK!

Yep it's a workout video with a warmup, three circuts consisting of 3 min strength, 2 min cardio and 1 min abs, followed by a cooldown.  Total time is about 25 min.

Jillian kicks your butt the whole time.  Today was my 5th day in a row (the idea is to do it for 30 days, so that's my goal) and I can already feel myself getting stronger and being able to do both the strength stuff for the full time and also pumping up the cardio.

I don't know that it said anywhere about doing each level for 10 days, she says in the intro that you start with level one and move on when you think you are ready.  Tomorrow is day 6 for me and I decided to do level 2 (crazy woman that I am).  Then I think I'll go back to level 1 for 2 days, level 2 for a day, then alternate until I can do full pushups (ha right) and deeper squats and lunges, and then go into level 3.  Ideally in my last week I"d like to be doing 2 workouts a day.  Right.

So far I am dropping weight and also noticing my stomach looking less poofy.  Then again I am also eating at least 750 calorie deficit a day.  So I think the combo is workin well for me!

Thanks everyone!

I did Day 1 with 3 lbs. weights. And just for everybody else like me (starters...) I paused the video in several places to see what weights the girls are using. It's 3 lbs....so just breathing easy!

@augenblick, I've seen your results and a hearty congratulations to you! I'll join the other 30 DS discussion soon enough...and let's see how good each of us does!

Amen.