Workout Wednesday: My Thoughts on my First Shred

I used to do a regular blog post called "Workout Wednesday" and I have decided to resurrect that feature!  I don't know that I will do this weekly but I figure it gives me a platform to share what's going on in my fitness life!

Last month I decided to give the June Summer Shred a chance after hearing Amber rave about a previous shred she had done.  It's a program that is ran by Bobbi McCormick of nHerShoes and the way it works is that each week for 4 weeks, she sends you a week of meal plans and 5 workouts as well as a shopping list for the meals from the meal plan. 

To be honest, I did not follow the meal plans at all.  While she had some gluten free options, none of them really 'grabbed' me and I felt like a lot of the lunch options were tailored for people who work from home as they were things you'd prepare right before eating it, which does not work for me.  I did make a couple of recipes, though, so at least I tried a few new things!

In terms of the work outs, I pretty much loved this program.  In the past, strength training has kind of intimidated me.  I feel like I would go to the gym and sort of amble around, doing things like bicep curls and lateral raises and after about 10-15 minutes I'd be bored and unsatisfied with my workout.  Doing this program taught me how to challenge myself in the workout room and it showed me that strength training can be fun!  Here are some of my takeaways from the program!

1. Workouts don't need to be long to be effective.  While it's probably ideal (for me) for each workout session to be 45 minutes long, I learned that a really intense 20-30 minute workout can be as effective as longer workout.

2.  You are capable of more than you think you are.  One of the workouts, which ended up being the hardest of the four weeks IMO, included 300 burpees.  Yes, 300 BURPEES.  I looked at the workout and thought - "I can not do this."  In the middle of the workout I thought, "I can not do this."  But I kept going and focused on getting through each set (the burpees were split up into sets of 25) and at the end I was so proud of myself for finishing!  I still hate burpees and I guarantee that this workout would be just as hard the next time around but I know that I have the ability to make it through whatever I set my mind to.

3.  It helps to have a plan.  I have never really felt comfortable in the weight room and have struggled to put a strength training workout together on my own and that uncomfortable feeling I had in the weight room kept me from making strength training a part of my workout routine.  But having a detailed workout that I could take with me to the gym along with a video explaining the moves of each workout made me feel way more comfortable.  I no longer felt like I was sort of wandering around the weight room - instead I was a woman on a mission.

4.  It helps to have a buddy.  Amber signed up for the shred and her participation encouraged me to sign up as well.  I am so glad we did this together as it was nice to have someone to talk to about the workouts.  We'd talked about when we were going to fit in the workouts, how hard they were, how long they took and what parts were the toughest for us.  It was nice to hear that the hardest parts for me were often the hardest for her as well.  Bobbi also sets up a facebook group, which is great for motivation, but there's nothing like having a real life friend to keep you motivated!

In general it's really important for women to strength train but it's especially important for me due to my RA as it helps strengthen my joints which is important since they can undergo quite the battle when I have RA flare ups.  After doing this shred, I'm confident that strength training will continue to be a part of my weekly fitness routine. 

If you are thinking about doing a program like this, I highly encourage it!  The nice thing about Bobbi's program is that the workouts are design for people who are working out at home as most workouts don't require much more than some dumbbells.  I definitely feel like I got my money's worth (the shred cost $45 for 4 weeks).  Bobbi is doing another Summer Shred in July so if you are curious about giving this a shot, you have until Friday, July 4th to sign up!  I will definitely be doing another shred in the future!

Are you good about incorporating strength training into your fitness routine?  Prior to doing the shred, the only time I'd strength train was when I took a body pump class (which I also love).  I'll continue to do body pump but it will be great to have the workouts from the shred to use in the future.  Amber and I already have a plan to keep each other motivated to do some workouts each week in July!

*  The thoughts in this review are my own and I was not compensated in any way for posting this review.