Initial thoughts on '30 Day Shred'

Purchased from Play for under £5 here

First of all I want to say I don't believe in weight loss as swift as 20lbs in 30 days, unless you were several stone over weight to begin with that rate of loss isn't very healthy, 1-2lbs a week is a standard healthy loss (from what I've been told by doctors). I'm not looking for quick fixes but rather more ways to increase my physical activity,  I already walk over 30 minutes a day but to tone and shift my last stone I need to step things up.

I'd been recommended this DVD and after reading many success (and failure) stories I decided to give it a go. So far I've only done 2 days but I felt an initial post may help others and maybe myself remember what it was like to start. Let's be honest I won't remember in 30 days heh!

The DVD is split into 3 different sessions which each are repeated for 10 days. They are HIIT (high intensity interval training) which gets the heart going and the muscles working. Each session is 20 minutes long (aside from warm ups and downs) which to me seems ideal for some one beginning this type of exercise.

I've found that you only need to listen to Jillian's instructions once then in the options you can turn it onto just music, this is a great aspect as it can get annoying listening to the same thing over and over. Her instructions are mostly clear but she doesn't offer advice for safely doing each exercise, only some but most of this should be common sense (don't do sit ups with your neck etc.).

The exercises are executed in two styles, modified for beginners and regular for experienced exercisers. Another clear benefit for newbies like myself, you also don't require much equipment, just some light weights but you can always use tins of beans or bottles with water.

Obviously the effectiveness and results from this will depend on the weight/height of the person and how much devotion you give to making sure you do the work out. I intend to do it 6 days a week and since I only have a little to lose I expect I'll shift maybe 4-6lbs and hopefully lose an inch or two around my body.

 I do think that even doing this work out daily you still need to do at least 30 minutes exercise a day on top of this. Even if it is walking the dog or going for a jog.