Held Accountable

I have a confession to make. Even though I feel really good after I exercise, I have a hard time getting motivated to do it. Fortunately, I have my wife, Shannon, around to keep me accountable and to remind me of the pledge I made in last Wednesday's post, “Goodbye Diet Vacation.”

Tonight's workout was a good one for a couple of reasons. First, my wife and I worked out together, and for me, anytime that I can spend time with my wife is time well spent. (No, I am not just saying that because she reads my blog.) Second, we had a really good workout.

In our quest for achieving a healthy lifestyle, Shannon and I have purchased a few DVDs and Wii games so that we can workout at home. One of my favorite purchases is Jillian Michaels' “30 Day Shred.” It is a hard workout which makes it all the better, and it only takes about 30 minutes. Jillian says on the DVD that it is only a 20 minute workout, but that is not entirely true.

You start off with a 2 minute warm-up, then you go to three 6 minute circuits, and end with a 2 minute cool down. Yes, I know that only adds up to 22 minutes. (I am not that bad at math.) By the time you get set up, load and start the DVD, exercise, and cleanup, the time adds up to about 30 minutes. It is 30 minutes well spent.

Apart from the DVD, you only need hand weights and a mat. You really only need the mat if you are exercising on a hard surface. We have hard wood floors; so, I need a mat. If you do not have hand weights and do not want to buy them right away, you can use two cans of soup, or gallon milk jugs. I would advise using the milk jugs after all the milk is gone. That could get stinky. You can fill them up with water or sand to a maximum weight of about 8.35 lbs when using water and between 10.7 lbs and 16.71 lbs for the sand. Either would be more than enough weight. I would start with 3 lbs. Laugh at me all you want, but I want you to post a comment after you have tried the workout to tell me if you are still laughing.

I love the “30 Day Shred” even if I tend curse Jillian when she has us perform certain exercises. I also love the fact that my wife holds me accountable, and that she and I exercise together. I will tell you the honest truth that I had no intention of exercising tonight until she told me that I needed to do it. She can be very persuasive when she wants to be.