Jillian Michaels is scary. Just her name is intimidating – you hear and shudder, “I never want to sweat it out in one of her classes as she yells at me and my body shrivels up and dies,” you think. Okay, maybe she’s not that scary. But the first time I did one of her workouts, I knew that she was serious.

I have never been into fitness classes. Probably because I am a quitter. Once I lose interest, I don’t want to have to drag myself to a class where the teacher and other people will know I don’t want to be there. I don’t like keeping up with schedules or having to stick to something at a specific time. I also don’t have a lot of time! By the time you get dressed, gather your belongings, drive, go through class, come back and put everything away and shower and change, you’ve lost like… five hours. Well not really but it seems like your whole day is wasted!

That is why I have come to love watching free exercise videos online. I’ll go to the gym to run, if I am feeling courageous, or run outside if it’s a beautiful (re: above 75 degree) day. But any other time, you can’t get me out of the house. It started with Erin Motz’s 30 Day Yoga Challenge, which I will not lie I have never completed the full 30 days of. But it’s simple, quick, and you don’t even really sweat enough to need a shower – though if you’re feeling adventurous you can easily add on another video or two (they’re only 8-15 minutes long).

Then my health started to come back and I realized I had gained some unwanted weight, and I decided I needed something more vigorous than a gentle down dog. (Though I do not knock the down dog!! Especially if you have anxiety – yoga is the very best place to start, imo). My friend introduced me to Jillian Michaels last year, and at that point in time I was not ready for it. Getting lightheaded during an exercise means it’s too intense for you. We don’t want that. But now that I can do them and feel fine, I know my body can handle something a little more intense.

Having tested the 30 Day Shred this fall, i.e. doing it whenever I had time, meaning once every few days, I knew that sticking to the routine for 30 days in a row would be no joke, but that I would also probably be pretty shredded by the end if I could stick to it. The BEST way to lose weight and get healthy is to exercise AND eat healthy, which is why I wanted to combine the Arbonne 30 Days to Healthy Living with Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. I have been motivated to do my exercises almost every single day because I know that I will eventually see results if I stick with it!

I have stayed accountable to myself by keeping a dry erase board to chart my progress. It feels great crossing off another day. I’m making it a little easier on myself by trying to schedule workouts at night/then in the morning so I don’t have to take as many showers – time is everything, ya know? I’m also in an accountability group on facebook, for other ladies trying to meet their own fitness goals (let me know if you want in! it’s hosted by a friend of mine).

I have to admit though, I haven’t been doing awesome the past week. I started coming down with a cold and haven’t felt well every day to do LEVEL TWO of the workout. It’s not for the faint of heart. And now that I’ve finished the ten (well, ish) days of level two, and I am scared to death to start Level 3! I don’t know if I will survive. Hah. I got out of it last night by convincing myself that I could take a day off and do something a little lighter since I’m still getting over my cold and did a workout the day before. I read Cup of Jo’s post on exercise classes, and it motivated me to look up an online Barre class! I have always wanted to try one, in person, but never have (can’t justify paying for a class when there’s so many free options online at home).

I tried one and it was very interesting… much more different than the ballet-type of slower moves that I expected. It was a great workout though, and I’ll probably do it again. I feel like I lost weight just from that one workout!

What do you do to keep your waistline trim and your body in shape? Do you do online exercise classes, go to a gym, or go to fitness classes? Have you ever done Barre, and if so, what did you think?