Waking Up with Jillian

Let me put your minds at ease by saying that I did not literally wake up with Jillian Michaels in my house this morning. I'm sure that was a concern, based on the title of this post. However, I did get out of bed this morning with the intention of doing the new Jillian Michaels workout first thing, which I did. I knew I wouldn't be able to exercise later in the day or this evening, so it was sunrise or never today. I chose sunrise (and, by extension, my health).

I swear, just putting on those workout clothes is 90% of the exercise motivation battle for me. Once I'm changed, there's no turning back. It's getting myself to actually put those clothes on that's often the challenge.

The workout was just as hard this time as it was the first time I did it, two days ago. My heart rate was seriously up and I even had to pause a few times to catch my breath, at the expense of finishing some sets. I also have a really pathetic excuse for upper body strength. The regular push-ups are too hard, so I have do "girl" push-ups, on my knees. Hey, it's good to have something to work towards, right? If I could do it all perfectly already, there wouldn't be much point to it.

Small consolations: Jillian only uses 3-lb hand weights throughout the workout. As she notes, she could indeed be lifting 20-pounders, but not for five minutes straight, which is what one of the circuits requires. That made me feel a whole lot better about using my little 3-lb weights.

Another small consolation: Jillian isn't very flexible. When it comes time to stretch at the end, her sidekicks have a much larger range than she does (subject of some rare humor on Jillian's part). This also makes me feel better--not in an evil "I don't like her because she's in better shape than me" way, but in the sense that even someone that fit and trim has limitations, which means that level of fitness is also attainable for me, in spite of my limitations.

Here's to more sore abs tomorrow!