How a Fifth Grade Gym Class Will Kill Me

Ah spring! The flowers are blooming, the pollen is blanketing and I'm coming out of hibernation. Almost every year, spring signals my yearly "oh god, I'm not getting younger I have to get serious about exercising" phase. And of course, I always hope it's not a phase!

Last year, I started the Couch to 5K program in June, with the intention of just starting a good habit. It really did start to become a habit, but I never quite made it to 5K status. Every time I went on a vacation, I scrapped running in favor of walking and swimming and quickly fell behind by mid-Fall. Oy.

A week ago or so, I decided to pick it back up and then of course it started pouring rain every day! While I wait for the skies to dry up, I decided to give this Jillian Michaels 30-Day Shred business a shot.

If you haven't tried it (and I think that would make you and I the last people on Earth), it is a torture device disguised as the exact same exercises you did with ease in middle school gym class. Jumping jacks? Easy! Jump rope? Easy! Lunges? Well, never easy but not the worst.

Combine all of them with a 29-year-old out-of-shape body, no lung capacity to speak of, profuse sweating and ever-decreasing flexibility and you have me during my first attempt. Whoo-ee that was not easy at all! But I figure even if I fail to do it every day for 30 days, it's more about creating an exercise habit to combat the lethargy of my regular days. I'm not in it just to lose weight in 30 days; my goal is to start an honest-to-goodness habit of getting some kind of physical activity several times a week.

Have you tried either Couch to 5K or 30-Day Shred? Any other favorite at-home workouts? My all-time favorite workout video is NYC Ballet Workout. It has great cardio, but is slow and steady and makes me feel graceful and happy.