But even when you’re almost in tears (like I was by the end), you can’t help but want to come back to do it all over again. I was so inspired that I even asked if I could be a contestant on the next season of the show. (She told me no—and I think it might’ve been the first/last/only time in my life I actually wished I were bigger, because I know I’d be in the best shape of my life after a few weeks of her plan for me.)
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This wasn’t a sit-down interview—trust me, sitting down and Jillian Michaels don’t mix. But I did manage to pick up a few Dos & Don’ts from the woman who wrote the bible of fitness, as well as her new book, Master Your Metabolism.
Here we are (drenched!) post workout. From left (me), to Jillian, to Sunny and Wendy at the far right.
Don’t waste your time. Confession: I secretly wanted to chit-chat with Jillian, get the scoop on the juicy rumors I’ve heard about the show, ask her where she gets her hair done, you know, all that B.S. that could’ve made an hour-long workout really about half that. But when your “rest” is five seconds—if you’re lucky—between sets, there’s no time for shooting the breeze. Jillian’s workout was just the wake-up call I needed. It made me realize that as much as I pride myself on “getting to the gym” regularly, I’ve been giving it mediocre effort lately—trying to get away with the bare minimum, and guess what? I’ve been getting mediocre results—totally plateauing. Now I’m thinking, If I’m gonna halfway it, why bother? I’m a busy gal (so are you!), and if I’m willing to carve an hour or more out of my day to get in shape, I want to feel the way I felt yesterday every single time—pushing beyond what I think is my threshold. This means switching it up, adding interval training to my outdoor runs, not stopping to chat with every gym friend in between reps, not showing up to group fitness classes late. Sure, time is money—but time is also a flatter belly! Now that is something I’m willing to rearrange my schedule for.
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Do chuck the negative self-talk. I looked in the mirror during the lunges-then-planks-then-jumping-jacks-then-more-torture part of the session, and that little bugger or a voice inside my head started to spew things I didn’t want to hear: “Look at Wendy and Sunny—they’re thin, you’re not,” it told me. So my outside voice said this to Jillian: “I think I’m facing the fat part of the mirror.” She did not indulge me, or stroke my ego to make me feel better about the way I looked. But she did say, “Being self-deprecating is useless.” And I believe that. It sends a message to the universe that I’m not worth it—and what a convenient way to hold myself back from the body I want.
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Do get yourself a cheerleader, but look at the woman in the mirror for motivation. For 60 minutes, my cheerleader yesterday was Jillian. Even when she was swearing at me to get back on the treadmill when I hopped off in the middle of a drill, I could feel the love. I didn’t believe I had it in me, but she knew I did. “Find it! Find it!” she yelled, knowing I’d locked up that reserve of energy in my self-defeating, “I’m-not-skinny-so-I-can’t-possibly-do-this” box. Sprinting at a 10.0—even for just 15 seconds at a time—was something I’d never done before, so I didn’t believe that I could. But when Jillian told me to “find it,” something clicked. She didn’t mean “steal my energy,” she meant “find your own.” I looked at my reflection on the treadmill screen, saw a fighter—a really big winner—and got back on the treadmill.
What do you think of Jillian’s Dos & Don’ts? Have you been giving it your all lately—or is it time to step it up?
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