30 DAY SHRED: DAY 4/30 - SHRED PLUS YOGA!

WORKOUT EXPERIMENT (CONTINUED) - It's Day 4 and that means it the time has come to reincorporate yoga into my daily routine.  Pushing through the soreness, I woke up in the early AM hours and drove over to my local yoga studio for practice.  I have to say, after only three days of doing the Shred, I found myself more grounded in poses and stable in my standing postures.  I'd noticed more strength in my arms and shoulders almost immediately on Day 1 when flowing through my vinyasa, but I found lifting my head from the ground in headstand and balancing on my forearms to be shockingly effortless to do and then hold.  I noticed a fair amount of other improvements that shocked me as well, and every opportunity for a stretch was welcomed by my ultra sore quads and hammies.  If I woke up today unsure if I would be strong enough, I left yoga confirming that it was the best decision to go.


SORENESS STRETCH SUGGESTIONS
So, you're a few days in and you're feeling sore... it could be all those lunges, anterior raises, or pushups... it could be all that invisible jump roping... or it could be the fact that you've been ignoring your body for far too long and have just sent your muscles into shock... but regardless of the reason, you're sore and need to fix it... fast.

• SHOULDERS & UPPER ARMS: Thread the Needle
• HAMMIES & LOWER BACK: Forward Folds... Standing, Seated, Angled, Pyramid (or pretty much anything else you can find on THIS PAGE)
• TUMMY: Upward Facing Dog
• LOWER BACK: Child's Pose
• EVERYTHING IN THE BACK OF THE BODY: Downward Facing Dog
• EVERYTHING IN THE FRONT OF THE BODY: Bow Pose (you can modify it and do one leg at a time to enjoy the stretch for the front of each thigh!)

TODAY'S STATS: DAY 4/30

• Height: 5'4
• Weight: 132lbs
• Thighs: 21 inches (L) | 21 inches (R)
• Hips: 37 inches
• Waist: 27 inches!
• Bust: 36 inches
• Biceps: 12 inches (L/R)  

THE GOOD NEWS!
I am happy to report that after 4 days of the shred plus 1 day of yoga practice (and the appropriate amounts of sleep and mindful eating) I have managed to lose TWO (count 'em!) TWO pounds overall and have shrunk BOTH my waist and my hips by ONE INCH!  For me, that's thrilling!  AND MOTIVATING!  Hopefully tomorrow's Shred + Yoga + Night of Dancing at Black & Light Ball will help melt away some more pounds and inches while strengthening my muscles for a better me!  And we all know that if I'm a better me, then I am better equipped to help YOU make a better you!

JOIN IN ON THE CHALLENGE!
If you want to join in on the 30 Day Shred Challenge, then grab a copy at your local retailer or online (Barnes & Noble is selling it for $10.50 or less!) and start keeping a journal of your progress!  If you're blogging about it, leave a comment with the link here!  Let's keep each other motivated!

CHECK OUT MY PROGRESS
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3