When I first started going to the gym, I was way too intimidated to do cardio aside from a basic treadmill warm up. After a light jog I would settle for muscle toning and conditioning. The routine was adding definition but I didn’t feel slimmer. Too often, I would also head the gym feeling exhausted and end up watching some bad reality TV while I coast on the treadmill; it’s hard to motivate myself to really GO HARD.

If anything, my clothing started fitting funny because I had developed a bit of muscle without burning much fat. I noticed it in my shoulders with blazers not fitting. I needed to fine tune my workout routine.

It was time to re-introduce a bit of cardio into my exercise, which I did via spinning. In fairly short order, I began to feel more trim. However, the added commitment ramped me up to 1.5 – 2 hours at the gym, 3 to 4 times a week. The more I got into my routine, the less time I had to see friends or even prepare meals. My evenings were spent laundering buckets of sweaty workout clothes and planning dog walks in between work and the gym.

With my personal routine growing out of hand, it was time for a more complex and more compact workout. I looked to modern technology for a leg up.

I began experimenting with a few workout related apps to varying degrees of pleasure and success. I soon developed a quick appreciation for interval-training style workouts, being fast paced, and there was no time to lose motivation or procrastinate. I have even begun using some of Jillian Michaels’ videos, and her fitness app, for high-energy, totally exhilarating and high intensity interval workouts. I’ve experienced positive results such as slimming down, feeling pumped and suddenly noticing definition on parts of my body that I’ve never noticed before.

I feel ready for the next challenge, and I think I’ve found it. I can’t wait to tackle the Jillian Michaels BODYSHRED™ 30-minute endurance based workout, offered exclusively at GoodLife Fitness locations across Canada. I’ve been given the opportunity to attend one of her 6 six classes she will actually be instructing personally on her tour.

While having Jillian’s core building moves in my iPhone is convenient, I can’t wait to meet the world famous fitness instructor in person and get my sweat on.

To work out with Jillian in person and to be in a space surrounded by like-minded, strong and motivated women is going to be exhilarating, intense and incredibly empowering.

Not only do I get to take part in the GoodLife Fitness Jillian Michaels BODYSHRED™ class personally led by her, you can enter for a chance to win an invitation too (contest open to Canadian residents only and runs until Feb 21, 2014). Check out how to enter here!

I can’t wait to try out this class, and invite you to enter the contest for your chance to do the same.

See you there?

Disclosure: Although this post has been generously sponsored by GoodLife Fitness, the opinions and language are all my own, and in no way do they reflect GoodLife Fitness.