This is a sponsored feature. All opinions are 100% from Her Campus.
“These abs don’t come for free!”
“No breaks!”
“Keep going. Two more minutes!”
Jillian Michaels’s voice is seriously burned into my head.
Why? Well, being the busy collegiette™ that I am–school, part-time job, club meetings and activities,social life– I literally do not have SELF magazine’s recommended 45 minutes a day/ 5 days a week to devote to cardio. With midterms and my last minute studying, I don’t want to completely abandon my workout routine, but was striving for something challenging and quick. 
I took a hint from from fellow blogger Nikki and went for a fitness DVD by Jillian Michaels, creator of the Jump Start Diet. I purchased Yoga Meltdown and 30 Day Shred to replace my usual routines with only 20 minutes of a warm-up, plus a strength, cardio and abs.
Oh. My. God.
I did Level I on Saturday afternoon. It’s Monday night and my thighs, shoulders and arms are still burning.
Honestly, when I popped in that DVD I thought I should just skip ahead to Level I since, hey, I’ve been doing cardio at the gym, Monday through Friday, for two weeks now–what’s the big deal?
But as I continued to read through rave reviews, I noticed that almost everyone recommended staying on Level I for a week.
She is a tough woman, let me tell you! Love her for it even more actually. It’s almost as if she knows the moments where I’m thinking “Ok, forget this, I’m sitting down” and “Seriously Jillian? SHUT UP!” because just as a bit of negativity pops into my head she’s yelling her ever so motivating tough love.
I almost considered dropping this whole idea and just taking my notebook with me to the gym, but nah. I need a little variety for my workout and need to stay in this week. 
I hope I’m not scaring you. It was tough but I know it’s doing the job. Plus, I just keep in mind the really cute bikinis I was drooling over online. Best motivation ever!
If you’d like to join me in my healthy, happy weight loss (and please do), go register for the Jump Start Diet on SELF.com and be sure to use the SELF logs to keep track of your daily workout and meals, which is an awesome way to keep track of your calorie intake and how much you’re burning off!
What are you favorite at-home workouts? Let me know! Leave a comment below, e-mail me at allylopez@hercampus.com or Tweet  me(@allylopez).
Love,
Ally
Â
To follow Ally’s journey on the Jump Start Diet, check out her out on Twitter (@allylopez), and while you’re at it, follow the latest news from SELF (@SELFmagazine) and Her Campus (@HerCampus)!