Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Jillian Love

Let's talk about my love for Jillian Michaels for a quick sec, okay.  Uh, I swear, swear, swear by her DVDs.  Seriously, I love them.  I mostly obsess over them because: A) they are fast, like 20-30 minutes fast and B) you get results, quickly.  Who doesn't like that?! 

Today I tried Jillian Michaels: Shred-It with Weights (aka a kettlebell.)  It was good for strength training, but not one of my absolute favorites so far.  But hey, I'm sure that could all change.  Another one I like (but don't love just yet) is Jillian Michaels: 6 Week Six Pack.  Don't get me wrong - it's a great cardio and ab workout that makes you sweat, but as I've previously blogged about, I have a really bad right knee (ugh) and some of the moves in that DVD just really irritate it.

Onto bigger and better things.  These are my favorites:

Jillian Michaels: 30 Day Shred - Again, swear by it.  The DVD has three different levels of intensity, each about 20 minutes long.  This is the only workout I used to get fit and toned for my wedding.  And it worked wonders.  Actually, I should really start doing it again routinely because personally it's the best shape I think my arms have been in.  Ever.  And that's only staying on level 2!!

Jillian Michaels: Yoga Meltdown - Love it.  I've tried just the regular yoga class at your everyday gym (not a specialized yoga studio) and that was not for me...just a bit too low key for the exercises I typically chose.  But the Meltdown is basically power yoga, so you're never doing only one pose for an extended period of time.  Jillian instructs you to come in and out of the pose several times and then eventually you hold the pose for under a minute.  I've achieved great arm and ab results with this one!

Jillian Michaels: Ripped in 30 - This is hard.  It's four 24 minute workouts, so to me it's like an amped up version of 30 Day Shred.  I used this to prepare for the Wintergreen Adventure Challenge since it combined cardio and weights and I needed both for 7 miles of obstacles.  [Side note: let's be real, nothing prepared me for how hard this 'challenge' was, but we completed it with wonderful 2/6 friends so I wouldn't change it for the world.]  Also, I'm pretty sure that one of my bridesmaids used this to tone up for her wedding.  It's a winner!

I really want to try Jillian Michaels: Kickbox FastFix.  It's 20 minute segments of kickboxing.  Um, a quick kickboxing session - yes, please.  And the Jillian Michaels: Extreme Shed & Shred looks intense, but the workouts are 45 minutes.  I was originally drawn to her workouts because they're less than 30 minutes, I love that.  Anyhow, I'll be putting those on the workout bucket list.   

How much do you love Jillian??  Or are there other quick workout DVDs I should add to my collection??  I'm always on the lookout for a quick way to squeeze in a good workout so let me know!


3 comments:

  1. I'm interested in trying this Kickbox fast fix...sounds wonderful! I started a 90day challenge so I am hoping back on the exercise wheel too! The lady in charge of it tried to talk me into beachbody turbo fire...I had no desire to look into the videos because I thought they were as long as P90x (and I am totally with you on the short workouts) but she showed me that only a couple are over 20 min. I think I will try it out and definitely let you know how it goes!! xoxoxo A

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  2. MAN!! That ripped in 30 kicked my butt! I need to start it again as soon as the doctor says I can.. even though it takes me a good 2 weeks to get through the whole first week without throwing something at the tv or cursing at Jillian !! Most important thing is to keep going ;)

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  3. I totally need to start again too.. there's a group that does her workouts during lunch at our onsite work gym & I signed up for that. Come Monday hopefully I'll be working out again!

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