Video Fitness

30 Day Shred

Jillian Michaels

Well, I'm no fan of Jillian. There, I got that out of the way.
30 Day Shred is a Boot camp style workout. Jillian works out with two other women, one providing modifications. Each are about say, three or four feet taller than her. It contains three levels, each clocking in at just under 30 minutes.
Collage rates this Int/Adv. The first level could be called intermediate-- if you follow the modifier. The second two are definitely advanced with moves such as mountain climbers, push-up plank type moves (Jari calls them "spider push ups" in RTTC), and lots of high impact cardio (jumping jacks, squat jumps, high knees, etc.) If she works a small muscle group such as biceps, she always adds a lower body move with it. This really ups the intensity. The format is 3 minutes strength, 2 minutes of cardio, and a minute of abs. One thing I like about the ab work is a good amount of exercises focusing on the lower part of the abs. Each level has three 3-2-1 circuits.
The cardio is tough, but short. She'll really get you out of breath with some of those moves.
I don't think this workout is appropriate at all for beginners. There is little in the way of form pointers. There seem to be too many ways that you could injure yourself with this workout if you don't have experience with working out with weights. I think if I had tried this when I was an absolute beginner, I would have given up. Also, I think it would just be too hard-- even if you did only one level. I guess the reason I make this point is that the workout is touted as having "three levels". This may lead some people to believe that it is beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
For me, this workout has been in regular rotation. Lately, the only exercise I've really wanted to do is walk outside (or go for a run on the rare day it is warm enough). I needed something that covered strength and cardio and does not require me pulling out a lot of equipment. This filled the bill nicely. I do feel like this workout is going to give me good results-- meaning increase my fitness. I don't think it is going to do anything magical for my body, however, no matter what Jillian says.
The workout does not require much equipment, space, or thought for that matter. That's fine.

Instructor comments: Where should I begin. I just find her
annoying. She is so into her persona. She does not seem to ever have one moment when she is not mugging for the camera or is not totally aware of how she is coming across. I mean, she just seems like she cannot exist without an audience. There's bada** Jillian. That is the one that dominates in this workout. There's "let me be your "life coach" Jillian. She has a little of that in her intro. And then there's "I've been smoking something funny" Jillian. That is not on display in this DVD. Thankfully.

Roz

1/22/09



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