Move Your Body

Although I am a huge advocate of belonging to a gym, I realize people’s reasons for not joining. Maybe spending an extra $30-$100 a month (depending on membership fees in your area) just isn’t doable right now. Perhaps you are a little self-conscious about working out in front of other people, and you just prefer getting exercise in other ways. If a gym isn’t an option for you right now, for whatever reason, you might try work-out DVDs. Work-out DVDs can be great to add to your toolkit of things you use to get in shape – whether you belong to a gym or not. Having a great DVD around can be a good way to supplement your gym membership, if you do have one, when you have to stay late at work and can’t make your favorite class, for example. Or, like me, when it’s just too rainy to leave the house, but you still want to get in a work-out.

I have always been skeptical of certain work-out DVDs, because many of the ones I have tried have been very cheesy. You know the type: usually an unbelievably in-shape woman leading a class of other unbelievably in-shape people who are all smiling and laughing while they “work-out,” while you are at home getting your butt kicked and feeling a little stupid about it. Not to mention all of the “feel the burn” types of encouragements coming from the instructor.

Despite these preconceived notions about work-out DVDs, we decided to give Jillian Michaels: 30 Day Shred a try at the recommendation of a friend. As you know we are huge fans of The Biggest Loser, and so already have been exposed to Jillian’s training techniques. Jillian has a reputation for success, so we thought this would be a good DVD to try.

The set-up

30 Day Shred is broken up into three levels – 1 (Beginner), 2 (Intermediate) and 3 (Advanced). You are encouraged to start at level one, and progress your way up to level three. I started at level two yesterday and found it fairly difficult. I do not usually take classes – I usually run and do strength training on my own. Maybe if you frequent a lot of work out classes, you won’t find this as challenging, but I’ll bet you’ll get a good work-out.

Each level is a complete 20 minute work-out that follows Jillian’s “3-2-1 Interval System.” For each level, there are three, six-minute circuits. Each circuit is composed of three minutes of strength exercises, two minutes of cardio, and one minute of abs. There is a brief warm-up and cool down for each workout.

Important to note that you will need hand weights to participate in the class. I recommend five pound weights or under if you are just starting out or at least until you get a feel for the DVD. I tried eight pounds because that’s all we had at home, and I found it very difficult to sustain most of the exercises.

The class
There are only three people in this video. Jillian, and two other unbelievably in shape women mimicking her moves. What I really liked about this DVD is that one of the women is doing modified versions of Jillian’s exercises throughout the whole class. So, if you are a beginner or need to modify the exercises due to an injury, you can follow her and still participate. This comes in handy when some of the exercises get difficult, and trust me, they do. The other woman in the DVD is doing the more advanced version of Jillian’s exercises. So, when you feel like pushing yourself, or if you’ve mastered a particular level and want a little higher intensity, you can follow her. I really liked that these two options were available, and I think this makes it more accessible to people working out at all levels.

The exercises
All three levels of exercise follow the same 3-2-1 format. I think this is an effective organization, as both strength training and cardio are necessary to lose weight and see results. The great thing about the 3-2-1 format is just when you think you are on the brink of death, the exercises change. It definitely keeps it interesting and engaging.

You can expect a lot of arm, shoulder and quad action in the strength portion of the DVD. The exercises are comprised of things like lunges with bicep curls, front raises with hand weights (straight arms raised in front of you to about shoulder level), push-ups, squats, etc. As you progress in levels, you will find that you are sustaining more of the movements instead of coming out of them. So, instead of lunging and coming back up immediately (level one), you might stay engaged in the lunge pose for a few seconds before coming out. This of course is higher intensity.

In the cardio portions, expect a lot of jumping jacks, butt-kicks (running in place while literally kicking your own butt) and jump roping (the motion only, without the actual rope). As you progress in the levels there are things like double jump ropes (jumping even higher), high knees, and more intense moves.

The ab work-outs get progressively harder as you move up in levels, but I found that most of the exercises were helpful and I even learned some that I didn’t know before.

The bottom line

I think this DVD is definitely worth trying. You will get a high-intensity workout in 20 minutes – which is great for those of us who are short on time. You’ll get strength, cardio and abs all in one – and who isn’t looking for all of that? I felt sore the next day in my calves (jumping jacks, jump rope cardio), arms and shoulders.

There is a slight cheesiness factor to the DVD, but there always will be. The instructor has to keep you motivated to keep going, and I think that Jillian does a good job of that. Her main message is that you are challenging your body to make changes. If you do not put stress on your body, it will never adapt. I thought that message was pretty compelling.

The only thing I would be cautious of is just making sure that you are doing the exercises as correctly as possible. If you can, have someone watch you according to Jillian’s instructions so you can avoid injury. Set up a mirror if possible so you can check your posture. If you are feeling stress on your knees or if something just isn’t feeling right – stop. There’s a difference between feeling fatigued because you are working hard and feeling like you are ripping ligaments.  Listen to your body.

Of course, you will only get out of this workout what you put in, so really turn up the heat and give this one a try!