Jillian Michaels - 30 Day Shred [DVD]

Yep, all the 5 star reviews have it right: this workout (or series of workouts) is as impressive, challenging, and effective as they say. The ironic thing is, I wasn't even planning to embark on a workout challenge when I came across this DVD. I happened to see a "before/after" review from someone on Pinterest. The pics the user included showing her before and after body caught my eye and totally had me sold within minutes. (And like I said, I wasn't even looking for a new workout at the time - it was THAT impressive.)Here's what makes this series awesome:1) As a busy full-time working mom of a 21 month old, I couldn't be more thankful that this workout can be done in only 24 minutes a day. TWENTY-FOUR (24!?) minutes a day to a better body? You bet. The way Jillian designed the workouts is genius. Even in Level 1 (the "easiest" but by no means "easy" level), you're working multiple muscle groups and/or doing cardio at the same time. As Jillian notes throughout the series, that concentrated focus on more than one muscle area at the same time(large and small muscles - like legs with arms) allows you to get it all done and burn more calories in less time. Who has more time to waste doing easier (but longer) workouts that won't even be as effective? Do this one and save yourself the time.2) The series includes 3 progressively challenging workout routines. You only do 1 routine per day, but as long as you've worked your way up to Level 3 and are ready for any of the levels (that will indeed take you some time to do) you are then free to switch around to any of the 3 workouts depending on your mood for the day. You get bored of one routine, or are ready to move to a harder level, you can move on and the other 2 workouts are there for your choosing. Unless you're already very fit, it's unlikely that you'll want to jump right to Level 3, but now that I've done all 3 levels I super-appreciate the ability to pick which one I want to do from day to day.3) Each level is challenging in its own way - you're not going to find any of the levels easy (again unless you're already super-fit, but even Jillian and her "best girls" are struggling on some of these moves, so maybe if you're more fit than them?!)4) The workouts deliver. I think the marketing materials I've read for the series actually says "lose up to 20 pounds in 30 days" - well, that's not a realistic goal for everyone, unless perhaps you are quite overweight to begin with. But if you do have that much to lose, then I can see how this series would help you do it. What really impresses me with this series is NOT the weight loss piece (I've lost about 4 pounds so far and I'm on day 22), but the strength and tone I'm getting from these workouts. I did my measurements on Day 1 and have been measuring every 5 days since then. I've definitely lost inches in places where it counts - waist, hips, thighs. I also noticed my slightly previously-emerging double chin is no more and my face is thinner! :) (I tend to lose weight in my face and bust first.) I also just FEEL more fit in general. I started feeling great after the first few (rough) days.5) Jillian gives the perfect mix of "tough love" and "encouragement." Just when you feel like you're going to die and feel like you're being pushed too hard, she says something that reminds you why you're doing it (just as an example, at one point she reminds you how much nicer it will be to go jeans shopping when you're more in shape), and it seriously helps put your focus back on the positives instead of how GOSH DARN HARD you're working. It's still tough, but those little reminders take the proverbial edge off for sure.6) Totally based on my own experience for this one, but people noticed a change in me after using this DVD for just a few days. I have a job that I am only in the office a few days a month. The last time I went in and saw the people I work with, 3 people told me how great I looked and asked what I had been doing. At that point, I had only been using this DVD for about 7 days. Based on the on-the-spot testimonial I gave to each of them, 2 ended up writing down the name of the DVD and planned to buy it.7) It's UNDER SEVEN BUCKS! I have never before purchased a better workout for less money, or even close to it.Clearly there's a lot that I like about this DVD. Now for the few things I don't (minor.)1) I have neck problems - was treated awhile back for a herniated disc in my neck and still have pain related to that injury. Although Jillian has one of her "girls" showing modifications to the workout for almost every move, she doesn't specifically tell you how to modify if you have common complaints like neck or back issues. Some of the modifications work out fine, but a couple of them still give me trouble and I kind of just end up suffering through and hoping I don't hurt myself (I suppose I could not do those particular moves, but with a 24 minute workout you don't really want to cut out too much - as Jillian says throughout.) So minor point, but important to be aware of if you have any serious injuries that you may be concerned about aggravating.2) Jillian has two women who workout behind her - one shows the modified move, the other one shows the advanced move. What bugs me about the advanced version of some of the moves is that even the woman demonstrating them can't make it through some without breaking or stopping or modifying her pose briefly. I can surely understand that, since the advanced moves are SERIOUSLY HARD, but if the person on the DVD can't even do it who's supposed to serve as motivation for where you'll get eventually, it can be kind of demotivating - "if she can't do it - how can I??!"3) Just remembered how much I hate that you can't fast forward through the introduction. So even if you've seen it 30 times already you have to watch the whole intro which takes about 3 minutes or so. Really annoying when it's not part of the workout and you are just ready to get to the workout!Aside from those 3 (minor in the scheme of things) negatives, I clearly LOVE this series and will continue doing it even after the 30 days are over. I want to keep my new-found strength and tone, and that's not going to happen if I only do this for 30 days then quit.FIVE STARS AND FULLY RECOMMEND THIS DVD, provided you are ready for a tough and effective workout that's going to make you BURN and SWEAT!

I bought 30 Day Shred with the expectation of a slower weight loss rate. No extreme body movements. I felt encouraged by the voice of Jillian Michaels to modify the exercise if necessary with a visual assistant named Natalie. I can resist the pressure to behave harshly to myself and still succeed. I can commit to the exercise program at any adult weight (100 pounds or more). No excuses.

I'm an 18 year old girl who has struggled with weight issues my entire life. I'm from a hardcore Italian family, and have lived with my grandmother most of my life. She's a BIG believer in "you're not healthy if you're skinny or toned" and believes the "bigger the better." Let me put it this way, 3 plates of pasta is just an appetizer to her. And if you don't finish what's on your plate, you get smacked in the head until you finished it. When I was 16 I moved back with my mother and was 'on/off' with working out, mostly because I was so used to not working out that I got lazy and tired. Now, 18 and engaged to a wonderful guy who believes I'm beautiful the way I am, however his 'friends' and 'brothers' seem to say I have more fat rolls than a bakery, and call me fat to him behind my back. & even though he doesn't believe I should loose any weight, I knew I had to to also gain my self-esteem, hence why I felt I needed to work out more. I have been working out since I turned 18 (April 26 of last year) and this DVD made me panting and gasping for air within 15 minutes. the Jumping Jacks are what really killed me, and Jump rope. Also because it hurts when I jump because well.. my boobs. Haha! But I feel like I had to modify it just a TAD more than Anita did, since I felt I might as well have done the 'expert' one.PEOPLE: BE CAREFUL DOING THIS WORKOUT. If you have KNEE/BACK INJURY DON'T DO THIS WORKOUT, or your CARTILAGE IN YOUR KNEES ARE WEARING DOWN, don't do this UNLESS you have a knee brace on or joint lubricant.another note:I feel that people don't like this DVD because people think the weight loss should come off overnight. You didn't gain the weight overnight guys, therefore it's not going to go away in one night. A lot of people also think that they can work out to this DVD and eat whatever they want. I'm sure you can.. if you workout to this DVD 6 times a day on level 3..The other main issue is that people fail to stay motivated, like me. What helped motivate me was posting pictures in outfits I love and posting them on a mirror. That way, I can see how I look now. and a quote "Eat junk and feel good now, feel terrible later. Exercise and eat healthy feeling bad now, feel amazing later." No one is going to lose that weight you have EXCEPT YOU! No one is going to care about your body but YOU because YOU have to live with it. You losing weight or not is not going to change anyone's life but your own. I also felt like reading success stories helped me even more. But that's just me.this DVD was mainly designed to loose only 10-20 pounds, but I need to loose at least 100 lbs. (I weigh about 230-245 and I'm 5'4"-5'5") so I can tell I'll be at this DVD a little longer than a month.The main issue I have with this DVD is the fact her voice gets annoying after a little while, but once you stop and listen to her it's kind of encouraging. If you're like me, I usually have headphones on or music in the background to help me be MORE encouraged since I can only do workouts with music on.what helps a lot is the fact that Jillian, herself, has struggled with weight loss. most of the DVDS I had were just 'dancers/models' who did it as actors and whatnot, and didn't even know what they were talking about.The LEVEL 1 consists of three circuits (plus a warm-up and cool down)I think the hardest workouts for level 1 are the Jumping Rope/Jacks.The easiest in Level 1 is probably chest-flies or dumbbell rows. IF you keep proper posture.I haven't looked into level 2 yet, but I'll probably get to that within a few days/weeks.Sorry if my review jumped around everything a bit, I just get so excited to write reviews I kind of get a bit off topic! Ha!Within 30 days, I'll tell you and post pictures of my body to see if you guys can tell the difference.-----UPDATE-----It's been about a 5 days and I lost about 4 lbs doing this, combined with another workout twice a day. I don't think you can actually loose 5 lbs with this DVD alone but I do think you can add it to your workout routine. It DOES get boring, and the "modify" versions of things aren't even that great so you might want to modify it a little more but still keep your heartrate up (that's what I did.) THERE IS A LOT OF JUMPING, so what I usually did was skip that (because It hurts my back when I jump) with some jogging in place. The trick is to stay moving when she wants you to jump. That's all she's really doing. Whoever invented Jumping Jacks needs to get punched in the face, those things are evil. :) And yes, I did call her a few swear words a lot of times but I still stuck to it. yet again, I wouldn't do this workout alone. I'd either do it twice a day combined with a brisk walk or once with a 30 minute walk or even another workout DVD (suggest you don't do it right after though. as when you finish it you'll be out of breath or at least I was at first)

Clásico infalible! Tiene años siendo lo mejor. Son 3 programas de 10 días cada uno. O sea repites cada programa 10 días seguidos y luego cambia. Son 3 sets de 3 minutos de fuerza, 2 de cardio y 1 de abdominales cada uno. Es un poco aburrido por lo repetitivo, pero se ven excelentes resultados en muy poco tiempo!

Je ne peux pas le mettre sur mon DVD est arrivé très très tard

This is a great workout for weight loss i did lost lots inches i started this workout after my pregnancy i gained lots weight due to my first pregnancy, i was so depressed coz of weight, i know jillian workouts from biggest loser, i was in good shape al my life due to my pregnancy my weight was hurting alot n again i staterd her workout she is so hard during workout n i hate her once i m done i say i love u jillian, u will never ever feel bad for buying this dvd coz it deliver good results n she is only for bad ass she expect beyond your energy once again thanks for getting my body back

Después de 6 semanas realizando los ejercicios del DVD, aquí dejo mi comentario.El DVD contiene 3 sesiones de ejercicios (de unos 28 minutos cada una). Cada una de estas sesiones o niveles se distribuyen de la siguiente manera:- Unos minutos de ejercicios de calentamiento.- 3 circuitos. Cada circuito consta de: * 3 minutos de ejercicios de fuerza. * 2 minutos de ejercicios de cardio. * 1 minuto de ejercicios de abdominales.- Unos minutos de estiramientos.En cada nivel o sesión, puedes hacer los ejercicios según seas principiante o avanzado. A parte de Jillian (la entrenadora), hay dos chicas más que realizan los ejercicios que Jillian explica. En cada ejercicio, una de las chicas hace la versión para principiantes y, la otra, la versión para avanzados. Así, a medida que van pasando los días, puedes aumentar la dificultad de los ejercicios haciendo su versión más dura.Materiales necesarios:- Una esterilla.- Unas pesas (o unas botellitas de agua si no se tienen pesas).Sobre mi experiencia: he dedicado dos semanas a cada nivel (5 o 6 días la semana) y el resultado final ha sido muy positivo. Después de mes y medio de esfuerzo y dedicación, he perdido 5 quilos de peso y mejorado mi forma física. Los primeros días que dedicas a cada nivel son muy duros y se suda mucho durante cada sesión pero el resultado final vale la pena.Puntos flojos: aunque me parece un DVD muy bueno, hay algún aspecto que se podría mejorar. El principal que yo destaco es la falta de algún tipo de aviso sonoro (p.e. un pitido,…) para indicar que se cambia de ejercicio ya que hay momentos que no te das cuenta porque estas muy concentrado o porque tu postura no te permite ver la televisión.Conclusión: si tienes fuerza de voluntad y estas motivado/a, sin duda este es un muy buen DVD para realizar ejercicio en casa. Los ejercicios son muy fáciles de hacer y seguir y están muy bien explicados. Muy buena relación calidad-precio. Lo recomiendo!!!

Ich würde (und tue es auch) das video jederzeit empfehlen. habe es mir in der US Fassung bestellt, da ich jillian michaels lieber authentisch auf englisch erleben wollte und bereue es nicht. die frau ist top :-)Außerdem ist die Idee mit den Levels einfach genial: Eigentlich ist es wie jeden Tag 20 MInuten Computerspielen, nur in echt. Nach 10 Mal darf man ins nächste Level ;-)BIn mittlerweile bei level 3 (5). Ich habe aber auch nicht jeden Tag geshreddet. Insgesamt sind es wohl 6 Wochen, die ich das Programme dann gemacht haben werde. Das zweite level hat mir nicht so gut gefallen, dafür ist das dritte wieder toll. Und ich sehe definitiv ergebnisse! (Mache zusätzlich aber auch noch bisschen sport). Mache dann mit ripped in 30 weiter... :-)