Fitness Review: Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred

During the winter months it is very hard for me to get motivated to workout. I'd much rather curl up with a good book with the fireplace going then drag myself to the gym. I recently purchased the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred for a quick solution that I could do at home. I've been adding it into my weekly routine about 1 to 2 times a week depending on my schedule. 

There are three different levels of workouts that all follow the same format: three different circuits that include three minutes of strength, two minutes of cardio and one minute of abs. There is a warmup and cool down to give you a complete workout. I really like the format because your heart gets pumping during the strength, goes crazy during the cardio and then you have about a minute to recover while doing abs before you start a new circuit.

I figured with small hand weights these exercises would be easy. I was proven wrong. I started out doing level one for a few weeks, moved up to level two and have tried the third level a few times. You can really tell the difference between the levels and they are all challenging no matter what stage of fitness you're at. 

There are two different people you can follow along with: advanced and intermediate. It's great becuase if you're not quite at the next level yet you can follow along with the intermediate routine and still get a great workout. I thought 20 minutes would not be a very effective workout but I was mistaken -- these workouts are not a joke! 

I don't think I could do this routine for 30 days straight like the DVD promotes becuase I get bored easily and need some new challenges. However, if you're fine with doing the same routines over and over again this would be a great training plan to start with without having to hire a personal trainer.  

If you're looking for a quick, effective workout you can do at home with just two hand weights and a little bit of room you should give this a try. I'm glad I have this to keep my workouts fresh and motivate me when I don't feel like going to the gym. 

Do you have any fitness DVDs you do at home and love? We're always looking for new workouts to add to our routine!