Okay so I know I've been a little quiet of late... I have been really busy working making my way through my latest purchase:
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| Image via Play.com |
Oh yes. That's over four hours of Jillian Michaels goodness for under 20 quid. Bargain.
I loved the 30 Day Shred, but to be honest I couldn't see myself doing the same three workouts forever. However, I realised that I definitely need that structure of a workout and the encouragement of a trainer (even if it's just on a TV screen) to push myself harder. So, I invested in this box set.
The box set includes our old friend, the 30 Day Shred, plus three other workouts: No More Trouble Zones; Banish Fat Boost Metabolism; and 6 Week 6 Pack.
These DVDs are also available separately, and each deserve equal attention, so I'll dedicate one blog post to each one.
I'll start with No More Trouble Zones, which is my favourite, and my least favourite, all at the same time.
The basic premise of this DVD is to systematically target common "problem areas" (e.g. wobbly arms, saddlebags, droopy bums etc) through seven six minute circuits.
Now, those who have been reading my Shredding escapades will be familiar with the circuit: Jillian sure loves her circuits. However, the structure of each one is different to the shred: instead of moving from strength, to cardio, to abs (a la Shred), in No More Trouble Zones, each circuit is all strength, baby.
That's not the only difference to the Shred, though: those who are good at maths will have already worked out that 6 x 7 = 42, which is much longer than the mere 18 minutes of the Shred. If you've bought this DVD, be prepared to be in it for the long haul. Including warm ups and cool downs, you're looking at an hour if you want to complete this thing in its entirety.
But that's the thing - you don't have to. The DVD has a nifty wee option where you can pick and choose which circuits you want to do. So, if you only want to focus on abs or bums, you can pick the six minute circuit that focuses on that, and skip the rest.
However, I am a bit mental, and I do the whole thing. So what does that entail...?
I hope you're sitting comfortably, because this is going to take a while:
Shoulder and Legs
Squat and shoulder press
Backward lunge with lateral raises
Chair squat with anterior raises
Press outs
Chest and Abs
Chest press and crunch
Leg raise and chest fly
Bicycle crunches
Squirms
Push ups
Biceps and Butt
Deadlift and hammer curls
Stationary squat with a concentration curl
Lunge with a wide grip curl
Side lunges with a bicep curl
Thighs and Triceps
Tricep kickbacks
Sumo squats with tricep lifts
Surrenders
Crescent pose
Core
Double crunches
Oblique twists
Plank with toe taps
Windshield wipers
Upper Body and Core
Plank rows
Supermans
Halloman with scissor kicks
Pelvic thrusts (not as fun as the name suggests)
Lower Body and Core
Side planks
Foot raises
Inner thigh raises
Donkey kicks
Round kicks
I mentioned earlier that this is all strength moves, and this is why I love it and I hate it all at the same time. I can't stand strength. I'd much rather run 10k than do a bunch of squats. There, I said it. I hate strength. But, like many other things, I suck it up and do it anyway because I know that it's good for me.
Realising that it was going to be a long burn, I opted for my smallest weights (1.5 kg - around 3 lbs) but it still absolutely killed. And I got that 24 hour burn afterwards. And when you get that burn, you know you've got to stick at it. So while it's not the most enjoyable workout, I still force myself to do it because it's for my own good. Who knows? Maybe I'll manage to complete it with 3kgs (6 lbs) one day!
This DVD is for you if you are nearing the end of your weight loss or maintaining your weight, like me, but you want to tone up a little. In terms of calorie burn: it's a slow but tough workout, and if you're only looking to burn calories then you'd be much better going out for a run. But if you want to gain some muscle definition, then you definitely need to give this a try.
Stay tuned for my reviews of Banish Fat Boost Metabolism and 6 Week 6 Pack. In the meantime, if you have any questions or stories about No More Trouble Zones that you'd like to share, feel free to pop 'em in the comments section below!
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