Fitness DVD Review: Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism

Okay, so it's time for me to review another of Jillian Michael's fitness DVDs.

I love this lady. About a month ago, I bought a box set of her workouts, and I have really enjoyed working through them. Each has its own focus and its own benefits to bring to the table, and I've definitely seen an uplift in my overall fitness as a result of them.

I've already reviewed No More Trouble Zones, so this time I'm going to talk about Banish Fat: Boost Metabolism.

I'm sorry to say that this one is the one I probably use the least, which is a shame because in terms of enjoyment, this one is hella fun.

So why do I not take it for a spin more often? Well, the focus of this workout is cardio. This DVD aims to get your heart rate up, your metabolism ticking and makes you burn calories like an absolute powerhouse. Remind you of anything?

Yup, you pretty much get the same effect from going out for a run. And as I have mentioned so many times before, I am above everything else, a runner. So why on earth would I jump around my front room like a loon when I can go for a nice jog in my local park?

Don't get me wrong, this workout is awesome. But it just doesn't get me in the same kind of sweat as a good ol' fashioned dash does. Nevertheless, it does have its moments: like the mornings I wake up and it's pouring outside; or when I have a niggling injury that couldn't withstand a fully fledged run. It's a great alternative in those situations.

Just like in No More Trouble Zones, Banish Fat: Boost Metabolism is comprised of seven six minutes circuits, each having a slightly different theme. So what does the workout entail?

1. Kickboxing

Squats and side kicks
Alternating punches
Squats and side kicks
Punch and hook combination
Alternating front kicks

2. Plyometrics

Burpies
Plie hops
Punch hop combination
180° Jumps
Single leg hops

3. Calisthenics

Butt kicks
High knees
Jumping jacks
Oblique crunches

4. Core

Mountain climbers
Supermans
Pipe crunch
Oblique twists
Walking plank

5. More kickboxing

Swing kicks
Uppercuts
Back kicks
Jab cross combination
Knee crunches

6. More plyometrics

Jump squats
Cross country skiing
Scissor kicks
Skaters
Standing mountain climbers

7. More calisthenics

Moguls
Standing pipes
Knee crunches
Jump rope

Guaranteed, your heart rate will be up, and you'll be burning fat in no time. If you're just starting out, this is a great place to begin cardio training. And if it's calorie burn you're after, then this workout certainly delivers. I burn about 500 kcals a session, however your burn will be slightly different depending on your gender, age and build.

Doesn't beat going out for a run, though. Well, in my humble opinion, anyway ;)

Owning the 10k Distance

I'm on top of the world right now!

Yesterday, I broke a goal that I have been working towards for weeks, if not months.

I ran 10k in under an hour. 59 minutes, 22 seconds to be exact. YAY!!! :D

To give you an idea, since I finished my half marathon training, I have been running 10k most weekends. I go round the same route every week, up and around Arthurs Seat. A prettier route in Edinburgh you will not find. (Think I'm wrong? Tell me in the comments!)


I missed it by 14 seconds last week. 14 SECONDS. I was devastated. I owed it to myself to crack it this week - and I am so glad I did!

This is a huge milestone for me, but I still have a lot of work to do. I've signed up to a couple of autumn races this week, and both of them are 10k. While they're less than half the distance of the half marathon, I still expect them to be pretty challenging. Instead of developing my endurance, I am switching the focus of my training onto increasing my speed.

The first one is the Loch Ness 10k, which is part of the Loch Ness marathon festival (despite several attempts by Mr MFC and other interested parties to persuade me otherwise, I will not be running the marathon. yet.). It's a pretty flat course, much flatter than my usual 10k jaunt, so I reckon that scoring a PB there is pretty feasible.

My second race is on my home turf: the Bupa 10k run in Edinburgh. It's a lot more up-and-down but I'll still be looking to get a decent time in. I have signed up to my work's running team, and we will be competing against other companies to get the fastest average time. Last year's winners clocked in an average time of around 47 minutes - eek! While I know I probably won't do it that fast, I don't want to drag down our team's time too much. It will be my first competitive race, and I refuse to let my team down.

Look at me - in a sports team. I'm like a proper jock! HA!

So yeah, being able to crack the 10k in under an hour is a huge achievement for me, but hopefully this is just the beginning. You ain't seen nothing yet!

Why I'm Not Logging Any More

Okay, this is a big step for me. It's scaring me shitless but I have to do it at some point, so I have decided that the time is now.

I've stopped logging.

For those of you scratching your head and wondering what "logging" means, I'll briefly explain. What I mean by "logging' is recording every calorie I burn and every bite I eat. Pretty much everyone who has attempted to lose weight ever has done this in some form or another: whether is be noting down calories with a notepad and pen, counting weightwatchers points, using a phone app, or whatever.

For me, it was inputting my calorie burn and intake to a FANTASTIC little site called MyFitnessPal. I've been a member for over a year, and I pretty much owe my entire weight loss to this site. It has an incredible user-built database with pretty much every food you can imagine, an incredible supportive community and best of all, it's free.

You simply tell the site how much you want to lose, and it gives you a calorie allowance to abide to each day. It also has a fantastic app which is available for iPhone, Android and Blackberry, so you can even log on the go.

I just want it to be known that I endorse this tool 100%. My decision to stop logging has nothing to do with the site. It's just... my personal goals have changed, and I think I have got to a point where I need to learn to get on without it.

I have been maintaining my weight (give or take a couple of pounds) for the best part of eight months now. However, barely a day goes by when I don't log every morsel I eat.

There have been a couple of days where I haven't logged, but this has normally been an intentional decision where I know I'd be pigging out and didn't see the point, like when I was on my holiday or experiencing emotional turmoil.

And days like these (but without the broom)

But for the most part, whenever I ate something, seconds later (or sometimes before), I would get my Blackberry out and input what I was eating and how much into the MyFitnessPal app or logging on to the website. When you look at it objectively, you've got to admit that it's pretty odd behaviour.

But it became second nature for me. It became habit - like washing your hands after you've been to the loo. If I didn't log something I ate - it would just niggle at me.

And don't even get me started on exercise! As soon as I finished my cool down, I was logging the calories burned into MyFitnessPal so I could find out how much extra food I could eat.

There. I said it. I exercised so I could eat.

But that's not the point of exercise - and I know that. I love all the other benefits of exercise, the way it makes me feel and its potential to make me stronger. I would like to think that even if exercise didn't burn any calories at all, I would still do it. But I've got to admit, being able to eat that chocolate bar afterwards totally guilt-free is a pretty sweet perk.

So all of these things have been niggling at me for a while: the fact that it is quite odd behaviour, the fact that I was so reliant on it and the fact it kind of skewed my attitude towards exercise. But the straw that broke the horse's back happened a couple of weeks ago.

I was sitting in front of the TV in the evening. I had just finished eating a pretty nice meal, and it was about 9pm. I was just lounging away in the sofa, when a little thought popped into my head.

"Fancy a biscuit?"

"No," I told myself. "I've just had my dinner and I feel pretty full."

"But you have enough calories left..."

And when that thought popped into my head, I knew I had to stop logging. It was giving me an excuse to eat stuff even when I wasn't feeling hungry. Incidentally, I did go for that biscuit, because you know, I DID have the calories left.

But if I hadn't been logging, the thought wouldn't have even crossed my mind. The question I need to ask myself is not "do I have the calories left?" but rather "am I hungry?"

It's time to stop listening to a computer and listening my own body instead. After all, it's what most normal people do.

I just want to reiterate, this is not meant to put anyone off logging. If you are trying to lose weight, or even just trying to maintain your weight, then I fully encourage you to log. It certainly worked for me and is great for educating yourself on how much you should be feeding your body However, I personally feel like I'm at a stage where I know how much food my body needs, and I need to stand on my own two feet and maintain my weight by myself.

I'm going to watch my weight closely over the next couple of weeks, and if the numbers start to creep up, then I'll start logging again. But we'll see how it goes.

Wish me luck. :)

Fitness DVD Review: No More Trouble Zones

Hi, chums!

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:

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!