To Repurpose A Joke...

...that I read on a different review of this video, if Jillian called this video what it should have been called, "I'm going to kill you in forty minutes or less!", well, no one would buy it. So she went with "Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism" instead. It's got a better ring to it, doesn't it?

When I decided to start reviewing videos, I told myself that unless the video specified a certain amount of time be spent on it (like 30 Day Shred does, for example), that I'd spend six weeks doing it, because that wasn't that long, but enough time that I'd get pretty good results.

With Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism (which from here on in, I'm going to refer to as BFBM, just to save myself the time), I just couldn't do it. I stopped at the end of the fourth week. So when you get to the pictures at the end, that's why there's only two, instead of the typical three.

I've spent the last few days trying really hard to figure out how to tell you guys what about it I didn't like. And there's alot of things, that I think all compounded together.

First off, I've mentioned on my reviews for both Six Week Six Pack and Shred It With Weights that I get kind of ADD. I start developing a little muscle memory for the exercises, and they're not quite the challenge they initially were, but then level two pops up and starts me over, and it's exciting again, and hooray! BFBM doesn't have a level two. It's all one level, all the time. And it's an hour long, compared to the standard 30 to 40 minutes.

Another thing is that I like seeing that there's improvement. If you can lift a heavier weight, or lift more weight, or do more reps, there's measurable improvement. When you're kicking, there's not much improvement. A kick is a kick is a kick.

Speaking of, Jillian, for those that don't know, got her start in Martial Arts, and this video goes back to that. It's alot of kickboxing and punching, and a fair amount of plyo (jump training).

And, while I don't particularly mind any of those things, they're not my favorites. It's just not fun to me.

Ultimately, I think that's the crux of the problem - this video just wasn't fun. And I know you guys are probably reading this, going "Since when has working out ever been fun?!", but I think it is. I liked the ab exercises in 6 Week 6 Pack, and I liked flinging the kettle bell in Shred It With Weights. I'm on to my next video now, and I even look forward to that (more about that, later). BFBM was like "Ok, how am I going to torture myself today?"

I think had the video been mixed in with other videos, and it was like "Hey, it's BFBM Friday!", I would have jived with it alot better. I do plan to do the Jillian workout plan that she put together that's been floating around SparkPeople for a while, which will mean BFBM is going to make another apperance on the blog at some point, but it's mixed in with lots of other stuff. It's not just that video for six weeks.

Lest all of this sound like sour grapes though - take a look at the Before and After pictures. No question, going off my look before to my look after, BFBM has been my greatest success so far. But gauging off my personal interest in it, I think I'd label BFBM as my greatest failure. Go figure.

Equipment you need; Nothin'. Not a darn thing. No weights. There are some mountain climbers that you might find easier on a yoga mat (I usually do, I find I slip a little on the carpet). But other than that, nothin'.

Space you need; You'll do some planks on the ground, but for the most part, it's all standing work. If you can stand in front of your TV and comfortably kick in each direction without problem, you've got enough space.

What you DO; Because this is a kickboxing inspired workout and none of the rest of them really are (although rumor has it Killer Buns and Thighs comes close), the exercises are all fairly unique. There's a few old school killers that she uses alot - like the mountain climbers, butt kicks, high knees, things along that line, but the bulk of the exercises are unique to this video. She does alot of exercises that all seem to build on each other, which seemed weird to me. For example, you do high knees. Then you do upper cut punches. Then you do "standing mountain climbers", which seems to be not a whole lot more than doing high knees WHILE doing upper cut punches. So that was odd, because it started to feel a little bit like "Haven't I done this already?"

Jillian is famous for saying something to the effect of "If you haven't thrown up or passed out, you're not working hard enough...", and I won't lie - there was a moment the first day where that didn't seem like it was that far out of the realm of possibility. But I stopped, took a lap around my living room, panted a few times, and started back up, and the moment had passed. I won't lie, I'm terribly phobic of being sick, so had I been sick, that would have been the last you would have seen of me doing BFBM!

Cool DVD Feature... This DVD has something I've not yet encountered on any other Jillian DVD - you have the option to construct your own workout. You can select circuits, so if you're running short on time, you can select circuits to do, or if you're having problems with your knees, you can skip the plyo, or whatever. That's cool, I think!

So, final verdict, would I recommend it? If kickboxing is your thing, then yes. If kickboxing isn't your thing, I'd recommend it, but maybe in conjunction with different things, just to vary the routine. If you're new to working out, or new to Jillian, no. In both cases, I'd recommend starting slower, maybe with 30 Day Shred.

Which, speaking of, is the video I'm doing right now. I do not remember this video being so hard on the legs! My goodness, those squats are hard!

From 2011-12-31

Picture key: pink bra before, white bra after. I did not notice that my bra was a little sideways or that I was wearing socks until after I had already done the picture, haha!

From 2011-12-31

I took off a few days between Christmas and now, so my abs softened up a little bit. Boo, hah. And in a problem only a fellow mom will appreciate - my upper abs are taking on some nice shape. But that lower ab, mom pooch situation? Hanging right in there. Grr.

But see what I mean? Judging by how much my motivation faltered with doing this video, I'd call it my least favorite. But judging by the difference in the before and after, it was hands down the greatest success so far!

And finally, if you're a bit of a background dancer devotee, the background girls for this video are Kristen and Saleemah, who were both so impossibly smiley, that it got a little weird. Even my 10 year old niece was like "Jillian's talking about how hard you're supposed to be working, and they're just grinning like crazy!" So like I said - it got a little weird.

See you the end of January!

Video originally released February 3, 2009

Shred It With Weights Will Kick Your Butt!

Shred It with Weights will kick your butt, and thank you for the privilage!

Every review that I had read about this DVD prior to starting it said that if you really want true results, you need a kettlebell. So, despite my husbands grumblings that I didn't really NEED a kettlebell, darn it - I wasn't spending six weeks with Jillian, the entire time aware I was getting subpar results. We were going to get a kettlebell! $30 later, I had a seven pound kettlebell in my possession!

Because kettlebells are so large, they are weighted differently than a regular dumb bell would be. So even if you could bench 20 pounds all day long, take the time to stand in the store for a second and fling some kettlebells around. Trust. Jillian markets her own kettlebells, they're the ones you see her use in the video. They're $89 at Target, and they have removeable weight plates, so you can make it as light or heavy as your physical needs require. She says at one point during level one that the workout "has legs" - you learn the moves, master it, switch to a heavier kettlebell and do it again. While I don't intend to do that, I can see that being the case.

Alot of the reviews of this workout mention how unsafe it is - that she teaches and encourages bad form during the exercises, and all of that. One review claimed that she did it once, and spend the next month doing daily visits to the chiropractor to realign her back. I didn't find that to be the case - I was new to kettlebells at the start of this video, and I never had any trouble with pain/soreness that I felt like was at all unusual. That said - I can easily see where you'd get yourself into trouble here. Much of this workout amounts to "Here's a kettlebell. How far and how high can you fling this thing?", so if you've got bad form, or knees or shoulders that are prone to dislocating/going out, I think you might be in a little trouble with this one.

That said - I'd absolutely recommend it. It's really fun and satisfying to fling that bell around and know that you're really accomplishing things, and Jillian gets pretty tough with this workout, and keeping up with her when she's at her toughest is always really gratifying and exciting.

In my Six Week Six Pack review, I said that it didn't require much space. I won't make the same promise with this - you need to have enough room to rotate that kettlebell out in front of you in every direction - straight out, straight up, even between your legs. You'll need to have room to lay down, you'll need to have room to lunge, you'll need a pretty good amount of space in front of you. So this isn't particularly "small apartment" friendly.

The exercises are all pretty unique to this video - because this is a kettlebell workout, it does all have to be different. I think the only thing here that makes apperances in other videos (besides you know, squats and stuff that you're pretty much not going to escape in an exercise tape...) is the toe taps. And if you're hangin' with Jillian, toe taps should be the least of your concerns.

It's 30 minutes of flingin' the bell around, and you're going to be absolutely convinced you'll never make it through it, but go, baby, go! It's really gratifying to get through it! But, like I experienced with 6 Week 6 Pack - when you get to the end, and you start building a little muscle memory for the exercises, and they get not quite as interesting as they were at the start, it's hard to stay excited for them. Do what you gotta do! Stay excited! Every so often when I started feeling that boredom setting in, I went and did the opposite level of workout to whatever I'd been working on, just to keep it engaging. Do what you gotta do, keep going!

Now, since I can't catch a break when it comes to measurements, I don't have them. For this six weeks, I'm down 1 pound. Which, historically, I don't lose alot of weight doing Jillian's workouts - I lose inches, but not weight. Always. One day, I'll pop up, and my streak will change. Not like I'm complaining about losing inches - success is still success, no matter how you get there. And I've said since I started with her - if my lot in life is to weigh what I currently weigh, then I'm going to be the best looking person that has ever been my weight! :)

And the real scoop - my before and afters!

Picture key: blue bra is the before, black bra is the halfway (which actually, due to an emergency in the family, my halfway pictures were taken at the end of week four, rather than the end of week three), pink bra is the end pictures.

From Drop Box

I don't normally like the front pictures, because I don't think they make all that great of a statement for change, but look at that last one! You can see a little shading in the abs. Could it be? Am I getting abs?!

From Drop Box

And evidentally, there's some sort of certification that you're supposed to have to teach kettlebells, that Jillian Michaels doesn't have. So she's not "technically" allowed to teach kettlebells, but as long as you keep good form, you can see - big changes can happen!

See you in six weeks for my review of "Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism"!

Video originally released September 7, 2010

My 6 Week 6 Pack Review!

My first review - 6 Week 6 Pack!

First off, let me say that I knew going in that I wasn't coming out with six pack abs. I was too heavy to have this video be that successful. I felt like if I came out of this six weeks with a better defined waist, that I'd be doing OK. And I feel like I did that. So I was pretty realistic about my expectations going in. I did not assume that I'd come out looking like Jillian. :)

With level one, the soreness factor was immediate and severe. For the first week, I could barely move! I had to add in stretching every morning, just so I could go on about my day. Nicely enough, after that eased up, I didn't experience it again. There was enough of a change of effort going from level one to two - level one is alot of work on the floor, level two is largely standing work - that I didn't experience the same soreness. Of course, I'll grant the point that I had a hard time with the transition to level two that I spent alot of time panting and trying to catch up, so that might have helped with the soreness.

None of the exercises seemed overly complicated or unsafe. There are some that space became a concern for - I don't have a ton of spare space in my living room, so the Moguls on level 2 for example, were very challenging for me. Not in that I couldn't do it, just in that I flat don't have the space to do them to the "advanced" level.

You go through all of the exercises that she gives you twice in the space of one "workout". The first time you go through them (and this goes for level one and two), she goes through them slowly, and explains what's happening. The second time, you go through faster. Although I was initally worried about what "faster" meant for a few of the exercises (like the dumbell swings, or chops), they weren't that bad, as long as you were smart about it.

She does offer a "modifier", showing more basic moves of each exercise, although admittedly, for much of the workout, the "modifier" and the person doing the advanced version were doing pretty much the exact same thing. So...get it? There is no modifier, get with the program! (And that "there is no modifier" thing is a direct quote from the video...)

My beef, I guess, with the video is that it gets really tedious. I did an even split - level one for three weeks, and level two for three weeks. By the end of the three weeks, you've started to build up a pretty good muscle memory for the exercises, and it's not quite as challenging as it was when you started, and it gets really tough to convince yourself to keep going. KEEP GOING! DON'T YOU DARE STOP! (Sorry. Again, with the quoting...) Keep going! That last time she says "We'll see you next time!" and you know there IS no "next time" is really, really satisfying!

As is a common complaint with Jillians videos, the warm up and cool down feel like they were almost an afterthought. I'd like to see those be far more thorough. But I like to stretch, so maybe that's why I leave out of the stretching wanting more. She says at the end of level 2 that you could probably walk away without doing a cool down, and still be OK, so that seems to indicate that the stretching isn't a real necessity. But still - it feels good. It's nice to just be mellow for a second, you know?

I didn't think to take my inch measurements, so I can't give you that, but I will say that pants that were tight when I started are now to the loose side of being comfortable, so that's something. My final weight loss for the six weeks is 5 pounds, with no marked changes to my diet over the course of the six weeks.

Equipment you need; A good pair of running shoes, and a single dumb bell. If you're aiming for a beginner level workout, you can even skip the dumb bell. Jillian recommends one between 3 and 8 pounds. I have a 3 pound set, and a 5 pound set, and every so often will alternate between the two, just to make things interesting. I have no idea if it affects anything, but it does challenge me in a whole new way, so I'll keep doing it. :) If you tend to be a sweater, grab a towel to wipe your face and hands - you do some moves where you really fling the barbell around, and it'd be terrible if you were flinging with a bad grip!

Final verdict; Go, baby, go! I know that in some of the other reviews I've read, people do 6W6P as a suppliment to other workouts, but while I was writing this review, I wanted to get the truest results possible, so I stuck to this one and this one only. I have a better defined core than I've probably ever had, and I'm a dancer and dance instructor, and have already noticed a crazy difference in my leaps and turns from the added strength. It's 35 minutes from start of the warmup to the end of the cool down, and there's nothing about it that can be defined as "easy", but come on - anyone can do anything for 35 minutes! :) Plus as a bonus, it cut my "mom pooch" down by half, and if you've ever had to try to lose your own mom pooch, then you know that that's worth the price of admission all by itself.

Picture key; Solid blue shorts are the before, black shorts with the pink stripe are halfway through, solid black shorts are the after.

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

Video originally released November 30, 2010

First, to introduce myself...

First to introduce myself. My name is Theresa, I'm a 32 year old mother of one son, and I am a Jillian Michaels maniac.

I did not come to this by watching The Biggest Loser. I actually LIKE that she's so hardcore. When I can keep up with someone that's so hardcore, it makes me feel hardcore too, and that's really motivating. :)

I didn't come by way of Jillian lightly.

My memory is fuzzy on if this happened in 2010 or 2011, but I was in line at Wal-Mart with my son, and we were discussing that I had started a new workout tape. He remarked that he thought that was a good thing for me to do, because, and he held his hands out in a circle, and his voice trailed off.

I responded that I didn't know what that meant. He shyly commented that he didn't want to say, and we both shrugged, and carried on with our conversation. In short order, we were back at the same point in the conversation. He again held his hands out, and again said he didn't want to say what it meant.

I sort of twisted his arm into it. He was visibly uncomforable having to repeat himself, and I made him do it anyway.

He said I was fat.

If the Wal-Mart floor could have opened up and swallowed me at that moment, I would have been perfectly OK with that. Fat? FAT?! I'm the FAT mom?! I was horrified. I'm OK with being alot of things - I'm OK with being the mom with the messy car. I'm OK with being the mom that never gets her roots touched up in a timely fashion. I'm OK with being the mom that never remembers to wear her wedding ring. But the FAT mom?! Oh, heck no. That is not OK.

And I KNOW. He didn't want to say it, and I twisted his arm. Plus, I also know that "fat" isn't a word that holds the same malice for kids that it holds for adults. But it was out there, just like a little verbal atom bomb, and oh no, that was not going to be the way that this thing was going down!

So it took me some time of bumbling around, begging for a Weight Watchers membership (which I still haven't gotten, on my husbands assertion that it's too pricy, and can't pay for myself, given that being a stay at home mom doesn't pay much...), and trying to figure out what on earth I was going to do to fix this problem, before I came up on the wonder that is Jillian Michaels.

I flirted around with 30 Day Shred a handful of times. I'd start, do pretty well, and sprain my ankle and have to stop. Or I'd start, do pretty well, and tweak my knee and have to stop. So I spent alot of time flirting with it, but never finishing. Probably four or five months, anyway.

Well baby, I'M BACK.

I'm going to work my way through each of Jillian's videos, and post the results, complete with Before & After pictures, for everyone to see here. I'll post my honest thoughts about each video as I do it, and you can see real results for yourself.

I have become kind of obsessed with looking at other peoples Before & After pictures, but I never see them for people my size. Take heart, people that are my size - here's the pictures for you! :)

Like I said - I am OK with being alot of things. But I am not OK with being the fat mom. Fat mom, get out of the way - the Jillian Michaels Maniac is HERE! :)