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.
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| 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?!
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| 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
