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!
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| 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!
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| 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
