Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred: A DVD for the Home Workout Hater
I used to be a person who scoffed at the mere idea of a home workout video. I was young! I was motivated! I had time! The fun of working out was in the shared energy of a group class! Or next to a treadmill titan at the gym! Then I had a kid. All the post-natal, fitness-sabotage cliches ensued. 9 months into it and barely any leaner than the day I was wheeled out of the labor and delivery room, I found myself googling the dreaded “home workout video”. And here is why all the rave reviews of Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred were right.
It’s quick. It’s hard. It’s full body. It’s resistance and cardio. The end.
Details? You will need a few sets of free weights (I have 3’s, 5’s & 8’s), a mat and definitely a towel. There are 3 levels, which increase in difficulty. I assume you are supposed to work your way up as you go, but being in generally good shape already, I am able to just switch it up between the 3 levels each time; which makes it a bit more interesting. And all 3 levels are sufficiently challenging if you work to your max.
They are 20 minute long workouts (plus a short warm-up and stretch at the end). Totally doable during naptime, which is my free window. There are 3 rounds of 3 circuits each in a 3-2-1 format. 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of abs. Repeat (but with different exercises) 3 times. And done. Or, if you have a little more time and you’re feeling strong, try 2 different workouts in a row. It’s not even a full hour, but it is HARD. I promise. I am often sore the next day and generally can’t fully get through 2! Though again, only if you push yourself to complete every circuit. But you don’t want to be wasting your time anyway, amiright?
The moves themselves are either compound strength movements (squats with bicep curls, etc), ab work on the floor (mostly your standard crunch or plank variations - old school and effective), and cardio work involving a lot of jumping (high knees, jumping jacks, etc).
The background music is pretty annoying, but once you get used to the routines, you can just mute it and pump your own tunes. And Jillian has some genuinely motivating things to say but once you’ve heard them all a few times over…
Truth time: I still feel home workout videos are kind of boring. You can’t avoid their repetitive nature and there’s no people-watching or new-instructor-critiquing to help lighten the load. But since discovering that I can still get a solid workout without paying for childcare or leaving the house during a blizzard (so to speak...I live in Southern CA), I’ve come to appreciate the important purpose they serve, and in this category of workout, Jillian is top-notch.
Also, the DVD costs $9.08 on Amazon and I paid $46.99 on Amazon for my set of dumbbells. In case you can’t do math (like me), that’s approx 2 SoulCycle classes.
So fellow home workout DVD skeptics: as often happens, desperate measures become saving graces. Jillian’s workouts will help preserve your sanity through those housebound times.
