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mcel |
Date: 2008-03-28

I had never purchased a Jillian Michaels DVD before b/c of the hit or miss reviews. So when I heard raves about this one, I decided to give it a shot and I am so glad I did. This is an absolute butt-kicker workout. I am an intermediate/advanced exerciser (I work out 5-6 days a week) so I figured I could see what Level 1 was all about and move onto Level 2 right away. Listen to me folks--these workouts are HARD. Level 2 was VERY difficult--a good difficult though, very challenging. When Jillian tells you to start at level 1, listen to her she knows what she's doing. I've been at this for about 5 days, and I already feel a difference in my body.
Jillian is tough--absolutely NO rest in this workout (not even for a sip of water) but that's what makes it go by so quickly, and it makes your body change, according to Jillian. You're done before you know it--but by the end you've gotten a kick butt workout and feel like you've really done something. She bases her workout on the 3-2-1 method: 3 mins strength, 2 mins cardio, 1 min abs. Her strength circuits remind me of Jari Love--compound exercises that work the upper and lower body simultaneously. The cardio is good as well: a lot of jumping, so watch those knees (she has a modifier for beginner and lower impact) And the abs is straight up ab work--a variety of crunches and twists on the floor.
This is a great workout and I find Jillian to be tough but she's pretty likeable. Be warned though: she's no-nonsense. I think it's funny when during the stretch she admits she's not flexible and struggles to reach her legs on the floor. I thought "Ha, Ha, finally something I'm better at than Jillian!" lol
If you really want to get a good workout and to jumpstart your weight loss get this DVD you will not be disappointed. It's great for those who are short on time too and want to try something new; every workout is just under 30 mins!

jmastro |
Date: 2008-04-02

Ok, if you're like me (overweight and unmotivated) and watch The Biggest Loser and wish you could be one of the contestants and have Jillian train you then you're in luck! Buy this DVD! I just received the dvd today and did the First Level today. It's been 2 and 1/2 hours since I finished and I'm still shaking and finding it hard to go up and down stairs. I can't even imagine what she puts those poor contestants through..LOL!

I have knee pains and feet pains and usually just walk at 3mph on my treadmill. Well, suffice to say I'm not seeing any weight loss. And let me be honest the real reason I have knee and feet problems is because I weigh too much. So I did the full on jumping jacks..no modified jumping jacks in this workout...Jillian tells you straight, she has 400lb people doing full jumping jacks, you can too! And she was right. I sure as heck can't really do the push ups but I'm sure that I will be able to eventually if I keep doing this dvd everyday for 20 minutes.

And she's right, you can't do a workout for 20 minutes and expect it to be easy...you want easy, don't get this dvd. You want to sweat and really workout get this dvd!

I'm 5'4'' and 168 lbs. I will let you know my progress in my comments as time goes on. Good luck to everyone!

Little Miss Cutey |
Date: 2008-03-13

This is a really good workout. It's geared a little more to advanced exercisers, but the choreography is fairly basic and you will definately feel this the next day.
There are three workouts that combine toning and aerobics together which are about a half an hour each. This way, you're burning fat and toning muscles at the same time. It's a little challenging, but fun and effective. The first workout is the easiest of the three and from there it gets more challenging. The most challenging workout is tough like she shows on The Biggest Loser (ie travelling pushups and tough jumps etc). It's a good idea if you're intermediate to begin either at the start or middle and stick to that for a while and then move on. Each workout uses toning, kickboxing and ab work.
I found this really good to do. It's absolutely a good idea to not go too quickly with it and begin at the lower of the three levels even if you do it only a couple of times - you can always advance as soon as you're ready for your next workout. She may not be the best cuer, but she is certainly encouraging and motivating. This is fun and I highly recommend it. I've only done it twice so far since it's so new, but I can still feel my muscles thanking me. This is great.

J. Marks |
Date: 2008-03-26

I have recently decided that home workouts are the only way I am going to ensure I get a workout in every day, with a toddler and a full time job. Thus, I did a lot of research on good DVDs and some essential "props" and over the past few months have purchased about 12 DVDs from TaeBo to PIlates to the Biggest Loser series, and then I saw this new one from Jillian, and it surpassed everything else I own by far. I have been working out pretty regularly for over 10 years, I've done triathlon's and everything from spinning to running to kickboxing, so I figured I could start at Level 3. After 3 minutes I went down to Level 2, and then another five minutes to Level 1!!! I have been doing Level 1 for a week and think I will be able to progress a level each week, but it is truly a challenging and rewarding workout, and I highly recommend it for people who enjoy maximum results in minimal time (and don't mind sweating and feel like they might have a heart attack!)

A. Chastain |
Date: 2009-01-28

I cannot say enough to recommend this video. Really. It is the most effective, most challenging, and yet completely motivating workout I have ever done. (And I've done a few.) It is completely brilliant- a 20 minutes workout that actually kicks your butt; the length of the workout really makes you feel like you have got to push yourself and get through it, because you tell yourself, who can't do 20 minutes? Psychologically, it really makes you want to finish, and finish strong.

And it pays dividends. If you're anything like me, I couldn't even do the video for 2 days after the first time I did it because I was just too sore. But in the best way, that I-really-got-a-serious-workout kind of way. Very satisfying. In under 30 minutes!

I love Jillian on The Biggest Loser, and she has the very same no-nonsense approach on the video that she uses on the ranch, and I think it really does push you. She tells it like it is- "If you are looking for a modification on jumping jacks... look elsewhere. I'm not going to give that to you, I have 400 pound people doing them on the ranch, and I know you can do this," "I'm not gonna let you cheat. I know this is hard work. If we are promising you big things, we have to deliver." And she's right. If we're really trying to get a workout in 23 minutes or whatever it is, she's really got to make it hard to get results. But it works, and it's worth it.

I have read several of the other reviews on here, and I would like to respond to some of the negative points that people have brought up:

-The intro to the video cannot be fast forwarded, so you actually have 2 or 3 minutes of Jillian talking at the beginning of the DVD that adds time to your workout without adding any action. OK, it is a bit annoying. But USE THIS TIME WISELY, by running in place or any other light cardio activity to extend the warm-up time. The video only gives a minute or two for your warm up, and trust me, you will need a little more than that to prepare your muscles for what's coming.

-The workout is too challenging/not challenging enough... That's crazy. It is what you make of it. If you think it's too hard, modify - I didn't use weights the first few times I did it, because you don't want to shock your body by doing too much too soon. Give yourself time to get used to the motions and the workout before you add weights if you are a beginner. If you think it's not hard enough or you are not getting enough burn in the strength training segments, you need to add more weight, or, considering this is just a 20 minute workout, alternate days doing this DVD as good cardio and doing a more in-depth 30 minute strength training segment the next day. There is no reason this DVD cannot be a staple in your routine, no matter your fitness level. It is an undeniably effective 20 minute workout. Make it work for you.

-It's too high-impact. OK, there is a lot of jumping. That's because jumping is wildly effective at burning calories. Again, 20 minute workout, it has to be as challenging as possible. You could cheat, and take it a little easier on your knees, but you will be sacrificing intensity. If you KNOW you have bad knees or arthritis and you still want a great workout, buy a mini trampoline for the jumping segments. You won't be able to fully extend your legs to the side in the jumping jack sections, but you will still be able to jump and reduce a lot of the impact. My arthritic mother, who I bought a copy of this DVD for, did that and it worked perfectly for her.

-Not enough warm-up/cool-down. Come on, people. Did you really think that you can get a warm up, decent workout, and cool-down in 20 minutes flat? Let's manage our expectations a little bit. It is 20 minutes. You will need to add a couple of minutes to the warm up, I addressed that earlier, just begin your warm up during the intro part of the DVD that you can't fast-forward through. The cool down/stretching segment is also not long enough to really stretch everything you just hammered during the video. Turn the DVD off, and do some additional stretches for another 5 or 10 minutes. Even if you add to the warm up and the cool down, you're at about 35 minutes for a great, complete, body-rocking workout. That is not unreasonable, especially considering most people would spend almost that much time in the car driving to and from the gym. (Where you would have to work out much longer than 20 minutes to get the kind of full-body workout that Jillian delivers here.)

The bottom line: It costs less than half of a monthly gym membership at even the most affordable gym, you can completely modify it to work for you, it is 20 minutes long and you do it in the comfort of your own home so you really have no excuses not to get it done, and it delivers like Domino's. You will see and feel a difference faster than you thought possible, and the soreness in your muscles will let you know real quick that you are doing something effective.

Jillian knows what she is doing, and she will get you results. It is well worth the price and it absolutely makes the most out of every single second you spend doing it. What more could you ask for?!