Jillian Michaels' 30-Day Shred DVD promises to help you achieve results fast, with claims that you could lose as much as 20 pounds in just 30 days. Each of the DVD's three workouts combines three minutes of strength training, two minutes of cardiovascular exercise and one minute of ab training in a series of circuits. Every circuit repeats three times through the course of your chosen workout, and each workout lasts 20 minutes.
Step 1
Dress in comfortable workout clothing and supportive shoes. Tank up on water, take any necessary bathroom breaks, and eliminate as many sources of distraction as possible before you begin. Michaels insists on full concentration during each workout, and each session is so short that every minute really does count.
Step 2
Click "Workouts" from the main DVD menu, then select from Levels 1, 2 or 3. If you're just starting out, begin with Level 1. Michaels leaves it up to you to decide when to move on to Level 2, then Level 3 after that. Hint: Your after-workout soreness should be almost completely gone between workouts before you move on to the next level.
Step 3
Follow the entire workout, from the brief warm-up to the equally brief cool-down. If you're concerned about injuring yourself, do a few extra minutes of warm-up beforehand by taking a brisk walk around the block or marching in place. You can also spend extra time on cooling down with slow cardio, then stretching at the end of the workout.
Step 4
Adapt each exercise, as necessary, to suit your current skill level. Michaels employs two friends to demonstrate basic and advanced versions of each exercise, but you can further adapt each exercise to suit your needs. Make your first goal to keep moving for the entire 20-minute workout, then push yourself to work a little harder each day.
Step 5
Do one of the 30-Day Shred workouts at least six days a week. The DVD recommendations advise you to work out every day, but you should carefully monitor your physical condition if you decide to do so. Having at least one rest day helps you avoid over-training. Symptoms of over-training to watch for include reduced appetite, increased soreness, an aptitude for injury, workouts consistently seeming harder than they usually do, increased blood pressure, increased resting heart rate and unusual irritability.
Tips and Warnings
- Jillian Michaels recommends following a diet plan to get the most out of your fitness efforts, but does not make diet recommendations in the 30-Day Shred DVD. You can consult one of Michaels' own diet plans in her books or on her website, or select your own. You'll want to listen to Michaels' prompts for the first few workouts, but once you've got each workout level down you can select "Audio Options" from the main menu and choose to play each workout with the music only, eliminating the repetitive prompts. Or, you can mute the DVD playback and substitute your own playlist if you get tired of Michaels' music. Hold off on working out, or work out lightly, if you experience extreme soreness. Waiting until the soreness has receded to a tolerable level helps to reduce your risk of injury. The soreness is a signal that you should back off a bit until your body's capabilities have caught up with your mental determination.
Things You'll Need
- 2 hand weights
- Floor mat
Member Comments