Jillian Michaels - The Collection [DVD]

This review might be longer than I can simplify it but I hope it will help some of you out there who're needing a place to start, or start again or even are looking for a challenge :-)30 Day Shred - In this you get 3 Workouts starting from Level 1, on to Level 2 and then Level 3. The idea is you do each level for ten days, five times a week. Now, to give your muscles a break AND to keep your body from acclimatising to the workouts (cause once you do, you're not burning as much fat and calories as you can be), I would suggest you do 2 days on with 1 day off then 3 days on with 1 day to rest. Or whichever works for you really. The workouts in all levels are 20 mins long so no excuses! Do give yourself 30 mins though to factor in your warm-up and cool down. Across all levels there are two assistants who show you the beginner moves and advanced moves, the pace is set to such that as a total newbie you can follow it comfortably or for those more familiar with circuit training (like me once I did this DVD twice over) to not find it a bore or too slow and gives you a good couple of seconds recovery as you increase your challenge (will explain this bit later). You will sweat, you will pant, you will groan and thank the gods when it is over but only if YOU push yourself to your max. You don't have to kill yourself on the first go through and if anything if you are anything like me when I started out then you might now want to cause if you get too sore and too fed up right from the off, you won't want to do this daily. So beginners ease yourself into it. It IS hard. It is a challenge but remind yourself why you're here right now thinking about buying this DVD and hold on to that to motivate yourself :-) More advanced people - oh ho ho! Go for the full burn! You'll love it!30 Day Shred Advancing Advice - Here is where I explain about increasing the challenge I mentioned. Once you've done it all, 30 days are over, what do you do now? Well...Lots! What I did was I did it once on no weights (as I was a complete beginner, no fitness level at all, seriously even walking my dog had me out of breath after a quarter of a mile). Then I started using 1.1kg weights and after that 30 days I restarted this programme with 2.3kg weights. If you buy a dumbbell tree then that's really handy, just go up the weight tree scale. To not get bored on the next go round (when I got on to the 2.3kg weights) I set myself a programme to workout to of one 30 Day Shred, day two of 6 Week Six Pack (available in the DVD collection pack), day three of Yoga Meltdown (you'd have to get that DVD separate though), day four a rest day then rinse and repeat. But I encourage you to find what works for YOU! Cause you need to listen to your body, feel when you need to up your game, listen to yourself when you need a rest day and stick with it. Ladies if you think upping your weights will make you bulk out please note that NO it does not! You *cannot* do the same workout time and time again cause your body will get used to it, it will not respond as it adapts cause your body will be going "This is normal, I do this all the time! Why burn more calories for fuel?" and then BAM! You have hit that dreaded plateau where nothing shifts. It's either you do less/ your regular repetition load with increased weights or you are doing more reps with your lighter weights (which means spending more time on your workout). So if a 20 min only AND effective workout is what you're looking for, you will at some point need to take things up a notch. Hey, I am 5ft and a very petite lady and I definitely don't have 'tree stump' arms for it :-)RESULTS SO FAR: I've done 30 Day Shred thrice over now (as explained above) and I am delighted to say I've gone from having a 36 inch waist and flabby arms with legs so dimpled it'd make even the most polite orange shy to now, 3.5 months on I am a 29.5 inch waist.6 Week Six Pack - This comes as two levels and has two assistants showing you beginner and advanced moves. It's 35 mins but give yourself more around 40 mins from start to finish to factor in a warm-up and cool down. If you have not exercised in a long time or are just starting out then start with Level 1 but I will warn you, it is a challenge so please don't feel demotivated if you need to take a breather, don't beat yourself up if you can't keep pace with Jillian and her assistants - start as you can, keep moving and encourage yourself to do better each time. We all have got to start somewhere! :-) For those who are already exercising regularly if you feel it's not giving you that much a challenge, you can do all the moves with a dumbbell as added resistance. Level 2 is definitely tougher and it really pushes you harder - even the beginner moves have weights and the advanced moves are faster, stronger, more demanding. Even after I got more fit and capable from having done the 30 Day Shred for a while, the Level 2 still was leaving me laying on my workout mat afterwards totally keeled over with my poor dog licking my face all worried like "What's happened!!" If you've already lost weight or are looking to tone up and find yourself at the sort of 30 inch waist zone, you will see the results and fast. Personally I started to notice my abs looking more defined after only 3 days at this. The last point that I can make about 6 Week Six Pack is I think anyone with common sense will already know you CANNOT get a 6 pack in 6 weeks if you're seriously over-weight or have a 'beer belly' type physic, sorry but that is simply unrealistic of you. I'm not saying it is not possible, it IS possible but it will take hard work and the only way that happens is when you start setting yourself attainable goals and are ready for the lifestyle change that it will involve.Banish Fat Boost Metabolism – Long and short of it is that this does what it says on the tin! I've tried this a good number of times and this work out is a very intense and demanding cardio workout. While I am on the last lap of the work-out routine I have set myself with 30 Day Shred, I have decided to put this one aside till I've finished my cycle through. What I feel about this DVD is that if you are already familiar with working out, with cardio workouts and you need to kick things up then this is best suited for you. Beginners I think you might find this quite difficult but if you think you can take it on, definitely try it but give yourself the allowance to have a few seconds here and there of a breather. This and the next one I will write on (No More Trouble Zones) I think are “the” DVDs for smashing through your plateau so if you got just that last 10 pounds to burn, that last stubborn 2-3 inches on your waist that are going no-where in no time, THIS is the one you want. As with all Jillian's workouts there are two assistants going through things but I'd say in this workout they are more 'motivators' as there really was such little difference between the beginner and advanced moves. All in all better suited for those more familiar with exercise and needing something to kick them into that extra burn. This one is a 40 min workout but call it 50 mins with warm-up and cool down though you can pick your own 6 min circuits as that's a play option on the DVD so if you don't have the full haul of time to give and want something high intensity on cardio but say around 20-25 mins in duration, you can do that and just pick which circuit you run through for what time you have.No More Trouble Zones – I've gone through this workout a handful of times and it is very area specific in targeting as it says, “trouble zones”. For example, you might want your arms more toned, your inner or outer thighs or your glutes (that's your rear end without sounding crass). Like with the Banish Fat Boost Metabolism DVD I think this workout goes hand in hand together with it and is really much more suited for people who only have a little left to budge and need to spot-tone some areas. It's also 40 mins, taking it to 50 mins with warm-up and cool down but again, like with BFBM you can pick your own circuits you wish to do that run for 6 mins enabling you a more targeted toning programme or just a quicker one if you're pressed for time. Again, the two assistants in this work more as motivators but having tried both this and BFBM I think they are set-up to assume you are not at a beginner level with fitness.Right, so now you've reached the end of this review I really hope you find it helps you out a bit :-) All in all I think this collection is a fab cover all to get you from Beginner to Advanced or to chuck something new at you. I started with knowing nothing about how to workout, not knowing my limits and little to no fitness and I'm moving through the DVD collection getting better month on month. Only thing I will add to this is that to see even better results you will need to change the way you eat and how you think. If you are serious about making changes that work, making changes that last then you will get there – it IS doable!EXTRA TIPS (Which fair enough if you don't need them but appreciate some people out there do): With food, you can't expect to get away with saying “Oh on rest days I buy take-away and I ain't seeing results *sulk and moan*”, sorry but it doesn't work like that. You need to clean up your food habits, start eating fresh and ditching those snacks you think are rewards cause there is no reward in putting in all the effort and then consuming half your daily fat allowance and sugar allowance in ONE chocolate bar. Small changes work, small changes ARE doable. For example, eating one cube of dark chocolate and say 3-5 Brazil nuts is healthier and actually more filling than wolfing down a Mars bar. Swap your mayo for a creamed avocado (mash it up with a fork, add some pepper and a few drops balsamic vinegar, its so simple to do), dry your own fruit in the oven as it then won't have added sugar like store-bought dried fruit does and is cheaper than store-bought pre-packaged fruit (I buy only the basics, white label fruit for example where possible to make dried apple chips, dried banana, dried mango slices etc), swap to fruit tea; make it and chill it for your own healthier cold drinks rather than sugar (or sweetener) loaded cordials and squashes. People often think of eating healthy as boring and/ or expensive – it really doesn't have to be. I'm a total foodie and live on quite a tight budget (£55 per week to feed two adults plus two cats and a dog) yet I am eating 5 times a day on average.

I had been browsing through Jillian Michaels' videos for some time before I made up my mind to purchase this boxed set. I am very keen on fitness and, having 3 young children and working full-time, there is no way I can even start to think about hitting the gym. Therefore, I own a very well-stocked fitness collection of about 60 DVDs, some of them going as far back as the 1980s. I also have a treadmill and a stationary bike on which I train regularly so, as you can see, variety is not a problem in my case.Over the years, one of the problems I've encountered with fitness DVDs is that I outgrew them very quickly. Then I discovered Billie Blanks, and that DID make a huge difference, but I also wanted something involving weight and resistance work, so I turned to The Firm, which also delivered great results. Jillian Michaels had always put me off a bit, as she came across as slightly aggressive in the videos and previews I watched. At the same time, I liked her no-nonsense approach to exercise, her straightforward routines (it always takes me a while to learn The Firm ones) and her emphasis on strength.Then this boxed set was released. I checked up the four DVDs separately, and it was obvious that the collection had been put together with a high degree of common sense; it is coherent and exhaustive, as each DVD targets a specific type of workout. I'll expand on this later. Also, what I found really attractive was the price. It doesn't get much better than this, so I thought, "go for it! If, in the worst case scenario, you don't like some, or even all of, the workouts, you won't have spent a huge amount of money."I have now gone through 3 of the DVDs, and have watched the fourth. I can't begin to tell you how glad I am with this purchase. I'm a seasoned exerciser, and it takes quite a bit to get me puffing and gargling my heart out, even though I'm well on my way to 42 years of age. But Jillian manages to do this with each and every one of her workouts. Not to an unbearably painful extent, mind you. When I seem to have reached my limit and I think "this is it, now I'm gonna die", she moves on and gives me a (short) respite. And that's the secret that keeps me going. There are no fancy moves or complicated choreographies. It's the old-fashioned "no pain, no gain" thing throughout. And it works. There are also variations for more and less advanced exercisers, and Jillian makes sure they're clearly explained to you throughout the workouts. The only downside, and it's a small one, to the entire project is that the emphasis throughout is on weight loss more than overall fitness and strength. There will of course be a lot of people out there who exercise because they are determined to shed some weight, but there are also many of us who are slim and regard physical fitness as an essential component of our daily routine, just like eating or brushing our teeth.On to the DVDs - I won't get into much detail here, because each DVD is thorougly described in the sections where they are sold separately, but I would just like to emphasize on how exhaustive and well-put this collection is: (1) 30-Day shred is made up of 3 overall, x-training workouts, self-contained and only 20 minutes long each. They use the 3-2-1 method (3 minutes strength, 2 minutes cardio, 1 minute abs). You can do them separately and combine with some other short workouts in this collection, or do in one go (and that IS hard, I promise!) (2) Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism is a 40-minute workout which you perform without weights, but beware! There's a lot of resistance involved with lots of burpees, planks and push-ups. One very good thing about this workout is that you can select the number of circuits you want from the main menu. (3) No More Trouble Zones is designed to complement Banish Fat, and it is intended as a toning workout, although you never quite lose sight of the cardiovascular component, which is a good thing, at least for me, to keep things interesting. (4) 6-Week 6-Pack is the one I have not as yet tried, although I've watched it and, yes, it is hard. Once again, this is a toning workout focusing on abs (THAT area most of us women struggle with at some point), and it is made up of 2 x 30-minute workouts, the second one being a progression from the first. Once again, do not be fooled by the fact that this is a toning workout, for the cardiovascular component is there as well to some extent and, once again, it makes time fly.All in all, we have 4 DVDs, two focusing mainly, but not exclusively, on cardio (30-Day Shred and Banish Fat), and two which target-tone your entire body, but without neglecting cardio, either (No More Trouble Zones and 6-Week). In addition, all of the workouts are either short (20-30 minutes) or can be broken up into shorter, 6-minute segments, which enables you to literally make an endless number of combinations and never get bored. At the same time, for those days when you feel a bit down, or don't have the time to start combining workouts, you can still tackle a 20 or 30 minute one and, being so intense, you've got the feeling that you've actually accomplished something. It doesn't get much better than that.As for Jillian, I must say my initial impressions about her have changed as I've been doing the workouts. She comes across as demanding, serious about what she does, assertive but not aggressive. She is not in the least patronising and does not appear to be playing a role, but just being herself. All I can say, to sum it all up, is that I would give this collection 10 stars if I could.

I'm a huge Tae Bo fan, but wanted a change as I am a bit bored with my older dvds and haven't been as impressed with some of the more recent ones. Also, I am quite time constrained now, having a full-time job and two small children, so I wanted something that was short but effective. Somebody recommended Davina workouts, but I hated these with a passion, and would rather get fat than endure her again! As such, after reading dozens of reviews, I decided to give these a go.I can't say that I enjoy them in the same way as the Billy Blanks Get Ripped dvds, but they are quicker, and the exercises seem to get different muscles so I have seen an improvement from just 20 mins a day, without changing my eating habits.I have only done the 30 day shred so far, but my friend has borrowed one of the others from the set, and has commented that she is impressed and has seen results, so I will give those a go when I get more time. Gillian is quite motivational, and I like the fact that she is honest, and doesn't try to convince you that you are having fun, but that what you are doing is a necessary evil if you want to lose weight and get fit! I found this quite refreshing!

I loved all 4 DVDs, it’s the best collection of workouts ever. All workouts are good, I keep alternating them every day and I’m seeing results after two weeks already. They really make you sweat, but they are easy to do.

Alta definizione arrivato integro anche se è un'unica custodia che contiene tutti e 4 i dvd.Seguo questa istruttrice da anni ormai r dopo la rimozione da youtube non ci sono altrietodi per potersi allenare efficacemente tra le mura destiche . Sono stata felice di fare una piccola spesa per poterla ripagate di anni di allenamenti stimolanti come i suoi e poter così continura .

Très bons programmes ! Jillian est comme d'habitude très dynamique. Ces programmes sont destinés à des sportifs de niveau intermédiaire. Et Prgramme de 30jours et des workout pour muscler certaines parties du corps.

Zu aller Erst war die Lieferung, trotz Import aus England, super schnell und einfach.Das Training an sich ist sehr hart, weshalb ein großes Maß an Ehrgeiz, Durchhaltevermögen und Eigenmotivation unumgänglich ist.Die Ergebnisse lassen sich allerdings sehen!Zudem sind keine großartigen weiteren Utensilien erforderlich, abgesehen von kleinen Hanteln und einer Gymnastikmatte oder ähnliches (falls erwünscht). Größtenteils fungiert allerdings der eigene Körper als Gewicht.Die englische Sprache sollte auch für weniger Sprachbegeisterte keine Probleme darstellen, da alle Übungen vorgemacht werden. Man kann dazu entweder der einfachen, als auch der fortgeschrittenen Version folgen.Rundrum ist es also ein super Training für alle, die das Fitnessstudio umgehen wollen.

Für alle, die nicht ins Fitnessstudio mögen oder keine Zeit dafür haben.Super Workouts für zu Hause.Ich bin da jetzt nicht so eisern und mache es nach den genauen Angaben, sondern eher 2x wöchentlich. Aber auch das bringt was, weil es mir gut tut. Extreme Erfolge erreich ich damit nicht, ist aber auch nicht mein Ziel.