If any of you know me well, you know I am quite a fan of Jillian Michaels. Some may argue that she looks somewhat like a man, but nonetheless, she has some great workout DVDs and she knows what she’s talking about when it comes to health and fitness. Thanks to one of my best friends, Rachel, I was introduced to a Jillian Michael’s workout DVD a couple years ago. We had a blast in college doing her workouts together in our condo living room. 🙂 Over time, I have collected a few of Jillian Michael’s workout DVDs and now I use them all the time to mix up my workouts. I always finish her workouts feeling quite sweaty and very accomplished. Some of you may think that working out along to a fitness DVD will bring back flashbacks of the old aerobics videos that our moms used to do… I promise these will not! They are high intensity, lots of fun, and a completely different style. Jillian Michaels bases her fitness DVDs around circuit training, which is one of my favorite styles of working out. For those of you who do not know what circuit training is, it is essentially a combination of various moves (cardio moves, strength moves, etc.) that you perform back-to-back with minimal rest in between. Most of the time you will not use a lot of weight for these exercises since it is a high intensity workout. Circuit training allows you to get a lot accomplished and your heart rate up in a short amount of time.
Today I wanted to do a strength workout, but I also wanted to do some cardio to burn off a few extra calories from those yummy enchiladas we ate last night. So I decided to break out one of my Jillian Michael’s DVDs that incorporates both cardio and strength into the workout. It is one of her more popular fitness DVD’s, “30 Day Shred”. She offers three different 25-minute workouts on the DVD that vary by level (Level 1 to Level 3) according to your fitness level. I don’t always feel like I get enough after only 25 minutes, so I usually combine two of the workouts. Today I did Level 1 and Level 3 workouts and felt GREAT when it was all finished. Needless to say, I was quite sweaty at the end of the workout.
Workout DVDs are a wonderful way to get quality workouts in when you don’t have a membership to a gym, when the weather isn’t cooperating, or when you just don’t feel like leaving your home. They also offer some guidance and new exercise moves if you are a beginner to the fitness world. And no excuses, because they are very affordable too! So head to your local WalMart or Target and pick one up! You won’t regret it! (Or maybe you will after you finish a workout! ;))
- Are there any specific workout DVDs that you like?
- What kind of exercise do you do at home when you aren’t able to go to the gym?
My Food 'N' Fitness Diaries 