Beginner Shred

This is a great all-round exercise video. A bit about me: I used to be a personal trainer and in very good shape. A couple of kids later and sporadic exercise habits over 5 years had left me in mediocre shape. I had a good bit of residual muscle remaining, but cardio was poor, and a nice layer fat covered all the muscle. I have tried out quite a lot of home workout videos (50 or so) and I like the strength/cardio ones best for results and dance ones for fun. In the past, I have completed bootcamps, 5k and 10k runs, but I have been out of routine for well over a year or two now of doing anything really.Workout 1: very nice all round strengthening video. Light weights (I used 3 pounds for shoulder exercises and 5 pounds for chest, this was too light for me, but I didn't want to push myself too much in the beginning) and a lot of core/big muscle group strength exercises. I felt really good and strong after these workouts. This is a very modifiable workout. At lower fitness levels, the step-outs, knee push-ups, and slight squats shoudl be fine for any beginner. At higher fitness levels, full jumping jacks, full push-ups, and deep squats will provide a solid workout.Workout 2: Honestly, this was a just-get-it-over-with workout. In this workout, Jillian starts focusing on the smaller muscle groups more. The first workout builds overall strength, and in this one she is targeting smaller muscles to exhaustion a bit more. I really hated the static lunge that is held while doing one set of tricep kick-backs and then super-sets a set of reverse flys. Not enjoyable to hold a static move for that long. A lot of lower body moves, too many lunges for my taste. I am fine with lunges, they are a great exercise, but when used often can be done in poor form because of tiredness. I would just take this workout slowly and be careful with form. It is a good, solid workout and will bring results. I used 5 pounds for the shoulder and tricep moves and 7.5 and 10 pound dumbbells for the chest/back/bicep moves. I really enjoyed the deadlifts and renegade rows. Those are not often on home workout videos.Workout 3: Love this workout. It is the shortest (23 min, the other two are 25) and it flies by. Much more cardio in this one. I used 5 pounds for shoulder raises and 10 pounds for chest/back/biceps. There is still a good bit of lunges that I would be careful of form, but overall this is a really nice workout. Circuit 1 is primarily lower body, circuit 2 primarily upper, and circuit 3 mostly abs. Each one mixes it up a bit, but that seems to be the main idea. This is very much a boot camp style workout.Overall: I took 2 days off over the course of the shred, so it took me 32 days to complete. I lost 2 inches off my waist, 4-5 pounds overall, and tightened up everything else. I still need to lose some additional inches and pounds, but I can tell that I firmed up tremendously, which is far more important. Everyone loves the scale, but really getting smaller and firmer is the main goal. This is what everyone notices. No one else sees those numbers on the scale. This workout effective. My only recommendation would be to swap out your weights. I don't think it would be nearly as effective with just one set of dumbbells. I think that one would end up light, for shoulder moves, and then chest and back would really be underserved. It is a challenge to swap out the weights between moves as she does not give you any time or prompting, but it really helps to get a more complete workout. Overall, I highly recommend this workout. It is exactly what a beginner or exercise returnee needs to build core strength and get in the fitness routine.

My background: I am at a pretty good fitness level; I exercise on average 6 times a week, using mostly Jillian Michaels' DVDs. I have already mastered Jillian's 30 Day Shred, Ripped in 30, etc. With that being said, I am not a beginner and you might be wondering why I even ordered this DVD. Well, I am scheduled for a minor surgery in two weeks; and although the surgery itself is minor, I will be on pelvic rest for 6 weeks during my recovery. According to my doctor, NO EXERCISE whatsoever during my recovery (I even have to walk at a slow pace). Not being able exercise for 6 weeks will definitely leave my muscles atrophied, and I will need to ease my way back into exercise once my doctor gives me the green light. I pre-ordered this DVD in hopes that it will be a good workout regimen after my surgery. And IT WILL BE!I received the DVD today and I've already tried levels 1 & 2; and I previewed level 3. As usual, the workouts are done in circuits. Each level contains 3 circuits (doing each circuit 2 x). Each workout is about 25 minutes long (including warm up and cool down). Jillian does NOT utilize her famous 3-2-1 system here (3 min strength, 2 min cardio & 1 min abs). Instead, these workouts are primarily strength training exercises; in fact, there are NO cardio intervals at all in levels 1 and 2. However, my heart rate was still high at certain points due to the fast repetitions (and I used heavier weights). The wonderful thing about circuit training (especially the way Jillian does it), is that you still pretty much get a cardio component during your workout due to all the different moves and supersets. Jillian incorporates all the basic, yet essential strength training moves such as lunge variations, squats, arm rows, modified push ups, etc. These workouts are total body strength training sessions.But honestly, I really missed the cardio intervals, and I almost took down a star because of the lack of cardio. However, I previewed level 3, and in that workout she DOES incorporate the cardio intervals (squat-punches, kicks, circle runs, mountain climbers, etc.). So, I realized that Jillian probably took out the cardio intervals in levels 1 and 2 intentionally, so that the true beginners can build up their endurance. This DVD is definitely more suitable for beginners as opposed to her other programs like 30 Day Shred, Ripped in 30, Extreme Shed & Shred, etc. But beware, if you are an absolute true beginner, or if you're very overweight, you may still find some of the moves to be too challenging (but who doesn't love a good challenge).I definitely plan on following this 30 day program once my recovery period is over. And I love how time efficient these workouts are; who doesn't have 25 minutes a day to exercise?! No excuses!!Note: my review may be a little biased because I admit, I am a huge fan of Jillian Michaels. But that's because her workouts WORK!!!

Excellent

I'm almost 50 and though I'm not overweight I am out of shape. I really love this beginner workout as I find it's perfect to get me started to work my way up to harder workouts.WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: You do needs weights for this workout. I'm using 5lbs weights which is perfect for me. Also there is 3 different workouts; first workout is for the first 10 days, second you do for 10 days and the last workout is for the last 10 days and it progresses and gets harder in the 3 different workouts. I'm 3 days in and I've lost 1 lb.WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS WORKOUT VIDEO: Jillian Michaels explains each exercise so you know you're doing it correctly which is my biggest issue with workout tapes and the 20 minutes goes by very quickly. I highly recommend this DVD. I use my husbands xbox to play the DVD.

Dejé de hacer ejercicio constante por 2 o 3 años, además de que incorporé a mi vida un carro y el home office. No me di cuenta de qué tanto se atrofió mi cuerpo hasta que intenté correr nuevamente y literal todo en mi cuerpo comenzó a tronar, además mi rodilla lo resintió mucho. Años atrás había hecho los DVDs de Jillian No more trouble zones y 6 week 6 pack, los resultados siempre me gustaron y me gusta el estilo de Jillian, pero me era imposible completarlos aún. Éste DVD me ayudó a recuperar poco a poco fortaleza en todo mi cuerpo sin alto impacto. No es sencillo concluir el primer video cuando realmente estás fuera de forma, pero con el paso de los días todo es más fácil. Lo hice cada 3er día y poco a poco comencé a incorporar media hr de zumba. En cuestión de semanas siento más fuerza en general en todo mi cuerpo.

I just started getting back into working out four months ago, so I was looking for "beginner" type workouts. I had started out with Jillian Michael's "For Beginners", and then purchased this DVD because I felt I wasn't ready for the regular 30 day shred yet. A great purchase! It is a great workout, and I am still working with Level 1. I do the modifications where needed due to an arthritic knee. I find Jillian is tough but encouraging. I love it when she tells you to " just try a fricking pushup" during one of the curcuits. That is the kind of encouragement I need to keep on keeping on !

Watching the video first it is definitely something everyone should be able to start out with. I have injuries that prohibit high impact exercise so ideally this should be a good DVD for me to use. After doing the workout twice my back and shoulders was very sore from the movements of push-ups and the side to side crunches, so I will be unable to use it. If you are looking for a beginner workout and you don't have injuries that can flare up from body weighted exercises it is a beginner workout.