Written By: Lindsay Karzon
Are you tired of going to the gym, doing the same workout, and not achieving the level of fitness you want? Do you wish you could have a personal trainer to challenge and inspire you, but don’t have the money to afford one? Are you motivated to do an intense, fast-paced workout program, where you will see results after a twenty-five minute workout? If you are a woman and answered yes to any of these questions, then Jillian Michael’s Ripped in 30 DVD is for you.
Michael’s hard-core workout program is divided into four week-long segments. Each weekly segment begins with a warm-up consisting of dynamic stretches that will help prevent injury and prepare your body to workout. The warm-up is followed by three circuits. Each of the three circuits consists of three minutes of strength routines, two minutes of cardio conditioning, and one minute of abdominal exercises. No circuit exercises are repeated throughout the series of workouts. All workouts conclude with a similar cool-down of static stretches to relax your muscles. Another neat feature of the DVD includes a website URL for a diet plan to coincide with the workouts.
For every exercise, Michaels targets multiple muscle groups with creative, but effective movements. Throughout the workout, Michaels explains the muscle groups that are working and provides inspiration and encouragement for consumers. This makes up for the tacky music in the background. It’s amazing how much you can do with just a mat and a pair of light/heavy weights. While the bear crawl strength move may make your friends laugh, it will certainly strengthen your legs and abs.
Whether you are an athlete conditioning for a sport, or are just trying to improve your overall health, Jillian Michael’s Ripped in 30 DVD offers exercise modifications which are modeled and explained for both beginners and advanced consumers. In addition to clearly explaining and demonstrating the exercises, Michaels also models and explains common mistakes beginners may make with their form. Although, the DVD shows modifications for “beginners”, these moves are still very difficult. If you are a true beginner, the workouts on this DVD might be difficult for you. You may want to consider another Jillian Michaels DVD such as The Complete Workout for Beginners which will also improve your fitness at a more gradual pace. If Jillian Michaels style is not for you, another alternative is the Boomers Easy Exercises with Sunshine DVD. To put the level of difficulty in perspective, I played sports in college and consider myself in reasonable shape, yet I found some of the beginner moves to be challenging.
Ripped in 30 claims that you will be ripped in thirty days at the end of the four-week cycle (actually 28 days). While you may not look as ripped as Michaels and the other women who model the exercises on the DVD, you will likely be in great shape, improve your muscle tone, and will feel the soreness that comes from pushing yourself to your limits. Like any other workout, the more effort you give, the more you will get out of it. Get ready to sweat!
Pros:
- Inexpensive
- Targets multiple muscle groups
- Exercise modifications for beginners and advanced consumers
- Explanations and modeling of common beginner mistakes
- Well-structured into weekly segments
- Wide variety of exercises
- High intensity
- Only twenty-five minutes per workout
Cons:
- Tacky music
- May not be well-suited for beginners
- Soreness (but that is to be expected)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmFSLd1utek
This video is a demonstration of the bear crawl exercise. Laugh first, then try it yourself!
(Robert Lancaster, Videographer and Lindsay Karzon as the “Bear Crawler”)