The January issue of Shape magazine is busting at the seams with some great workout guides. I am guessing that's because everyone, there little sister, and their third aunt twice removed is working with new year's resolutions in mind. The workout that looks the most intimidating, by far, is done by Jillian Michaels. Who else? When I first saw this workout, I thought, "no thank you" -that is the exact moment I realized it must be done.
Jillian's fat blasting work out is comprised of some major cardio and plyometric intervals to keep the heart pumping and the fat melting. The whole routine should be done twice and take 30 minutes.
There are two parts to the workout, each with about seven moves that are meant to be done for 30 seconds. Circuit one and two should be done back-to-back with a 3 minute break between the two sets. The exercise does call for weights. If you do not have any, I think resistance bands could give a comparable workout instead.
The Workout
Circuit One:
- Split leg push-ups
- Kneel-down chop
- Static-squat row
- Windmill skater
- Ninja jump
- Double Crunch
- Boat-pose twist
Circuit Two:
- Goblet squat
- Crescent kickback
- Warrior-fly
- Long jump around
- Running man
- Shoulder stand reach
- Tornado crunch
The Sum-up
Total time: 30 minutes Calorie burn: 235
- This workout was quite fun and took me, almost exactly, thirty minutes. I was pretty surprised by this considering that I had forgotten to re-read the workout before starting and had to stop, go back, read, then start again. This was quite the process.
- When I had started the workout, and even half-way through, I thought it was completely ab-centered. Then, I did the second set of each and my bum was killing me. My upper bum was the only sore thing the next day, which was pretty great because this is the hardest area for me to work. I could have used heavier weights for a more intense upper body workout, but opted to use 5 lbs instead. All of the exercises that use weights could easily use resistance bands if you prefer them. I will be using bands the next time I do this.
- I was a bit confused by how to do the moves in the beginning, but by the second time around it made more sense. I think that a few more times of doing these circuits will make me a pro.
- There are a lot of these moves that I will be using with other circuits, but not the boat-pose twist. I did this one on a gym floor and have bruises on my back, for real! If you are at all bony, save yourself some pain and do these on a soft carpet or mattress or cloud.
- The workout did not give me the calorie burn I hoped for, but I did have to stop a lot more than suggested. Next time I will do three sets if each instead of the suggested two.