One Week Shred

Jillian is more subdued in this workout than her earlier ones. There is no cursing 'since the little ones might be in the room'. It's her typical bodyweight/low weight strength work therefore lots of shoulders and core although she does work back. I found no dread with this workout even though some of the moves were difficult for me. I like that there are 2 rounds of the circuits, works well to adjust weights. The cardio works well for a day you want to get it done quickly without having to think too much. I like the total body strength and cardio workouts separate which is new for Jillian.

Here is a breakdown of the workout. All circuits are completed once and repeated before moving on to the next circuit.

Strength AM

Warm up - jump switches, toe tap stretches, arm circles, side lunges, plié hops, cat/cow stretch

Circuit 1

Stiff leg deadlift w/row and bicep curl

Static squat w/wide row

Side to side push up

Bear into down dog, pike push up

Crab kick w/tricep dips

Circuit 2

Figure 4 squat w/serving bicep

Crescent pose w/tricep kickbacks

Warrior 3 w/delt raises

Pendulum lunge w/halo and woodchop

One leg squat w/kick back

Circuit 3

Crunch w/oblique leg raise and chest press

Reverse plank into table

Breast stroke in prone position

Push up into "surf board squat"

Sumo squat with calf raises and tricep french press

Circuit 4

Plank with knee in variations

Hollow man into Russian twist

One handed plank - punch forward - side plank - punch upward

Forearm plank and jump knees into elbows

"Cauldron" crunches

Cool down - hamstring stretch on floor, butterfly stretch, quad stretch, arms swings into standing shoulder, tricep, oblique and chest stretches

Cardio PM

No warm up, goes straight into cardio circuit

Circuit 1

Jacks w/arms

Jump rope

Butt kicks

High knees

Skaters w/balance

Jab cross punches

Plank w/legs in and out

Speed bag

Circuit 2

Sprints

Tuck jumps

Thrusting front kicks right

Thrusting front kicks left

Bear w/kick outs right

Bear w/kick outs left

Ski moguls

Soccer taps

Circuit 3

Jump jack squats

Plank w/jacking the legs

Alternating circle runs

Alternating one arm burpees

Fast feet

Jump forward and run back to starting position

Knee thrusters w/twist right

Knee thrusters w/twist left

Dynamic stretch/cool down - leg swings and hold knee in, legs swings and hold quad stretch, arms swings into standing shoulder, tricep, oblique and chest stretches

CONS - The strength workout was a little lacking in strength. I was expecting more weighted moves. It was more core focused to me. No warm up for the cardio routine if you're jumping straight into it. I did it right after the strength workout, so it worked out fine for me.

PROS - I like the 30 minute split, but I love that I can do the whole thing in an hour! I didn't think I'd like the set from the clips, but I did! It's nothing groundbreaking from Jillian, but I got a good sweat on for only 30 minutes.

There are modifiers for low impact/beginners and more advanced levels. I like some of the fresh moves - sometimes I hate it when instructors get too creative on me and I never know if I'm doing the move properly or not. Although Jillian's approach is more basic/athletic, a lot of the core/plank moves were reminiscent of what I've already seen in Dream Body and Tonique! These were much more doable because I knew there was a time limit and Jillian doesn't go super-fast compared to those other workouts.

All in all, I really enjoyed this. I kind of stopped buying Jillian's DVDs after Extreme Shed and Shred. NMTZ and BFBM are my all-time favorites, so this is kind of a nice combo of the two with some fresh moves. I loved the cardio section. Is it Jillian's hardest? No, but they are good workouts and I'm just happy I tried a new workout and didn't "Joni-O" it for once! That's been happening a lot lately! The time flew by and I felt like I got a great workout in, so I'm happy!