[TommyGirl]

Whilst we have Yoga and Daily exersice threads, I thought this could be appropriate subject, too.

I am huge consumer for exercise dvds and have tens, or maybe hundread, of them. But I am always seeking for something new, so please share your experiences of working out at home! I will make reviews of my own ones, so I start with this:

Jillian Michaels, Ripped in 30


source: play.com

This dvd has 4 different programs, one for each week. Jillian recommends to do it 5-6 times per week, but I mixed it with other workouts. Weeks 3 and 4 gets very intense, but still doable, because they`re only 30 min long (including warm up and cool down).

All weeks has the same pattern, 3 minutes of strength (functional, for example you do lunges and biceps at same time), 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute for abs, and it`s repeated three times in each workout. Plus, there is different moves for every week.

This dvd is pure gold fore someone who wants to work out hardcore and really feel the burn Knowing Jillian, there is no choreographic steps, so it is easy to follow what comes to co-ordination. But the moves are hard, escpecially blank-cardio moves are murder!

She has two girls working out with her, and other one is always showing the alternative modification and the another one the hard-core version. Jillian does basic version. For some moves there are no modification, because "if 300 pound person can do this, you can"

Music is dull, it is usual non-copyright stuff, but it is alright with this kind of workout. Jillian is friendly, but hard on you and her yelling makes me do the thing till the end, no matter how tired. But I understand if her personality annoys someone, not me tough.

Overall, this is one of the workout dvds made seriously, so it totally works, even with mixed with other workouts and not doing this particular dvd everyday. If you want to be in good shape and have good strength exercise and cardio at the same time in short time, this is for you. But I warn you, when she says at week 1, that no more push ups next week, it only means there will be harder version of push ups next

If mods see this thread is unappropriate, please delete, but it would be nice to share!

[TommyGirl]

And after the preview I`d like to ask some questions:

1. How many times per week you exercise?
2. How you share between strength, cardio and for example stretching?
3. What is your current shape, and I mean physically, not aesthetic-wise?
4. Which are your fav thing to do for workout and which you don`t like so much, but do anyway ?

My answers:

1. 4-6 times per week, from 1 h to 2 h per day.
2. I try to do now a bit more cardio, but I do quite equally both strength and cardio, always short stretching right after work out and then 1-2 times per week I do proper 1 h whole body stretching session.
3. I am not in my best shape atm due to long break, but as I have moved pretty much all my life, my shape "recovers" quite fast. But my arm muscles are really sad Not much strength in there. My legs and butt are the places where all the power seems to go. Pretty good abs, but blanks are still hard.
4. I am very into high energy aerobic at the moment, and I love choreographic and terpsichorean workouts. This intense strength side is on peeve list now, but just because I would like to spend all the time I have to dance and aerobic.