Review: Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD
July 24, 2009 by Gail Grannum
Filed under Exercise & Fitness
Got 25 minutes? Spend it ’shredding’.
Most of us excuse ourselves from having a regular exercise regimen because of our busy schedule. But if you really want to establish a workable routine that will fit into your daily activities, then a short exercise video would be the easiest solution. Let’s look at a particular video – Jillian Michaels – 30 Day Shred (Amazon affiliate link) ”
There are so many short exercise videos out there, specifically because trainers already know you’re busy and they want to give you no excuse not to work out. There’s that important question, though, of how effective a short exercise video can be.
The Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels leads the workout in this video. It features workouts that are around 25 minutes long. It surely sounds like a short time but when you do it for the first few times, especially if you haven’t been working out for a long period of time, you’ll surely feel like you did an hour and a half’s worth of exercise.
- The effectiveness of this workout comes from the intensity, not the amount of time you spend doing it.
- You will have no chance of resting in between the routines. It is designed to move you to the next routine right after a previous one.
- Jillian stresses in the video that it’s better to really work your body in a shorter amount of time than spend hours faking it at the gym.
There are three parts to a work out. Every part is made of 3 minutes of strength training, 2 minutes of cardio and one minute abdominal exercises. The workouts involve movements that require larger muscles and more muscles at the same time. This adds to the intensity and fat burn.
Jillian Michaels – 30 Day Shred” (Amazon affiliate link)
- DVD is designed to take you through 30 days of workouts with progressing intensity.
- You spend the first ten days following Level 1.
- The next ten days will have you perform Level 2 and the last ten days will see you through Level 3.
- People who qualify themselves as intermediate exercisers or advanced exercisers might want to skip Level 1.
- However, it will do everybody good to start with Level 1. After all, you will not find the intensity of the workouts in Level 1 disappointing.
Jillian Michaels provides really great motivation. For most of the exercises, there are equivalent beginner moves so that you can still perform them if you’re a beginner. The difference for beginner moves is that there is a shorter range of motion. The workouts are doable but they are definitely not easy, enough to challenge you and shred your fats day by day.
After this short workout, you will definitely feel that you spent 25 minutes of your day wisely. In that short amount of time, which is easy to squeeze into your morning routine before going to the office or your evening routine after coming home from work, you will have worked your muscles enough to shred those pounds and shape your body into a healthy new form.
Review: Get Bodylastics for the Perfect Workout
June 1, 2009 by Gail Grannum
Filed under Exercise & Fitness
If you want to lose weight and burn fat, but don’t want to spend much cash on expensive gym memberships or home gym systems, then Bodylastics is perfect for you. Bodylastics is a wonderfully unique system that comes at an amazingly inexpensive price, makes it possible to exercise each and every muscle of your body, and the best part is that it easily fits into your bag so that you can take it anywhere you want.
The elastic tubing in the Bodylastics resistance bands provide smooth and consistent resistance. It is quite light which makes it easy to store in your travel bag and take your gym with you wherever you go.
- It has a quick clip system which allows you to attach the bands with ankle or wrist straps and handles. You can actually attach more than 7 bands to each handle and generate from 15 to 94 levels of tension depending on which system you buy.
- So, of course it makes it easy for you to do more than 140 of the most effective gym exercises.
And there is also the door anchor which provides another great addition to the Bodylastics system. It has a foam piece and nylon loop. You just need to close the door over the loop with the foam piece on the other side, clip the band into the loop and there you have the perfect gym equipment to burn some fat and get a great workout!
Bodylastics is perfect for pro athletes and many of them have actually begun using it just because it provides effective elastic resistance and that too without creating the usual pains and injuries in your joints.
And if it is weight loss you are looking for then Bodylastics can help you lose weight and burn fat with an easy program. This it does with the help of its circuit training workout which changes your body toning move every 30 seconds.
- It is a video which includes a full body workout that can be completed within 10 minutes. And it doesn’t matter whether you are just a beginner or much advanced because it provides options for all fitness levels.
- If you are a beginner, you can try the Basic Version or if you are looking for something more than that, then get the Maximum Version which includes the circuit training workout video. If building muscles is what you are looking for, then you should know that elastic resistance is effective in building muscles as much as free weights.
- So, if you want to build some muscles, try the Bodylastics Terrell Owens Super Strong man Edition. Yes, a Bodylastics version especially created for NFL star Terrell Owens.
And its price, its compactness, and the amazing workout it provides are not the only reasons. Bodylastics comes with an amazing guarantee which includes a lifetime defects warranty and full refund after 6 weeks if you are not happy with the product. And when you order this product, you also get a 76 page user manual and a year’s membership of their strengthbanduniversity.com with every Bodylastics system.
So, what are you waiting for? Whether you want to lose weight, burn fat, or build muscles, buy the Bodylastics system and be prepared to be amazed at the wonderful results that everyone is surely likely to notice.
Kick Start Your Metabolism and Weight Loss
April 13, 2009 by Gail Grannum
Filed under Metabolism
You decide it’s time to lose weight. And now, like everything else in life, you want it to happen right NOW. We live in a society that thrives on immediate gratification. There is fast food, fast cars, fast service and buying everything on the Internet so you don’t have to stand in line. We want our weight loss the same way – fast.
But there are some basic tenets of weight loss that must be observed, even when you want to lose the weight fast. You have to forget about dieting and learn to concentrate on healthy eating habits. Cutting back on calories alone doesn’t give your body the nutrition it needs to maintain a fast metabolism and keep your energy high.
On the other hand, by eating food dense in nutrition and low in calories you aren’t hungry, you give your body the vitamins and minerals it needs and you have the energy to walk past the donut table in the middle of the afternoon. And finding these foods isn’t as difficult as you might believe. Did you know you can eat as much raw fruits and vegetables as you want without fear?
Exercise is another important factor in losing weight, getting healthy and having more energy. As much as you may think you hate exercise it doesn’t have to be the workout you dread. Remember that you aren’t aiming to compete in the Olympics. Instead you are just trying to increase your metabolism and burn a few extra calories.
There is no denying the benefits of exercise. Exercise will increase your energy, improve your muscle tone, increase your metabolism and increase the number of calories you burn each day, even when you are at rest! Cardiovascular and weight workouts are best to meet these goals. Change up the exercises you do each month. Don’t do weight workouts more than 3 times a week and allow 48 hours between workouts with weights to allow the muscles to repair and become stronger.
And remember to rest! Many of us are busy from the time we get up until the moment we go to bed. Sometimes finding the time to eat or exercise can be a challenge. But cutting back on sleep will only sabotage your efforts to lose weight.
Shoot for 7-8 hours a night. Some people believe they can make do on less and although you’ll be awake studies have shown that you’ll grab more snacks in an effort to jump start your brain and keep yourself awake. Lack of sleep also adds to your stress level which releases hormones known to pack on the pounds. It is nature’s way of protecting the body.

Drinking Natural Weight Loss Drinks to Maintain a Fast Metabolism
The first natural weight loss drink is apple cider vinegar! It is true that it tastes awful, but Apple Cider Vinegar is one of the most powerful, natural appetite suppressants available. When you are trying to lose weight, hunger is your biggest enemy. In order to defeat this enemy, you need to take the help of some sort of appetite suppressants. Instead of relying on prescription drugs that come with harmful side effects, why not try out Apple Cider Vinegar? It is 100% natural and safe to take!
Just add three tablespoonfuls of Apple Cider Vinegar juice with eight ounces of water, and drink the juice just before having your meal. Apple Cider Vinegar will also boost your metabolic rate and keep you energetic throughout the day!
The second drink that now comes in gum form is Green Tea. You might have already heard about the great health benefits of green tea, especially with regards to weight loss. It is no wonder that most of the weight loss supplements available out there contain green tea. Green tea helps you burn fat by accelerating your metabolic rate. You can drink green tea on its own or mixed with lemon juice and honey.
Burn More Fat and Exercise Less
March 24, 2009 by Gail Grannum
Filed under Metabolism
Exercise will help you lose weight, get a trim body, increase your energy level and boost your overall feelings of well-being. But let’s face it – many of us don’t enjoy exercising. We may find the routines boring or just don’t want to make time in our day to sweat.
Fortunately there are so many different types of exercise that with enough searching and trial most people will find something they enjoy enough to stick with for long periods of time. For the most part these exercises are generally cardiovascular in nature. This means that they get your heart rate up but don’t require that you work your muscles against weight resistance.
Exercises such as running, rowing, volleyball, tennis, walking, jogging, horseback riding or cardio machines all fit into this category. There is nothing wrong with cardiovascular workouts – except that you have to do them for long periods of time to see results.
But if the goal is to workout less and see greater fat burning, what is a person to do? It may feel like working out at a cardio activity for longer periods of time will only burn more and more calories but in fact the opposite is actually true. Recent research has found that muscles and your metabolism will accommodate to the consistent workload that you impose each time you get on the treadmill for 30 mintues.
Instead researchers recommend that you confuse your muscles. Confused?
Basically they are advocating the same routines that high school and college coaches have been teaching for years – except they called it interval training.
Using interval training the body alternates between moderate and intense, long and short cardio workouts rather than indulging in one long cardiovascular session. And you’ll find that interval training is actually more fun than doing the same routine, at the same pace, for the same amount of time on the same days of the week, week in and week out.
You can change the actual routine that you use or you can incorporate weight work a couple of days a week to confuse your muscles even more. This muscle confusion leads to more weight loss, greater calorie burn and more toned muscles. Using interval training you’ll also find that your body continues to burn calories for another 24 hours after you’ve completed the workout. And for ultra-busy people that added benefit means that you can workout 3 times a week instead of five and receive the same benefits.
Another important factor, especially for women is that intensive workouts like weight lifting is not just for men; even women can do them. You think that you will have a body like Arnold Schwarzenegger if you do weight lifting? The opposite is really true. Building that kind of body requires more than intense workouts and different hormone levels than are usually present in a woman’s body.
Don’t complicate this! Keep it simple and basic and you will see how fast you burn fat and get your fat belly replaced with a flat belly!
