Jillian Michaels Kicked My Ass

I?ve done my fair share of exercising over the years. Weightlifting? Check. Long-distance running? Check. After today I can cross one more off workout off the list. ?Jillian Michaels – 30 Day Shred?? Check?into a hospital. Breaking a sweat over a Jillian Michaels DVD? I imagine at this point all my credibility is gone, but bear with me.

Jillian Michaels

My girlfriend, in a valiant effort to stay fit and maintain her body (thanks dollface), has been following the routine on this DVD for a few months. While I?ve been quick to pat her on the back (and other places) for all her hard work, in my mind I?ve questioned how good of a workout something like the ?30 Day Shred? could really be.

Michaels is certainly a professional in extremely good shape, but I figured this sort of DVD would feature lightweight routines and be nothing more than a cash grab for fans of ?The Biggest Loser.? No way could a 20 minute routine give you the kind of workout going to the gym and lifting weights and/or running on the treadmill could, I thought. Boy was I wrong.

Crunches to jumping jacks to squats to jump rope and so on: this is the type of workout you get with the ?30 Day Shred.? After about 10 minutes I was sweating and out of breath. This was on Level 1 of 3. A simple twist in my workout regimen had me working hard again.

Guys set in your ways fitness-wise: change it up. Here I thought I?d perform the ?30 Day Shred? routine with one hand tied behind my back, but in actuality was challenged by the newness. My girlfriend, who can?t run half as long or lift a third the amount of weight as me, was doing just fine. This just goes to show the importance of changing up your workout.

Do you find yourself performing the same exercises, running the same program, using the same machines, etc. every time you go to work out? If so, you?re due for an asskicking. This doesn?t necessarily have to come in the form of a corny video hosted by an overpaid celeb. It can be as simple as going for a bike ride when you haven?t rode a bike in 10 years or using free weights when you?re usually glued to the weight machines. Vary your workouts and you?ll be ready to take on any physical challenge (and hopefully show up your girlfriend in the next game of tackle football.)

My point in this article isn?t to get you to buy Jillian Michaels DVD?s, but to bring up the importance of psyching your body out, whether it comes in the form of working out with your girlfriend or trying out kettle bells when you?ve never even heard of them.

Working out to the ?30 Day Shred? has reminded me of the need to change things up and incorporate more high-intensity workouts into my fitness regimen.

Psych out your body and try some workout you?ve never even considered before. I?m not suggesting you go out and buy a copy of ?Richard Simmons: Sweatin to the Oldies? (but I?m not saying that?s a bad idea either.)