I did it! I completed Jillian Michael’s Ripped in 30 Dvd!! For the longest time, I was very intimidated by Jillian – even a little scared. lol. She is tough! I’ve tried a few of her workouts onDemand and always got discouraged. Part of it was that I was expecting too much of myself. I really wanted to be able to do the workouts as perfectly as possible. I blamed how tough her workouts were as the reason that I didn’t do well.

The truth was, I wasn’t ready. Physically and most importantly, mentally. I let my self doubts and excuses keep me from giving my workouts everything I had. Once I learned that I was the one who had control over how my workouts went, I had more success with my workouts. I decided in November to challenge myself to completing an entire Jillian Michael’s DVD.  I was very lucky to have a friend who send me Ripped in 30.

I actually started to last week of October with Week 1. I did the workouts for 6 days – taking  one day off (from the DVD but I did do other toning workouts). In between Week 1 and Week 2, I took a break while I was on vacation.  I started right back up  with Week 2 when I got back. I think my body was worn out from intense workouts prior to my vacation so the break actually helped me do better with Week 2.

I  Love this DVD.  I definitely got stronger – especially in my arms. I always started with the modified version or copying Jillian and worked towards the advanced versions.  I didn’t always get to the advanced version by the end of the week but I did do better in all the exercises. Jillian was funny and of course tough, but she was also very inspiring. A lot of of her closing words after each workout really had an effect on me. I’ve gone from fearing her to being inspired by her. I definitely want to make sure that I Show Up in my Life Every Day and give Everything in my Life the same dedication and focus that I give my workouts. Thank You Jillian!

Overview: Here’s a few of my favorite moves and how I did. This is Not the entire workouts – just small bits.

Every workout started with a warm up – then 20 min workout with 3 Circuits – ended with a cool down.

Week 1 – Favorite warm up was the Half Squat with Knee grab. Stretching and stabilizing.

Circuit 1: I stuck with the modified pushups but did the Advanced version of the Skaters. The Hollow Man was pretty tough even the modified version. I think I was able to keep my shoulders for about half the time.

Circuit 2: Love the good morning exercise and the running man. She had me laughing when she called it an “80’s Throwback” and to “Bring out the leg warmers.” I was able to to do the Side Plank with both feet straight but stayed on my elbows.

Circuit 3: I was able to increase my weights on the chair pose with rear fly and do the advanced version of the Single Leg Hop – although I can’t get as high as the girl did. I was able to do the advanced version of the reverse crunch with a regular crunch.

Week2: Love the Toe Tap to the Center and Down for the warm up.

Circuit 1: Pendulum lunges with Serving Biceps was a lot of fun. I worked up to the advanced version. Also did the advanced version of the plank jacks. My goal was to stay in plank for the whole 2 minute cardio session and I did! The opposite leg to opposite arm crunch was great :-)

Circuit 2: Did the advanced version of the Side Lunge with Leg Raise – great booty workout. Crow PushUps were really hard for me to do so I did the modified version. The Ab Extension and Hold were also really hard and I stayed with the modified version.

Circuit 3: Loved the single leg with a curl. I don’t think I got my leg as high as the advanced version but I worked on keeping my leg up and off the ground. The sit-up move at the end was tough. It took me the whole week to finally get the move right.

Week3: It gets intense with week 3. Even the warm up was tough.  The leg raise to knee raise to quad stretch definitely worked my balance.

Circuit 1: The bear crawl and duck walk was killer on my legs! She hammers the legs even more with squat jacks. I was already sweating before this circuit was even over. The plank tucks at the end were tough.

Circuit 2: Even more stability work with single leg squats with curls. The roll ups were a lot of fun to do. I worked up to keeping up with the advanced version :-) My heart raced during the squat jacks. I started with the modified version of the opposite arm opposite leg crunch and leg raise. Adding the weight makes a difference!

Circuit 3: She beat up my arms in this circuit. Pike pushups and single leg dips! I had to stick to the modified version for the split jumps. Those are killer on my knee. Her modification worked great because I still got a good work out without stressing my knees out. The pike ups were pretty hard for me so I kept to the modified version.

Circuit 4: I personally think this is about the same intensity as week 3. They were both pretty  intense workouts. The warm up had my favorite waist line crunches :-)

Circuit 1: Loved the yoga moves in the beginning. Leave it to Jillian to use yoga for strength training :-) Felt like a cheerleader doing the kicking jacks. Plank walks definitely work the core.

Circuit 2: For the pushup and renegade rows, I did as many as I could in plank then dropped to my knees when my arms got tired. Of course there had to burpees! lol. I made myself do the advanced version. I had to stick to the modified version of the v-ups though.

Circuit 3: One of my favorite things is how she always works multiple muscle groups like Single leg bootylifter with chest flies :-) I really like the double jump rope. The ab workout for this circuit is my favorite. It works everything. Sit Up, lay down, leg lift, toe touch, then back down.  I do it all the time outside of this DVD.

Of all the motivational/inspirational things she says in this DVD, what she says at the end of Week 4 really impacted me the most. I would lie there after the workout and listen to what she said every time.  “Inhale the possibilities…” “Exhale the self doubt…”

She also has a meal plan you can follow for the 30 days. I stuck with Tone It Up’s meal plan.

So if you couldn’t tell, I would recommend this DVD for anyone looking to get into shape. I recommend Amazon.com for a good price but you can find it at Target and anywhere workout DVD’s are sold. It’s great for any fitness level. Don’t let her intimidate you. She knows what she’s doing :-)  It’s all about the effort you put in that determines your results.