Jillian Michaels - Shape Up Complete (DVD, 2005, 2-Disc Set)

Jillian Michaels has a great program with a variety of tactics to take the weight off, all this tape needs is your will power to stick with it. Really has tons of information about diet & diet logs. I 100% recommend this to those who have tried everything !!! I bought this because my daughter is a avid fan of the program The Biggest Loser & said she bought the dvd's & tried them & they do work if you stick with it.

MY BACKGROUND:
Let me preface my review of this double DVD by saying although I have been moderately physical my entire life, I have never been fit. Until recently, I never cared to do so. At the age of 11, I had the figure of a grown woman. As I got older the weight increased, but because of my activeness, kept me from being all fat (I'm solid). As a result, I am now a 26 year old woman who, in the last year, has increased my activeness to the point where I have now decided to drop down from this wonderful size 18 of mine to somewhere around a 12. Subtly, over the past 2 years, I began changing my diet. Now, with my diet completely changed (I am not on a diet, just changed what I eat), and my being in the gym for an hour every day for the past 1 1/2 months has helped me lose weight. Unfortunately, I was doing the same routine daily and it became boring...I knew I was about to hit a plateau after losing only 15 pounds.

THE REVIEW:
You will need an aerobic step and dumbbells in order to do this workout. I do not yet have either which makes it hard for me to try to keep up. Obviously some of the exercises cannot be done without the step. As a replacement for dumbbells, I use two 1.5lb bottles of barbecue sauce. (Hey, it works for the time being. This weekend I will actually go buy what I need.)

I was looking for a fitness DVD that I could do at home during evenings and on the weekends (I use the gym at work in the mornings). I came across several DVDs with one being a Biggest Loser DVD featuring Jillian Michaels and 2 other trainers from the t.v. show. I called my sister to get her opinion on the DVDs and she informed me, as an avid watcher of the show, that I should do Jillian's portion of the DVD twice and that if I got bored, I could do the guy's workout. She went on to inform me the other two trainers have never beat Jillian's team, not even when they teamed up against her. I said to heck with this DVD, let me search for DVDs with just Jillian, surely they must exist! I looked at all of the DVDs Jillian had to offer and decided to buy this one.

Initially, I only watched Front and Backside so I could see exactly what I was getting myself into. With the extras, Jillian gives insight into her background, offers just enough nutrition advice to convince you to go to her website for more info, shows you a trailer of both DVDs, and provides you with recipes.

My first impression is that Jillian is a very likeable person. She is at ease with her crew whom you become acquainted with while Jillian is making them go to higher heights. Jillian is very motivational during the DVD telling you not to give up, that she won't let you give up, and that you will be happy with the results...as long as you continue with the workout. I must admit I half-way did the workout last night (which she tells you not to do) and blamed it on the fact that I do not have adequate equipment. I can tell, that when done properly, its going to take at least a week or two before I can do this workout without cheating at all.

While Jillian actually does more of the Backside workout than the Front workout on the DVD, she admits the Backside workout still gives her a workout. After watching and doing both DVDs, I can honestly say Backside is more work. Even the workout team (2 of which are on both DVDs) show more signs of being tired on Backside. If you're new to (strenuous) exercise, stick with Front until you get the hang of it. It will prepare you for Backside.