One Week Shred

Jillian Michael‘s One Week Shred is her newest workout collection and it is tough. The concept behind One Week Shred is if you need a “crash” weight loss plan for some upcoming event–this DVD provides the workouts and the diet plan to get ready for it. There are two workouts. An AM Strength workout that is 39 minutes long and a PM Cardio workout that is 35 minutes long. And just as the titles suggest, you workout twice a day, every day. In addition, on the DVD, she gives you a link for the diet plan. The plan has flexibility in choosing meals, but if you go with the meals/snacks that have the most calories, the maximum calories you would be eating daily is 1150 calories. If you eat the meals/snacks with the lowest calories you will be consuming 740 calories daily. The higher calorie one is sill very low calorie and I don’t know how 740 calories could possibly even give you the fuel needed to get through these workouts. However, if you follow the plan as laid out, you will get results. I just suggest eating a minimum of 1200 calories. But I guess if you want dramatic results in a week, you will get it with 740 calories. And probably pass out during the workouts. However, just to be clear, it is a flexible meal plan so you don’t have to choose the lowest calorie or the highest calorie meals/snacks–you can obviously mix and match and your daily calories can be anywhere between 740 and 1150.

I really loved Jillian in these workouts. These are very fast paced and she packs a lot into a short amount of time (as she always does) but she seems much more focused in these workouts. She has a goal for you (shred it in one week) and she is very focused and motivational in helping you make that happen. You’ll need the motivation because these workouts are hard! I will say I found some of the exercises in AM Strength unnecessarily awkward. I like to challenge myself but some of the exercises were just difficult to execute let alone use challenging weights. Oh, and there was balance moves; again, very difficult to use heavy enough weights to really challenge your muscles when you are balancing. And PM Cardio was just nonstop! My face was beet red and I was dripping with sweat by the end!

Overall, I loved these workouts. I have returned to Jillian’s workouts recently after being away for a while and I had forgotten not only how challenging they are but how much I love them! I definitely need to start making her workouts the basis for my doubles (Jillian and Kelly Coffey-Meyer–they both create workouts the perfect length for doubles).

AM Strength is 39 minutes; 2 minute intro, 3:30 minute warm up, 29:30 training time, 3 minute stretch, and Jillian talks for another minute at the end. This is a very challenging and advanced workout. A lot is packed onto 36 minutes. There are 4 circuits and each circuit is repeated. There are two exercisers with Jillian; a woman showing beginner modifications and a big, buff man showing the advanced exercises. They are using very light dumbbells (3 pounds I believe), which seems silly held by that huge man, but due to the fact these are compound moves, you cannot go real heavy. I was able to go heavier than 3 pound dumbbells tho! The lightest I used was 5 pounders, but I also used 8 and 15 pound dumbbells.

Circuit 1: deadlift with row and bicep curl; static squat with wide row; wide side-to-side push up; bear into downdog with a pike push up; crab kicks with tricep dips. Repeat circuit.

Circuit 2: figure 4 squat with serving biceps (balance move); tricep kickbacks while in crescent; Warrior 3 with delt raises; pendulum lunge with halo chop (awkward); one leg squat, put hands on ground and kick leg up toward ceiling. Repeat  circuit.

Circuit 3: crunch with legs out and at a diagonal and dumbbells held on one hand, raise legs (oblique work) and press dumbbells straight up toward feet; start in reverse plank and jump feet into table; lay on stomach and do breast stroke and open and close legs; push up/jump up into surfboard squat; sumo squat with calf raises and french press. Repeat circuit.

Circuit 4: plank with knee variations (confusing and awkward); hollow man to pike crunch to Russian twist; while in plank and holding one dumbbell, punch dumbbell forward then move into side plank and press dumbbell to ceiling; in low plank jump feet in side to side (Shaun T calls these Ski Abs); cauldron crunches with leg raise (holding dumbbells you move arms as if stirring a cauldron). Repeat circuit.

PM Cardio is 35 minutes; no warm up, training period 29 minutes, cool down 5 minutes and Jillian talks for another minute at the end. This workout  is made up of 3 circuits that are repeated. It is high impact, but again, there are two exercisers with Jillian, one showing advanced and one showing beginner/low impact.

Circuit 1: jacks; jump rope; butt kicks; high knee runs; skaters; jab cross punches; squat thrust in planks; speed back. Repeat circuit.

Circuit 2: sprints; rock star jumps; front kicks; bear kick outs; moguls; soccer taps. Repeat circuit.

Circuit 3: jack squats; plank jacks; circle runs; one arm burpees; fast feet; long jumps; knee thrusters. Repeat circuit.