I finished Ripped in 30
The fourth week of workouts is, no surprise here, really hard. I have to say, looking back over the entire DVD, every week of workouts is difficult. I could throw on week 1 right now and be huffin’ and puffin’ (here are my thoughts on week 1 and week’s 2 & 3).
To me, this DVD is not for beginners. She does show modifications so that helps a bit, but the pace and moves are challenging. I personally like that. In the past, I’ve always shrugged off DVD’s assuming they won’t be hard enough. I was definitely wrong about that.
It seems there has been an uprising in extremely challenging DVD’s like p90x, Insanity, Jillian’s hard core workouts, etc. They all focus on high intensity interval training which I am a big fan of. That being said, they can involve a lot of jumping which can be hard on the knees so if you have knee issues, be cautious.
Anyway, back to week 4. Luckily, this week didn’t involve so many planks; I don’t think my shoulders could handle it! Don’t get me wrong there were a few…just less than week 3.
One example of a strength move we did was pushups with renegade row.
So, I really need 5lb. weights. I have 3 pounders and 8 pounders. I need that in between!! I tried the three pounds weights with this at first but they’re so small my knuckles kept rubbing my mat and it hurt :(. So, I switched to 8lbs. which were better in that regard, but definitely harder.
So, after you row one arm back and are back in plank position, just perform a pushup, then row the other arm. After a couple reps this gets pretty tough.
The cardio’s were painful (like usual), but one in particular was pretty rough. First, we did burpees then immediately went into scissor hops.
So, burpees are burpees. Just straight up torture. Scissor hops were new to me so I’ll try to explain them the best I can. Basically, you’re in a sumo squat position (legs wider than hip distance, feet turned slightly out), squat down, then jump up criss crossing your feet in the air-one in front of the other, then land back down in the sumo squat position.
Going from burpees to scissor hops, or any kind of hop, is rough! I had to take a couple breaks to catch my breath and grab some water. This chick does not mess around!
The last strength circuit was pretty painful too. We ended with tricep pushups.
I try to do as many of these as possible with my knees off the ground but eventually put them down. They’re really hard (at least for me). The key is keeping your elbows close to your body. There’s a huge difference between these and regular push-ups.
So, overall, I really liked Jillian’s DVD. I thought each week was extremely challenging. The pace she moves at is pretty fast but I paused it and took a water break if I needed one. She gives you access to a diet plan too when you purchase this DVD. The diet plan is basically 3 healthy meals a day with 2 snacks. I’m more of a 5 smaller meals kinda gal so I ignored her suggestions in the diet department.
I don’t think I necessarily lost any weight (maybe 1 pound) but I do feel stronger. My arms (especially shoulders) feel and look stronger so I’m pretty happy. I’m going to keep the DVD in my rotation from now on and maybe even try other DVD’s of hers.
She does have an in-your-face style so if you’re not into that, maybe there’s another instructor out there that’s a better fit. I did have the urge to punch her in the face a few times but I held myself back. I don’t think my husband would be thrilled if I socked my Mac right in the screen.
She definitely follows through with her claims though. She claims she will whoop your butt and she will. So if you’re lookin’ for a beat down type of workout, give it a try! (You do need some dumbbell weights but that’s it. I’d say either 3-5 pounds would be fine).
What do you think…love Jillian or hate her?
By the way, I just started watching The Biggest Loser (as in, the first season) and it is a major tearfest. Jillian and Bob are no joke!!
I had to use 8 lb weights b/c my knuckles kept hitting the ground too! I love Jillian workouts. She’s awesome!
haha thats so funny. it hurts though!! i guess we just worked that much harder! 🙂
I did Ripped in 30 before my June wedding. Loved it. Love Jill to pieces! I have basically every dvd! 🙂
Congragulations! YOU did it! You have been ripped in 30. I used to be a Tae Bo nut, so I totally get the workout vid thing, They really can be hard!
haha ya i dont know how ripped i am…but im still workin on it!
I’m starting Week 3 tonight, wish me luck! The plank jump and mountain climbers in week 2 were brutal. I agree that even though you repeat each workout for 5-6 days, they do not get any easier. I am still huffin’ and puffin’ through each workout. Every time she talks about having 300 – 400 pound people doing the same routine, my motivation level rises. And I’m pretty sure I have thrown some F-bombs her way a few times!
I bought the DVD because I want to tone up before my April 21 wedding. Before I bought the DVD, I was keeping steady with my usual gym routine and I wasn’t really seeing results. Now that I have finished week 2 (including a 30-40 min jog 2 or 3 days a week), I dropped 3 pounds and feel like I can see more muscle definition.
P.S. – I just came across your blog. You have some great stuff on here. I’ll be sure to check back soon.
Thanks for the comment Melissa!!
I think that DVD is awesome. It’s super hard and I definitely saw some muscle tone after. I have it sitting in front of me and would love to do it but im preggo so maybe after?
she’s pretty hardcore…i love/hate her haha. congrats on the upcoming wedding!
Amazing work out, I’m sure there are a few times I was almost in tears, swearing or even felt like I was going to throw up. Jillian said on a biggest loser episode that feeling sick is your body getting rid of toxins. I smoked for 14 years of my life and recently quit. I’ve never had muscles in my arms in my life so the planks & any kind of pushups were very hard for me. I still have to do them on my knees. I tried to do most of the exercises on advanced but some were just to crazy, took breaks sometimes as well. This was my first dvd exercise & I had no idea what I was getting into.
I’m super happy with the results even with minimal dieting. My arms and legs are toned nicely, I have more strength in my abs although I need to do more cardio cause I still don’t have a flat stomach because I don’t follow a proper diet and this is totally my fault. I’m looking forward to getting more of her work outs since I love pushing myself to the limit. Highly recommended although I’ve had a couple friends I recommended this video and they could not make it past week 1 so you really need to have willpower and drive.
thats great! i really liked her dvd too. i think im going to do it again now to try and get rid of some baby weight. thanks for the comment!
I have finally finished this damned thing! In my case it was more like,ripped in 43,(I took days off from time to time – I’m 54, give me a break, lol.) But yes…I am rather ripped now!!! I like looking at my tummy muscles in the mirror. There were moments during this thing where I really thought I was going to die, lol. Anyway, I want to thank you Jillian so much for allowing me to get into shape at home with your dvd’s.
It’s a great DVD! I have a few of hers now and none of them disappoint. I may order another too. They’re all around 10 bucks (usually less)- can’t beat that!