Review: Jillian Michaels: 6 Week 6 Pack (Level 1)

I’m sure people either love or hate Jillian Michaels. I have to admit: I’m a fan. I’ve watched The Biggest Loser off and on over the years so I wasn’t necessarily a fan of hers because of the show, but more for her fitness DVDs. Of course, I’ve only tried a few (3 to be exact) but they’ve all delivered! I have Ripped in 30 (my favorite), No More Trouble Zones, and now 6 Pack Abs. In my opinion, she just creates good workouts. They’re all challenging but different, require little equipment if any, and are relatively short workouts (about 30 minutes).

Anyway, I ordered 6 pack abs shortly after giving birth to my second daughter. If you’ve ever had a baby, you know your core muscles are nonexistent. It’s actually sort of comical. There is like, literally nothing there. It is a bowl full of jelly..Santa style. But that’s okay, all part of the process. That being said, I wanted to gain some muscle back.

In general, I am not a fan of abdominal work. I think we all have a favorite body part or zone we like to work out and probably a spot we hate. Well, I hate doing abs. I guess because I never see much of a change. If I was the type who always had a 6 pack, I’d probably love working abs! Having a DVD workout is a great way for me to sort of force myself to work those muscles.

I absolutely realize that “abs are made in the kitchen,” but I can also recognize that mine are/were weak and need to be worked on. That’s where Jillian comes in!

Here’s some info. on the Jillian Michaels: 6 Week Six-Pack (Level 1):

Level 1

First of all, this DVD comes with 2 workouts: a level 1 and level 2 workout. The idea is, you complete the level 1 workout 5 days a week for 3 weeks, then move onto level 2.

Workout Style:

The workout is only 30 minutes long, which sounds like a long time for an ab workout right? Well, Jillian combines full body cardio moves with ab-centric moves, so the workout really works the entire body with a focus on abs.

Some examples of cardio moves she throws in there are burpees, mountain climbers, and plank jacks.

The idea is to throw some cardio moves in there to raise your heart rate. Raising your heart rate torches calories, which of course, burns fat and reveals those bitchin ab muscles that may have been hiding.

Not only do you perform traditional ab exercises, but moves that target other large muscle groups like your legs and back.

The workout is face paced but she goes through the whole thing once at a “slower” pace. The second time through, the pace is much faster.

She also provides modifications if you needed the moves to be a little easier or harder.

The moves are easy to follow. I’m not saying they’re easy to do because they’re challenging especially at a fast pace, but it’s easy to follow along.

That move above is hard! Side planks are tough even without the leg lift but it’s like, once you lift the leg, you can feel every muscle in your core working. You also really feel it in your inner thigh.

Equipment Needed:

The only thing you will need is a weight (just one). I used an 8 pound dumbbell. If you don’t have a weight, you can still do the workout, it’ll just be a little easier.

Overall Pros:

• Hard! It makes me sore every time I do it
• Easy to follow
• Short
• Cheap (only 8 dollars on Amazon)
• Little equipment needed

Overall Cons (not many):

• Same workout for 3 weeks
• 5 days a week (recommended amount you do it) is sort of a lot

 

I’ll write a review soon on Level 2. I’d say another great DVD by Miss Jillian!

 

Do you like Jillian Michaels? What’s your favorite workout of hers?