Do Jillian Michaels videos work???

  • I ordered Banish Fat Boost, 30 Day Shred, & No More Trouble Zones. have any of these videos worked for anyone??
  • I guess it depends what you mean by "worked"?

    I do her Yoga Meltdown and 30 Day Shred, and I am stronger, have more muscle definition and better balance & endurance than when I started. And I like that they are short yet intense.
  • I want lean muscle, mostly to tone up. Are they super difficult workouts??
  • They're intense workouts but pretty good. The 30 Day Shred is a half hour video with strength training, cardio and abs. I used it when I first started getting back into shape and it's a great one for that.

    No More Trouble Zones is a thorough, full body strength training video. It has no cardio though so if you need cardio, you'll need to do the cardio video separately. I, personally, got bored with Banish Fat Boost Metabolism and started running instead but there's nothing wrong with the video.

    Jillian is very minimalistic about equipment in these videos so they're great for exercising inexpensively and they work well in small spaces.

    My general opinion about workout videos is that, unless they contain unsafe moves, they are not gimmicks and will work as long as you do.
  • I can't speak for the other ones but JM's 30 Day Shred definitely worked for me. I did one cycle in May and lost 5-10 lbs plus I had muscle definition. It was nuts!
    I started again a few days ago and now I'm on day 9. My shoulders are looking really nice. So are my arms.
    The trick is to try do it every day. My friends have tried skipping a couple of days and it doesn't work half as well. I usually do it 5-6 days out of the week. There are times when I feel demotivated but I suck it up and tell myself its only 20 minutes.
    It's also important to eat right and to make sure you do the exercises correctly. I've injured myself twice and it's not fun.
  • Do they work? Oh yeah!
    I like banish fat boost... as it is weight free; using body weight only- this is my go to video. YogaMelt is fun too. 30 day shred was my first jm video and was a good intro to her style and the workouts - I think ripped in 30 and killer buns and thighs are her best. I lost 20 pounds and three inches before I started Jillian workouts- after two months of jm vids, I lost 11 pounds and FIFTEEN inches- I can now run two miles w no stress to my knees and carry the laundry basket up two flights of stairs, wo being winded at the end.

    I worked Out to jm 30 day shred, 5-6 days a week- it took me two to three weeks to get through each level. And my hubby and I take a short walk each night. He is in an advanced men's circuit training group, and says that jm works out as hard as his group does.

    Good luck- I love my jm collection- I hope you do too!
  • Again it depends on what you mean by "work." you probably couldn't do them alone without eating a mindful diet and expect the pounds to drop off. BUT if you're looking to get fitter and stronger and get a good calorie burn, they're pretty good!

    I started off with 30DS in the 260s and it was tough but I did get a lot fitter. I ended up liking Banish Fat Boost Metabolism best and that is my favourite JM video because you need no equipment and I still find it a challenge. I probably noticeably lose inches the most with No More Trouble Zones, but I'm not the hugest fan of weight training (even though it IS very good for you), I'd rather jump around any day rather than be still doing reps with weights.

    If you're getting those 3 videos, you might want to consider at some point doing a programme called the 30 Day Slimdow. (do a search here in the forums or google) which is a mosh of all 3 videos that helps with boredom which I also found really helpful with strength. By the end of those 30Days, I'd moved from the modified push ups (on my knees) to even doing a few reps with one foot off the floor and doing the difficult version of most of the exercises.

    I don't do JM as much anymore because I've fallen in love with kickboxing workouts (I have her KB workout but I've not gotten to it yet). But I did find they always gave a pretty good cardio workout and made me fitter for my runs.
  • Yes!!
  • I think what works is anything you can commit to do regularly and stick to. Thirty Day Shred has a huge following of people that have had great results. I can never seem to do it for more than a couple of days because I get bored quickly and I feel like the music is awful.
  • Yes I own every dvd she has put out n the biggest loser dvds she is in.
  • I am about to start 30 Day Shred and will keep track of my progress. I've heard generally positive things about her videos, from "I feel better" (always good) to "I saw measurable results" (also good).
  • yes, it really works. I have a great friend who looks amazing, with arms any woman would kill for, and a figure that most forty-year-old women dream of having. She has religiously been following The Firm workouts for years, at least five times a week in the morning. Around that time, Groupon offered a complete The Firm set for $18. When I went to buy my own program, determined to carve out an hour for exercise, they were sold out. In reading the comments on Amazon, I learned more about Jillian Michaels than I did about The Firm.