It’s no secret that I love Jillian Michaels and her workout DVDs. In fact, I own six of them. The newest addition to my collection is Kickbox Fast Fix. And like most of Jillian’s other DVDs, this one doesn’t disappoint!
This workout is a bit unique from the others in several ways. One of the major differences is that this DVD is broken up into three separate 20 minute workouts, with workout one focusing primarily on the upper body, workout two on the lower body, and workout three on abs. Also, instead of having two girls in the background working out with her, she has about seven. And from what I observed, not all the girls are at the same level – some were going all out with every single move, while others didn’t kick as high or punch as hard. That was definitely a nice change. Another change is that there is no warm up at the beginning of the workouts. Jillian gets right into the first circuit with some light cardio and then moves on. And while most all of her DVDs (at least the ones that I own) are very structured in terms of only strength or only cardio or a particular combination of the two, this DVD is a bit more random and there’s a bit of both scattered throughout each workout.
One other important thing to note is that this DVD comes with a tutorial, and I highly recommend that you watch it BEFORE attempting the workouts. I almost didn’t take the time to do so but am glad I did. Jillian isn’t as instructional in this DVD as she is in others, so don’t expect much, if any, explanation from her about the moves. Even though I know what uppercuts and jabs are, I wouldn’t have been able to follow along with the quick sequence of moves without knowing the exact terminology Jillian uses. The tutorial is kind of a must, and you should watch it at least once. Trust me.
The one thing about this DVD that is similar to the others is that each workout is still broken up into mini circuits. The only difference is that each move in the circuit is done for 30 seconds at a time, and she encourages you to do to as many reps of the move as you can. Each of the workouts uses elements of kickboxing, traditional cardio, and strength moves. For example, in workout one, one of the circuits is a combination of punches, pushups, jump rope, and suicide runs. Workout two and three are similarly structured but with more emphasis on the lower body and abs, respectively. There is no shortage of kicks, punches, and ab work in any of the workouts.
Overall, I really enjoyed this DVD – intense sweating and huffing/puffing included! The constant variation and quick change ups kept me going and really made each of the 20 minutes fly. I was definitely not in sync with Jillian and the gang 100% of the time, but with every use of this DVD, I think that’ll improve. And once I’m more familiar with the combos, I might use light weights to increase the “burn” factor. We’ll see about that though… Even without added weight, my thighs, calves, triceps, and abs are sore today. And that’s always a good thing!
Let me know if you decide to give this DVD a try or already have. I’d love to hear your thoughts! And if you want to know what I think of Jillian’s other DVDs, you can read about my opinion here and here.
Are you a Jillian Michaels fan? Have you tried any of her workout DVDs? Read her books?
This workout sounds great and I am not surprised she “kicked” (pun intended) your butt in a good way- Jillian is hardcore! I have never tried her workouts..at least not yet! I love her podcasts and have quite a few downloaded on my itouch for when I’m cross training! It definitely makes the time fly by and she is so entertaining, yet informative! Have a great Friday, P!
Do you need a lot of room to do these workouts? I have a tiny apartment and had to give up my tai chi videos because I didn’t have enough room. I use Leslie Sansone’s Walk Away the Pounds when I can’t go running. She’s really annoying but her workouts are great for low impact exercise.
You really don’t need that much room. I was actually surprised by how much I ‘stayed in place.’
I’ve never tried any of her videos but I enjoy having videos at home for those lazy “I don’t want to drive to the gym” days! I like that it’s 20 minutes because it’s easier to convince myself to squeeze in 20 min versus an hour on some days. Yet can still get great results. Currently I do Bethenny Frankel’s yoga dvds and some Denise Austin 20 min workouts. Thanks for the review, I will most definitely check it out!
unfortunately, I haven’t tried her workouts. I’ve heard she’s really good, her and I think Tracy Anderson. Not sure which one the celebs love. I need to buy some home workouts because I can’t be just doing the gym workouts, they get old after a while. looks so fun. have a great weekend P! 🙂
Hahah I’m a huge fan of JM ever since the 30 Day Shred so am quite interested in this new one. It looks like a butt-kicker!!! 😀
I need to get onto her podcasts as well! It
It’s been a while since I’ve spent some quality time with Jillian. She does have some great DVD’s but they are a killer on my poor knees.
Hope you are having a good weekend Parita!