Workout DVD Review

I knew the gym would be closed on New Year's Day and they wouldn't have evening classes New Year's Eve so I picked up some workout DVD's from the library. The first one I tried was The Biggest Winner Maximize Full Frontal by Jillian Michaels (trainer from NBC's Biggest Loser). This workout was tough! It was only about 30 minutes but I was sweating buckets. Jillian is intense but motivating. This routine works abs, thighs, shoulders, tricepts, chest, and hips. The workout requires a bench and dumbells (3-8 lbs). It is high impact with lots of jumping (jumping jacks, squat jumps, jump rope, etc.). They don't stop to demo the moves and it switches quickly between the moves so it is hard to follow at times. It also rotates between laying on the bench and standing moves several times so if you have trouble getting up and down this workout probably isn't for you. The workout is intended to focus on front muscles but my back was the most sore part the next day. There were two things I didn't particularly like about this video. First, doing jumping jacks or any jumps with weights is dangerous and can easily cause injury. I think this is why my back is sore. Second, it is not safe to lay down for crunches before bringing your heart rate down. I did like how the routine combined strength and cardio. I definitely think if someone did this workout consistently they will see results. It is part of a 5 DVD set; Shape-Up Front, Shape-Up Back, Cardio Kickbox, Maximize - Full Frontal, and Maximize - Back in Action. The Shape-UP DVDs are beginner level and the Maximize DVDs are advanced.