You may recognize Jillian Michael from The Biggest Loser, and you may have come across her 30 Day Shred program and wondered if it works. As the name implies it’s supposed to get you to lose a good amount of weight, and get fit in just one month. She’s definitely got a lot of credibility behind her, as millions of Americans have witnessed her help dozens of extremely fat people get back down to size. But is this program the key you’ve been seeking?
Overview
If you’ve ever seen Jillian Michaels yelling encouragement to someone on a treadmill, or making someone do more sit-ups than they ever thought they could do, you’re probably a believer that she knows what it takes to get people motivated. Motivation is definitely a big key to success with weight loss, and muscle gain. Sometimes it’s hard to push yourself past your comfort zone, and pullout that last repetition. Personal training sessions are quite expensive, so 30 Day Shred can serve as a suitable replacement it would definitely be well-received.
The Claim
The claim on the cover of the DVD set says that you can lose up to 20 pounds in 30 days. It’s a pretty straightforward claim, and not beyond the realm of imagination. That’s less than a pound per day, but still a very aggressive approach to losing weight.
The Hype
The hype comes from this being hosted by Jillian Michaels, and having a trickle over affect from her popularity on The Biggest Loser. A lot goes on behind the scenes of that show that doesn’t make it to the final cut of the program. It is truly amazing that these obese people are able to get down to a moderate weight, and the show is framed in a way that makes you believe that it is the nutrition advice, and coaching in the gym from the trainers that is the reason for the rapid weight loss.
However, there is no way to know what these contestants are doing to lose the way, and they are probably using several different methods at once in order to drop dozens and sometimes hundreds of pounds.
This is not to say the Jillian Michaels does not know how to get people to lose weight, it is just the amount of hype that surrounds her as being a fitness guru I can get just about anyone to shed the pounds.
The Cost
The 30 Day Shred has been around for a while, but a good fitness program never goes out of style. You can grab it now for less than $10, and can even download it for around five dollars you can get started instantly and not have to wait for the DVD to arrive.
The Commitment
30 days is the commitment here, which might not sound like a lot but the way life works something is bound to pop up in that time that presents itself as an excuse to stop working out. Make sure that you commit yourself to sticking with the 30 Day Shred for the duration and try not to let anything get in the way of your success.
Evaluation
One good thing about Jillian Michaels’ methodology when it comes to losing weight is that she takes a comprehensive approach and doesn’t rely on dieting or exercise alone, but a combination of both as well as a positive mental attitude.
A great feature of the 30 Day Shred is that she not only hosted herself, but she includes models that demonstrate a beginners approach, as well as a more advanced way to do the exercises. This lets you the way her own pace, regardless of where you’re starting from. Although Jillian Michaels will be doing the form she expects to see you do, you can just follow the beginner model and work your way up to the way she’s doing it.
On many fitness programs like this they only show the proper way they expect you to do it, and might passively mention some alternatives. It’s rare that you’ll find a model dedicated to doing things at a lower level. By having basically three different levels and one DVD, this program is really scalable and allows you to use it over a long period of time, and grow with it.
Final 30 Day Shred Review
The 30 Day Shred will definitely get your body moving, and where your muscles out. It’s a good mix of cardio and resistance training so you’re not only losing weight, but also building lean muscle. When those two combined to create a synergistic effect in the body, and you should see some results within 30 days. You might not get shredded, but if you come in with reasonable expectations you’ll be pleasantly surprised after just one month.
Once you complete your first month, there’s no reason not to continue on for a second month, or third. If you spent your first 30 days following the beginner model, you can spend the next 30 days following Gillian herself. In your third month you can try to follow the advanced model, and see where that takes you. At the end of 90 days, while following this method, you might get shredded, especially to follow her eating suggestions.
Our Recommendation
If you’re just starting out in fitness, or have a lot of weight to lose, the 30 Day Shred is a great place to start. Also, if you’re no stranger to the gym and you like a good workout, this will definitely shake you out of your routine and get you out of any plateau you been experiencing.
Of course with any fitness program it’s really up to you as far as using it on a regular basis, and being able to see results. If you stick with it long enough she’ll definitely help you get closer to the body you want, or at least get you off the road toward the body you don’t want.
I did this workout religiously for the 30 days. I did not loose weight but my body looked way more toned after the full month. My only problem was when the 30 days were up there was nothing in me that wanted to do the workout even 1 more time. I noticed that Jillian now has a 7 day shred and I would be interested to check it out.