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REVIEW: Jillian Michaels BODYSHRED

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Jillian Michaels seems to be making the most of her rising success, and good for her.  Even saw her on the cover of Shape magazine while buying discount nipple clamps.  Bodyshred is perhaps the more well built and marketed of her workout series, which means once again the Dysfunctional Parrot breaks through the wall like a coked-up Kool Aid man to hit “play” for another review.

parrot-aid
Oh yeaAAAAARRRGHHHHH!!!!

What you get:

Calendar, food guide, meal plan and 10 DVD’S.

The contents are expertly made, but the naming convention suffers from the same thing that bugs me about P90X3…it makes no sense.  Names like Amplify, Apex or Ignite say nothing about what your next half hour is going to be.  If a workout is going to be cardio, just straight up tell me.  Sorry.  I’ll be nice now.

All workouts are 30 minutes long.

Launch ( weeks 1-2 )

For an entry level workout, this goes after the core with extreme prejudice.  Cardio, legs, abs, chest, triceps and shoulders.  There is some use of weights, but nothing that goes beyond 8-10lbs.  What you see here is a pretty accurate picture of how things are going to be with all Bodyshred workouts – a heavy core focus.

Rise ( weeks 1-2 )

Cardio/core, abs, back and biceps.  It’s just like the cardio of Launch, just swapping out the muscle work to different parts.  In like fashion the weights are low.  I’d recommend keeping some heavier ones close by for curls lest it get too easy.

Time to talk about the set.  It’s nice and minimalistic with no distractions although it’s a little on the dark side.

bodyshred_set
I'm sure the set would look even nicer if someone could turn on the blasted lights.

Fire Up ( weeks 1-2 )

The idea is to ease into the program with a generic cardio workout, so Jillian is kind enough to inform us to take it slow this time.  Probably easier said than done if you want to keep up with the cast.

As a nice way to mix things up, one of the cast members takes the cool-down.  Her calmer nature is welcome as Jillian’s natural state is talking like she finished a bag of espresso beans.

Amplify ( weeks 3-4 )

We return to add some resistance.  Each resistance circuit of push-ups and presses ends with a cardio break with some ab work.

To be honest, this is a bit random.  You kick off with shoulder presses but almost immediately fall back into squats, jumps and push ups.  At that point the weights don’t get utilized to their potential at all and just lay around.  Don’t get me wrong though, it’s still hard as Hell.  Especially those cross over push ups.  Freaking impossible.

bodyshred_pushup
One...thud.

Escalate ( weeks 3-4 )

Much like Amplify, only this time the focus shifts from shoulders/chest to back/biceps.  Cardio/abs are mixed in between.

I don’t want to pick on the cast too much, but the muscular guys are lifting weights that my toddler could curl.  So if you’re a man and in decent shape, don’t even think of reaching for those 5lbs for bicep curls.   Man up and grab some 20+ pounders.

I’d like to take this time to comment on the music but truly cannot.  Why?  Because Jillian does not stop talking.  Ever.  Not for one second.  It’s like my wife wants to start talking to me about my “parenting style”.

woman_kick
It's all fun and games until you're wrong. Am I right there guys?

Conquer ( weeks 5-6 )

This is supposed to be chest/shoulders/triceps.  As always it includes quads and abs to boot.

In reality, it may do well with chest, having push ups and flyes.  To be honest the shoulders and triceps get pretty much ignored.  This is best described a solid core workout that uses smaller weights to help get er’ done.  But no muscle except abs gets truly isolated.

Ignite ( weeks 5-8 )

Otherwise known as Cardio 2.  Lots of jumping jacks, low hight jumps, running and skips.  None of the moves themselves are overly complex.  For those familiar with Asylum, it’s like a lite version as while it is indeed cardio, it is probably more in line with medium intensity plyometics.

The cool-down is passed off to one of the cast members which is a welcome break.

bodyshred_cooldown
Wait...you mean the cast can speak too?

Triumph ( weeks 5-6 )

A very intense core assault.  Squats, balance postures, plyo and abs.

Be very careful when you perform some of these moves that engage the lower back.  The press-snap has an extremely high potential to totally screw up your back.  When it comes to lower back motions, snapping moves are never a good idea for a home video workout.  That kind of stuff needs a trainer.

Zenith ( weeks 7-8 )

Balls to the wall kids.  30 second intervals.  With resistance and core, this is a “kitchen sink” workout where its all coming at you.

Apex ( weeks 7-8 )

Jillian promises a small slice of Hell.  Nice.

There’s a ton of motion with weights.  Not heavy, but enough to feel like murder soon enough.  This workout will enhance mobility in ways most cruel.  I’d say this one lives up to its name nicely.

CONCLUSION

Make no mistake, in terms of physical difficulty Bodyshred will kick your sorry butt.   While it lacks some of the bells and whistles of other workouts, it also has some pretty snappy ideas of its own such as having cast members contribute with cool-downs.  It make the whole thing seem more human somehow.

Bodyshred runs a little short on variety in much the same way the original Insanity did.  There’s not a lot to differentiate one routine from the next so don’t expect something like P90X where most DVD’s are dedicated to certain body parts.  Every workout in Bodyshred is essentially a total-body core routine at its heart.  And boy, does it ever excel at it.

Describing a trainer is always difficult.  For example, I like Tony Horton, but readily admit many a television has no doubt suffered from a flying brick because of him too.  It’s taste and there’s no one size fits all opinion.

That having been said, Jillian can be a bit loud.  She’s always – and I do mean always – yelling at the camera or the cast like she’s swallowed a megaphone.  She’s a trainer and means to be intense, so I get it.  But geez lady, stop tearing a strip off me already.

Jillian also has some good people in marketing.  Maybe a little too good.  The homepage for Bodyshred heavily implies improbable Herculean physiques in a mere 60 days coupled with acrobatic skills that would be out of the question even for Amazonian super heroes.

jillian_flip
No chance whatsoever is this going to happen.

There is no secret sauce here that will accomplish these amazing results where another program cannot.  Pretty much all the workout programs out there embellish their claims, and Bodyshred is no different.  Keep your expectations realistic and you’ll be fine.

In conclusion, if you like total body cardio with unisex appeal then give Bodyshred further examination.  It’s a solid program at a good price.  4 Feathers out of 5.

John Paul Parrot ( aka. The Dysfunctional Parrot ) is a disgruntled Systems Analyst who wanders the Canadian wastelands saving small villages with the power of Kung Fu.  His chair is also a little too close to the twenty year old microwave.  As you can well imagine, this has had certain side effects.

14 Comments

14 Comments

  1. Veronika Majlingova

    March 23, 2017 at

    First, thanks for all the great reviews :) I was wondering if you’re planning to review anything involving kettlebells? For example Jillian’s shred it with weights or anything else really, I’d like to know what your opinion on kettlebells is.

  2. Melissa

    November 21, 2016 at

    Just started the workout but I was wondering is there a leg workout? I finished 21 day extreme and really like how lean my legs have become. I don’t want to lose that with this program.

  3. Aaron Hottenstein

    November 10, 2016 at

    I too found this workout to be pretty good. However I also found that some of the workout moves are way to complex to feel like you can get an effective work out, so I would just fake my way through to the next workout move that was reasonable. It’s okay for her to be tough, but on Body Revolution she crossed a line with the tough talk and I walked away. In Body Shred she managed to hold the line and I was happy with that.

  4. Sarvenaz Danesh

    April 11, 2016 at

    I am about to start the bodyshred program as part of my journey to lose those last few pounds and get in the best shape possible after recently having a baby. Is there another exercise program you recommend to do after this one? I am drawn to 30 minutes programs since my time is sometimes limited with my baby. Would this program prepare me for something like p90x3 ?

  5. holyguy7

    January 16, 2016 at

    By the way, there is a bonus workout called Opus. It is indeed very tough. It is probably one of the hardest workouts I have ever done. Some moves I could not do. Others, I struggled with. This one workout is probably one to try to achieve if you dare. I was sore after it because some of the moves were hard for me to do, other I could not do. If you can, get this workout alone. It is worth the price of the whole package.

  6. holyguy7

    December 27, 2015 at

    I am currently doing a hybrid of this workout and Body Revolution. The difference is that BodyShred is harder. Body Revolution is more slow and gradual at the progression. This workout seem hard right at the beginning. I really don’t like progressive workouts because they cannot be repeated after. The music is great in BodyShred but can’t hear it very well because Jillian it talking the whole time. I am currently on week 8 and have been sore the entire time since the start. I am seeing results with this workout so I must say it is very good. I like the fact that Zuzka is one of the trainers in the crowd. I have a number of her workout videos too. Overall, I would give this 4/5 and it is good.

    • Wincell Joey Will

      May 11, 2016 at

      BodyShred is harder? that’s good, just bought it from Groupon (it was on sale) I’ve done Insanity before so as MAX 30 and Asylum 1. I want to do something different, besides, I love Jillian and I also have other Jillian Michael’s DVD’s (lots of them)

      I wanted to try BodyShred. I like the 3-2-1 system. full body workout in 30mins works best for me.

  7. Anon

    August 31, 2015 at

    Thank you for the reviews. Any chance you will be trying Cize by Shaun T?

    • Dysfunctional Parrot

      August 31, 2015 at

      Yes! I’m in the process of writing the review for it now. Should have the CIZE review up within a week. A very interesting program to say the least!

  8. Fred Firestine

    August 6, 2015 at

    Thanks for another great workout review! The last Jillian videos I I really used were the Body Revolution set, which was actually my wife’s idea, but then I used the whole set a couple times over. A while after that, I bought Ripped In 30, tried it for a few days, but the magic was gone for me I guess. I listen to Jillian’s podcast, and I appreciate all the workouts I’ve done with her, but my preferences have changed.

  9. Carlos Ortega

    August 6, 2015 at

    Great review!

    One question: Jillian Michaels has lots of workout DVDs out there. Inexpensive single DVDs with 2 or 3 workouts on them. You’ve reviewed a few of her other workouts. How does this compare?
    Is Bodyshred:
    a) the same Jillian Michaels offering just turned into a longer program at a higher price?
    b) the same but more intense?
    c) or really something qualitatively different from her usual offerings?
    What do you think?

    • Dysfunctional Parrot

      August 6, 2015 at

      I haven’t done a ton of her workouts yet, but given my limited experience I do my best to answer!

      a) Yes.
      b) Yes.
      c) Slightly more money put into production with timer and larger cast. But that’s about it. If you’re used to her more current offerings then this will slide right in.

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