Renewing my Vows

I am renewing my vows...

to Jackie and Jillian.

I've said it 1,000 times in the past (I am shocked you guys don't call me out on this stuff because I honestly only do about 50% of what I say I'm going to do when it comes to food and fitness) that I am going to commit to strength training. It's been even harder to commit to it since switching gyms and not having access to my beloved BodyPump classes anymore. Plus my new gym is smaller and cramped and I just don't enjoy working out there.

In comes Jackie Warner (Power Circuit) and Jillian Michaels (30 Day Shred), my two go-tos for strength.

Last Friday morning, I did Jillian Michaels Level 1 Shred. And as of last night, I could still feel the DOMs in my quads and hamstrings from the lunges and squats. I also couldn't even finish the push up set. Damn I am weak.

But last Friday was the start. Every Tuesday I will be doing Jackie's Power Circuit and every Thursday/Friday I will be doing Jillian's Shred, with another day of just ab work thrown in somewhere when I have the time.

As I've said in the past, cardio is my first fitness love. I have no problem motivating myself to break a sweat. But when it comes to lifting weights, I am lazy, unmotivated, whiny, and I just plain don't want to do it. But I know it is the key to boosting my metabolism (you know, so I can eat lots of cookies) and gaining the strength and definition I so desperately want.

I decided to alternate between Jackie and Jillian because I love them both for different reasons (as I stated here) and a little variety is good for your body.

I did Jackie's Power Circuit this morning and I expect to be sore for the next few days. I did miss that sore, got-run-over-by-a-bus feeling that lets me know that I worked hard. Pain like this is the sign of progress, right?

This morning also marked the return of the green smoothie.

It's hard for me to drink these in the cold winter months whilst I'm buried under 100 feet of snow here in Boston. But once the whether starts to warm up, I crave smoothies. In the mix after my Power Circuit with Jackie this morning: a ton of spinach, one frozen banana, a handful each of frozen pineapple and mango, a scoop of protein powder, one scoop of Amazing Grass.

Oh my yum!

Are you good about strength training? Or are you a cardio queen?

Workout DVDs - Jackie vs. Jillian

I typically don't like to work out at home. For some reason, I can just never motivate myself to pop in a DVD and go to town. That being said, I own a few fitness DVDs, and just purchased a new one to add to my collection. The reason for purchasing my newest fitness DVD was inspired by this article in Fitness magazine last month.

My collection started with these gems:

Yes, that's 8 minute abs you spy and Billy Blanks' Tae Bo! Classics I tell you! They never get old. I still have the Billy Bands that went with that Tae Bo DVD somewhere. I haven't used that DVD in years but one of these days I may have to bust it out just for posterity. Billy is so intense.

I've been looking for a good strength DVD to do at home because the gym that I go to now is really small, but it's in a large town and clearly a lot of people go to that gym, so it gets extremely crowded. And I hate being crowded, especially when I'm doing weights. I like Jillian's 30 Day Shred, but I was looking for something a little bit longer and more difficult.

Enter Jackie Warner.

I love Jackie Warner. Her and Jillian have been having a tug of war with my effections the last year or so. I would like my body to look more like Jillian's than Jackie's (Jackie is a little too cut and masculine looking for my liking) but I like Jackie's tough workouts.

After reading reviews about this DVD, I decided to give it a shot. I did what I always do and do what I call a "dry run" of the DVD first...which basically means I pop the DVD in and sit on the couch eating popcorn while I watch the fitness gurus get their sweat on. I think of it as prep work. So I know what I'm getting into. Let me tell you folks, it always LOOKS so much easier when you're not actually doing it.

I have now done Jackie's 40 minute program twice in the last week and I have been so sore for days after, which is an indication to me that it was a kickass workout. She has the same format as Jillian's 30 Day Shred, there are circuits that target a specific body part and then you do another body part and so on. Many of the moves are the same, but there are a few that are different, and Jackie's ab routine is much more comprehensive than Jillian's.

Overall, I have to say that I really like Jackie's DVD better. I absolutely adore Jillian and will of course continue to buy every book that she puts out and will cry when she's not on Biggest Loser anymore, but Jackie has definitely elbowed her way in to my fitness routine.

What fitness DVDs do you use? Or do you prefer to strength train at the gym? Also, Jackie or Jillian?