Killer Arms & Back

If this is truly Jillian's final DVD in the "Killer Series", then she has really outdone herself for a grand finale! After finishing level one today, the DVD kept playing & went right into level 2, so I thought to myself what the heck, and did both workouts back to back; BIG mistake as I will be sore for days!! I am a huge Jillian Michaels fan & I own every single one of her DVDs (except for her Body Revolution & Body Shred programs). When I saw this DVD available for preorder, I had to get it for my collection, but I wasn't necessarily excited about these workouts because I honestly hate upper body workouts. However, I was pleasantly surprised with these workouts because Jillian actually made these exercises fun!! These workouts are actually total body workouts with an emphasis on the upper body (think squats with anterior raises, static lunge with bicep curls, static bridge pose with lat pulls, sit-ups with chest flyes, single leg tricep dips, etc.), so you will be working out your entire body & burning a great amount of calories. I haven't tried level 3 yet, but so far I am extremely impressed with levels 1 & 2. Jillian is the queen of circuit training & her workouts never gets boring. This one is definitely a keeper & I can't wait to get my arms, chest & back toned. I consider myself an intermediate level exerciser & I had to follow the modifications on some moves (never have & never will do a single arm burpee). So, I wouldn't recommend this DVD for beginners (she has a great Beginner Shred DVD for newbies). Also, I personally LOVE Jillian's personality, but I know she can come off strong for some people & I think I did hear her say the B word once in level 1 (although she was just referring to herself); I could've heard wrong though. I definitely recommend this DVD & I think Jillian did a great job. I hope Jillian will continue to create great DVDs!!!!

I have just tried Level 1 last night but it was so good I had to write a review right away! As an intermediate (sometimes a little advanced.. hehe) home exerciser, I have most of Jillian's DVDs and normally find her Level 1 workouts a bit too easy to give me a good sweat even with increased weights. This time was different though as I was sweating from the first circuit right through to the stretch, and my arms (and butt and legs!) are nicely sore this morning. Level 1 has lots of new and effective moves - even the warm up had a new twist with the back claps jumping jacks which I loved! As expected, the workout emphasises on the upper body but still managed to offer an effective total body workout (some squats, static lunges and plank variations). The 30 minutes flew by so quickly as they always do with Jillian's circuit workouts, and I found Jillian very encouraging (and a little toned down, which is to my liking) this time around :) I'll be back with an update once I have done more!

As someone who owns pretty much every Jillian DVD I must say that this one was a surprise for me. Two years ago I managed to tone my body and lose about 30 lbs through the magic of Jillian Michaels, but a broken foot and a second job forced me into submission and I am in pretty terrible shape. I started up again with Jillian recently and decided to try this video out starting with workout 1 (thinking it would be an easy workout day)....crickets. I was so so wrong! This workout 1 was really difficult for me and included all sorts of new and novel moves. I feel like I got quite the arm and even abdominal workout and am straight terrified to see what workout 2 has in store. There are some really difficult moves one would just not expect in a level 1 like for instance One Armed Burpees! That is just crazy town. The workout is 4 circuits of pure arm toning hell in the best way possible and yes, I am sure that someone who works out for fun is going to come on here and say it was easy and they do it in addition to their 6 mile run, but those people are crazy (no offense...I wish I was that kind of crazy) and cannot be trusted to give workout advice to us common folk. I really love this one and am glad that even given my intention of having an easy workout day, Jillian managed to slap me around and for that I say Thank You!!

Another great Jillian film. The workout is about 30 minutes and focuses specifically on your arms and back. She does mix in some moves that are more cardio based but she really strives to focus on the upper body. Level 1 is challenging but not impossible for someone to do that is a beginner. Jillian shows modifications to the moves so you can make it easier or harder. My only complaint is that the upper levels, Jillian tries to make it fun and hard but it just ends up being crazy. I find I lose my form and spend too much time trying to figure out what she is doing that it takes away from the effectiveness of the workout.