Ripped in 30 Review

You might remember a few months ago I bought Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred, and from day one I was hooked (you can read my review here!). I absolutely love Jillian (might have a little bit of a girl crush on her...), her style and the fact that her DVDs work. I had a lot of success with the 30 Day Shred and was determined to complete more of her DVDs. The second one I decided to try was Ripped in 30.

Now Ripped is definitely a step up from the 30 Day Shred, and you feel it right from the beginning. This is not the DVD to chose if you haven't done a Jillian workout before. I felt pretty confident having already completed the Shred, but even in week one I was absolutely exhausted! It follows the same 3-2-1 format as the 30 Day Shred (3 minutes strength, 2 minutes cardio, 1 minute abs for three circuits) so it's a great step up for anyone who enjoyed the Shred and wants to try something a little bit harder!

As with the 30 Day Shred, I didn't complete the DVD in 30 days, but that was never my intention. Working out is part of my lifestyle, not something I do obsessively for 30 days and then forget about. Jillian advises to workout 5-6 times a week and to do each level for a week. Instead, I worked out every night I could (eg. every night that I didn't have plans and could fit it in between 9 and 10) and usually found myself working out 3-4 times a week. It's taken me about 6 weeks to complete Ripped in 30. One thing I like about Jillian's DVDs is the sense of time scale- I feel much more motivated if I know I have to do x number of days of each workout before I can move on.

Ripped in 30 has been tough but it's also been amazing. Like last time, I didn't take before photos (I really should...) but I did take my weight and measurements, plus I can really see the physical difference! My stomach is flatter and I can actually see some shadowing and definition (!) and after taking measurements I can happily say that I lost 1.5 inches on my hips, 0.75 inches from my waist, 1.5 inches from my under bust and 0.5 inches from each thigh, a total of 4.75 inches lost! I also gained 0.5 inches on each arm which I can also really see. Regarding weight loss, it's important with Jillian to pay attention to inch loss and physical difference, because strength training is so heavily emphasised that many people find they lose inches, but gain weight in muscle. I lost 2lbs from the start of week 2 to the end of week 4, but I'm much more impressed with my inch loss!

I work out before bed (except sometimes at the weekends), usually between 9 and 10pm. I find doing workout DVDs to be the best option for me because they're cheap (each Jillian DVD is about £10 and most of them have a month's worth of exercise on them, plus you can do them as many times as you want) and I don't have to leave the house. You do have to be very self-motivated though, especially if, like me, you just want to flop on the sofa all night after finishing work! Another thing I like is that Jillian's workout are high intensity, but short. Each workout is around 30 minutes and you never do a move longer than 30 seconds at a time, so as painful as it is, the time flies by! One thing I found made a big difference for me this time around was changing what I wore to work out in. When I did the Shred, I would just wear sweatpants and an old tshirt, but I was getting way, way too hot and it was restricting my movement. After having a look around for some nice workout leggings and a pretty vest top, I was fortunate enough to be approached by Pineapple to review some workout gear. As I've been a dancer from the age of 2, I have massive respect for Pineapple and love their clothes! I now workout in their block V vest and wide band crop leggings. Don't you think I look the part?

Of course, my Jillian challenges don't stop there! Next up, starting tomorrow, I'm going to do her 6 Week Six Pack DVD, and following that I'm thinking of getting Extreme Shed and Shred and then maybe Killer Buns and Thighs. After that I'm going to start all over again from the Shred and repeat!

If you have any questions about my workouts please feel free to ask me, and please let me know what your favourite workout DVDs are!