Jillian Michaels 25 Minute Body Shred

If you follow me on instagram, you may have seen a Jillian Michaels workout that I posted a few weeks ago.  I said I was going to do an in-depth blog post on the workout, and I’m finally doing it.

For those of you who know Jillian Michaels, you know she doesn’t mess around.  For those who don’t, I highly suggest getting to know her; she will kick your butt so hard without even having to leave your house.  Her workouts are good for when you’re short on time and/or can’t leave your house.  This is a workout I saw in a magazine that is a quick 25 minute, high intensity, all over body workout.  It follows her other workouts in the circuit sense.  Except it's only 3 circuits, repeated 3 times.  I’ve actually added a little more to this, because for some reason I thought it could use a little extra!

I use my Gym Boss app for this that I’ve talked about before (my new HIIT app for those who have Droids. – Side note, I think HIIT is available on iPhone now, but I already have everything saved in Gym Boss so I don’t want to switch back – they’re both great though.) This workout is broken down into 3 circuits, the first circuit, Strength, is 3 minutes; the second, Cardio, is 2 minutes; and the third, Core, is 1 minute.  Although I added an extra minute of core in, cause I feel like you never work your core too much.  One round is only 7 minutes!  C’mon, everyone has time for that!  Do it 3 times through, and it only takes 25 minutes (I put 10 second breaks in between so I can grab dumbbells, get set etc.)

The first circuit, Strength, uses dumbbells.  If you’ve done a JM video, some of these moves will be familiar to you.  This circuit is going to be 3 moves, 30 seconds each, repeated twice. 
The first move is a Dumbbell Row in Crescent position.  She does this pose in her No More Trouble Zones video.  It’s a very deep lunge, keeping your back leg straight and locked.  Front leg bent at a 90° angle.  Hinge your torso forward slightly from your hips.  The starting position will be holding your arms straight down in front of you by your knee, then drive them up towards your ribs, palms in, squeezing your shoulder blades.  Maintain your lunge position with the dumbbell rows for the full 30 seconds.  Switch legs on the 2^nd time through.
The second move is and Alternating Side Lunge with reverse fly.  This is just exactly what it sounds like.  Start with legs together, arms in front of your body, palms facing each other.  Lunge to one side, hinging your body forward so your back is parallel to the ground, arms directly below chest.  (It is very important that you keep good form here, do not rush through it.)  Extend your arms out to the side at shoulder height.  Return to start position and switch sides.  Just go back and forth for 30 seconds.
The third move is a Dive Bomber.  Put your dumbbells down for this move.  This move is kind of like downward dog, a plank and a pushup all thrown together.  Start on your mat in a plank position.  Lift up into a downward dog position.  (For those who aren’t familiar, you want to lift your hips so your body forms an inverted V and your feet are as flat on the ground as you can get them.)  Slowly bend your elbows and lower your chest towards the floor.  In one fluid movement, push onto your palms as you thrust your chest forward, then upward as you lower your hips to the floor, straightening your arms and balancing on the balls of your fit.  You don’t want to be lying on the ground.  Reverse back to start position and that is one rep.
Now repeat that circuit one more time for a total of 3 minutes and move onto the next circuit!

The next circuit is cardio.  Only 2 minutes of this, but since it’s quick, the moves are more intense. You’re going to do 2 moves, for 30 seconds each, repeated twice.
The first move is single leg mountain climbers.  You’re going to start like you would with normal mountain climbers.  Plant position, body straight.  Pull one knee in to your chest and keep your other leg straight back.  Hop your straight leg back and forth like you would with normal mountain climbers, keeping your other leg bent into your chest.  Repeat with other leg bent 2^nd time through.
The second move is a jump squat jumping jack.  Start with your feet together, jump out into a deep squat, touch the floor with one hand, keeping the other arm above your head.  Jump back to start position and repeat switching arms.
Repeat those 2 moves each twice for 30 seconds each for 2 minutes total.

The third circuit is Core.  You will need your dumbbells for one of these moves, so keep them on the floor by your side.
The first move is a chest fly in a Hollow Man position.  For the hollow man position, lie on your back and bring your shoulders and legs off the ground at about a 45° angle.  Hold that position.  Take a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing up, and bring them together straight above your chest.  Slowly lower down until they’re almost touching the floor.  Repeat that motion.
The second move is a windshield wiper.  This is one of my favorite ab moves, targeting abs and obliques.  In the same position lying on your back, raise your legs straight up, arms out straight at your shoulders.  Keeping your body as still as possible while dropping your legs to the right as close to the floor as possible.  Come back to start position and lower to the left.  Repeat.
I repeat that circuit twice because a little extra core never hurt anyone. 

 Now if you do that workout with no rest in between, you will feel it.  It gets your heart rate up, combines strength, cardio and core for an allover workout; and it takes less than a half hour!  I like to put about 10 seconds in between the moves, just so I have time to switch to the next one, for example grabbing  the dumbbells and lying down on the mat.  I like to time myself like that so I don’t take longer breaks than needed; because the quicker you get through it (with correct form!) the better it works.  I’ll attach a picture of my app so you know what I mean.

 

Ok, so you now have no excuse not to work out, so get moving!

If you need any clarifications or modifications or have any questions please ask!

Also, here is a picture of the workout for further clarification.

(Please excuse the format, I had to convert it from a PDF, but it goes in order.  Top left is the first 2 moves of the first circuit, top right is the Dive Bomber, and the bottom is the cardio and core moves)