This Whole Jillian Michaels Craze, and Working At An Appropr

Dear exercisers of the world,

Especially to those of you starting out, I want to point out that you must remember to monitor how your body feels, and work at the appropriate level. An MFP friend just reported back pain after completing a Shred workout, and I'm not surprised.

The greatest thing, I believe, about the Biggest Loser, is that it's showed people that they are almost definitely not going to die or seriously hurt themselves beyond getting sore if they exercise harder than is comfortable. And Jillian Michaels, completely unknown to me 10 years ago, and to a lesser extent Bob Harper, have shot to massive levels of popularity and financial success with their various products, including training DVDs, and they do deserve it.

But they're not the only trainers in the world, and Jillian, whose 30-Day Shred I do own and perform sometimes, doesn't even make my list of favorite video/celebrity trainers, having used workout vids since the mid-90s. Furthermore, their "proven formulas" might not be perfect for everyone, especially with regard to level appropriateness.

Now, I TOTALLY believe that IF you can get through one of these workouts without hurting your back or raising your HR over about 85% of your training zone, you should just keep doing them, with modifications if needed. But if you don't already know about form, and you're a beginner exerciser, and your abdominals, back, butt and quads are weak, I don't know that you can safely even test out one of these videos. If you don't know about form, how would you know how to test the (rather lengthy) forward-leaning row moves that, while well-enough supported for a reasonably fit person with bent legs and engaged abs, WILL probably hurt the back of a new exerciser and/or a person with back issues? Just for example.

Furthermore, for the five-hundredth time this week, I totally recommend doing some real investigation with some video vendors or communities who at least provide reviews. My absolute favorite is www.collagevideo.com, which provides in-depth, objective descriptions written by certified trainers on their staff, and most videos tested by most of their staff. They won't sell anything they don't think is good, they perform every video, provide detailed time breakdowns, and rate the choreography, aerobic/fitness level, and impact level of every video. You can easily find excellent options for beginner or beginner/intermediate fitness levels and watch longer clips to confirm you can do most moves safely, if you're less educated or very new to exercising. (I do NOT recommend buying equipment from them, it's all full-price and not great value at this stage of the game.) Anyway, I seriously recommend this or a careful review of amazon or other user reviews, and getting form coaching in person, if possible, from a trainer at the Y or a gym, and of course following any doctor's advice that's relevant to you.

That is: you DON'T need to kill yourself worshipping at the Church of Jillian Michaels. There are probably some better and more fun alternatives, whatever your level, at least to mix in, but definitely to rely on instead if you're facing pain or injury with these tougher, bootcamp-style workouts.

AND PS - I don't care if she tells us that 400-pound people can do jumping jacks so there's no modification... If you, like my mother, for instance, have a herniated disk, your doctor will tell you NO high-impact, jumping movements. Or, if your knees are bum. And a gajillion other instructors have made low-jacks work for people for these very reasons...

Play safe and have fun!

x -Fury