Since going Paleo my family has fallen even more in love with our grill. Paleo and grilling just work well together. The past couple of years I've even been stepping outside my grilling comfort zone more and more. Grilling things I'd never thought to have grilled before and trying new flavor combinations. I have to say I'm pretty thrilled with the results of most of my flavor experiments. In the past I'd never have thought to grill fruit, but it's amazing. Grilling fruit and adding it to traditionally savory dishes? Brilliant. Oh yes, and? New rule: every burger recipe for the rest of forever must contain grilled pineapple. OK, maybe more of a guideline. It's a seriously delicious combination though. This Smoky Grilled Pineapple Burger is always a crowd-pleaser at my house. It's not only Paleo, but Whole30, glutenfree, lower carb, and clean eating friendly. I promise you won't miss the bun! paleo, grilled pineapple burger, smoky
One of the newest single DVD offerings from Jillian Michaels, Extreme Shed and Shredis also one of her toughest! From the back of the DVD:
Jillian Michaels Extreme Shed and Shredis a fat-blasting, total body workout designed to help you drop pounds and get SHREDDED fast! This exciting fusion style workout blends everything from kickboxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to yoga and weight training in order to get you in incredible shape quickly while you have fun doing it. There are two 45-minute workouts that range in difficulty level, offering everything from intermediate to advanced moves while giving modifications for the beginner and the extreme athlete looking for a challenge.
As it says, this DVD is broken down into Level 1 and Level 2. The DVD says two 45 minute workouts, but during the workout Jillian calls them two 30 minute workouts. Confused? I was. So I timed them. Level 1 was 43 minutes (including the warm-up and cool-down) and Level 2 was 52 minutes (including the warm-up and cool-down). The warm-up and cool-down are a bit longer in this DVD; the warm-up was a little over 6 minutes and the cool-down was about 8 minutes. This includes about 2 minutes of what I would call a relaxation/pep talk Jillian gives at the end of the cool-down. You could of course skip that to save time, but I really liked the lengthened versions. Too many DVDs really cut those short.
As is typical of Jillian's DVDs this is set up in circuits. You go through each circuit twice. Jillian calls this a 'fusion' workout; it includes all kinds of different moves. There are body weight moves, moves using hand weights, yoga, martial arts inspired moves, cardio, isometric holds, high intensity intervals, and some kickboxing. For example, in Level 1 circuit 1 you do:
- Burpees with a lateral jump
- Down dog with your opposite hand on opposite ankle isometric hold
- Boxing combo punches
- Hindu squats
- Circle runs
- Then repeat
Somewhere in the DVD Jillian encourages you to do Level 1 and 2 together. Silly me, I listened. I did them back to back, once, and it is a killer workout that way. Seriously, I didn't want to get off the floor afterwards.
During Level 1 I burned 355 calories and during Level 2 I burned 419 calories. I did most of the advanced forms of the moves and I used 8 lb weights. This is according to my fitness level and in no way a recommendation to anyone else. When I did the DVD all at once I burned 695 calories (I definitely felt myself slacking by the end of level 2 when doing it all at once).
Extreme Shed and Shred is an intense DVD. There are modifications available for beginner through advanced. I would not however recommend this to an absolute beginner. This is a TOUGH workout, even Level 1. I found many of the moves very challenging. It's a sweat in my eyes kind of workout. If you have been doing 30 Day Shred and are looking to bump it up a notch, this DVD is it.
If you are a Jillian fan you will love this workout. If you're not, well, she's still Jillian as ever here. She teases about ending Basheerah (one of the back row) with this workout. Typical Jillian stuff. The only part that really bothered me was she says you should feel a 'tearing' in your side/obliques during a triangle pose hold. To me this is the wrong word choice. A tearing would describe the feeling during an injury. I think she just meant you should really feel it intensely in this area. It's simply a poor choice of words.
As with her Ripped in 30 DVD there is a 30 day meal plan you can download as a PDF. It is an approximately 1400 calorie a day plan and includes recipes. Meals range 300-400 calories and snacks roughly 200 calories. The plan calls for breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner. The DVD also includes a 30 day free trial of her site.
I enjoyed this DVD immensely and will definitely keep it in my workout rotation. It is very challenging and different from any of her other workouts. The set is clean and not distracting and the music is good, not cheesy or annoying. I enjoyed the new moves and the longer warm-up and cool-down portions. Overall, I give Extreme Shed and Shred 4 stars and definitely recommend it to everyone looking for a challenge.
More Jillian Michaels DVD Reviews:
Jillian Michaels BodyShred
Jillian Michaels Killer Buns and Thighs
Jillian Michaels Body Revolution
During Level 1 I burned 355 calories and during Level 2 I burned 419 calories. I did most of the advanced forms of the moves and I used 8 lb weights. This is according to my fitness level and in no way a recommendation to anyone else. When I did the DVD all at once I burned 695 calories (I definitely felt myself slacking by the end of level 2 when doing it all at once).
Extreme Shed and Shred is an intense DVD. There are modifications available for beginner through advanced. I would not however recommend this to an absolute beginner. This is a TOUGH workout, even Level 1. I found many of the moves very challenging. It's a sweat in my eyes kind of workout. If you have been doing 30 Day Shred and are looking to bump it up a notch, this DVD is it.
If you are a Jillian fan you will love this workout. If you're not, well, she's still Jillian as ever here. She teases about ending Basheerah (one of the back row) with this workout. Typical Jillian stuff. The only part that really bothered me was she says you should feel a 'tearing' in your side/obliques during a triangle pose hold. To me this is the wrong word choice. A tearing would describe the feeling during an injury. I think she just meant you should really feel it intensely in this area. It's simply a poor choice of words.
As with her Ripped in 30 DVD there is a 30 day meal plan you can download as a PDF. It is an approximately 1400 calorie a day plan and includes recipes. Meals range 300-400 calories and snacks roughly 200 calories. The plan calls for breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner. The DVD also includes a 30 day free trial of her site.
I enjoyed this DVD immensely and will definitely keep it in my workout rotation. It is very challenging and different from any of her other workouts. The set is clean and not distracting and the music is good, not cheesy or annoying. I enjoyed the new moves and the longer warm-up and cool-down portions. Overall, I give Extreme Shed and Shred 4 stars and definitely recommend it to everyone looking for a challenge.
More Jillian Michaels DVD Reviews:
Jillian Michaels BodyShred
Jillian Michaels Killer Buns and Thighs
Jillian Michaels Body Revolution