DVD Review: Killer Buns & Thighs

A friend of mine, who also happens to be a hair stylist, posted this status yesterday: “Never, I repeat never, snow a hairstylist in with a full hair color line.”

I thought back to my afternoon and thought: “Never, I repeat never, now a fitness enthusiast in with a pile of new fitness DVDs.”

To be honest, I’ve always been a bit of a fitness DVD snob. In my experience, most DVDs do little more than increase my heart-rate slightly above where it would be if I were just laying on the couch. Few give me what I would consider a good workout, and even less actually challenge my muscles.

Enter Jillian Michaels’ DVDs. Over Winter Break, I’d checked out a few from the library just to try them out. (You can read my review of Yoga Meltdown here.) Man, I was impressed. B got me a couple as stocking stuffers, and then, a couple of weeks ago, I was browsing on Amazon and ended up buying four Jillian Michaels’ DVD (including a pre-order of the yet-to-be-released Hard Body) for a measly $34. Pretty good deal, if you ask me. Unfortunately, between Kosama and marathon training, I hadn’t gotten the chance to try them out yet. Until yesterday when we were snowed in!

Around 2pm, I finally peeled myself off the couch. I changed into my workout clothes, sent the hubby out to shovel the driveway (hey, we only have one shovel!), and popped in my first DVD–Jillian’s Ripped in 30. The 20-min. cardio + strength circuit was a great way to kick off my workout (more review to come soon). But I wasn’t done yet.

My set-up in the living room

I then popped in Killer Buns & Thighs. 

Jillian promises in the introduction to this DVD to give you a rear so tight you can bounce a quarter off of it. (I wondered when this might occur. When will I know I’ve achieved this goal? Should I periodically ask B to drop a quarter onto my glutes and monitor its trajectory? How much bounce is enough? Should the quarter be dropped flat or perpendicular to the buttocks? Am I over-thinking this?)

The DVD includes three levels. Unlike her other DVDs, they’re not broken up into weeks, they’re just called levels. I decided to go with a modest Level 2 yesterday.

The workout includes a warm-up (a TOUGH warm-up, including squats, lunges, standing splits, and jumping jacks), plus three circuits. I loved this workout guys. Here’s why:

1. All of the exercises were either a) something I’d never done before, or b) a combination of moves I’d never done before.
2. The moves were TOUGH. She had me doing single-leg burpees, the Statue of Liberty, side squats with a leg lift, chair step-ups to a reverse lunge, reverse squats (OH MY GOSH reverse squats are so hard), pop-ups, leg extensions.
3. She told us what we would need at the beginning of the workout. This is so simple, but something so important for fitness DVDs. I hate it when you have to keep pausing a DVD to run in search of a different piece of equipment. (By the way, all you need for this one is a pair of dumbbells, a chair, and a mat.)
4. A lot of the exercises are done unilaterally, which is great for runners. As I’ve mentioned recently, I’ve been slacking on my exercises to strengthen my hip flexors and prevent ITBS.
5. My heart rate stayed high, thanks to cardio moves and plyometrics being incorporated into each circuit. I was sweaty by the end of this workout, guys. Like, seriously.

Killer Buns & Thighs is one of the first DVDs that I’ve felt like actually challenged my muscles in an at-home environment. You can bet I’ll be using it more often, especially throughout marathon training as it’s a fairly quick, easy way to strength train the lower body.

To round out my workout, I then threw in another stocking stuffer from B that I’d yet to open–Shiva Rea’s most recent DVD called More Daily Energy. I love her Daily Energy DVDs for their short 20 minute practice options, and the one I did yesterday (the first Lunar flow) did not disappoint. I promise to write more of a review once I’ve completed more of the practices!

Were you snowed in for your workout this week?

What is your favorite at-home workout or fitness DVD?

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