Working Out with Jillian Michaels

It’s almost been two weeks since I attended class taught by Jillian Michaels. While it’s starting to feel as though it didn’t really happen, parts of it are still clear in my mind and will remain so for a very long time.

I want to start this conversation off by telling you that celebrity trainers don’t necessarily impress me. I know that sounds jaded and harsh, but the truth of the matter is there are a ton of really good trainers with exercise science backgrounds that no one has ever heard of that impress me much more than a trainer with that happens to be on television or has celebrity clientele.

However, I am impressed by people who make it big in this industry of mine by working hard and inspiring people to do something out of the ordinary. There’s no doubt Jillian is one of those people.

Ecstatic and grateful to be working out with Jillian, I was also a little hesitant. I wasn’t sure if: a) I could survive & b) if it would include exercises that could cause injury (’cause lets be honest not all the exercises on The Biggest Loser look safe for someone coming off the injury list).

 

 While waiting outside the group fitness studio at Crunch waiting for class to begin, Jillian walked down the stairs and stood in front of me. Her diva-less, friendly vibe was something I was immediately drawn to and proved to shine through even more throughout the workout and at the Shape Magazine party.

The workout BODYSHRED which will be offered at Crunch Gym’s nationwide next month (taught by Crunch instructors), is an interval style workout. The intervals which, Jillian explained at the beginning of class are composed of: 3-minutes of strength, 2-minutes of cardio, 1-minute of abs.

Jillian also explained that our workout that day would be a level 2.5-3. If you’ve ever done any of her workout videos then you know that level 3 is the hardest level. No doubt this workout was level three!

The workout itself was challenging to say the least. I couldn’t quite master a few of the exercises in the limited amount of time we were doing them in, but I worked harder in that class than I can remember working in a long time. There’s just something about Jillian that makes you want to work harder, even when she isn’t yelling.

After class Jillian was the most friendly and easy-going “star” I’ve ever met. Even when her people were saying there was no time for photographs, she started waving people over in-between her conversations to snap photos with her.

I absolutely loved the workout and I wish I could follow Jillian around all day so that when I grow up I could be just as motivational as she is (but on a non-famous scale).

 

{Disclaimer: I was invited to attend the class at Crunch free of charge, but was not required to write about my experiences and was only compensated in the form of being wildly motivated.}