Jillian Michaels - KickBox FastFix - UK PAL

I've got half a dozen or more Jillian DVDS now and this is firmly installed as one of my favourites. It's very cardio- focused but you'll feel it in your muscles as well as working up a sweat. Workout one uses hand weights for a few moves, otherwise you just need some space (and a towel to mop up, probably).There are three workouts, ostensibly targeting upper body, legs and core respectively. Each one is twenty minutes, start to finish. There's no set warm up, just a slightly easier first circuit, and a very brief cool down at the end of each one. The workouts are circuit-based, each with four circuits that more or less repeat - it's occasionally annoying that you don't get a chance to try every combination twice, given that some of them can be a little tricky to get the hang of.Jillian includes a tutorial section, which is definitely recommended. You may find it a bit confusing a first but be encouraged - repetition will help you get the hang of it, and it's worth noting that the girls frequently get things wrong or get out of sync.As noted by various reviewers, there's a "crew" of girls demonstrating here rather than Jillian's standard two helpers. I quite like this, although some people clearly find it distracting or annoying. I particularly like the fact that although all the girls are clearly very fit, there's a whole range of body shapes (and ethnicities) - not just stick-thin. I can see why some reviewers have got annoyed with one of the girls, who is a bit over-the-top (you'll work out which one very quickly), but I find her inspiring - you certainly can't accuse her of not putting in effort. I really like the fact that all of the girls are clearly sweating like dogs - they're actually human!I tend to do two workouts back to back, as I find one a bit short on its own; I have to be feeling really fresh to do all three. Workout one is the easiest; workout two is the hardest (at least I find that to be the case). These are great for working up a sweat and getting your heart rate up, and there's potential for decent muscle strengthening here.Only criticism would be the lack of proper warm-up and the shortness of the cool-down. I'd say that if you're doing this when you're stiff and cold or if you know you're likely to need a bit of gentle easing in, consider doing a bit of additional work before you start. I'm also not hugely keen on Jillian encouraging the girls to "break his ribs", "smack him down" etc.All in all, it's good fun - twenty minutes certainly flies by, and I love how confident I feel when I'm doing this. Still not sure I'd actually want to try kicking an attacker in the head, but in theory I could...

I've followed most of Jillian's DVDs and they are all really good and make you work hard but you get results. This one is quite different, being kick-boxing based but it's a nice change to the other ones. The only issue is the gang of girls in the back making whooping noises all the time, even in the cool down. Jillian normally has two people, one to demonstrate the standard/advanced moves and one for modified moves but this group is just too frantic. I usually do these DVDs a few times and write down the moves so I can carry on without the DVD and it's a must with this one. It's quite fast-paced but once you've written it down you can go at your own pace so don't panic, you just need practice.

I'm new to Jillian's workouts and I actually do enjoy her methods. I used to do tae bo with Billy Blanks but now I just do his work outs when I need to loosen up or a break from Jillian.This dvd is very different to her others. She usually has structure and its synchronised but there are 6 girls in the back all psychotic looking (lol) and doing their own thing! I like to pretend I'm one of those girls and copy them but they usually lose their rhythm and then I do too.Jillian loses her rhythm a lot and forgets how to count.It is all a bit of fun. I like to do workout 2 mostly which is legs and then when I'm feeling adventurous I do all three.But I highly recommend Jillian Michaels. Even though she can't do some of her own workouts, she has other girls who can.I've been doing it for three weeks now and notice a difference after not doing any exercise for nearly 10 years after a period of procrastination.

I haven't enjoyed the last couple of JM's DVD's as much as her earlier one's and found Shed and Shred a bit tired and not up to her usual tough standards.This one I love - its a total departure from the norm, the only familiar features are a couple of the girls and the fact that its built up out of circuits so each section is done twice.The format is simple (and brings out my only niggle/moan about this DVD - but I'll save that til the end) and it consists of 3 20 min workouts, (and they are only 20min!) each made up of 4 5-6 min circuits. One workout focusing mostly on the upper body, one focusing on the lower body and the third on the abs. Though they all work the core pretty hard - its hard not to with kick boxing. The lower body routine is a real cardio blast and will get your heart rate the highest, though all of them will get you breathing hard and sweating hard. All three routines consist of some simple kick/punch reps, as well as some set kick punch combos that are really great fun, and a few traditional weights exercises thrown in for good measure. (Any Tai-Bo fans out there will possibly find them a little simplistic - but still good fun).I thoroughly enjoyed these workouts, and the time seriously vanishes while you're doing them - so the niggle??I found them all too short - this dvd would hit absolut perfection if there was a "play all" menu feature! Though its not too much of a pain to use the menu to do them all back to back - and that gives you a tip-top cardio full body workout that is about as much fun as you can have while still working hard.Loved this!

I am completely new to KICKBOXING and very pleased with this video. I read the reviews prior to purchase and it was well described and just what I required. Recently I tried a live Zoom taster class but I found it difficult to keep up with the others and consequently rather foolish.. Jillian Michaels video is great because before starting the intensive exercise, there is an excellent tutorial video to familiarise you with all the moves "so you can perfect your form before exercising". Also, as there is no 'live competition" when you do the Workouts, you can do these exercises at your own pace without feeling pressured. For me this is a great video I highly recommend it.

Love jillian dvds