Girls don’t just simply decide to hate their bodies, we teach them to

I found this little picture on a fitness page on Facebook.  I thought it was so spot on to our thinking on women in society.

Society does teach girls to hate their bodies.  We teach it in magazines.  We teach it on TV.  We teach it on the internet.  We teach it on the street.  We teach it at home.  We place a woman’s value on her figure rather than on her brain or her personality.  Little girls pick up on this at an early age and decide that they are not “okay” just the way they are.

I am sure there are men out there who do care about a girlfriend or wife’s personality in becoming a partner for them but I also think that at least 75% of men, if not more, place the worth of their girlfriend or wife on how she looks.  That in turn makes the man look better if he has a more attractive female on his arm.  I believe the majority of men would date or marry a woman with a less than desirable personality if she is really hot. The less attractive females get left our regardless of their brains or personalities. Girls pick up on this at a young age as well.  There have been some quotes from girls that they would rather be dead than fat.  I’m sure some adult women have said this as well (even if I haven’t seen the quote).

Someday I hope that we teach little girls to value themselves on their brains and personalities over the shape of their bodies.  I believe in teaching healthy living and fitness, but not placing one’s worth on it.

Jillian Michaels Killer Buns & Thighs Level 3 Workout

The third level on this DVD is the most challenging and Advanced of the three workouts (at least as Jillian states it – I still find the balance/stability work of Level 2 pretty challenging).  You will need a chair, heavy to moderate hand-weights and a mat for this workout.

This level starts off with a thorough warmup.  Level 3 is set up like the other two with the circuit of movements and then repeating them.  You will need a fair amount of upper body strength, especially in the first circuit of movements.  For the frog hops please be careful if you choose to jump both your hands and feet off of the ground.  I think that you could really injure your wrists if you aren’t careful or strong enough to handle your body weight.  Jillian focuses more on moves for one side of the body and then catching the other side of the body on the second round in Level 3.  She continues with the plyometric movements to raise the heart-rate and at one point when I looked at my heart-rate monitor it was 171 which is really good.  I didn’t feel like I was working that hard but obviously I was.  I will know for sure by tomorrow!  The cool-down/stretch in this level is the most thorough of all three.  Jillian ends this with a little motivational speech in the corpse pose (from yoga).  Some may find it cheesy or lame but I think more women need to hear the point she was trying to get across.  Kudos to Jill for this.

Level 3 wasn’t as scary as I thought it might be after doing Level 2.  There was a 1 legged mountain climber but other than that it wasn’t too hard that it isn’t doable and she does offer suggestions on how to make it harder if you find that it is too easy.

Looking forward to whatever is next from Jillian.

Jillian Michaels Killer Buns & Thighs Level 2 Workout

This workout is Intermediate/Advanced level.  There are beginner modifications and advanced modifications offered.  You will need hand-weights and a chair.  The length of this workout is roughly 42 minutes long.

Level 2 starts out with a thorough warmup with some dynamic movements that you do one time around and then repeat.  Your heart-rate will get up in the warmup.  Jillian has this set up like Level 1 in that you do a round of exercises and then repeat them.  There are once again four separate circuits.  The difference and what makes this a higher level intermediate is that Jillian incorporates more balance and stability into this workout.  A few of the movements are more challenging and there are more plyometric movements as well so your heart-rate will get up there.  Jillian does some combo movements and a few that are a twist on classic movements. At the end, I thought that the stretch was a bit more thorough and less rushed than what was done in Level 1.

Jillian’s a bit tougher talking in this workout.  She pushes the girls harder.  I guess that is to be expected since the workout is tougher and more challenging.  The phrase “get some” does get tiresome to me though but I can ignore it.

I found this workout challenging because of the added balance and stability work.  I have problems in that area.  The exertion level isn’t really a problem though.  The one legged burpee is something I hadn’t tried before and doing movements such as this may just push me out of my plateau.

With something like the one legged burpee being in the Level 2 workout, I am wondering what is to come in the Level 3.  I’m a little scared!

Jillian Michael’s Killer Buns & Thighs – Level 1

Jillian’s Killer Buns & Thighs DVD offers three workouts roughly 40 minutes in length and progressively getting tougher with each workout.  Since I just finished The Butt Bible, I am really looking forward to having a rocking booty after completing this set of workouts for a few weeks.  This is a review of Level 1 only.

This is an intermediate level workout with beginner modifications and modifications for the advanced. You will need a set of medium to heavy hand weights for this workout (I like heavy for deadlifts).  This workout is 41 minutes long.

Jillian starts out this workout with a thorough warmup which includes a circuit of dynamic stretches and movements that you repeat two times.  There are four total exercise circuits in which Jillian does five moves once and then repeats them.  She includes dynamic and cardio movements to get your heart-rate up.  She tells you to pick up the pace if you want to intensify the movement and raise your heart-rate sky high.  In the movements that utilize handweights, she explains that you can use heavier weights to make that particular movement harder.  The third circuit offers old school type movements including the fire hydrant that I’m sure those who worked out with Jane Fonda in the 80s will remember!  She ends this workout with a short stretch that I thought could have been a little more thorough.

Jillian isn’t too domineering in this workout.  She is the tough trainer that you would expect but she doesn’t go over the top.  Jillian cues well and offers explanations of good form.  Jillian mentions that she realizes the background girls are using light weights but they do more than one take during filming so she doesn’t want to overwork them (apparently people on Facebook and Twitter complain about it being too easy).  She is trying to tell you to use heavy weights!  I agree totally with her.  A couple of the moves are a little unique and I will take them to the gym with me to keep it fresh.  I only meant to do half of this workout the first time because I was running late but I decided to finish the whole thing because I was enjoying myself!  I cannot wait to get to Level 3 – I’m looking forward to the challenge.