Jillian Michaels: 30 Day Shred

This is an excellent workout programme. It's targeted, fast, and extremely efficient. It's amazing how much you can achieve in 20 minutes. If you are short on time and still want to feel like you've worked hard, this one is for you. And if you feel particularly daring and have a bit more time, you can combine two modules….but tread carefully….not for the faint hearted. The wonderful thing is how quickly you see improvements if you stick to it. Jillian Michael's style is motivating, encouraging, and she does give a lot of helpful technical hints. Because she keeps talking you through the exercises the time seems to fly by for a lot of them. The only thing I would criticize is that the cool down & stretch part feels a bit rushed and it not adequate considering how hard you've just been worked. If you can, do a bit of extra on that front and you'll be all set. Enjoy!

Debated whether to spend the money on it or not as seemed a bit of a risk but am glad I did, I felt the same after one 20min workout as I did after a 50 min workout at the gym. It's catered for all levels of fitness and it doesn't matter if you lack confidence as you're motivated throughout. If you keep to it, as well as watch what you eat of course, you'll see results. The only thing I will warn is it seems you may have to have an Internet connection to watch on iPad as when I tried it without one it wouldn't load. Apart from that though, well worth a tenner.

Criticism: I wouldn't recommend this workout for someone high in the obese range of the BMI scale as it is pretty tough. I lost a lot of weight, then started when I was around a BMI of 29. Some people I know have said there aren't enough stretches to begin with and have pulled a muscle. Praise: I have just downloaded Level 2 - which shows I liked Level 1. I don't do it day-in-day-out but spread it out and still get fitter. Music is not annoying. Morning after the first day - you will be sore. This is a good thing. Would highly recommend to anyone who is 'overweight' and sedentary (or lighter and trying to build muscle). Perhaps do an extra 3 minutes warmup to help prevent pulling muscles or injuring yourself. YOU WILL NEED HANDWEIGHTS (recommended 1.5 - 2.5 kg, I have 3 kg weights which are a bit much to begin with).

Being relatively new to circuit training I've only bought Level 1 so far. I love Jillian's tough yet encouraging style. The workout consistst of 3 rounds of strength (3 mins), cardio (2 mins), plus abs (1 min) so a grand total of 18 mins + warm up and cool down. This makes a very efficient workout, and it's over before you know it - yet you finish feeling like you've accomplished something. The short intervals ensure you don't get bored easily, and the workout is tiring but not impossible. Perfect, in my opinion, for a beginner.

I actually first started doing this workout when I had made the decision that I wanted to get fit and healthy. I had seen Jillian Michaels on the biggest loser and knew she was excellent at getting results. I only had a limited time to workout on particular days so this 20 minute workout is fantastic to complete every other day and I saw better and faster results than any other workout I have tired, believe me I have tried many. It's also excellent that this workout has different difficulty levels, by the the time you get to level three you feel so proud to how far that you have come and yes you do look shreded (toned). Jillian is very motivating in this workout and supportive. I now do this workout combined with No More Trouble Zomes (Jillian Michaels) and I have never felt so toned and my fitness levels have improved so much. So if you have only a limited amount of time to workout and/or just starting out on your new lifestyle then I strongly recommend this :)