My favorite Cardio workout on DVD

 I have many workout DVD from different fitness gurus, trainers and athletes... And there is one that  helped me making long lasting changes in my life.  
"Banish Fat Boost metabolism" by Jillian Michaels is a complete and high intensity aerobic workout program. I have started to use it about 5 years ago and I still have been using regularly. This is I so far, my favorite Cardio workout program on DVD.

 After I've completed the program for the first time, I had an epiphany while listening to Jillian's words at the end of the cool down...:  "it's more just about the outside. Me too I want to have a six pack abs, ripped up legs, feel great about my body in a bikini. There is nothing wrong with that. But know this is about more than that. It's about being empowered in every single aspects of your life. This is about your health and when your health is strong, every other aspects of your life is going to be strong... So bring intention in your actions, go forward to your rest of your day and kick some butt"
 
Her message was uplifting and empowering! From there I started my journey to being healthier and stronger for life!

I've known the quote from Arthur Schopenhauer " The greatest of follies is to sacrifice health for any other kind of happiness" for a long time, but for some strange reasons I've never applied that simple yet profound statement to myself  when I was reading his work at that time.
 I was disconnected from my body and the need to take better care of myself. When I started that workout, I was 134 lbs / 60kg  (I'm 5'6'' / 1.68 m) and now 5 years later I am 20 pounds lighter.  Eating healthy helped me too . I've started to lift heavier weights recently so we'll see if I will gain (healthy) weight, which does not bother me.


 
What's in that workout?
There are a warm up, 7 circuits and a cool down. The workout is 50 minutes long
Each circuit is about 5 minutes long.
There are 5 exercises in each circuit, repeated twice. Each exercise is 30 second long.
 
Warm up: 
arm circles
toe touches
arm swings 
jogging in place
(x2)

Circuit 1 - Kickboxing:
squatting side kicks on right side,
alternating punches in squat position
squatting side kicks on left side
jab-cross-hook-elbow boxing move
alternating front kicks
(x2)

Circuit 2 - Plyometrics:
Burpies
Plies hops
Punch Hop combination
180 degrees jumps
Single leg hops
(x2)

Circuit 3 - old school Calisthenics:
Butt kicks
High knees
Jumping jacks
Standing oblique crunches on right side
Standing oblique crunches on left side
(x2)

Circuit 4 - abs work on floor:
mountain climbers
superman
Pipe crunches
oblique twists
walking plank
(x2)

Circuit5 - Kickboxing:
swing kicks front
uppercuts on squat position
back kicks
jab-cross punches on squat position
knee crunches
(x2)

Circuit 6 - Plyometrics:
jump squats
cross-country skiing
scissor kicks
side skaters
standing mountain climbers
(x2)

Circuit 7:
moguls
standings pipes
knee crunches on the right side
knee crunches on the left side
jump rope
(x2)

Cool Down:
static stretches

It is a hard and intense aerobic workout but it is worth it. I've done it all summer in a +85F room. I was sweating like a beast but it felt so good afterward.
Jillian shows easy version of the advanced moves so the beginners are not intimidated.

It does not hurt to try. Let me know what you think about that workout. I'm sure you will feel great, strong and confident after completing it! ;)