Jillian Michael’s BODYSHRED™ Comes to GoodLife

When asked to name a celebrity fitness trainer, I think most people (whether you are into fitness or not) will almost immediately think of Jillian Michaels:

Jillian, who first became a household name as a trainer on TV has built her fitness empire of workout DVD’s and books on her no nonsense approach to fitness, and passion for metabolic training.

As great as her DVDs and books are, they still aren’t the same as being able to workout with her live, and because she can only be in one place at a time she has partnered with GoodLife Fitness to bring the Jillian Michaels BODYSHRED™ program to GoodLife Fitness Clubs across Canada!  So while most of us will never get the chance to workout live with Jillian, now you can do the next best thing – workout with an instructor trained in Jillian’s methods who is ready and willing to kick your butt!

The great thing about the Jillian Michaels BODYSHRED™ class format is that it is only 30 minutes long!  So you’re in and out of the gym in under an hour! I know what you’re thinking, if it’s only 30 minutes long, then it’s only half as effective as a full hour class – that just isn’t the truth.  Jillian Michael’s BODYSHRED™ is a high-intensity, fun and effective interval/circuit workout, and studies have shown time and time again that shorter, more intense interval workouts are not only as effective as longer steady state workouts, but can be more effective if done properly.  And you can be sure Jillian has made sure that Jillian Micheals BODYSHRED™ is doing it right and giving you the most bang for your buck!

I really love that this program is only 30 minutes long.  So many people still feel that if they can’t workout for an hour they might as well not workout at all. They just don’t realize that it’s not how long you workout, it’s how you workout in the time you have!  When I first started bringing fitness into my life, I was struggling with the tasks of daily life thanks to Fibromyalgia. It was my naturopath who told me I needed to start to exercise regularly so I started off walking as it was spring and the weather was nice and walking was easy on my joints. The more active I became the less overall pain I had and by that autumn I had experienced such a turnaround in my health and overall joint and body pain levels that I was able to train for and run my first 5K!

But once winter came around it wasn’t safe for me to be out walking or running as I lived in an area without sidewalks. That’s when I turned to interval training. I felt well enough to try to “amp up” my workouts so I started putting together workouts from exercises I found in fitness magazines and doing 20-30 minute interval circuit workouts 2-3 times/week in my kitchen.  At the time my “gym” consisted of 2 sets of hand weights, an exercise ball, a yoga mat and a kitchen chair.  And let me tell you, those workouts kicked my butt.  I still remember how difficult some of the exercises were for me at the time  (like a hamstring curl on a stability ball, it took all my strength just to keep my hips elevated, nevermind the curling!).  After a few months of working out like this, for the first time in my life I started have noticeable muscle definition in my upper body! I was also losing weight at the same rate I had been while walking/running but I was working out less!  I couldn’t believe it.  I was so excited!

So when I say shorter, more intense interval training workouts are effective, it’s because I’ve experienced first hand how effective they are.  Not only do they improve athletic performance, but they also have been shown to burn fat more effectively. But don’t get me wrong, they can be tough!  To this day, I find high intensity interval training extremely difficult, probably because with the number of classes I teach I don’t have the chance to make them a regular staple in my routine so everytime is like the first time.

Just check out the sweat pouring down my arm after a 15 minute HIIT workout!

I’ve not only seen the results of interval training in myself, I’ve also seen them in my friends.  While they almost always cringe when they see a new circuit training workout on the schedule, it is still amazing for me to watch how quickly their strength increases when they challenge themselves in this way. I had one friend who was already in great shape lose over 5 inches in her “trouble spots” in two weeks thanks to these types of workouts.  And the real kicker is, because they are shorter, they are easier to fit into our busy lives.  No longer do we need to find a full hour to exercise to reap the benefits!

And yes, I’ve openly admitted to these being tough workouts, but the great thing about them is, you can still only work as hard as you can work. As you get stronger you are able to work a little bit harder and start getting a little deeper into the exercises, and before you even realize it you are doing something you never thought you would be able to do!  The truth is, if you want the results you have to put in the effort, and now with Jillian Michaels BODYSHRED™ exclusively coming to GoodLife Fitness, you can do just that, all under the watchful eye of a certified instructor.  I predict in the coming years you’ll see more and more of these types of classes becoming mainstream.  Shorter, more intense workouts are the cardio/strength hybrid of the future!

Oh, remember earlier when I said that most of us will never get the chance to workout live with Jillian?  Well, Jillian is actually going to be going on a 6 city tour of Canada* teaching Jillian Michaels BODYSHRED™ at GoodLife Fitness Locations and YOU could win an invitation to one of them!  

To enter for your chance to workout LIVE with Jillian enter here

The contest is open to all Canadian residents and ends on February 21, 2014.

*Locations on the tour include: Calgary, Waterloo, Toronto, Burlington, Ottawa and Halifax)

Disclosure: Although this post has been generously sponsored by GoodLife Fitness, the opinions and language are all my own, and in no way do they reflect GoodLife Fitness.