Jillian Michaels: 6 Week Six-Pack [DVD]

Wow! I held off buying this immediately after it was released; plainly, that was madness as in my opinion, this is JM's best workout yet...and that's saying something, as all of my reviews have given JM's workout dvds 5 stars.
As others have said, this is a noticeable step up from 30DS. Do that before you try to do this.
This time last year, I had never heard of Jillian Michaels, but now I am a complete convert having completed 30DS and loved it (and the results of course - how could anyone not have a vastly improved body after doing 30DS?!). All of my friends commented upon how much weight I had lost, although actually it was more about toning up. Once they found out that I had been doing 30DS, they bought it and now they are converts too! I then went on and bought Banish Fat Boost Metabolism and No More Trouble Zones, which I completed on alternate days. Both of those workouts have me dripping in sweat in the first few minutes and make me feel nicely worked out by the end. They work - I lost weight and fat, with noticeable results within 2 weeks (that's on top of the 30DS results). After less than 2 months, I could not believe the results.
Then I had a busy period with work, stopped working out so frequently and felt that I needed to get back into the routine, perhaps with a new workout to bring mix things up. Am I glad I bought this DVD! JM is on top form, with a fast-paced routine designed to rev up your metabolism (there is quite a lot of aerobic activity in this one) and to tone up your tum (lots of core focused exercises, such as the side plank with twist and the spider plank). As others have said, you will need some handweights for this workout, as in 30DS. Once again, this workout had me dripping in sweat almost immediately and the stomach exercises are awesome, there is really no other word for them! In fact, such was the effect upon me, that I could not then face going on to No More Trouble Zones immediately afterward, which was my plan. For comparison, the moves are a lot faster in this workout than in any of the aforementioned.
This workout is seriously difficult and will push you even further than JM's previous offerings. I have now started a 6 week plan of completing this 5x per week as recommended, together with doing Banish Fat and No More Trouble Zones on alternate days. I will update with how the plan goes (if I don't die of exhaustion first!). I am not sure how JM will top this latest offering, but hopefully none of us will have too long to wait to find out - I hear she is soon to release yet another DVD called Ripped In 30. Sign me up immediately.
Get this DVD now. Do it. You might ache the next day, but you absolutely will not regret it.

UPDATE 08/03/11 - Brilliant results. I know a lot of people here have said that Level 2 was very fast paced if not impossible to perform, but my experience was that after a few times of completing Level 2, it was possible to keep up and perform the moves. Comparing Level 1 with Level 2, I will say my preference was for Level 1 insofar as the "floor" ab work was concerned, but Level 2 insofar as the standing ab/cardio work was concerned, if that makes sense. Favourite (read, effective) moves from Level 1 are the side plank and side crunch. Level 2 favourites are chops with lunge (what a killer, I swear you can feel the fat burning off your waist) and the old favourite plank twists (those of you who have 30DS and NMTZ will recognise those). The results speak for themselves, I am definitely a lot more toned at the core and upper body strength has improved significantly from just performing this workout 5 times a week; I didn't manage to combine with BFBM or NMTZ every day as planned (probably only about a third of the time), but I did carry on with pilates on my reformer. Using this workout 5 times a week will result in weight loss, guaranteed. I would say though that the commitment required is longer than 6 weeks (I would say I need another couple of weeks before I see proper muscle definition in my abs, but then I am a slim apple shape, so sadly my tummy takes some serious work!). I am going to keep on BUT I have just ordered my long awaited copy of: Ripped in 30 [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]. I will review that once it arrives and when I have completed the requisite 30 days. In the meantime I would encourage anyone to get 6 week 6 pack and feel great!

I'm a real Jillian Michaels convert and have all her other UK release DVDs (30 Day Shred, Banish Fat and No More Trouble Zones). But because of that I was in two minds about getting this one - how many new moves/ways to work could Jillian possibly offer us? But I decided to take the plunge...a 'Six Pack' definitely appealed...and I'm so glad I did. This has to be my favourite of Jillian's offerings so far, fast-paced and oh-so-intense!

Other reviewers have already outlined the format, which is two 35-minute 'Levels' incorporating a warm-up and cool-down. Like the 30 Day Shred, the length of time can fool you (well, it did me anyway!) into thinking it's going to be relatively easy. BUT if anything, this is a definite step up even from Level 3 of the 30 Day Shred! In this DVD, both levels target your core but if you think (as I would have done if I hadn't already known Jillian's training style) you'll just be doing half an hour of floor work, think again. You're getting a whole body workout, cardio and all, with particular emphasis on the core. Level 1 in particular made my obliques burn for days afterwards!

For me, Levels 1 and 2 differ only in the intricacy of the moves - the effort level was the same for both (i.e. gasping for breath and begging for water!) The moves in Level 1 are a lot more straightforward and can be followed from the get-go, whereas in Level 2 I found myself stopping a couple of times just to check how Jillian and her two helpers were carrying out a few of the moves (but after a couple of repetitions all was fine). For this reason I actually found Level 1 a bit tougher than Level 2. With each level you do a full 15 minute circuit of moves, before repeating the whole thing again at a faster pace.

As usual, the workout music is nothing to speak of (though for some reason I stop worrying about that once the workout really gets underway!) - but Jillian is at her motivational best on this DVD - she barks at you the whole way through, but it's so encouraging and you REALLY want to do your best and get the most out of every move. If you're having a 'fat' day, stick this DVD on, give it your all and I can guarantee it'll blast your worries into oblivion! Your fitness levels will skyrocket.

And - if you're feeling brave enough, get Jillian's other DVDs too. At the risk of sounding a bit cheesy, your body will thank you for it! :)

Today is 1 January 2011. I work out 6 days a week and I see no reason to change my schedule just because it's New Year's Day. Having received this yesterday, I was absolutely dying to get stuck in. 30 Day Shred has been my morning workout for a while now, and I thought this would be a nice alternative. Boy oh boy, did I ever get my abs kicked!

The cardio got my heartrate up, but if I thought I was going to get a break when she said hit the mat I was wrong. The second round is faster too so by the time I finished the workout I'd lost about 5lbs already - in sweat. The side plank hold with the knee tuck was a killer for me, I literally thought my elbow was going to crack from keeping me up, or my shoulder rip out of it's socket or some other such hideous occurence. But be honest, if you are buying a Jillian Michaels dvd I reckon you know it's not going to be something you can do with a full face of make up and daintily mop a bead of sweat from your brow when your done. If that IS what you want, this isn't the dvd for you.

However, if you want to see the light beckoning you to cross over while you're holding spider plank, this IS the dvd for you. Not only do you get an awesome workout (of course), but if you do this in the morning I think it's safe to say that there is probably very little that your body will have to do for the rest of the day that will be this insane, so the hard part is over and you get to feel superior and proud as hell of yourself for doing something amazing for yourself and your body ;)