Jillian Michael’s Body Revolution: A Classic Workout for Women over 50

If you’re a woman over 50 and want a good, classic workout that builds week by week, making you stronger, more fit, and more coordinated as you go along, it’s hard to beat Jillian Michael’s Body Revolution set!

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I have a confession to make. I really, really like to workout to DVDs. I’m not sure why, but perhaps it’s the music (though the music is not always good), or just the extra oomph I get from watching the moves. This DVD set review is of Jillian Michael’s Body Revolution DVD set.

Jillian’s Body Revolution set is a 90-day program, and it takes you from beginner to…well, I would say intermediate strength training.

I very much enjoyed the first few weeks, though I needed to up the weights quite a bit.

Good For Beginners

If you’re a beginner to strength training, this is an excellent choice. And just so you know, losing weight after 50 is not the only goal.

We need to become or stay strong so we can ward off the ravages of aging and stay independent as long as possible. Exercise is simply not an option when you’re over 50!

It progresses nicely, and Jillian’s usual sneer and weird bad-ass attitude is not nearly as pronounced in this series.

It’s not that I don’t like bad-ass workouts, but her attitude often irks me.

What If You Never Lifted A Weight In Your Life?

If you’re a total newbie to lifting anything heavier than a soup can, fear not. The great thing about Jillian’s Body Revolution set is you begin where you are.

You can always begin a strength training routine with no weights at all. In fact, it’s always a good idea to watch a DVD first to get familiar with the moves themselves, and maybe try a few of them, stop the DVD, try again, etc.

I know how anxious we can all get to start right in and go for it, but you know that usually ends in sore muscles and giving up!

Remember, we’re not about that anymore. You want to start small, make new tiny habits, and go from there.

Jillian herself says in many of her DVDs (and she has a LOT of them) to “just try.” If you can’t do something perfectly right away, just try. I promise, it does get better and easier and you will feel less uncoordinated!

Body Revolution Set Details

Body Revolution comes with 15 DVDs. Twelve of them are strength workouts, and three are cardio.

You workout six days per week, doing 2 strength workouts back-to-back, a cardio, 2 strength, and a cardio.

The seventh day is a rest day. Sometimes I use the rest day for a short 15-minute or so stretching routine.

Though I don’t much care for stretching (while I’m doing it), I have found that as I get older, it really does help me stay more flexible, and keeps me from getting injured more frequently.

Now, again, if you’re a complete beginner at strength training, don’t freak out about the 6 days a week thing. You don’t have to start there!

No one is going to be watching you and checking your progress (except you). If you need to do it twice a week for starters and continue on with your walking program, by all means do that.

You’re the one in charge.

The set is in three phases: the first phase gets you used to the basic moves, is more low impact, and helps you build core strength and stability.

The second phase gives you a bit more challenging moves that are more dynamic, meaning for Jillian’s set, that you may do an upper body move while you’re also doing a lunge. These require more coordination!

Finally, phase 3 is more focused on “high-energy” circuits designed to tone your body and shred more fat.

What I Like About Jillian’s Body Revolution

Jillian’s cueing is excellent, and there are good variations for easier or more difficult versions of the moves. This is perfect if you need to modify for any reason, including knee, shoulder, or back problems, or just plain running out of breath!

The music is decent, though I have to admit I don’t really pay much attention to the music in workout DVDs.  The extras are competent and mostly show good form.

Again, I don’t pay all that much attention to the other exercisers unless I’m following one of them for modifications.

If you faithfully follow the program, especially while following the nutritional/diet recommendations, you will lose weight and firm up. You can’t help but do so after following this for 90 days!

You will likely add some lean muscle mass as well, which is something we all should be doing no matter our age. More muscle mass helps you prevent injuries, reduce the risk of falls, regulate your blood sugar and much, much more.

What Could Be Improved?

Although I really liked the first two phases (albeit adding more weight), the last one focused more on complicated moves that I did not care as much for. This is the phase 3 referenced above.

I prefer basic moves with more weight to progress in strength gains and fat loss.

I am pretty much a klutz, so complicated moves don’t do much for me. Your results may vary of course, especially if you enjoy that sort of challenge.

And of course, if I follow my own advice, I’ll just try, right?

The main part I’m not wild about is that there is only one different cardio workout per month, so it gets a bit boring.

I substituted some treadmill HIIT workouts at times for the cardio DVDs. You can substitute with walking fast, jogging on a treadmill, cycling, or any number of other options.

I did like the last cardio workout the best.

Do I Recommend Jillian Michael’s Body Revolution set?

All-in-all, I recommend Jillian Michael’s Body Revolution, especially for beginners looking to transform their bodies. Don’t think because you’ve over 50 you can’t get stronger and do most any of the moves that Jillian and her cohort do in these programs. You absolutely can!

If you faithfully follow both the exercise and diet portions, you can’t help but lose weight and reshape your body! And getting in shape and looking and feeling our best over 50 is what we’re all after, right?

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