Despite my love of the 30 Day Shred, a few months ago I was on the lookout for a workout video that was a little less intense so I could still work out on days when I just wasn't up for the Shred. After some research I purchased The Biggest Loser Power Sculpt. Though I've never watched The Biggest Loser, I knew I was a Jillian fan, and one of my biggest fitness goals lately has been increasing strength. I figured this workout would be a good way to transition from 2 pound weights to 5 pound weights.
The video has 3 levels, but unlike 30 Day Shred, you are not supposed to do the levels separately. The DVD recommends doing Level 1 for 2 weeks, then Level 1 and Level 2, then finally all 3 levels. I started out with Level 1 and my 2 pound weights, but found it pretty easy, so added on Level 2. What a difference! Level 2 is only an extra 10 minutes, but it is intense, and doing it after already doing Level 1 for 20 minutes really wipes me out. I have yet to move up to Level 3 - I will do so sometime when it's not 30+ degrees in Ottawa.
I have since switched to 5 pound weights to do this workout as I had hoped - for me, this makes the workout quite a bit harder, but it's nice to know I'm actually working those muscles! For a few of the exercises in Level 1 Jillian recommends holding both hand weights in one hand. Apparently I have tiny hands because my hands are too small for this! Instead I use a 5 pound weight and a 2 pound weight together and that works well.
I would recommend this workout for exercise beginners as that is who it is designed for, with simple moves and less intensity than the 30 Day Shred. That said, this is no walk in the park! This workout gets me sweating and my heart pumping, like a good workout should. I probably do this more than 30 Day Shred now (again, I claim the heat as my excuse), but ideally I would be alternating them in order to do each workout at least twice a week. That's my goal to work towards!
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