Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Round 3 / Day 67: Jillian Michaels' Yoga Meltdown - Level 2 Workout

It's my Recovery Week, and I wanted to do some yoga this morning, but wasn't exactly champing (chomping?) at the bit to do yet another session of Fountain of Youth or Yoga X. M suggested that I try her Jillian Michaels' Yoga Meltdown video, so I gamely popped it into the DVD player and selected the "Level 2" workout, guessing (based on nothing at all) that it was the more advanced of the two 30-minute sessions on the disc.


This workout's perfectly fine -- it features Jillian Michaels (the tougher/meaner of the two "Biggest Loser" trainers) front and center, doing an interesting hybrid of Ashtanga yoga moves (done faster than typical) and mild cardio. Most of the moves involve holding a yoga pose (Chair Lunge with a Twist, for example, or Half Moon) for a moment or two, and then quickly moving in and out of the pose to give your blood a little pump.

Michaels doesn't establish much of a flow between exercises or poses, nor does she bother with setting any sort of serene or zen-like atmosphere. Instead, the focus is clearly on power and movement rather than flexibility and balance (though she does spend some time trying -- and sometimes failing -- to stay balanced on one foot). I, for one, didn't mind it. It's definitely not "yoga" in the traditional sense, and I don't think I "burn[ed] mega calories" as indicated on the cover of the DVD box, but it was a good change of pace. Plus, while the session required more than a modicum of effort, it was low-key enough to qualify as a recovery workout.

One other thing I liked about this workout: We did Crane.

I kind of wish Michaels didn't keep referring to the audience as "girls," though. I already felt girly enough without the reminder that this DVD is targeted at women, thankyouverymuch.