While technically you’re supposed to workout with Jillian every day, I was a tad bit overly cocky at first. I thought, “I exercise every day … and this workout is only 20 minutes. This’ll be nothin’.” So I used heavy weights, I did super squats, I lunged my legs out, I practically double dutched when she told us to jump rope. The result? Old lady hobbling for days. I’m amazed by how many muscles Jillian can reach with only 2 dumbbells, a mat and 20 minutes.

If any of you are “Biggest Loser” fans, you know Jillian Michaels as the hard-a$$, no-frills trainer who makes 400lb men cry. And she’ll make you cry, too. If you let her.

Her 30 Day Shred is definitely a DVD worth having in your repertoire. She doesn’t dally with super-long warm-ups or many breaks. Her workout is 20 minutes and she works you hard for every single minute. But then you’re done in less than half an hour. And I guarantee you’ll feel it. Her routine isn’t groundbreaking, but it’s quite effective.

How do you stay in shape in the winter? What’s your go-to workout video?

Labels: Jillian Michaels, weight loss, winter workout

Just in case you doubted whether I really hit the slopes last weekend, here's a video to prove it. A couple of notes: The mountain is MUCH steeper than it looks ... and I'm going way faster, too.

And props to the camera man, filming backwards while snowboarding. Now that's just plain showing off.

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Labels: calorie burn, weight loss, winter workout

I don't mind running in the rain, sleet or cold.* But slap some snow slop on the road and you can count me out. Trying to run on that sidewalk slosh is an uphill battle all the way. You have no traction ... and just forget it if you hit a hidden patch of ice. The safest way to run in that stuff is to (mom, close your eyes) run in the middle of the road. Right in those car tire tracks. And since I'm not a huge fan of playing chicken with things that are way bigger than me, I've set out on a quest to find a safer winter workout.

This past weekend I tried snowboarding.

Yea ... That's not how I looked.

And while my bum isn't all that happy with me today, those few precious seconds before I surrendered to gravity were beautiful. Gliding down the mountain,** crisp air in my face, controlling the board with the slightest shift of my weight -- it was exhilarating. Not to mention a great workout.

According to Self.com, you can burn 400-500 calories snowboarding for an hour. And I can only imagine how many calories I burned getting back up every time I fell***.

So help me out. How do you stay in shape in the winter? What should I try next?

Labels: calorie burn, snowboarding, weight loss, winter workout