Killer Body - 5 Weeks Later

   After having used Jillian Michaels' Killer Body over the last 5 weeks, I have to say: I love it. It wasn't the controlled strength I expected, instead there was cardio involved from the compound movements - even on leg day, you engaged your upper body, except you used light weights rather than the heavy weights you'd use on upper body day (such as the 1.5kg I used on lower body and core day and the 4kg I used on upper body day), and you still engage your lower body on core day, just not as much as leg day. Everything is always working, just to varying degrees.

   I was initially disappointed when I saw the cardio intervals because I really wanted to max out my muscles, I wanted that deep ache followed by a satisfying stretch and I thought that cardio would get in the way, that it wouldn't be intense enough. I was wrong. I still got that ache from all of the toning but I also got in the fat-melting cardio, all while maxing out the promised muscle groups. It was awesome.

   I can also say that the results were awesome. My size hasn't changed. How is this a good thing? Because I was using this workout over Christmas. No, I didn't gorge myself, but I didn't deny myself the festivities. And yet, despite that, I didn't gain a thing. In fact I lost a quarter of an inch. Over Christmas!! And I'm stronger in both body and mind, I'm proud of completeing the workout because the burn was intense, and I'm definitely going to revisit it later this year when Christmas doesn't get in the way.

   As I said above, every workout engages your whole body, but focuses on the specified areas above others on their allocated days. I did ache the next day regardless of holding each stretch for a minimum of 30 seconds, but it was a good ache. It told me I worked to the max. But one thing I did find was that my legs had a bit of a rough time. Leg day, as you'd expect, involves a lot of squats, lunges and jumps (as well as a combination of all three), and that's fine. Perfect, even. The trouble was, the next day I was really feeling it, and when I reversed the workout (I chose to go lower body, core, upper body) I found it quite tough. You use your legs the most on leg day, but you use them a lot on core day, and then less on upper body day, so going full-leg to lots-of-leg to little-leg was a bad idea. So my one tip is make sure upper body day follows lower body day, and core day comes before. When I put them back in the right order I found it easier to manage without compromising on effectiveness. It was, simply, more efficient.

   The other thing I discovered on day one was that trying to do any extra cardio like dance or...well, anything after the lower body workout is nigh on impossible. My legs were like jelly when I tried to do Kukuwa for some bonus cardio, but I could do it just fine after core and upper body. As a result, I let myself off of bonus cardio on leg day.

   Don't misunderstand me, however: you don't need to do anything extra after Killer Body. It is a full workout on its own that provides amazing results. I just like to take things perhaps a little too far. In fact I think I've actually over-worked myself - I've been having trouble getting to sleep for the last 5 days, despite being exhausted. I just can't drop off, and that is one symptom of over-training. So, though I'm loving POUND - loving POUND - I'm forcing myself to take a step or two back and take it easy this week.

   It's my birthday on Saturday and I toyed with taking the day off, but I decided I'd rather do at least 20 minutes of POUND rather than 40, because 1) it's fun, and 2) it's my birthday. I won't be eating perfectly, so I'd rather have an afterburn so I can reduce some of the guilt...