Phase 2 Workout 7 AKA “Hold Plank Until You Collapse” of Jillian's 90 day!

Phase 2 Workout 7 AKA “Hold Plank Until You Collapse”

I am officially halfway through this program – woo! Unfortunately, I had to take a few days off last week due to traveling, but I am back on track! I do not anticipate any other delays moving forward, so I am set to finish off the program 2 weeks before my wedding. I am planning to repeat some of the workouts during the final 2 weeks, and then I will be wedding-ready. I just need to stay focused and stay on my diet (there has been some serious diet cheating due to Easter).

Here are my thoughts on Phase 2 Workout 7:

I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but I do not like resistance bands. I still don’t like it, and that was emphasized in this dvd. Jillian uses the band for 3 exercises, and I ended up using dumbbells for all 3 because I felt like it was more challenging with the weights. It’s totally up to you – some people LOVE resistance bands. I’m just not one of them. My form was sloppy when using the band, so I switched to weights. Listen to your body.

The first circuit and cardio drill is ALL plank/push ups. It’s BRUTAL. My arms were shaking so hard I could barely hold myself up. She takes a few points where she will joke around/talk before starting an exercise, and even the athletes in the video will take those moments to shake their arms out, so I didn’t feel that bad about struggling. I had to PUSH through the first 2 circuits. I found myself mentally coaching myself “just get through ONE more before doing the modification.” Those mantras definitely help me.

My heart rate was up through the whole dvd, but I didn’t feel like I was going to collapse like I did the first time I did Workout 5 (SO glad to be done with that one!!). The cardio drills are DEFINITELY harder – she’s incorporating more plyometric (read: jumping). 

Overall, this was a KILLER on my arms and shoulders. As much as I want toned arms/shoulders, I am hoping that she focuses more on legs in future videos – I want to feel the burn in my quads/buns!

I’m moving on to Workout 8 tomorrow, so I’ll be back soon.