Personal Training with Jackie: 30 Day Fast Start

How do you build a power pyramid with Jackie?It's actually easy. It's like moving up the rungs of a ladder. You just take it step by step.You start with 1 rep on the first set, then add an additional rep per set, from set 1 to set 10. So, set 1 has 1 rep. Set 2 has 2 reps. Set 3 has 3 reps.Workout 1: Here in more detail are Jackie's six power pyramids.Pyramid 1: Hammer push up and hammer curlSet 1: Do 1 hammer push up and do 1 hammer curl.Set 2: Do 2 hammer push ups and do 2 hammer curls.Set 3: Do 3 hammer push ups and do 3 hammer curls.Set 4: Do 4 hammer push ups and do 4 hammer curls.Set 5: Do 5 hammer push ups and do 5 hammer curls.Set 6: Do 6 hammer push ups and do 6 hammer curls.Set 7: Do 7 hammer push ups and do 7 hammer curls.Set 8: Do 8 hammer push ups and do 8 hammer curls.Set 9: Do 9 hammer push ups and do 9 hammer curls.Set 10: Do 10 hammer push ups and do 10 hammer curls.All pyramids follow the same above pattern.Rest for just a few seconds between each pyramid.Pyramid 2: Chest press and biceps curlRepeat the pyramid pattern from set 1 to set 10.Do 1 chest press and do 1 biceps curl for set 1.Do 2 chest presses and do 2 biceps curls for set 2.Do 3 chest presses and do 3 biceps curls for set 3.Continue the pattern & complete set 4 to set 10.Rest.Pyramid 3: Chest fly and outer curlRepeat the pyramid pattern from set 1 to set 10.Rest.Pyramid 4: Row and headbangerRepeat the pyramid pattern from set 1 to set 10.Rest.Pyramid 5: Wide row and kickbackRepeat the pyramid pattern from set 1 to set 10.Rest.Pyramid 6: Straight arm external rotation and straight arm kickbackRepeat the pyramid pattern from set 1 to set 10.So, the above was the upper body workout, also known as Workout # 1. Here's the time outline for the above workout.Workout # 1Total time (25:31) I loved the "Upper body workout" which really pumps up your arms.Warm up & intro. (2:41)Workout (20:10): Pyramids 1 to 6 as detailed in the above paragraphs.Cool down (2:40)Besides the upper body workout, there's a second workout which is listed below.Workout #2Total time (24:36) "Lower body with abs workout" works legs and abs, and also the shoulders. This really made my shoulders sore, because I used 10 pound dumbbells.Warm up & intro. (2:19)Cool down (3:17)Workout (19:00)Pyramid 1: Squat and front raisePyramid 2: Deadlift and lateral raisePyramid 3: Sumo squat and mititary pressPyramid 4: Crunch and double crunchPyramid 5: Straight leg toe touch and scissorsPyramid 6: Crab crunch and reach throughFinally, these two workouts may be combined into one longer workout which is the one I did.Combined workout: Total time (48:30)In general, weight may vary from 2 lbs for a very light weight for women up to 15 lbs for a heavier weight for men. Jackie instructs and works with 2 other ladies. The two workouts are about 25 minutes each. As others have noted, the upper body workout is excellent.

As a woman in my 40s I was mainly looking for a workout to help me tone up, and gain back muscle - especially in my arms. Which, after reading all the reviews, is why I bought this DVD.Not having worked out for over a year, I was excited to start my first day - deciding to do both the upper and lower body workouts. The following two days came with some major muscle soreness, which made me very happy. My legs were killing me! I was an instant fan of Jackie's pyramid system.But then as time went on, and I needed to increase my weights to ensure the effectiveness of my workouts, I found it difficult to keep up with her. She moves through the repetitions quite quickly, so heavier weights meant really pushing myself just to keep up. And unfortunately for me, meant injuring my left shoulder. Which set me back, made me lay low for a bit, to the point that now I feel like I'm back to square one.So, while I like Jackie's manner and the fact she does the majority of the workout with me, my biggest complaint is the speed at which she performs each exercise. Which is not a problem with light weights, just not great once you want to step it up and actually progress!UPDATE: AUGUST 11, 2014I ditched this workout just over 2 years ago to start doing P90X (a workout that SAVED me and made fitness fun!) but now that I'm stronger I have decided to revisit Jackie's upper body workout for my arms, and what a pleasant surprise. I had forgotten what a great little workout this is. It's short but intense, and the key (I now realize) is don't even try keeping up. Seriously. I don't care how fit you are (unless you're looking for more of an aerobic workout) my original assessment still stands. This workout is way too fast. My advice is to go at your own pace, maintain good form, and focus on your own personal count. Keep the DVD volume low and only use Jackie as a guide for what exercise you are up to. If there's one thing I learned from Tony Horton (P90X), DON'T try and be a hero. It's about quality not quantity.Another thing I want to address is the weights. Jackie suggests 5 & 8 pound weights to start out but if you want to keep up with her I'd highly recommend 3 & 5 pound instead. Or if you're like me and want more of a strength building workout (for muscle size and definition) then try 8 & 10 pound weights. I'm now in my 3rd week and using heavier weights has my arms screaming by the end of each workout - and I am by no means completing each pyramid. Results are beginning to show slowly but surely... but I'm old ;) If you're in your 20's or 30's I wouldn't be surprised if after 4-weeks you'll be dancing the happy jig!!I can't deny this is a good workout, and effective system. It's especially great as an addition to any existing fitness routine. The biggest shame is Jackie doesn't actually tell you to take it slower if need be, and to not kill yourself trying to keep up with her - but I guess it's called the '30 DAY FAST START' for a reason! My only other concern is her warm-up is too short, especially if you plan to use heavier weights. I'd suggest several minutes of arm swings and stretches to loosen you up and warm up the joints before you hit play. But overall I give her upper body workout a big thumbs up! SO glad I never threw this DVD out.

There are a couple of irritating things about this that when combined stop it getting a 5 star review. I'll get the positive stuff in first then moan about the niggles! If you have some of the other Jackie DVDs this feels quite different in a slightly indefinable way.The DVD consists of 2 workouts an upper body workout (chest, biceps, back and triceps) and a lower body workout which incorporates shoulders and abs. Each lasts about 25 min. The format is straight forward, each workout consists of a Jackie style super-short warmup (one of the niggles I'll get to later) then six "pryramids". A pyramid being sets of 2 exercises which are done once, twice, 3, 4,5 and all the way up to ten times. In each pyramid set 2 body areas are worked (sets 1-3 upperbody are chest and biceps, sets 4-6 upper body are back and triceps, sets 1-3 lower body are shoulders and legs and sets 4-6 are abs).While you're doing the workouts you get a steady building burn in each of the body parts being used (be cautious about putting the weight up too soon!), and the time goes pretty quickly. If I had written this review immediately after I had completed both workouts for the first time however, I suspect I would have only given it 3 stars and classed it as 'enjoyable but not especially challenging'. I'm glad I didn't do that though, because for the 2 days after I did this for the first time I had a proper ache (and these days I'm no stranger to strength workouts!) my triceps,back muscles and abs were the most noticably sore. So clearly those pyramids are more effective than they feel at the time!!!!!!!!I have to add the niggles because they are annoying. My constant Jackie niggle is that there is never a warmup that consists of more than a minute and a half and that's the case again with this. The other is absolutely nothing to do with the workout, but the DVD options. There is a menu option to do just the upper, the lower or both workouts back to back. Which is fine, but when you pick the back to back option, the upper body cool down is still stuck in the middle of the workout so it actually saves time to select each individually, do the upper workout stop it at the end of pyramid 6, go back to the lower workout via the menu and start that! Arrrgggg!!!All in all a couple of time saving workouts that definately do something! Possibly not ideal for beginners because the transition between exercises is pretty quick!

this is a good all round muscle toning workout, bought this for a change from the usual jillian michaels workouts i use all the time, found that it is just weights based and keeps your heart rate quite low so you would need extra cardio with it really, only one thing annoys me she falls it pyramid training but the sets go from 1 to 10 upwards surely pyramids start large the get smaller?! Also when you are counting up it somehow seems harder, i used 2.5k weghts with this and found the back and shoulder work really challenging. I use this dvd once a week to mix in with my other dvds, i try to workout daily as i am trying to lose a bit of fat and keep my muscles toned so i mix it up with turbofire, jillian micheals and this one now, i would reccomend this as it is challenging, will build muscle and i find the length of the dvd goes quite quickly which is always a good thing!!!!

As a general rule, I enjoy working out with Jackie. I like her attitude and her cueing and instruction are impeccable. However, she makes it clear in all of her videos that her favorite muscles to work out are upper body, and that may have influenced her choice of moves in this DVD. This video is extremely upper-body heavy, which is a bummer if you're like me and you like either an equal balance of upper and lower, or a stronger emphasis on lower-body. I prefer to work out with heavier weights (15 lb dumbells), and this video was impossible to do at that weight. The speed of repetitions was too fast, unless you are using 8 lbs or lower (which I did try, but didn't get the results I was looking for by using lighter weights). For the record, I use 2 x 15 lbs for her Power Circuit Training DVD without any problems. SO....if you love an upper-body intensive workout and generally use lighter weights, you will like this DVD. It's classic Jackie, well instructed, no-nonsense, fast-paced and interesting. But stay away if you're looking for a full-body workout (50/50) or something more bottom-heavy.

I have the Jackie Abs combo and few Jillian Micheals DVD. I really like this one because it's a totally different way to exercise. The firsts time I tried I taught I didn't swet much, but I was so sore the day after. It's a great DVD to incorporate more muscular training to your routine. I still do alot of cardio workout, I've incoporated this DVD to my training once or twice a week. Time flies by really fast when doing this DVD and I like Jackie's attitude.

I'd recommend this for people who are fit and wish to stay in shape. If you have mobility issues this isn't for you.Been awhile since I've used this workout but I believe there is no beginner options, only intermediate and advanced moves.