Working out with Jillian

With all the snow storms in this part of the country, I have had to get creative with working out. Several of the past few days, it has been treacherous to get to the gym, especially with three kids in tow. The other day, I resorted to using the OnDemand feature on my TV, and chose a Jillian Michaels workout from the free selection on Exercise TV.

Jillian Michaels is famous from the TV show Biggest Loser, where she uses her tough approach to help contestants lose weight. I admit that I don't watch that show, but I have seen Michaels on the talk shows. Even though the workout was short (40 minutes), I noticed that Michaels has a similar philosophy to resistance training that I do - at least based on this brief glimpse.

Here are a few of the principles that she emphasized that I have been using to shape my workouts for the past few years:

• Low weights, high reps. I am not trying to bulk up; I want to be lean and mean. Toned and taut.
• Supersets. Rather than resting in between exercises, make the most of your workout by alternating exercises one after the other.
• Multiple muscle groups. Combine upper and lower body moves in each exercise to maximize benefit of your workout.
• Muscle confusion. Mix it up - always use different types of exercises for each body part on different days so that your body doesn't become accustomed to the same workout day in and day out.

Today's workout:
50 min. run (6.8 mi)
30 min. resistance training
45 min. yoga