Get RIPPED! And Chiseled Top 10 workout! Fitness Magazine and USA Today

Ok, here are a few recconmendations if you are contemplating buying this... first off, you will need a set of dumbbells in your weight range (I personally use anything from 2-10lbs, hoping to increase and need heavier weight soon), a step, a mat, and just about a 6" by 6" area to move I would say. Great if you live in small quarters. I know I do. It will help if you are familiar with her exercises, but it is not necessary... you can learn as you go. I would say beginners to advanced can use this because of the built in modifications and the ability for you to vary your weights. Also, it would be best if you are not already sore before doing this! It's pretty tough if you truly challenge yourself.You will see a good bit of repeat exercises from previous DVDs, it's true, but there was enough variety to keep me interested and going. Skull crushers for instance I had never done before, and now love them because they certainly make you feel the burn in the triceps (a trouble spot for me). I wish there had been a little bit more lower body work, but that was ok with me... I think she hits you hard enough with the squats and lunges in the beginning to make up for it. Jari has a very good personality to me in this one... she just seems to have hit that right balance of being friendly, motivating and just a little chatty at times. She is very relaxed in this one even though the workout is hard and that helps me keep my cool. During the stretching segment she chats a lot with Gaylene and Mike. I liked hearing other people's takes on Jari's workouts. I was amazed and impressed to hear that Gaylene (who is also featured in Ripped 1000) is 57 and does not too carefully watch what she eats. That made it seem more real to me that I can actually have Ripped results without totally giving up every yummy food I love! No seriously, I do watch what I eat, but unlike Jari, I do have a treat once or twice a week such as ice cream or a small bowl of chips. I doubt Jari has seen these foods since childhood. Anyway, the stretching segment does get gyped a little because of this... you may just want to do your own stretching while you listen.There is no Abs workout on this, except for the Bonus Feature which is the Abs workout from Slim and Lean... which by the way is only about 5 minutes and is not the best, but it's ok if you want a quick fix for your abs. I personally always do extra ab workouts after doing her DVDs... that's where all my fat seems to settle.Other bonus features include some nutritional informationa about portion sizes and some tips on what to eat, when to eat etc. GREAT INFO! Make sure you check this out. Also, some delicous and healthy recipes included. Get out some pen and paper to copy those down.One little gripe I had about this video was her selection of "Judy" to participate. Judy hardly smiled and had a mean look on her face most of the time, but more than that, her form was sloppy in some exercises. During the bicep track, I found myself yelling at her. She was definetely swinging the barbell up using momentum and then smooshing herself in the boobs with it, releasing the contraction on the bicep. A good bicep curl requires that you control the movements up and down and you don't come up quite all the way... I know that's tough on 120 reps, but maybe she should have had lighter weight then! It was just dissapointing because I have enjoyed seeing all the other Rippers and found them motivating. Gaylene was great and knowing her age makes it even more admirable!Bottom line... great strength training here... small annoyances throughout should not impede you. Seriously, Jari has a good thing going. If you're questioning her methods or not sure if you wanna buy this or hang with her workouts, Please do so for at least a few weeks. Believe me, when I first tried Slim and Lean a long time ago, I didn't like it, but I stuck with it... and for the first time in my life I have muscle definition instead of that soft pudgy look. Go for it!!!! Good luck!

I used Jari's "Slim and Lean" DVD before. "Ripped and Chiseled" is the second DVD I have of her. I have to say, I like the Slim and Lean DVD better. My goal is to find an exercise routine that burns calories while weight training. There is limited amount of time to exercise everyday, I wanted more bang for my effort so to speak. This particular DVD does not really keep my heart rate elevated throughout. Looking at the exercise breakdown, the exercises that incorporate lower body muscles are all in the front of the DVD. The lower body lounges and squats get my heart rate going in the beginning, but after that, there is hardly anything for the lower body at all. The upper body exercises doesn't use large enough muscles to maintain my heart rate in the 80% range.Overall, this is a good workout video. I like the fact that the workout involves controlled movement, Jari is not overly hyper, bouncing off the walls, like some other aerobic videos. The back workout is new, and very necessary for me.Update (2 months later):~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I've been using Jari's "Ripped 1000" and "ripped to the core" with "Chiseled". I realized that the three DVDs have slightly different focus.- Ripped 1000's focus is mixing cardio with weight reps, your heart rate is elevated throughout because of the cardio portions. On average I consume 20 oz of water during this video and seems to sweat them all out.- "Ripped to the Core" is slightly less cardio than 1000, but lots of compound exercises that involve both upper and lower body at the same time. Heart rate is elevated but not nearly as much as 1000. I can get away with drinking 15oz of water.- "Chiseled" is less bouncy. More focus on each muscle group. Especially the back, arms, shoulders and chest. Because of the large amount of upper body work, my heart rate is not as high as the other two, but the upper body muscles do get more work. Because of the lower cardio, I perspire a lot less, and can get away with drinking 8oz of water.My arms and shoulders were all sore after using "Chiseled" even after I've been working with "1000" for a few weeks. So I guess it depends on what your focus is. I had limited amount of time to work, and I wanted every minute to count. So I chose 1000 more thinking that I can work Cardio as well as weight at the same time by keeping the heart rate high. But I think "1000" does not do as well when it comes to train the upper body muscles as the "Chiseled". So my new plan is to use this video once a week.One drawback, the break between segments in this video is extremely short, I had to pause the DVD after most of the segments. I suppose this could be viewed as a good thing, you get as much material as you can, crammed into the alloted time. Keep the remote close though.

Logically I should hate this DVD for its long sections of the same exercise, but I got it because I wanted a pure weight training workout that I could do on days where I do my longer runs and don't want a cardio work out DVD.It is pure strength training all be it with lots of high reps - it doesn't get your heart rate up much so don't expect a ripped 1000 style sweatfest. It consists of sets lasting between 2 and 5 mins and covers pretty much the whole body including super sets for chest, biceps and triceps. The exercises are all pretty straight forward with variations through each section in tempo and pauses to totally blast the muscles. It took a few sessions for me to correctly gauge the weights I needed for each exercise so that I finished each section feeling like my muscles were on fire but just about managing the whole section without having to either reduce or increase the weights half way through.It is very repetetive because there are high reps, but some how the tempo variations and holds seem to make the time fly by - the full work out lasts an hour but to me it feels like half this time. I always have a satisfying two day ache after this workout (enough to know you've done something different but not enough to stop you doing other workouts).My only gripe about the dvd is that the abs section is a bit of an after thought and not really up to much - but as I have the 6 wk 6 pack (jillian Micheals) I don't really mind.

This is the first DVD I have purchased from the Get Ripped series.To complete the workout you will need aset of dumbells and an adjustable barbell (optional) and a step. When I did my first workout I did not have access to my step, but there are modifications for the lower body exercises without it. If you don't have a step for the upper body exercises you could use a swiss ball, which would give you more of a core workout, and a sturdy chair for the tricep dips.The DVD is set with quite a neutral background, wood floors and a small lounge area in the background. The music is instrumental with a good beat but quite unobtrusive and doesn't distract from the workout. The workout is well cued except for the cool down where Jari talks to the 3 members who participate in the DVD. They talk about the gains they have had from training with the Get Ripped programme, but aside from this this there is no real interaction between Jari and them during the main DVD.The format of this DVD is very similar to the Les Mills BTS Body Pump classes, but on a quieter scale! There are good variations for beginners and progression. The exercises are well thought out, and I liked that each section was counted down on my DVD player, so instead of me clock watching wondering when the hour was up I was busy thinking the longest section is only around 5 or 6 minutes and I can cope with that! There is good variation in the amount and type of exercises and although I only used 2kg dumbells (I usually use 12kg kettlebells) I wanted to try the DVD first time through with a light weight to get used to the pace and exercises and I was still feeling it through the session and afterwards!A thoroughly enjoyable workout, and I have purchased other titles in the series to rotate with and look forward to incorporating those to complement my other training.

This a very good workout dvd which is challenging and gives results. I have already started seeing results after a few sessions. It is especially effective when combined with healthy eating and not dieting as you will need all your energy.Jari knows what she is doing, her instructions are clear and she demonstrates what needs to be done really well. She at times makes jokes about one of her collegues which can be a bit irritating but just ignore those comments as they are few.Her timing is also confusing as the 30 minute workouts seem to last longer than the 30 minutes ( or maybe I just need to time my player well)Overall I 'm very happy with the dvd and will be buying more of Jari Love's workout dvds.This workout is not for the faith hearted as it is intense and a bit advanced .However if you are determined , you will get the results.

I ordered this video after realising that it was missing from the 4-DVD Ripped Collection. Good decision!I place this video on par with Jari's Ripped and Lean video (green box) because it's all about simple, effective exercises that burn carbs and get results fast. Again, it's no frills, but the music this time is more energising. The filming of the video is brilliant - it leaves you with little time to rest/recover between tracks, which means your heart rate can remain elevated.My favourite exercises include the lunge and squat tracks. Noticeably absent is an abdominal work-out. It is bolted on as a Feature and is the same workout taken from the Ripped and Lean video.Buy this video to complement Ripped and Lean. That way, you don't get bored or reach a plateau. With these two DVDs together, you'll feel the burn leading to lactic acid build-up and later, a better, sleeker body! One of Jari's colleagues in the video, Gaylene, is so inspirational - she is 57 years old and looks healthier and better than most 20 year olds I know.

This was my third video from Jari Love. I was expecting some repetition but was pleasantly surprised. This is a weight training video that uses supersets as it's basis. You are working the same muscle group in a few consecutive moves so by the end of the second set, things are hurting. I work out often, and have been doing Jari's Ripped 1000 and Slim n' Lean and still, this video left me very sore, so I was impressed. By the end of it, my arms and chest muscles were shaking like crazy and I have yet to finish the 'skull crusher' tricep series.I found that it worked more upper body than lower and have not tried the abs section yet as it is not part of the workout, which might make the video a bit long. Like her other videos, it's about an hour in length and as a result some may have difficulty finding time to do this video but if they do, they'll get a great workout and will be sure to see results if combining it with some cardio and sensible eating.I've liked her videos so much that I'm ordering a fourth, Ripped to the Core... and hoping for another addition to my video rotation.