Review of Jillian Michaels' Killer Buns & Thighs DVD

Want to get toned and sculpted buns and thighs? Jillian Michaels's latest workout DVD, Killer Buns & Thighs, promises to blast the fat off your booty, and help you sculpt your lower body to rock those bikinis and skinny jeans!!

With the tough-love motivational style she brought to the TV show The Biggest Loser, Jillian Michaels's latest workout video follows in the footsteps of her best-selling videos 30 Day Shred, No More Trouble Zones, and Banish Fat Boost Metabolism, and Ripped in 30. After the success of her ab-shredding 6-Week Six-Pack, this workout is a worthy followup that targets the lower body.

The Killer Buns & Thighs DVD contains 3 workouts, from Levels 1 to 3. Though Jillian claims that these are 30-minute workouts, the 30-minute time seems to refer only to the main workout time, excluding warmup and cooldown.

Jillian recommends that you start with the Level 1 workout, progressing to the next level when you're ready. It is recommended that you work out 5-6 days a week.

You'll need a mat and a set of hand weights for Level 1. For Levels 2 and 3, you'll need to add a chair as well.

Last year, I completed the 6 Week Six-Pack program to get the flat tummy and sculpted abs I'd always wanted.

Now it's time to move on to the Killer Buns & Thighs workout, to tone up my booty, thighs, and calves!

As in previous Jillian Michaels DVDs, two trainers are in the background. You'll recognize them from the 30 Day Shred: Anita demonstrates the beginner modifications, while Natalie demonstrates the advanced versions.

Level 1 runs for 41 minutes, including warmup and cooldown. The main workout (excluding warmup and cooldown) runs about 30 minutes.

Warmup (circuit performed twice)

Jump rope
Alternating deep lunges
Alternating side lunges
Military march
Pivoting crescent pose

Circuit 1 (performed twice)

Lunge-squat combo (advanced exercisers may add hand weights)
Calf raises (advanced exercisers may add hand weights)
Sumo hops (advanced exercisers may add hand weights)
Single-legged chair pose
Stiff-legged deadlifts

14 minute mark

Circuit 2 (performed twice)

Butt kicks
Judo bridge, alternating sides (one leg up on second pass for advanced exercisers)
Mountain climbers
Swimmers (advanced exercisers may add hand/ankle weights)
Plank jumping to squats

22 minute mark

Circuit 3 (performed twice)

Fire hydrants
Donkey kicks
Inner thigh lifts in side plank position
Leg lifts at 90 degrees
Hamstring curls

29 minute mark

Circuit 4 (performed twice)

Alternating front and back kicks (while balanced on stabilizing leg)
Deep lunge into warrior 3 yoga pose
Front, side, and back kick combo
High knees
Pendulum curtsies (advanced exercisers may add hand weights)

Cooldown

Quad stretches
Arm/shoulder stretches
Chest stretch
Hamstring stretches

Though 41 minutes seems pretty long for a workout, it flies right by, because Jillian changes up the moves every 30 to 40 seconds. As each circuit consists of 5 moves and is performed twice, by the time you perform your second pass through the circuit, you've forgotten about the pain and suffering of the first pass.

The single-legged chair pose was brutal the few first days, so I"m glad I later improved at this move.

Beware of the judo bridge moves - they do strain on your lower back, and I pulled a hamstring doing these.

While attempting the inner thigh leg lifts in side plank position, I mostly think about not falling! Just lifting up into side plank was considered a difficult move in 30 Day Shred, Level 3. In this video, in comparison, staying up there and lifting up the lower leg at an unnatural angle is hell!

During the leg lifts at 90 degrees, when Jillian mentioned that she recalled doing this move as a kid while following her mom's old workout videos, I knew exactly which one she was talking about - crossovers, from the classic Jane Fonda Workout book! (Been there, done that.)

The final kick combos make me feel strong and athletic, as if these kicks could save my life!

If you have knee or ankle issues, make sure to stick with the beginner modifications, as 41 minutes of squats, lunges, and high-impact cardio could be too rough on previously injured joints.

By the final circuit, sweat is dripping onto the ground. Still, it doesn't feel like the intense brutality of 30 Day Shred, Level 3, as Jillian dials down her workouts of this length to make sure we can push through to finish them.

After about a week, the side of my butt did display the dent that she mentions that the fire hydrant move is supposed to build, and my thighs looked pretty muscular. After 10 days of Level 1, my butt is definitely tighter and firmer.

The full list of level 2 exercises will be updated shortly.

Holy cow.

That was one of the hardest workouts I've ever done. I think I might have pulled my left quad doing the flying pigeon (I'm icing it as I type this), and that was just the warmup.

I knew it was one of the most exhausting workouts I've ever done, because at the end of the cooldown, which ends in a lying-down position, I almost fell asleep on my yoga mat, in my workout clothes. Never start a new workout over halfway through Letterman.

My quads hate me. There is quite a bit of work in squat position, single-legged or otherwise, plyometric or not. It actually makes Level 3 of the 30 Day Shred look easy, because during the Shred, you could at least rest during the abs segment. No more. The cardio seems relentless, with plyometrics up the wazoo. It's the kind of thing that makes me miss mere jumping jacks and jogging.

Note to self - I've now survived single-legged plyometrics with weights.

At least if I fall into the TV while stepping up onto the chair while holding hand weights, we'll finally have an excuse to get a new TV.

The full list of level 3 exercises will be updated shortly.

I think I concur with some other reviews which state that Level 3 is somewhat easier than Level 2.

By no means is Level 3 an easy workout - however, it is just less brutal than Level 2. If you have just survived 10+ days at Level 2, then Level 3 is manageable. However, I needed to take 6 weeks off from Level 3 due to illness and then restarted Level 3 with the same hand weights. That day, I needed a break during the 4th circuit to contemplate throwing up and passing out, and then fell asleep on my yoga mat for half an hour after cooldown.

For the deadlifts, make sure to get heavy hand weights. I'm now up to 17 lbs. in each hand for the single-legged deadlifts, and I can see my hamstrings growing - I hardly even knew about these muscles before.

This is the first time I've seen a blooper reel on any Jillian Michaels' workout videos! She is her usual quirky and real self, goofing off with her trainers. I love how she accidentally drops a reference to Christian Louboutin's super-expensive shoes instead of just referring to "heels" during the shoot for Level 1. No surprise that the reference to eight-hundred-dollar shoes was cut from the final edit!

As with most of the current Jillian Michaels DVDs, this video include promotional material for her other workouts, fitness equipment, books, and workout wear.

She looks fabulous in the included commercial for her clothing line, the Jillian Michaels Collection by K-Swiss - just beautiful!