If you just had a baby or are getting ready to, among many other anxieties you may be facing, are worries about getting your body back into pre-pregnancy shape. Considering you will have to care for your baby, perhaps another child in your home, breastfeed and possibly return to work, squeezing in a work out or a trip to the gym may be a tremendous challenge. 

The answer to your woes may be the JCORE Accelerated Body Transformation DVD series. For 20 minutes a day, 4 times a week and only 40 days, celebrity fitness professional and trainer Jay Cardiello promises to help you get your body back in shape. 

The name CORE is key as that is the area women, and especially new mothers need most help in tightening back up: abdominals, buttocks, thighs and hips. 

The system starts with a fit test that you take in the beginning of the program, periodically during the 40 days and at the end. The other five DVDs include a couple that are cardio-focused (Fire Fit and RevUp), one that is all about strength (Cardio Core), a supercharged core challenging one (Hard Core), and a stretch and toning one (Release).

I was super excited to be sent a sample series to test out and so far have been enjoying the experience. My husband and I have gone through a couple series of the Insanity and P90X sets so we could compare. The other two are very popular series but both require a lot of time commitment as each DVD runs from 38 minutes to nearly an hour so we can appreciate JCORE’s 20 minutes per day program.

We do it before getting the kids ready for school and heading out to work. It’s the perfect amount of time and the exercises are concise, focused and efficient to get you max results in the shortest amount of time possible. When you are done each DVD, you feel your muscles are tighter and more toned and you feel like you’ve had a good work out even though it was only for 20 minutes. 

We noticed that recently those other two brands have hopped on the bandwagon and have also offered condensed much shorter versions of their exercise programs.

JCORE is also perfect not just for new moms who have to take it slow in the beginning and essentially may be starting over, it is also ideal for those, like my husband, who have had knee surgery or who suffer with back problems.  There isn’t too much trauma and stress exercises that are tough on the knee as with Insanity. There is no need for weights or a pull up bar or bands or anything extra like with P90X.

Just a 4×4 space and that’s it. 

Because each move is concise and requires minimum amount of space, the JCORE DVD series is THE BEST to take on the road if you are on the road often, have to travel often for work and will be confined to a small hotel rooms. And the fact that each DVD is under 20 minutes is perfect in that you can get in a good work out before having to shower for the conference or a morning meeting. 

I also appreciated the fact that the series only requires a 4-day commitment each week. When doing other systems, you essentially end up foregoing any other exercise you may enjoy doing because of the time commitment and/or the daily workouts take so much out of you  that you cannot do anything else. With JCORE you have a couple free days to run, swim, bike, take a ZUMBA class or kickboxing class and get to keep up with your fave exercise. 

Also, some people just don’t feel complete unless they’ve worked out for 45 minutes to an hour or more daily even though you don’t need to under the JCORE system. Nonetheless, a 20 minute workout ensures that even in those days you have to work late, attend an event at the kids’ school, if you miss  your longer workout for the day, you know you would have at least gotten something in if you started the day with JCORE.

The names Jay has for different exercises like “Charlie’s Angels”, “Leaning Tower of Pisa” and “Hip Hop” put a smile on my face and the studio space featured in the DVDs is comforting to look at. The dark basement that Tony Horton has his folks in can get intimidating and just seems so manly and rugged. The big ole gym in Shawn T’s space looks overwhelming at times and there’s just too many people in the background distracting the eye. Lighting and set design really do matter. 

I really am inspired by the super fit and toned women and men that back up Jay. They look pleasant but also show and share how they are being challenged through each exercise.

And that’s another thing, it’s also super cool that each of the different exercises in each DVD is only for 20 to 30 seconds tops. We don’t count reps unless for the fit test DVD.  You can do anything for that short amount of time, but even if you can’t hold on as is common when first starting out, it’s okay to stop and get back into it. There is also one back up exerciser there doing an easier and modified version of the work out for beginners.  

It’s a type of program that the entire family can do. As all of my kids, ages 6 to 11, have started their school track team this Spring, I’ve had a couple of them join me doing the DVDs a few times to add some conditioning to their weekly runs. They  have fun joining mom. 

I have not yet completed the 40 days, but I do notice I am  getting toner. I imagine as with any exercise regimen, if you are doing it daily, you should see some semblance of results so long as you are sticking with a sensible diet. The JCORE system includes a diet plan and menu options which if followed should help amplify the results of a 20 minutes alone daily work out. 

I am looking forward to seeing my results when I am done but overall would highly recommend you new moms especially consider adding this system to your exercise DVD library. At $79.99 it could be more effective than paying for a few months of gym membership and would be half the cost. 

Get the upgraded complete system which includes recovery drink, a meal plan and more for $141 at   JCOREBODY.com or the DVD Box set alone.  You can also order it from our partners at  AMAZON.COM or today, mamas! 

Good luck and have fun toning up and trimming down!