When I was Black Friday shopping, I picked up Jillian Michael's No More Trouble Zones DVD from Target. I was hoping to find a good alternative to the 30 Day Shred when I wanted to mix things up.

I popped the DVD in last night not knowing what to expect other than a circuit-style workout Jillian is famous for.

Unlike the 30 Day Shred, No More Trouble Zones is 40 minutes of circuits sandwiched by a five minute warm up and cool down. If you're in a time crunch, the DVD lets you pick certain circuits to do individually. Each circuit is about five minutes and combines at least two or three muscle groups.

Things started off about how I'd expect. The warm up included some things that I was familiar with from the Shred, and then boom it was time for the real meat of the workout.

I had expected the circuits to include some intense cardio bursts similar to what the Shred offers, but that's not how No More Trouble Zones is set up. Instead NMTZ is made up of a bunch of intense strength circuits. I liked the focus on solid strengthening moves, but I really missed the cardio. I kept hoping I'd have Jillian yelling at me to jump rope or do some jumping jacks or something.

Despite missing the cardio, No More Troubles Zones is still intense. By the end I was modifying planks like crazy and my shoulders were on fire. This morning I'm really feeling some of the leg work in my hamstrings.

While I definitely like the Shred better, NMTZ will definitely have its place in my workout rotation, especially in the "off-season" when I tend to focus more on building strength.