Exercise DVDs

Congratulations! You've made the decision to do something good for your body, mind and spirit by starting a home exercise program. That's right — exercise is about a lot more than just looking good. In addition to giving you a toned physique, exercise relieves stress, helps you sleep better and gives you a wonderful feeling of wellbeing that follows you throughout your whole day. And exercising at home with DVDs is an excellent way to stay fit, especially if you feel self-conscious walking into a gym or health club. You can practice an aerobic dance routine until you get it just right (and no one has to know how long it took you to get there!).

You can do a toning DVD one day, a Yoga DVD the next, and a cardio routine over the weekend. If you only have 10 minutes to fit in a workout, there are DVDs for you. If you have the luxury of spending an hour or more with a flowing Yoga routine, there are DVDs for that too. New to working out? There are beginner's routines. Are you an experienced exerciser? There are lots of DVDs for you. Home workouts give you so much versatility you'll never have to worry about becoming bored. When you're tired of your current DVDs, you can always find something new.

If you're new to the world of home exercise, you're probably a little confused by all the choices you see out there. Exercise DVDs vary widely in quality. They don't always say whether they're for beginning or advanced exercisers. Some workouts require tools and props, like dumbbells, exercise bands or a step. Here are a few tips to help you navigate through all those exercise DVDs and create home workouts that are exactly right for you.

Whether you're in the mood to twist yourself into a pretzel or dance off calories, the options are seemingly limitless. We narrowed down the choices for you, and present our top picks for spring and summer.

1. Best for: Making You Sweat
Amy Bento: Hi/Lo Xtreme
Estimated calories burned: 500
Equipment: None
Why we love it: The tough routines combine aerobics and plyometrics.
Tester says: "Bento offers 10 variations for the perfect workout every time." (67 minutes; $16.95; nrgfitness.net)

2. Best for: Head-to-Toe Sculpting
NYC "A New You Coming"
Estimated calories burned: 470
Equipment: 3- and 5-pound dumbbells and a step (optional)
Why we love it: Instructor Kelly Coffey-Meyer never slows down, so you burn mega calories and hit every muscle group.
Tester says: "Switching from upper-body to lower-body moves makes the routine feel easier." (55 minutes; $20; coffeyfit.com)

3. Best for: Stability-Ball Makeovers
Keli Roberts Time Saver Workouts: A.S.A.P. Abdominals, Spine, and Posture
Estimated calories burned: 140
Equipment: Stability ball
Why we love it: The ball moves target your back, core, and legs.
Tester says: "The opposite arm/leg lift really helped improve my balance." (32 minutes; $14.95; keliroberts.com)

4. Best for: Yoga in a Hurry
Perfect in Ten Yoga
Estimated calories burned: 30 (per 10-minute session)
Equipment: None
Why we love it: You'll feel energized, stronger, and more flexible in minutes.
Tester says: "My posture drastically improved." (60 minutes; $9.99; stratostream.com)

5. Best for: Back to Basics
Jillian Michaels: The Complete Workout for Beginners
Estimated calories burned: 370-460
Equipment: 3- to 5-pound dumbbells and a resistance band (optional)
Why we love it: Michaels makes circuit training effective and easy to follow.
Tester says: "I toned up -- no gym required!" (97 minutes; $24.95 for a two-DVD set; jillianmichaels.com)

6. Best for: Sashaying Away the Pounds
Dance Off the Inches: Sizzling Salsa
Estimated calories burned: 180
Equipment: None
Why we love it: Three routines get hips moving and heart rates soaring.
Tester says: "This was fun and challenging." (55 minutes; $14.98; anchorbayentertainment.com/fitness)

7. Best for: Trimming Your Tummy
10 Minute Solution: Blast Off Belly Fat
Estimated calories burned: 40 (per 10-minute session)
Equipment: None
Why we love it: From Pilates to crunches!
Tester says: "I get bored, so the variety was perfect." (54 minutes; $14.98; anchorbayentertainment.com/fitness)

8. Best for: Burning Mucho Calories
Get Ripped 1,000 with Jari Love
Estimated calories burned: 1,000
Equipment: 10- and 15-pound dumbbells
Why we love it: There's no downtime -- the strength moves and cardio keep you moving nonstop.
Tester says: "It's as intense as some classes I've taken at the gym, but the instructions are clear." (70 minutes; $14.99; jarilove.com)

9. Best for: Getting a Pilates-Perfect Body
Pilates Core Challenge
Estimated calories burned: 225
Equipment: None
Why we love it: It targets your entire core and is friendly enough for beginners, but still challenging for Pilates vets.
Tester says: "There were crazy-hard side planks that worked my whole body." (60 minutes; $14.98; amazon.com)

10. Best for: The Totally Time Starved
Denise Austin: Boot Camp Total Body Blast!
Estimated calories burned: 350
Equipment: 3- to 5-pound dumbbells
Why we love it: You get three great workouts -- cardio, strength, and stretching -- all in 20 minutes or less.
Tester says: "It's like attending an awesome kickboxing class with sports drills thrown in." (50 minutes; $14.95; collagevideo.com)

* Look for trusted names in the world of exercise. There are some fitness instructors who are known for their excellent workouts — Kathy Smith, Billy Blanks, Tracy York, Tamilee Webb, Chris Freytag and The Firm are some names you may want to look out for. If you are a beginning exerciser, Leslie Sansone and Denise Austin are good instructors for you, and so are any of the "For Dummies" series of exercise DVDs. Interested in Yoga? Yoga Journal Step-By-Step DVDs are good, as are DVDs made by a company called Gaiam. The Total Yoga series is also highly recommended. If you're looking for power yoga, Baron Baptiste and Bryan Kest are excellent instructors. When it comes to Pilates, Ana Caban and Rael Isacowitz are top instructors, as is Marie Winsor. When you get a DVD featuring an experienced, well-respected instructor, you'll know you're getting a safe, effective workout. As you become more experienced with home exercise, you can experiment with lesser-known instructors and companies (and you may find some fresh, innovative workouts!) but at the beginning, stick with the big names.

* Make sure you have all the props. If you see an exercise DVD that says it is a "step workout," that means you'll need an aerobic step! Most toning and sculpting DVDs require one or more pairs of . Yoga and Pilates workouts require mats, and some Yoga routines even require blocks, straps and bolsters.icon Other exercise DVDs may require a stability ball or their own special equipment. Take The Firm, for example. The Firm is not just a DVD workout - it's a system that has its own set of props, and every few years, they update the workouts and the props. If you were to just buy the DVDs, you'd probably be disappointed when they arrive because you'd be missing crucial equipment and wouldn't be able to do the workout. The Firm's exercise routines are some of the best out there, but if you're new to the system, instead of buying just the DVDs, make sure you get the accessories along with the workouts. If you make exercising at home a regular part of your life, you will eventually want to get a number of props — several sets of dumbbells, a step (which can double as a weight bench, a mat or two (a thinner, "sticky mat" for yoga and a thicker one for Pilates and ab work), a stability ball and perhaps some exercise bands or tubing. You can find all these items inexpensively around the web (eBay, for example) and combined with your exercise DVDs, you'll have a great home gym.

* Wear the right shoes! Don't pull out last year's running shoes for a cardio dance workout. They don't have enough bounce or ankle support. If you plan on doing a lot of choreographed exercise routines, get a good pair of aerobic shoes. If cardio or aerobic dance is just part of an overall fitness regimen, at least invest in some good quality cross trainers. And if you're exercising 3 to 5 hours a week, you should get new workout shoes every 6 to 12 months. Don't worry — the old ones are still good to wear for casual walks or when you're running errands, so they won't go to waste. But fresh footwear is essential to get the most out of your workouts.

And while we're discussing shoes, we might as well talk about clothing too. Wear comfortable, stretchy clothes. Don't wear jeans, and don't wear outfits that are too tight. And for women, a supportive, no bounce sports bra is a must. Most athletic wear these days is made from a special material that wicks sweat away from your skin. So buy some good quality athletic clothing. It'll make your workout all the more pleasurable.

* Give some real thought to your exercise preferences. And don't try to say that you hate all exercise! Even the most dedicated couch potatoes have some way of moving that moves them. Did you hate sports during your school days? So did I — and I was terrible at them! But I loved dancing and I now enjoy a variety of cardio dance styles. Maybe weight training at the gym didn't do much for you, but there are many DVD instructors who make it fun. There are hip hop exercise DVDs, kickboxing DVDs jump rope DVDs, and many mind-body-spirit exercise DVDs that are about as far from the world of sport as you can get, while still getting your body fit. And of course, there are bootcamp-style workouts for you jocks out there.

So ask yourself: In a perfect world, what would make your body want to get up and move? Start off your home exercise program with that type of workout. Did you say that in a perfect world, you'd be exercising out of doors? Guess what — your home exercise routine can enhance outdoor workouts! A toning DVD that strengthens your legs and teaches you balance will give you skills for hiking. If you love to run in the fresh air, you still need to exercise your upper body. Are you passionate about golf? Exercise at home a few times a week and see how much it improves your game. Exercise DVDs are great supplements to workouts away from home.

* Go for variety. Of course, you'll want to start off by doing your preferred exercise styles. But eventually you'll want to branch out. A good fitness program contains 3 elements: cardio workouts, strength training and flexibility. Make sure you include all of them in your DVD collections. Build your library gradually and when you outgrow a DVD, or find that you've purchased one that is not really for you... well, you can always sell it on eBay!

* Pace yourself. One of the biggest reasons that people give up on their fitness programs is because they go full blast the first few weeks and burn themselves out. If you haven't exercised in a while (if ever), go very easy on yourself. Get beginner's exercise DVDs and do them 2 to 3 times a week on nonconsecutive days. You need to give your body a day's rest between workouts. Here's a fact that most people don't consider: it's not the actual workout itself that creates changes in your body, but the recovery time. The workout stresses your body; the recovery makes it stronger and better. So when you're beginning, allow your body to do its thing and rest between your workouts. When you're more experienced, you'll be able to workout every day, if you so desire — just so long as you work different body parts on consecutive days. For example, you can do a lower body workout DVD one day, yoga the next, then an abdominal routine or an upper body routine the day after. If you listen to your body (instead of your head), you'll know when it needs a rest and when it's raring to go.

* Always have a bottle of water and a towel nearby. They tell you this in a lot of exercise DVDs. Believe the instructor — you will get thirsty and you will sweat. Get the water bottles with the sports tops so you don't risk spilling water all over your living room floor.

* Most of all, have fun! The process of becoming healthy and fit should be a happy one. If you enjoy what you are doing, you're more likely to come back for more. When you're starting out, it may seem a little tough, but find DVDs and instructors who you like, and keep at it. As your body becomes more fit and you start to feel better, you'll begin looking forward to your workouts. People will start telling you how great you look, and they'll want to know what you're doing. Tell them! In fact, don't just tell them — invite them to join you. Fitness is meant to be shared. Even those of us who prefer exercising in the privacy of our own homes can spread the word in our own circle of friends and family.


And here's one final tip for you: stop thinking about exercising and do it! Take action. Every day you put off your exercise program is one more day you put off looking and feeling your best. Start now!