work it, girl

I've been trying to work out more recently, due to a combination of factors - summer is coming, I feel better and have more energy when I'm in great shape and making sure I can fit in my wedding gown.

If you are new to exercise, or have no idea how to keep on track with a schedule, check out the Self Challenge. It's a 3-month program Self Magazine puts out each year that includes both a workout and eating plan. Neither are very complicated, and they are so flexible that anyone could stick with it. You don't even have to subscribe to participate. All of the info is on the website, and you get your own daily logs to record your progress, eating and workouts. Good stuff.

Anyway, since I don't always make it to the gym or just feel like mixing it up a bit, I own a bunch of exercise DVDs. Since these type of DVDs run the gamut from absolutely crap to totally bizarre (Sweating in the Spirit - A 3-in-1 Gospel Workout), I figured I'd save you some time and start reviewing my dvd stash.


Denise Austin Ultimate Fat Burner
Proving that you can't trust what my father refers to as "box art", I really like this DVD.
Admittedly, Denise Austin kinda bugs the crap out of me, since she always seems like she has a Red Bull IV and forgot to take her Ritalin. However, she has a couple of TV shows that I think would be great for beginning exercisers, but don't get my heart rate up enough to be worth the time.

This DVD is a high-energy circuit training program that does several minutes of cardio interspersed with under two minutes of light weight training. It does require a step (which is a great piece of equipment to own) and some light dumbells. The cardio segments are short enough that you can work at a very high intensity and the strength intervals are just long enough for you to catch your breath again. Overall, one of my favorite aspects is the variety of cardio - Denise does some kickboxing-type cardio, sports oriented training, step aerobics, etc. I get bored ~really~ easily and this keeps my mind off the clock and on the workout.

Total Length = Approx. 45 min
Sweat factor = Very
Type = Circuit training, Cardio + Strength
Equipment = Step, Light dumbells

If you want to see more reviews, different types of reviews, a specific dvd series reviewed (i.e. the 8 million different Tae Bo videos), whatever - let me know.

I've tried a million different workouts, especially since Netflix started carrying fitness DVD. Here are some of my current favorites:


New York City Ballet Workout

This is an hour long workout of ballet exercises. Soothing, classical music while you do releves and plies makes a great change from pounding the pavement or treadmill. It's nice to feel graceful once in a while, since anyone who's seen me run knows I'm like Phoebe on Friends.

Kathy Smith - Power Step Workout

This step workout offers lots of high energy "power moves" as Kathy likes to call them, to get your heartrate up if you so desire. In addition, it has coreography that you don't need to be a professional dancer to do, but isn't boring. A good mix. It's broken into three sections of stepping, so if you want a short workout, you can always flip to the cool-down at one of these points.

It is from 1994, so don't be surprised if it's a little dated. However, I like step workouts, since it's easy to get my heart rate up and finding good ones is difficult.