Exercise DVDs are convenient, allowing you to work out on your own schedule and without worries about childcare, transportation or other issues. While exercise DVDs may have a reputation for being less interesting than classes, there are fun, energetic and challenging DVDs on the market for all fitness levels. These range from yoga to kickboxing to various forms of dance.
Function
Exercise DVDs can fit into your schedule, vary your workouts or let you avoid the weather if you normally exercise outdoors. You can find DVDs that offer gentle stretching and toning, body sculpting, cardiovascular exercise or an all-around workout. With some effort, you can even find exercise DVDs that are genuinely fun and enjoyable. Knowing your own fitness preferences can help you make choices you will enjoy and want to make time for in your busy day.
Types
Fitness DVDs have moved well beyond the days of Richard Simmons and Jane Fonda. Choices on the market today integrate attractive backdrops, music and various fitness activities to keep you engaged and interested. Dance, yoga, martial arts and different types of equipment can all help make workout videos more fun than work. Integrating affordable pieces like a large stability ball, hand weights, a kettlebell or other gear into your DVD workout can increase its impact and make it more fun.
Relax
You can de-stress and fit in a workout with these fun yoga and yoga-inspired exercise DVDs. Shiva Rea's "Daily Energy Vinyasa Flow Yoga" allows you to mix and match seven short routines to design your own yoga sequence to fit your mood and schedule. If you're looking for a more intense challenge with mind-body benefits, try Patricia Moreno's "IntenSati Intention and Power: A High Energy Workout for Body, Mind & Soul," suggests "Fitness Magazine." For a friendly, size-positive yoga DVD perfect for beginners, try Abby Lentz's "Heavyweight Yoga."
Go Dancing
Dance videos win for the fun factor, while still providing challenging cardio-vascular workouts. You can find exercise DVDs that rely on Latin dancing, ballroom dancing, modern dance, ballet, belly dance or Bollywood dance. Try the "So You Think You Can Dance Get Fit: Cardio Funk" DVD for a fun, fast moving workout led by finalists from the popular television show. "Dance Off the Inches" offers another modern dance workout option, while Hemalayaa's Bollywood videos combine traditional Indian dance moves with toning exercises. Get in on one of the hottest fitness trends by opting for a Zumba Latin dance video, available at Zumba.com.
Tone Up
While the dance videos and yoga workouts listed above will sculpt and tone, sometimes you want to work on a problem area and still have a workout you will enjoy. The Core Fusion workouts, including the "Core Fusion Abs and Arms" DVD, offer a variety of short toning workouts that integrate dumbbells and a resistance band for a quick but challenging workout. If you're looking for a real fitness challenge, try Jari Love's "Get Extremely Ripped" for hard-core sculpting and an intense calorie burn in one DVD workout.
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