Workout DVDs are a great way to enhance or add variety to, your strength training routine. Whether you prefer traditional gym-style weight lifting exercises, or the toning benefits of power yoga, there is a workout DVD available to suit your needs and help you reach your fitness goals.
The Firm Total Body: Body Sculpting Basics
This is the first in a series of unique workout videos. The Firm utilizes aerobic and anaerobic segments to create workouts that promote strength and stamina. The content includes stellar, simple dance-style aerobic combinations and weightlifting techniques, making it a classic.
Timesaver: Lift Weights to Lose Weight Volume 2
Kathy Smith leads this strength training workout. This video focuses on muscle tone, core strength training and balance using dumbbells. It is an effective total body workout that doesn't take too much time to complete.
No More Trouble Zones
Jillian Michaels is best known for her role as the star trainer on "The Biggest Loser" TV program. This exercise DVD is a strength training workout that combines classic total body exercises, such as lunges with bicep curls, with innovative abdominal moves.
Yoga Zone's Power Yoga
This is a 55-minute workout that offers a variety of fast-moving, flowing yoga poses. The instructor always shows how to do a less-intense modified version of each pose. The scenery is relaxing and instruction very thorough.
Cathe Friedrich's Muscle Max
Cathe Friedrich is known for her challenging workouts, often using an ultra-high step and very heavy weights (dumbbells and a barbell). Her "Butts and Guts," and "Core Max" workout videos are also great picks that are challenging for even advanced exercisers.
Kelly Coffey's: 30 Minutes to Fitness
This time cruncher workout routine offers two 30-minute sculpting, weight room-style workouts with dumbbells. She also offers a lower body workout entitled "30 Minutes to Fitness: Body Training" which works the lower body using no equipment.
Ilaria's Abs & Push-ups Plus
This workout is short, only 28 minutes in length, but extremely challenging. The motivating instructor alternates between pushups (every version of this classic total upper body shaper) and innovative abdominal exercises.
Jeri Love's Get Ripped to the Core!
This workout is a dumbbell/barbell workout that uses 'compound training.' You perform high repetitions of exercises that working multiple muscle groups at once, 'compounding' on each other. It maximizes time efficiency.
Shaping up with Weights for Dummies
This workout features 12 proven effective classic body-sculpting moves taught in an easy-to-follow style (like the "Dummies" books). It is structured like a personal trainer workout session with 12 repetitions per set, two sets per segment, followed by a great stretch.
Denise Austin's Pilates for Every Body
This workout focuses on intense core abdominal exercises as well as arm and leg shapers using a Dyna-Band to help mimic Joseph Pilates' original "reformer" machine. After a gentle warm up, Denise leads 17 minutes of ab-targeted Pilates matwork followed by upper and lower-body toning.
References
- National Academy of Sports Medicine Essentials of Personal Fitness Training, 3rd ed; Michael Clark, Scott Lucett and Rodney Corn; 2008
- Oxygen Magazine; ReelFitness: Exercise Video Reviews; Jan 2003
- Consumer Reports: Exercise Videos
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