For people new to working out, walking into a gym can be intimidating. A popular effective alternative is the use of home workout videos. With the advent of low-price, widely available video recording equipment. home workout videos have skyrocketed. While this is beneficial because of the variety of choices, it can make choosing the best videos difficult, but it's often easy to discover what other experts have determined to be the best videos in any given discipline.
Beginner's Pilates Video
The Pilates method of exercise was developed by Joseph Pilates in the 1930s to assist in the the rehabilitation of wounded soldiers after World War I. It has become one of the most popular exercises in the world and is available in gyms, health clubs and other fitness facilities. While Pilates originally developed his program to be used with the "Reformer" apparatus he designed, today his floor exercises are much more popular. Requiring nothing more than a mat on the floor, Pilates floor exercise makes the system accessible to anyone.
Certified Pilates instructor Zoe Anderson writes that the best Pilates exercise videos focus on the floor work exercises. Anderson says the best beginner's Pilates video is "Pilates Workout for Dummies." Featuring Pilates expert Michelle Dozois, Anderson cites the videos clear and concise directions for beginners. She also points out that the video focuses on 18 basic movements in an effort to provide a total-body workout without overwhelming the newcomer to Pilates.
Intermediate and Advanced Pilates Instruction
Anderson goes on to describe "STOTT Pilates Intermediate Matwork" as the best Pilates home workout video for the intermediate and advanced practitioner. Featuring instructor Moira Merrithen, the video features clear instructional and educational value, rather than being a simple follow-along workout video.
Anderson says that the video simply "takes first place" among all the Pilates home workout videos available.
Basic Cardio Training
The grandfather of home workout videos was the daily TV workout show featuring fitness guru and legend Jack LaLanne. In the 1970s and 1980s, the now legendary Jane Fonda exercise videos began circulating, making cardio exercise fashionable and more accessible. These were the first effective home workout videos. Today, there are several cardio training home workout videos that combine the effectiveness of the originals with the most up-to-date, cutting-edge technology and exercise physiology. They feature modern videography and spectacular instructional quality.
Fitness writer Meredith Meyers, in an article called "10 Best Workout DVDs" for the January 2007 issue of Fitness Magazine, calls "Fat-Burning Kickboxing Workout for Dummies" the best for novices. Whether you're an experienced cardio-boxer, or have never thrown a punch in your life, Meyers claims that "instructor Kelli Roberts shows you how." For the person who wants to work out alone, at home, and seeks the best instructional home workout video for cardio training, "Fat-Burning Kickboxing Workout for Dummies," leads the pack.
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