This turned out to be a long post: On home and travel exercise with videos If you want to exercise, but say you dont have time or dont know what to do, today there are so many DVD and online video options. There is some amazingly good prerecorded training for free or for a small fee -- or free, if borrowed from the library. You can do it at home, outdoors, at the club, in your hotel room, whatever. I know this sounds like a sweeping statement/assertion, but there really is. I can make specific suggestions, if someone wants to ask. Ive sampled quite a bit over the last few years, but I have my favorites of style, difficulty and trainer. My best familiarity is with various yoga teachers of all levels, for different ages and skills levels. No, you do not have to be flexible to do yoga. It takes as much cardio and strength as mobility. And many routines assume inexperience or maybe you want it more meditative or more challenging, for day, for evening, more spiritual, more Westernized, whatever. There are videos that can meet your needs with good stuff. I also am familiar with many of the videos for barre, ballet influenced, Pilates oriented workouts. I can make recommendations on them. Many of the major barre franchises offer DVDs so you can sample their approach on your own, maintain between classes, etc. I also have checked out some of the more cardio and strength-training videos. Recently Ive really liked those by Bob Harper, who is best known as a trainer on The Biggest Loser. I dont know about those videos branded from the show, but those he releases under his own name are really good -- and quite tough or can be. His power yoga DVD (also available for free online) is in regular rotation at my house for when I cant take a class. It has a lot of strength and cardio built in -- it really does give me the equivalent of a class at home . . . outdoors, on my deck. Nice! But about Harper, you need to be an intermediate practitioner, so you know how to preserve form and your joints. His cardio and strength videos are good too but quite challenging. He places great emphasis on strength, muscle mass, and keeping the heart pumping, no matter what the subject of his workout. Not boring whatsoever. There are so many options now. There are online services you can subscribe to for a small monthly fee and seem to take a class live, all sorts of canned options, programs that show modifications for various skills levels, programs that mostly show the trainer and others that have participants in the background. There are ten-min routines, mix & match between short routines, full hour programs. Routines for the upper body, lower body, or mix & match that way. You can have them with cueing or often can turn it off, but keep the music, once you know it well. Or I like to turn the sound off altogether and do the easier ones while watching teevee or films on DVD sometimes (the teevee is on, while the workout is running on my laptop or tablet). No sitting still and temptations to munch, plus cal burn/revving the metabolism and sneaking in a workout while being leisurely sorta. You can break a sweat easily. Not much equipment is required. Wear what you like sometimes barefoot or with nonslip shoes, some can be done in small space, such as those that are for simple cardio, such as powerwalking that can have you on your feet with a smile on your face, sneaking in a mile, indoors or out, on your deck or porch, in 20 min. Done, basic fitness, if thats all you want. Or you can buy an inexpensive set of hand weights, a yoga mat, maybe a BOSU, exercise ball and/or bands, etc, for more options. You dont have to invest in a treadmill or elliptical, although you can. Get out of your chair, challenge your balance, stay healthy. Again, I can make suggestions, probably other members can too, and there are plenty of Amazon and other reviews to sort through. If the options seem bewildering since there are so many, you can ask trainers what and who they recommend. You might be surprised, but professional trainers often check out whats available these days too and may use them at home. Dont forget the library. I often borrow workout DVDs for free for a few weeks before deciding to buy, continue to borrow or move on. Moving being the key word! So there really are no excuses anymore to not get in the basic exercise to maintain heart health, improve fitness or maintain between regular workouts. I think its ideal to do between classes so that you are stronger and better for classes, which you can use for improvement and better learn from what teachers have to offer, since you are taking care of basic fitness on your own. In other words, use the videos to keep you at a higher level between classes. If you have long winters like I do in NE OH, then this is a way to not let being a shut-in for months at a time hold you back or get the winter blues. There is so much variety that boredom isnt a problem. And prevent weight gain. One last word for now -- dont be dismissive about videos for seniors. The main ones Ive checked out in that genre are by elderly Jane Fonda, and they are really good. Yes, some can be too easy. But they are the rooutines that are great for doing while watching teevee, can be done not far from your favorite chair, have the easiest stretches, etc. They can keep you more limber, your ankles strong to prevent falls, and speed up your heart for basic cardio no matter what your fitness level. And there are fun Zumba videos to do at home for the dancers among us to enjoy that on your own. So check them out. I would love to know what LOTF members use for videos and swap recommendations. The online workouts are particularly good for traveling. You can download and do it from your hotel room, for instance. No CD/DVD drive required.
Posted on: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 15:11:13 +0000
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