Fitness at Home

Don’t let winter weather keep you from working out

By Erica K. Perkins, Health & Fitness Director, University of Virginia

Winter weather and hectic schedules can make it difficult to get to the gym for a group exercise class. This time of year, consider a video workout at home. Fitness guidelines recommend strengthening and stretching all major muscles at least twice each week and doing cardio exercises at least 3 times each week, so it is a good idea to have 3 to 6 videos on hand. But of all the exercise videos out there, how do you know which ones are safe, effective and motivating for you?

Here are my recommendations of popular videos produced in 2009. (Each can be rented from Netflix or purchased on Amazon). 

Yoga

Yoga for Beginners, Barbara Benagh

This is a great introduction to yoga. It helps you explore and experience the numerous benefits of yoga. Its 8 routines help you build strength, increase flexibility, improve your health and vitality and transform how you look and feel. 

Shiva Rea Daily Energy Vinyasa Flow Yoga

For this video, you will need your own yoga mat and enough space to spread your arms to all sides without hitting something. This video has seven 20-minute segments. You can do one of them, all of them, or mix and match them depending on your time and ability. 

Cardio

So You Think You Can Dance Get Fit: Cardio Funk

This is a fun, energizing way to move and sneak in exercise by dancing. Former finalists from the TV show, So You Think You Can Dance, take you through a variety of dance genres but what is really nice is the option to learn the routines at three different speeds. Once you master the footwork, you will be able to dance with the best of them and break a sweat at the same time. 

Weight Loss Cardio Kick

This video uses dumbbells of 1 to 5 pounds (a couple cans of green beans will work too). There is a combination of cardio kickboxing segments with strength circuits for a full body challenge. 

Strength

Gilad Total Body Sculpt Plus: Peak Performance

You will need a mat, a pair of 3- to 5-pound dumbbells (or any equivalent household product), and a resistance band ideally. This one has two workouts focusing on different body parts and both offer power options if you would like to increase intensity and impact.

Personal Training with Jackie: Power Circuit Training

You feel like you are in a one-on-one training session with reality-TV trainer Jackie Warner. You will need weights of 5 to 8 pounds for the full effect, but household products work too. There is one 40-minute total-body workout and four 15-minute circuits so you can choose what you have time for each day. 

Pilates

10-Minute Solution: Quick Sculpt Pilates

Instructor Andrea Leigh Rogers offers five routines: abdominal toning, butt and thigh toning, total-body strength, flexibility, and standing Pilates.  The video incorporates using a rubber ball, which you can do from the start or build up to, as it will increase the challenge. 

Workout To Your Computer

Another option is the website: www.workoutsondemand.com.  For $7 to $15 per month, depending on the membership level, you have access to over 120 videos in all of the formats you’d find on a gym’s group exercise schedule. This is a convenient option if you don’t mind using your computer screen instead of your TV.  

Find a Workout Right for You

You may not like every format and every instructor but don’t let that deter you. Keep looking for a format and an instructor with whom you feel comfortable with and keeps you motivated. Once you find one, you can usually find a few more that will appeal to you; however, be sure to consult with your physician before starting a new exercise routine.