On Fitness
By Richard Seven
Videos On Parade
To pick from the growing pile, target your concern
PREV
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"Rehab Your Body At Home"
"Ya Don't Gotta Be a Size 2 To Do Pilates!"
"Pilates Complete for Inflexible People"
"10-minute Solution: Kickbox Bootcamp"
"SELF: Slim and Sleek Fast!"
"Dance Off the Inches, 15-Minute Express" |
Do you really need that exercise video? The answer usually is, of course not. Yet they keep coming. And they keep coming out with the spin that each one fills a need. So I rummaged through my pile and came up with this sampling of videos targeting a concern:
ACHES AND PAINS
"Rehab Your Body At Home" (DVD, $29.95)
Instead of hopping and straining and sweating in front of your video screen, why not do a little rehab? I like this one. You can do all the simple movements by yourself. Books tell you how to, as well. And don't forget the value of a good physical therapist. But if your injuries aren't serious and you need a little leadership, this one can make sense.
Fitness expert J.B. Berns leads seven workouts that focus on different body parts. The back movements focus on strengthening soft tissue and muscles. The shoulder segment aims to help with rotational stress, and on it goes.
There isn't a lot of pizzazz. It's just Berns and two assistants going through the steps. But with all the aches and pains out there, all the ignorance about warming up, and the utter lack of preventive care, a workout program like this is a good idea.
REALITY
"Ya Don't Gotta Be a Size 2 To Do Pilates!" (DVD, $19.95)
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Instructor Doreen Remo and co-host Erin Grady go through the maneuvers developed by Joseph Pilates to strengthen the back, tighten the tummy and the rest.
The video contains 10 minutes of basics and then choices of either a 20-minute beginning or intermediate workout. Viewers can also select a 40-minute "combined intensity" workout. The music menu allows a choice of background, from "romantic guitar" to jazz piano.
INFLEXIBILITY
"Pilates Complete for Inflexible People" (DVD, $19.95)
Pilates, despite its popularity, can be a turnoff if you don't have the necessary strength, body control or flexibility. This DVD comes with a menu that allows you to select from about 15 workouts of various lengths and purposes. For instance, in Basic Routines, you can select a 10-minute ab-toning workout and add back strengthening or core work. You can mix and match.
You can also choose whether you want to pursue a basic or intermediate routine, or one that specifically addresses flexibility issues.
Once you get past the menu options, instructor Maggie Rhodes gives clear direction with a no-frills presentation.
TIME (this is a big one)
"10-minute Solution: Kickbox Bootcamp" (DVD, $14.98)
www.anchorbayentertainment.com/fitness
There are a whole series of these 10-minute workouts. There's yoga, target toning, calorie burning and so on. All of them are carved up into blocks from which you can pick and choose. Ten minutes, of course, is the typical length of a segment.
Other than that, there is not much to distinguish this series from any other of the growing number of hurry-up workouts designed for busy, harried people, especially moms.
In the kickboxing program, Keli Roberts offers 10-minute segments tackling the usual body parts, hopes and dreams, and catchy phrases like "Fat Burning Blast."
"SELF: Slim and Sleek Fast!" (DVD, $14.98)
This 45-minute video is about the antithesis of the video celebrating "real women." The women in this video, and the series in general, are all ripped or close to it, and they don't wear much that isn't tight. The workouts here are about toning, so you don't just look and feel strong, but "sexy" as well.
That said, instructor Ellen Barrett leads a taut, no-nonsense workout on a calming seashore. Some of the exercises involve light weights, from 2 to 5 pounds. Using the weights in tandem with the movements helps burn calories more efficiently and, of course, faster. The production value is first-rate.
"Dance Off the Inches, 15-Minute Express" (DVD, $14.98)
www.anchorbayentertainment.com/fitness
Instructor Lydia Haskell is perky, bordering on too perky. But when you are dancing to lose inches in 15 minutes, you have got to groove and move.
She leads viewers through a "progressive tempo," from warm-up to blast off. The steps seem a bit complicated, but she spends time teaching you. As with any choreography, once you get it, you can focus on the purpose. The workout takes room as you sashay about, so be sure to move the coffee table.
Richard Seven is a Pacific Northwest magazine staff writer. He can be reached at rseven@seattletimes.com.
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