Endorphin Junkie

[ladysprite]

I figured at first that the whole exercise thing would never stick for me - I'm a geek, a bookworm, and no kind of jock at all. But after two years, give or take, I have to grudgingly admit that it seems to be a part of my life now.

That said, it's changed over time. I still love yoga, but I can't afford to join a new studio right now, and the little half-hour tv workouts aren't enough to make me feel like I've actually *done* anything. The same is true for any tv workout show - a half hour episode, minus commercials, is just enough activity to leave me pretty seriously wanting more.

I've been working out pretty faithfully to my Carmen Electra Fit To Strip DVD (don't laugh; it may sound ridiculous but it's a pretty impressive and balanced workout), but after six months it's starting to feel both dull and repetitive, and like not as much of a workout as it used to be. So... I need new ideas.

I can't afford a gym membership right now, and to be honest, even if I could I'm not much of a gym person. I like my nice, safe, private home, and I like being able to do what I want whenever I want, without having to worry about getting dressed, driving somewhere, changing, and then going through all that in reverse. I also can't afford expensive machines and equipment right now. But I can afford DVD's, and they seem to work pretty darn well for me. I'm just a bit hesitant to buy them sight-unseen.

So. For any of the other exercise fans reading this - do you have a favorite workout video that you'd be willing to recommend? I'll try almost anything once, and I could sure as heck use the variety....

Comments

[madamruppy.livejournal.com]

Check your local library for excercise dvds. It is a cheap way to vary what you do for no cost. Also if you don't like it then you aren't out the $20+ for the dvd.

[tpau]

neena and veena is fairly good. otoh.... can i borrow that carmen electra thing from you?

[bess.livejournal.com]

I just tried the Dancing With The Stars Latin Cardio dvd today -- Got through merengue and cha-cha before Noah woke up and started crying.... it was fun and I was beginning to sweat when I had to stop. It's also real dancing -- they teach a bunch of basic steps for each dance. I'm not sure how long until it gets boring, but definitely worth a try.

I'll have to try the carmen electra thing... wonder if netflix has it.

If you do netflix, they've got a huge selection of exercise dvds.

[bess.livejournal.com]

Oh, and Chris got me Dancing the Chakras (or something like that, don't have it in front of me) for Hanukah -- just got around to trying it recently (can you tell I'm back to exercising again after the pregnancy?) and it's good -- different kind of yoga than I've done before -- much more exercise and less relaxing stretches, followed by some dancing, sort of free-form. Let me know if you want to try it.

[johnpalmer.livejournal.com]

I can't give you workout videos.

But I have to share the mental image. When you said "Carmen Electra", I couldn't help but translate that to Carmen Miranda.

[tafkad.livejournal.com]

Yeah, if you get a giant fruit-covered hat, the current video will be a whole new challenge.

[mermaidlady]

I don't have it (yet), but you might like Neena & Veena's "Bollywood Blast" (scroll to the bottom of the page).

I gave lakshmi_amman "Indi-Hop" (which was incorporated into the above set) a couple of years ago, so you can ask her what she thinks of it.

[flowing-dancer.livejournal.com]

For myself, I went through lots of yoga books (I think Yoga Flows was a good one for this), copied poses, rearranged them into a good flow for me, and I do mine to techno music. My workout is 15-30 min, and is a workout, not a slow pose-and-hold. I'm not racing through them, but it is a workout that gets my heart going and my body stretched, especially moving with fast-paced music.

I use a modified small version to warm up my dance classes.

I also like bellydance, and you can certainly create a routine that will keep your heart (and everything else) going. I have cd's of fast bellydance music, but you don't have to use that. You can use anything that works for you - heck, there are even a couple of fast-paced country songs in case that's your style.

I don't personally like following someone else's routine so much, except when I am first learning that style. After that, i choreograph what I want, what flows well from one position or movement to another. You can also add things in the middle, change something, or add extra challenges or layers to some piece.

If you want suggestions along the yoga line from me, please email me personally (if you don't have the email, ping me through LJ, I'll be happy to help).

[chaiya.livejournal.com]

I don't have workout videos, but I have a different suggestion.

The way that I've become an endorphin fan is by bicycling everywhere. I just hit 200 miles on my odometer, which has been running since about April 6 of this year. I get a kick out of biking to work faster than it would've taken on the bus, and it's guilt-free wrt carbon footprint. When I have extra time, I just add a detour to my commute to get a bit more of a workout. :)

Biking is less impact than walking/running, in terms of joints. If a bike is well-adjusted to your figure, it can also be good for arm strength without overusing your wrists.

So, that's my suggestion. YMMV. :)

[multigeek.livejournal.com]

I was just going to say about the same thing. When I bike to work, I find that I have more energy. I've only put 100 miles on this season, so I have some catching up to do, but with the weather this week, it's looking good.

[asdr83.livejournal.com]

I found my favorite work out DVDs by borrowing them from the library first, so I recommend starting there. that said I love the Lotte Burke Method series (my favorite being Muscle Eats Fat). They aren't long though there are extras to make them longer and more challenging. They are ballet based which makes them deceptively simple appearing exercises. My favorite thing about them is that they concentrate heavily on form posture and stretching, being very careful to make sure your protect your body even as you work out. If they interest you I own the whole set and you are welcome to borrow them if you want (though not all at once since I still use them).

[grrlpup]

I like Tamilee Webb's videos. She's upbeat without being an airhead or sounding so perky you want to kill her, and I think she knows her exercise science. The DVD I have is "I Want That Body," which is a compilation of six? eight? ten-minute segments. Some require hand weights/ dumbbells.

A regretful thumbs down on the New York City Ballet workout DVD (the one introduced by Sarah Jessica Parker). It's nice to have classical music, but the workout lasts FOREVER and doesn't feel like that much exercise.

Collage Video has pretty good search tools and lots of preview clips.

[gmkieran.livejournal.com]

I've found the Yoga Zone dvds to be pretty good - well-put-together, tiered for various levels of competence and they usually have 2-3 workouts per DVD, so you can do anything from 1/2 hr to 1.5 hr. Trinknot had some dance DVDs that you'd probably enjoy, too, but I don't have the names right now - I'll pass them along later.

[redfishie.livejournal.com]

I also recommend the library and Netflix.

As for specifics - can't do, as I have a lot of unopened exercise videos in my house. (I should jump on that, thanks for the reminder!)

[arachne8x.livejournal.com]

I really love Shiva Rea's Yoga Trance Dance. Its free form, which makes it fun for me. It has yoga segments, interweaved with freeform dance segments. You get to choose which ones you want to do in which order. If you'd like to borrow it, I'd be happy to send it your way. I have a number of The Firm workouts which require borrowing my firm box, but I can't use that until my legs are balanced anyway. Those are more step routines with upper and lower body workouts worked in. Latin Fat Blaster is my last offering. Its VHS, and repetitive, but fun.

[mamatiger.livejournal.com]

If you possibly have a cable company that provides video on demand, I'm sure they have a decent selection of exercise videos, and they should be free.

[monster-girl.livejournal.com]

I can loan you my NY Ballet workout DVDs if youd like. When I was working out alot and my dancing with the stars DVD got too easy the NY Ballet one was awesome! Since I fell off my fitness wagon Ive downgraded to my Dancing with the Stars one.

Do you have Netflix? They have workout DVDs available there too! I got a belly dancing one from there and found it to be fun, but either I wasnt doing it right or I just didnt feel the stretch or burn in my muscles after that one like I do from my silly dancing DVDs.

[tafkad.livejournal.com]

I pull out Core Rhythms, a Latin dance video when I'm in the mood. Of course, I mostly focus on the first DVD (the "getting started," etc. portion), but I'm sure you'll blast past that part immediately.