Fitness DVDs may not be as helpful as they might seem

Maxematics

I read the article. If I could roll my eyes any harder, they'd fall out of my head. Some people prefer to use DVDs, some don't. Some people will love Jillian Michaels, Chalene Johnson, Shaun T, Leslie Sansone, Autumn Calabrese, etc. and others won't. It's all about finding what works for you.

I do ChaLEAN Extreme right now. There are white and black women and men, and one woman who I believe to be Latina in the videos. I'm mixed and it doesn't bring me any extra comfort to see a woman of my own ethnic background in the videos. I would not care if every single person in the video were white. I barely pay attention to the people working out aside from Chalene herself. Chalene wears a sports bra and workout pants. The men wear shorts and tank tops. I'd say that's equally "sexualized". I do not feel inferior to anyone and I'm not comparing my body to anyone. There is one lady in the videos who has killer abs. How does that make me feel? "Hmm, I wonder if I can ever achieve abs like that someday. The only way to find out is to work hard!"

Chalene says "You should be dying right now" in one of her videos. If I took that literally I could not type this. I take that to mean "You should be near your max heart rate/fatigued. If not, push harder." That's the truth because people often give up at the slightest bit of discomfort instead of pushing. Fit bodies are not unrealistic. What's unrealistic is to expect to acquire a body like that when you're not watching your diet and putting a mediocre effort into working out. Talk about making mountains out of molehills. I'm glad I'm not that weak minded and easily discouraged.

SueSueDio

fat2fit8786 wrote: »

Personally, I do Leslie Sansone DVD's and do her free videos on YouTube, because her program works for me. It is a walking based program and easy to do at any fitness level. She has them in 1 mile, 2 mile, 3 mile, 4 mile, and 5 miles. She is amazing, and it works for me because it is not too intense, but at the same time I have lost weight and feel the burn. So yes, they do work, it just depends on where you are at fitness wise, and if you can stick to it.

Thank you to you and others for mentioning this lady! I'd never heard of her, but I've just skimmed through a couple of her YouTube videos and it looks like something I could attempt at my current level of (un)fitness. Fitness videos in general scare me because they always look to be full of things I couldn't hope to follow, even if allegedly aimed at beginners. But walking, side-stepping and kicking should be achievable even for this here uncoordinated couch potato. I'll be clearing some space and trying this tomorrow!

jennieo213

synacious wrote: »

I read the article. If I could roll my eyes any harder, they'd fall out of my head. Some people prefer to use DVDs, some don't. Some people will love Jillian Michaels, Chalene Johnson, Shaun T, Leslie Sansone, Autumn Calabrese, etc. and others won't. It's all about finding what works for you.

I do ChaLEAN Extreme right now. There are white and black women and men, and one woman who I believe to be Latina in the videos. I'm mixed and it doesn't bring me any extra comfort to see a woman of my own ethnic background in the videos. I would not care if every single person in the video were white. I barely pay attention to the people working out aside from Chalene herself. Chalene wears a sports bra and workout pants. The men wear shorts and tank tops. I'd say that's equally "sexualized". I do not feel inferior to anyone and I'm not comparing my body to anyone. There is one lady in the videos who has killer abs. How does that make me feel? "Hmm, I wonder if I can ever achieve abs like that someday. The only way to find out is to work hard!"

Chalene says "You should be dying right now" in one of her videos. If I took that literally I could not type this. I take that to mean "You should be near your max heart rate/fatigued. If not, push harder." That's the truth because people often give up at the slightest bit of discomfort instead of pushing. Fit bodies are not unrealistic. What's unrealistic is to expect to acquire a body like that when you're not watching your diet and putting a mediocre effort into working out. Talk about making mountains out of molehills. I'm glad I'm not that weak minded and easily discouraged.

I thought of Chalene as soon as I read "you should be dying right now." Haha! I do Chalean Extreme too, as well as numerous others of her videos, and I actually think she uses a fairly diverse group of people in her videos -- young, old, black, white, men, women, thin, curvy, etc. so you can find both people that you may identify with as well as people you may aspire to emulate. I also find her very motivational and encouraging personally because she is over 40 and in great shape and full of energy.

I think most people, like me, would simply move along and find something else if they find a workout instructor or video irritating or unmotivating. That goes for live instructors as well, so it's really not that different. Silly article, in my opinion.