Fitness DVDs

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afwife95
afwife95 Posts: 1
in Fitness and Exercise
Need some advice...I tried a fitness DVD (Calorie explosion by the Firm) yesterday and it was too difficult for me to get through the whole thing (without weights) and my form toward the end was awful. Should I stick with some of the other tapes I have been doing (all the way through with weights) until my fitness level increases or should I keep trying the new one until I can do it?

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  • sugarbeans
    sugarbeans Posts: 676 Member
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    Do you get discouraged easily? If you do maybe stick with your old dvd's but increase the weight. Or alternate the 2 so you have a variety as well as a challenge.
    I personally love a challenge and would do the new dvd, but for the first week or so just do as many reps as I can with proper form. Form is more important than doing as many reps as the dvd says. If you still are having troubles on form maybe just start with half of the dvd and do the other half later that day or the following day.
  • Uibleking
    Uibleking Posts: 1 Member
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    I am a big fan of Leslie Sansone (spelling?) walking tapes. I use them both at home, and esp when I travel. I often see them at Goodwill stores, and buy them every time, so I can share them with others. Wishing you much success in this new year as it approaches.....use FITNESS PAL....it works, sure does help me!
  • bigfatbino
    bigfatbino Posts: 136 Member
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    I've really enjoyed the P90X program (the original, not P90x2, doubles, or whatever permutation they are on now).

    My favorite is the Yoga =)
  • ericapabis
    ericapabis Posts: 27 Member
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    I myself have some Dvds which are too advanced for me (ex Bob Harper's Dvds & Insanity Asylum) My personal preference is to modify down than modify up. I prefer to "do what I can" while still keeping proper form. As long as you push yourself you will get results! Just don't let yourself get discouraged. I realized I don't have to do every move perfectly in time with instructor to get results ;)
  • PeloMichelle
    PeloMichelle Posts: 100 Member
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    You'll completely know your limits if you listen to your body. I agree Leslie Sansone's Walking DVD's are great. I'm loving Turbo Jam along with ChaLEAN Xtreme right now :) Only do what you can in each workout and before long you'll be completely up to speed. Best of luck!!
  • napanda
    napanda Posts: 4 Member
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    I use a hybrid of my own...I have P90X...Jillian's 30 Day Shred and a Figure Skating workout set. I'm focussing more on form and weights than cardio, but I love a good sweat session, so I do KenpoX and throw in the odd workout or 2.
  • glovepuppet
    glovepuppet Posts: 1,713 Member
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    if your form is terrible towards the end then for crying out loud stop!
    that's just asking for an injury, and then you won't be able to do it at all.
  • jenns1964
    jenns1964 Posts: 384 Member
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    The first time I attempted Jillian Michael's 30 day shred I was only able to do 8 min. I just kept going back to it and kept trying til I could get thru the whole 30 minutes. It was tough,but I didn't let myself feel like a failure and kept working at it. I have done this with several fitness DVDs...do what I can til I can complete it in good form. Keep up the good work. You'll get there.
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
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    Need some advice...I tried a fitness DVD (Calorie explosion by the Firm) yesterday and it was too difficult for me to get through the whole thing (without weights) and my form toward the end was awful. Should I stick with some of the other tapes I have been doing (all the way through with weights) until my fitness level increases or should I keep trying the new one until I can do it?

    Perhaps do 50% of it and every week increase it by 5 minutes until you can complete the workout.
  • yourenotmine
    yourenotmine Posts: 645 Member
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    Do as much as you can do with good form, then STOP. You can always do a little more each time, until you get the whole thing down. I would not add any weights until you can do the moves with good form. Personally, I love the FIrm. You can also try some of their older videos, which are a little slower paced because they're more weights focused. They also had a beginner's workout several years ago, which I'm sure you can still get on their website, or on Amazon (and it would probably be really cheap). If you don't care that much about the Firm, I've also done Jillian Michael's 30 day shred and found it much easier to get the moves down.
  • CountryStrongNicole
    CountryStrongNicole Posts: 46 Member
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    When I started with workouts... I used bodyrock.tv on the internet and could only last 6 mins out of a 12 minute set. I just kept at it keeping to the form. One nice thing about them is they focus on form.... you set your own count for how many you get done in the time frame (30sec work/10sec rest or 50sec/10sec for most of their workouts) Now, I have added Jillian Michael's DVD's and my hubby just got Insanity for Christmas. (I don't think I am ready for that yet) but just keep working your way through sticking to form and pushing past your comfort zone a little bit at a time.
  • NaomiJFoster
    NaomiJFoster Posts: 1,450 Member
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    One idea might be to do the more challenging new DVD, but pull back on your own intensity. Follow along with the whole thing, but make your movements smaller and less range of motion.

    Another idea could be to do the whole DVD, but pause for a one minute rest, every five minutes. Or change to just marching gently in place every once in a while. It will allow your heartrate to slow a bit, and you'll gather more energy to make it to the end.

    After a couple of weeks of doing something like that, you'll probably be able to get all the way to the end without too much difficulty.
  • mountain_dog
    mountain_dog Posts: 10 Member
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    Fitness Blender has a wide variety of FREE videos. They do a great job of explaining each move and preview the next move while you are finishing up the last move. I think they do each move in slow motion first so you can make sure to do it correctly.

    They also give you the calories burned for most workouts. I'm trying all of them to develop a short list of favorites to do on a regular basis. Most need no equipment.

    http://www.fitnessblender.com/v/exercise-group/Full-Length-Workout-Videos/2l/
  • NaomiJFoster
    NaomiJFoster Posts: 1,450 Member
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    Fitness Blender has a wide variety of FREE videos. They do a great job of explaining each move and preview the next move while you are finishing up the last move. I think they do each move in slow motion first so you can make sure to do it correctly.

    They also give you the calories burned for most workouts. I'm trying all of them to develop a short list of favorites to do on a regular basis. Most need no equipment.

    http://www.fitnessblender.com/v/exercise-group/Full-Length-Workout-Videos/2l/


    I love all the Fitness Blender videos on You Tube. There are a bunch of Leslie Sansone vids there too. As well as about a thousand other workouts for any style, any length of time, and fitness goal. I love You Tube!
  • mountain_dog
    mountain_dog Posts: 10 Member
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    YouTube is great! I love the Tabata-style workouts I've found there. You can do anything for 20 seconds. :-)

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