Online exercise recommendations?

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Hello everyone!!

I've been trying to do some sort of exercise every day, with a break on Saturday or Sunday. I have the 30 Day Shred, which I love, a Crunch Bikini Body video, which is silly but effective, and a 10 minute solutions Pilates video, which is a great low impact option. I also bellydance 2-3 (sometimes more) times per week. Other than the bellydancing, which I always love, I have gotten a bit bored with the three videos I've been doing. I know there are some great online resources, and I was just wondering what all you have tried and enjoyed/had success with because I'm honestly not sure where to start.

I'd like to stick with either Pilates or Pilates-inspired workouts or videos that combine cardio and strength training like 30DS. I also enjoy a great ab workout. Any suggestions you all might have would be very helpful!! Thanks! :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
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    I love the BeFit channel on YouTube. They have a little bit of everything.
  • Izanami66
    Izanami66 Posts: 181 Member
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    Oh, great, I'll check that one out! Thank you!! Any others?
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
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    It is important to note that 30DS does not actually combine cardio and strength, and neither does pilates. It's basically just aerobic cardio with weights. If you want to do this and do it right the first thing you need to get in the habit of doing is using proper terminology, otherwise when you consult people who are well versed, they'll have no clue what you're talking about.

    EDIT: You should tell us your goals and what you expect to get out of workouts and what equipment you have to work with before we can really make recommendations.
  • schlagers
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    bodyrock.tv
  • Izanami66
    Izanami66 Posts: 181 Member
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    Thanks for the constructive suggestions. I know that Pilates does not combine strength and cardio. I like it for different reasons: namely its core strengthening properties and focus on flexibility. As a dancer, both of these are highly important. I do not understand your comment about the 30 day shred, however. Jumping jacks, high knees, jumprope, buttkicks... these are not considered cardio execises? And lunges, squats, bicep curls, pushups, etc are not considered strength training...? I realize these do not involve being in the gym lifting weights, but my undestanding of strength training is that it can also be accomplished by using your own bodyweight/resistance. If I am mistaken, please feel free to correct me. Condescension not required.

    As far as the equipment I have... I have a resistance band, some hand weights, and a carpeted surface. My goal is simply to have something that incorporates the beneficial aspects of the videos that have worked for me and I have enjoyed, without being the same things over and over. Hopefully that clears any misunderstandings up.

    Edited for small typo. oops!
  • Izanami66
    Izanami66 Posts: 181 Member
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    Bump:happy:
  • viajera99
    viajera99 Posts: 252 Member
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    FitnessBlender.com has a wide variety of workouts.
  • angelsb0nes
    angelsb0nes Posts: 17 Member
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    Blogilates :D
  • Lauraab29
    Lauraab29 Posts: 3 Member
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    Blogilates :D

    Deffo recommend Blogilates! Love Cassey!

    And search LiveStrongWoman, they have a bunch of different exercise videos from weights to cardio to yoga.
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
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    Thanks for the constructive suggestions. I know that Pilates does not combine strength and cardio. I like it for different reasons: namely its core strengthening properties and focus on flexibility. As a dancer, both of these are highly important. I do not understand your comment about the 30 day shred, however. Jumping jacks, high knees, jumprope, buttkicks... these are not considered cardio execises? And lunges, squats, bicep curls, pushups, etc are not considered strength training...? I realize these do not involve being in the gym lifting weights, but my undestanding of strength training is that it can also be accomplished by using your own bodyweight/resistance. If I am mistaken, please feel free to correct me. Condescension not required.

    As far as the equipment I have... I have a resistance band, some hand weights, and a carpeted surface. My goal is simply to have something that incorporates the beneficial aspects of the videos that have worked for me and I have enjoyed, without being the same things over and over. Hopefully that clears any misunderstandings up.

    Edited for small typo. oops!

    30DS does constitute cardio. But that's about it. Are you familiar with the phrase "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger?" Well, from a physiological standpoint, that's exactly how your muscles work. In strength training, you are causing tears in the muscle under controlled situations. The body can use up additional nutrient stores over sedentary over the next 48+ hours to repair the muscles in a process known as catabolism. When the repair process has completed, the muscles are now stronger than before. In order to trigger this effect, you must be working with a load that is heavy enough to make your muscles "give out" after a relatively small number of reps and allow for substantial rest periods between sets. The light weight/high rep for timed set work Jillian does in her videos is actually just resisted cardio. It will not lead to functional strength gains beyond what initially happens as the body adjusts to moving with a load.

    This is what I meant when I was talking about proper terminology. As you stick around on this site, you're going to find that there is a very big "rift" between people who extensively study the science behind fitness and people who know only DVD-oriented workouts and the buzz words that originate from them. If you want advice from the former (and I think you do) it is important to learn to "talk the talk" because most of these people will be more willing to extend help to someone who sounds like they already have a good knowledge base to start with. =)

    I hope that didn't sound like me being a jerk.