Why do a lot of women prefer exercise DVDs?

Personally I like them because I'm not able to drive to a gym.

In general I think women's appearance is seen as more important than men's, particularly weight. Therefore diet and fitness products including DVDs seem to be made for and marketed more towards women. Many of the DVDs are led by woman trainers, models, celebrities... and even a lot of the videos led by men are distinctly woman-oriented.

In addition to that I think many gyms are still seen as more "manly" places and can be intimidating for women. If you're a woman at the gym you have more people (men) approaching you about what you're doing, what you look like, etc than you do as a male gym-goer.

ETA: It seems like there are more men using DVDs now that there are more options geared towards them: Insanity, P90X, Body Beast, etc.

I do them because I can roll right out of bed and be to my basement and working out in 30 seconds. I don't want to have to drive to the gym. I like being able to crank my stereo and wear whatever I want. My basement is clean...much cleaner than the nasty machines at gyms that everybody and their mother sweats all over.

I don't think it's intimidation or being self conscious for most women

Women need to be at home to take care of the babies.

All kidding aside, I do think women are more likely to fit their workouts in at home so they are taking less time away from their familial responsibilities. That's why I workout at home. I'm a single mom, I'd feel extremely guilty about hiring a baby sityer 3 times a week so I can go lift heavy objects. We only get an hour together after we get home in the evening before it's bedtime.

That being said, I don't actually use dvds myself. I watch old television shows on streampix and do my strength workout from You Are Your Own Gym. I hate dvds, just the whole process of dealing with the dvd player and watching something I already daw before really irks me.

I think the at home dvd market has exploded marketing towards women more than men. A lot of it is because these dvds are just specifically targeted at women. Most of the Jillian Michaels stuff is clearly targeted for females, she almost always has women on the dvd. Same with many other weightloss programs.

But there are also ones targeted at guys, p90x, insanity, etc, are marketed more for men. Not that men cant do women dvds or vice versa, just that they are targeted at specific genders.

I have seen some gender nuetral dvds like the biggest loser dvds, they seem to be aimed more towards people who are obese or overweight trying to get into work out routines more so than a specific gender.

I work out at the gym 4-5 days a week and at home/somewhere else 1-2 days a week. Yes, the weight room intimidates me, not because I feel its the 'man space' or because there are a ton of men in there. But because its always full of people. I hate having to wait on things or feel pressured if someone wants the equipment I am using. The weight room is stressful for me because of that. The cardio machines seem to be in surplus, never waiting on them or someone waiting for me to get off. So 3 of my days at the gym are just pure cardio days, then I have maybe 1 day of weights at the gym, and I will do weights at home, cant do weights as well at home because I only have hand weights but it beats dealing with the weight room at the gym.

At my gym there are probably 5 pieces of cardio equipment to every 1 piece of weight lifting equipment and I work out in a military gym so the weight equipment is by far the most popular in the gym.

On the flip side, the girls seem to be more self conscious than the guys. I see lots of overweight guys working out at the gym, most of the girls arent. There are a few overweight women I see on occasion but I can tell they feel really awkward about working out in front of other people

For me it's convenience. It allows me to spend all my workout time working out, instead of driving to a gym.

I often exercise outside when the weather is nice, but nothing beats the convenience of just popping in a DVD when the weather is not nice or I'm short on time.

Pretty much this ^. I love the gym,and I usually do something outdoors whether I go to the gym or follow a video. Honestly, I would rather go to the gym,but sometimes it's just not a possibility for the day. Also, nobody can see me being all sweaty and pathetic when I do dvds at home. That's kind of nice. haha

Mostly privacy. I don't like going to a gym.

I'm quite self conscious, i work crappy hours and i enjoy them.

I have a lot of the same reasons already listed- I'm a work from home mom- so DVD's or at home workouts allow me to fit into my schedule and my day whenever I want. It's a lot less expensive than a gym membership or paying for a class- though I do occasionally like to mix things up by attending an instructed class every once in awhile. In addition to dvds, online videos, and do any workouts like cross fit or just walking- I also have a treadmill and a home gym machine with lots of different weight options for strength training. It's easier to just do it at home. I also like the added benefit of not having to feel self conscious in a gym setting.

Lots of reasons: I'm a stay at home mom, I hate people looking at me when I work out, I don't like talking to people, can't afford the gym, I can find them for free or cheap online or borrow from a friend, I can workout whenever I find time.

nvm