Exercise DVDs: Tips For Your Fitness Program

With so many of us canceling gym memberships and turning to home-based fitness regimes, exercise DVDs seem to be the way forward for a cost effective, high energy workout. But with a whole myriad of exercise and DVDs to choose from in the market, which one do you go for?

The selection seems infinite with a wide variety of exercise DVDs targeting different areas of the body like glutes, abs and legs, or arms, shoulders and abs right through to all over cardio workouts like dance based routines or even pole dancing! There are also mat based, body conditioning exercise DVD workouts such as pilates and yoga.

But, why limit yourself? We all have low energy days and a more relaxing stretch workout may be more suitable than a high energy one, so purchase a selection of exercise DVDs.

It is definitely worth spending time reading user reviews to make sure you choose the right workout DVD for you. However, here are some criteria to get you started.

Start by taking into account your preferences for exercising. Do you want to use equipment like weights or a step (for step aerobics) for example? How do you feel about music? Whether it is high octane or relaxing, have a think about whether music suits you.

Also think about the stage you are starting at. For example, your age is also a key factor in deciding which workout DVD to buy. Or perhaps you used to exercise but have stopped due to injury. Are you very overweight, or just need a bit of toning up in some focused areas?

The best exercise DVDs to get you on the road to fitness whatever your level, are those with a gradual progression-style structure so you are not struggling to keep up from the start. The DVD should also have an ability specific structure to the exercise in order to cover all fitness levels, meaning a beginner can be moved through a gradual increase in intensity over time but a seasoned exerciser gets a challenge too.

Another key tip is to research the teacher. Once you have found your favored workout DVD, it is a good idea to check out the professionalism, background and competence of the instructor. Run a search on Google and see what comes up. Read a review about their DVD as well as comments from users too - the most unbiased information.

Also, when purchasing exercise DVDs make sure that they come with at least a 6 month guarantee. In general, it usually takes the majority of users about 7 to 9 weeks to really get into the program, meaning a 30 day guarantee is not satisfactory. You want to make sure you are seeing and feeling the changes the DVD claims to be offering. If you purchased a legs, glutes and abs program, are you seeing the changes? It's unlikely you will notice a real difference in 30 days.

If you have been sedentary for a while for whatever reason, it is worth taking your exercise DVDs to your doctor just as a precaution to make sure the exercises are appropriate for you.

So this gives you a few tips to get started. Rest assured that you will find the right one for you. The market for home fitness DVDs is absolutely huge with almost every celebrity jumping on the bandwagon! So whether it's Pilates, yoga or high energy aerobics and dance, you will almost definitely find the exercise DVDs to suit you.