Workout DVDs That Work
Jason Stephens says your most important workout routine is your first one.
"That’s called ‘showing up,’ " he says. "Consistency is key." A certified trainer at Mountainside Fitness in Gilbert, Stephens also believes that commitment should be the only routine your workout has. "A good workout will only challenge you for about six weeks. You have to keep changing it, to keep challenging yourself. If you’re mentally bored with it, chances are you’re physically bored, too."
In that context, the workout DVDs flooding the market can only facilitate one stage of your progress. "They’re a stepping stone," Stephens says. "You can use them in addition to your workout program. They can get you excited about working out, but they’re not a substitute for the variety of exercise you can get in the gym." With that caveat in mind, Stephens broke down the fitness and the flab in three of the latest workout releases. GET RIPPED & CHISELED
No! "Get Ripped!" (Fitness Plus, $14.99) is not a drinking video. (I thought that, too.) It’s trainer/cookbook author Jari Love’s 60-minute workout video, and Stephens scores it high on substance, if not style. "This (DVD) is the closest to a resistance training situation," he says. "It was made for both men and women." He credits Love for inclusiveness: The DVD is aimed at 40- to 60-year-olds, and has a wide variety of exercises, and a mixing of aerobic work with resistance training. What he didn’t like was the monotonous quality. A minor concern? Not if you have to face it day after day. "You’ll never attend an aerobic class that isn’t high-energy and loud, because you have to keep people motivated. Here, they didn’t choose the music well. It wasn’t peppy. She also uses dumbbells, barbells and steps — which you would have to buy, or modify from stuff in your house."
THE STUDIO: FAT BURNING FUSION
Ellen Barrett’s "The Studio," (Seth D. Stein Productions, $15) promises "fat burning fusion," and Stephens says it delivers precisely that. "It is what it says: a combination of pilates, yoga and aerobic exercises. They put the three together in one workout." The 46-minute DVD can get body and spirit moving, he says. "It gives you a good feeling, it’s a good set." But "The Studio" stops at strengthening and defining existing muscles. "Aerobic respiration burns fat. Here, it’s the yoga/pilates combination strengthening your core muscles." Those looking to bulk up or add muscle tissue will have to look outside "The Studio.""This tones and firms, but it doesn’t build muscle. You need anaerobic work for that. Beyond that, my only negatives were that (the workout) might be hard on the lower back, or someone with a weak back."
SELF: TRIM AND TONE FAST
Stephens’ favorite. Self magazine puts fitness expert Kimberly Spreen and the scenery of Tucson’s Westin La Paloma Resort to good use (Conde Nast Publications, $14.90). Like "The Studio," the 60-minute DVD is aimed toward women. And, like "Get Ripped," it requires some equipment — in this case, hand weights and a floor mat. But the video’s virtue, Stephens says, is its flexibility. "It’s one workout for the total body. But you can break it out by parts. Say, you want to work on your legs: You go to ‘Set up workout’ in the master menu, and you can build a more personalized workout that includes a warm-up, leg exercises and a cooldown." Stephens says the interactive component allows "Trim and Tone Fast" to mimic an evolving workout. "You can change it up. It’s not just advancing a chapter on the disc. You’re creating your own workout."