Out with the old!

For about 8 years and 5 house moves I have been carrying around a box of various workout videos and a crappy VHS of their own. My current house really is just too small to keep things I don't need/use so today I caved and threw out that box (and that old VCR!) and now want to get *1 nice DVD/set of DVDs that I will actually use.

I looked in the thread devoted to this but I thought I might get more insight in the from my fellow 100+ friends.

Here is what I'm working with:
* low athletic ability. I get frustrated and give up easily if the actions/moves are too hard or too fast for my *current* big, slow body. (so a series that works up to more difficult routines?)

* small and (ugh) carpeted space to move around in.

*no place with door jams for that kind of resistance band.

I used to do netflix but have downsized my account so I don't get DVDs anymore, and I'd really like to purchase a set to have all the time. Any recommendations??

I LOVED jillian michaels 30 day shred you can continuously do level one till you are ready to move on to lvl 2 and/or 3. It is INTENSE but you can modify the moves, for jumping I kind of just bounced...for jumping jacks I moved my arms (didn't want t wake anyone by jumping) same for the "jump rope" There are variations of almost every exercise she has you do the intense part is you don;t stop for about 27 mins including cool down. I did this at about 280 lbs or so and loved it, just haven't gotten back to it yet :\

30 day shred is great! AlsoTry The biggest loser Power sculpt and Cardio max, and perhaps other biggest loser workouts. I like these because rather than the tiny and toned trainer-type cast, they feature the biggest loser contestants which is motivational, and their cues are good and easy enough to follow. It also comes in level 1,2&3. When you're used to the moves, you could upgrade to Jillian's 30 day shred, Burn fat boost metabolism, No more trouble zones, etc. Minimum space required, I just play them on my laptop in the bedroom. You can modify them accordnig to your fitness level. I use a couple of other videos though, but i think these ones are easiest to work with. Good Luck

My needs are similar to yours and currently I'm enjoying two DVDs by Leslie Sansone. They are from her walk at home program: 5 Mile Fat Burning Walk and Walk Away The Pounds: Express Super Challenge. You don't need much room to do them and the moves are very basic. You can easily increase the intensity by adding hand weights or lightly jogging in place instead of brisk walking. The reason why I've been able to stick to this workout is because it's really simple to do and I can do however miles I please without feeling so guilty about not finishing the workout. In the past, I've felt guilty for not keeping up or giving up too early. That's no longer an issue for me with this. However, I can see myself getting bored of it in the future. I'm going to have to create a playlist to go along with it to remedy that.

I also have other DVD workouts, but I haven't done them enough to fully recommend them.

For very very beginners, I think the Walk Away The Pounds DVDs are great. They don't take much space and the steps are very very easy. Anyone could figure them out. My husband figured them out.

I don't like starting out with something I can't complete or I have to modify to the point of not really getting any benefit. To me, that's discouraging. When I've been slacking on exercise and essentially starting over, I always go back to the WATP (I have the one with the weighted balls, 1 to 4 miles, in a set) DVDs.

I agree with the biggest loser cardio max.

love it!

also the biggest loser weight loss yoga

Thanks so much for all of your replies! I'm looking forward to researching those titles - they sound great!

Kim Lyons is where I started.

Now I'm on Self Magazine "Bikini Ready Fast" with Ellen Barrett.

I have some of those Jillians like 30 day shred on sale, watched them and I'm just not ready. They're too much for me at advanced level.

I like the ratings on collagevideo.com -- I find them spot on. Even if I get the DVD elsewhere or on sale at Ross or whatever... I still want to check the level on collage and I stick it on the DVD so when I'm flipping through I know which is which.


A.

Well I am lucky enough to have a treadmill in my house so I have been doing that almost daily since May but recently wanted to add free weights which have really boosted my weight loss and should help with toning those flappy areas. Anyways I bought a small weight set on amazon.com and have been using the "weight lifting for dummies" dvd. I LOVE IT. Hope this helps.