I can't afford to renew my gym membership and so have been toying with the idea of getting a workout dvd or two. I'm not terribly athletic by nature but am interested in cardio and strength training as I've got some weights gathering dust in the house. I know it's that time of year where all the 'celebrities' bring out their fatbuster/thighbuster/doublechinbuster videos but do you have any recommendations for ones worth getting? Maybe what's worked for you or indeed any I should avoid like the plague?!

I've worked out to DVDs since 2006. I have to say I haven't been thrilled with most of the celebrity dvds I've tried so I try to avoid them. The ones where the celebrity stands to the side and lets the professional trainer lead are usually better.

College video http://www.collagevideo.com/

TotalfitnessDVD http://www.totalfitnessdvds.com/default.asp

are two great resources to point you in the right direction. They both have clips, discriptions and reviews to help you select some DVDs that would be best for you and your fitness level. Hope that helps.

one word. DAVINA. her vids are constantly voted the best workout vids year after year and I think she has made about 8 of them so there are lots to choose from depending on your fitness level and what your are interested in exercise wise. youtube them first and get an idea. good luck. xx

I really like the workout tapes that Jillian Michaels puts out.

If you like to dance try this. I LOVE THIS VIDEO. You can get it on Amazon.com

---Dance Fitness for Beginners with MaDonna Grimes: African Beat - Latin Heat---

I love Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. I got it for $5 (I live in Canada tho, but that is an AMAZING deal here). Anyways, its only 20 minutes long and kicks your butt.

Haven't tried but if i did id choose the essexersize workout by the only way is essex cast!

I think seeing them would be motivation as they're gorgeous! Plus the music is quite good! x

If you want to 'try before you buy', have a look at some youtube videos. Some of them have clips from the dvds, and there are some fitness channels that are developed workout videos for free ^_^

Good luck!

Do you have a 360 Kinect? If so, you may want to look into the Zumba DVD game they have for it. I do it now and again, purely because those 20min workouts are HARD! lol but are fun and make you feel sexy too!

Might be worth looking into!

I bought one of the 10 minute solution
DVDs. Love it!
Also got a ministry of sound pump it up DVD which is a laugh, but so difficult, or maybe I'm not a natural dancer!?.. But I like it!

No 360 unfortunately, I almost bought one of those Wii things with the fitness board but friends I know who have them ended up hardly using them! Thanks for the recommendations everyone, my sister is going to loan me her 30 day shred video and I've found some other ones on youtube to warm me up for it.

I love working out to Jillian Michaels, its only 20 mins long so you feel you havent go that long to go (before the pains over!), but they are very full on.

Sweating buckets at the end of it and feel like you've had a major work out session! Jillian really does kick ***!

Hope that hasn't put you off

I really like Clare Nasir's Boot Camp dvd BUT it's really not easy! It's an 80 minute interval-style workout, although you can pick and choose which sections you feel like doing if you can't manage it all in one go. It's definitely one of the best "celebrity workouts" I have ever had and Clare doesn't get on your nerves either, she just gets on with the workout. You really feel like you've worked hard once you've completed it!

I also really like Tracy Anderson's Mat Workout, but you do need to do some cardio exercise as well. I used to do an hour's walk alongside this dvd and had amazing results - just wish I hadn't let all my hard work slip!

Hi ya,

Another thing to try, if you are member of LoveFilms or similar then you can rent Fitness DVD's to try out. If you like them, you can go and buy it, if not, you have not lost any real money except the rental.

It has saved me lots, reduced my fitness DVD purchases by loads

Susanna

I use (when I exercise) videos from Youtube, there are loads and you can do a different thing everyday rather than repeating the same videos.