From an e-mail:
Hi,
To answer your question the other night, here are the videos I've tried:
I started with the original Jazzercise video ('83 or so, probably out of
print) by Judi Sheppard Missett. It's a good beginner floor aerobics
tape. She's so over-the-top perky I had to give up and enjoy it. But it's
a short step from there to Richard Simmons, and I don't think I want to
go there.
The first part of "Jane Fonda's Complete Workout" was okay, but the
aerobics part was too dancy and confusing for me.
"The Method: All in One Workout" -- based on Pilades, yoga, classical and
aerobic dance. Again, way too dancy and confusing for me. Hated it.
"Basic Training: The Workout" is a 60-minute tape combining low-impact
aerobics with some strength training (light weights). There are
helicopters and stuff in the background. I like this one. Sometimes I
just do the first half for the aerobics, using it with the Firm tape on
alternate days.
"Kathy Smith's Fat Burning Workout" -- Okay, I'm not really fat, but I
have gained around 20 pounds in the last couple of years, and that's
probably not good. Anyway, this is fairly low-intensity but steady, to
keep you in the fat-burning stage for the full 40-minutes. I like this
one for when I just want to do aerobics.
"Your Personal Best Workout with Elle Macpherson," by Karen Voight. This
one's kinda cute, friendly but not perky, with nice Hawaiian scenery. I
like it okay.
My favorite right now is The Firm's "Cross Trainers / Firm Strength".
It's a 55-minute mix of aerobics and weight training, often at the same
time. This one's heavy duty, harder than the others but probably more
effective. Just when you can't take any more, they switch to a different
muscle group and push you too far on that one. It's really well done, and
seems to be a favorite on
http://videofitness.com, a consumer's guide to
fitness videos.
"Firm Cardio" and "Karen Voight's Energy Sprint" are supposed to be good
too, but I haven't tried them because the choreography is rated moderate
instead of basic, and you saw what happened when I tried to waltz with
Ed's sister.
A company called Collage Video has a mail order catalog of exercise
videos, 800-433-6769.
This was probably more than you wanted to know, but I hope it was useful
or at least amusing.
Here are some exercise videos I'd like to see:
1) An exercise video for dogs and cats (using Jurassic Park-type computer
graphics). Occasionally they'll start scratching themselves or chase each
other around the room.
2) A porno exercise video, maybe with really heavy dildos or something.
3) A Grateful Dead exercise video. (There's a reggae one called "Jamaica
Me S'wet.")
4) An otherwise normal exercise video, but with someone like me in the
group who's always doing the wrong moves and stumbling around trying to
keep up. Actually, there was a scene kind of like that in Bill Murray's
"The Man Who Knew Too Little," which was much funnier than any of these
videos, but probably not as good for you.