By Amanda

I’ve spent a good part of my exercise life running. Well, up until 14 weeks ago when my midwife looked at me and said, “Stop running until you’re out of the first trimester.”

Having suffered a miscarriage with our first pregnancy earlier this year, she was concerned that my long distance runs could be affecting my weight, thus possibly affecting my hormones and she didn’t want me to risk another loss. So run I didn’t.

Which is all just a super long way to say that in the mean time, I’ve had to find low-impact exercises to get me by. It was this search that led me to a local fitness center that offers pre-natal classes in water aerobics and yoga.

I know, I know, water aerobics. The first thing I think of when I hear those two words are squishy old ladies in their skirted swimsuits bobbing around in the deep end like floral covered buoys. Not exactly the low-impact challenge I was thinking of but I figured, “Why not?” and handed over my money.

And wouldn’t you know, I love it. Not only does exercise in the water provide buoyancy and support for the body, making it less likely for the muscle, bone and joint to get injured (Hello pregnancy loose joint clumsiness!) but it also supports 80% of your weight causing less strain on joints, back and torso when compared to land exercise.

Water aerobics also boasts such benefits as quick muscular endurance due to the high density of water. I’m going to get scientific here but bear with me. The high density of water, as compared to air, leads to increased resistance and helps to build muscular endurance and tone the entire body. So, those who participate in water exercise tend to get quicker results that those who exercise on land.

If those two reasons aren’t enough to encourage you to take a dip, water exercise can also improve your flexibility, your cardiovascular conditioning and help keep you cool, because who really wants to be out pounding the pavement in the middle of summer? I’m sweaty just thinking about it. Or maybe it’s all of these hormones. I can’t tell the difference anymore.

While you should always consult your physician before beginning a new fitness regime, water aerobics is great for the general exercising public. There’s also little investment to get started with aquatic fitness. Check with fitness centers near you who offer water aerobics and you may be surprised that you don’t always have to join the gym to participate! I pay a much reduced monthly fee for the pre-natal classes and can even hang around after class and take advantage of the other gym amenities like their outdoor pool, the indoor track etc. Your facility should provide flotation belts and pool weights that can be used during certain exercises for added resistance. All you need is to suit up and get ready to swim!

Pregnant lady tidbit:

Just in case you’re still stuck in the old lady scenario, if you are expecting, recent studies have shown that women who participate in water aerobics during their pre-natal months, actually perceive less pain during labor than those who do not participate. If that’s not reason enough to sign up, I don’t know what is!

Amanda can be found at her freelance site and her blog.

By Amanda

Face it, your weekly exercise routine is stale. Whether you’re a gym rat or get your fitness on in the great outdoors, it’s easy to fall into a rut. Avoid the inevitable and try mixing up the weekly grind with a belly dance workout!

I took my first belly dance class my senior year of college. I wasn’t looking for a workout as much as I was looking for an excuse to learn some sexy moves (a la Shakira) all while wearing a jingly coin belt. Latina pop star moves and costuming aside, I quickly found that I loved the art of belly dance and was pleased with the fitness gains I was making! I was seeing results that I hadn’t through conventional exercise (hello, core muscles and posture!) and also felt my self-esteem get a huge boost. You try shimmying in front of your significant other and tell me that you don’t feel instantly sex-ay.

Now, before you get the wrong idea (my belly dance teacher will KILL me if she finds out I am telling everyone that belly dancing is just sexy exercise), belly dance is a beautiful art form with a rich and colorful history that not only benefits your body but is also a fun way to spice up your weekly workouts. Belly dance focuses on total body muscle control and isolations, joint movements as well as balance, flexibility and strength. Belly dance is a great way to exercise while building self-confidence through self-expression in an art form that embraces all body types and experience levels.

Despite the benefits that belly dancing can bring to your current fitness routine, it does take a bit of courage to jiggle and roll in a room full of strangers. Your first experience may leave you feeling awkward and FAR from the sexy goddess you imagined, but have faith. Just like any new skill, the more you do it, the better you’ll be!

If you’re interested in learning how to belly dance but afraid to shake your money maker in public, there are plenty of great DVDs that can help you get started before embarking on a class setting. There are many different styles of belly dance so try a few to see what suits your personality!

How to find a class near you:

Belly Dance Classes

DVDs:

Belly Dance for Beginners with Suhaila: Fitness Fusion Jazz, $9.99

Learn belly dance basics from renowned, international performer and teacher of belly dance, Suhaila Salimpour.

Contemporary Bellydance and Yoga Conditioning with Ariellah, $16.99

Ariellah skillfully leads you though a yoga workout, belly dance drills as well as choreography for those feeling brave to put the moves together.

Bellydance Fitness for Beginners: Slim Down, $9.98

Starring Veena and Neena Bidasha, learn the basics of Egyptian belly dance with a full body workout incorporating strength and cardiovascular moves.

:::

Afraid of the freshman 15, Amanda quickly found herself a staple in the University’s group exercise classes. She enjoyed them so much she studied and trained to earn her group fitness instructor certification through AFAA in 2001. Amanda has taught a wide range of group exercise classes from Hip Hop to Kickboxing and everything in between including Mat and Reformer Pilates which she earned certification for in 2005. Amanda LOVES exercises that offer a challenge physically and mentally and is always seeking out new and fun ways to keep her body fit and healthy! She loves her weekly belly dance class and is a running fool, running her first half-marathon in May 2008. Currently Amanda is trying to find the balance between her previously “work till you drop” workouts and something that won’t kill her because she and her husband are excitedly awaiting their first child at the end of December.

Amanda can be found at her freelance site and her blog.

By Stephanie

Here in the Midwest, spring is trying to arrive in earnest. The days are (nominally) warmer, the daffodils are out, and the daylight lasts long enough that a quick run outside before breakfast or after dinner is not out of the question. It’s that time of year when I just can’t help but get outside and RUN, thrilled at the thought of ignoring the treadmill at the gym almost completely for the next six or seven months.

I think the spring weather inspires other people to run, too – people who may have never run before in their lives; new moms who had an early-spring baby and want to start working out again; people who ran last summer, then gave it up when the snow started falling.

So, for those of you venturing out for the first time in a while, a few tips on running safely and happily. Some are gleaned from Claire Kowalchik’s excellent book The Complete Guide to Running for Women; some are lessons I have learned the hard way.

Do:

Run with a partner or a group. This is the single best piece of running advice I’ve ever received. Not only is it safer to run with someone else, but the motivation factor is HUGE! Even when you don’t feel like running, chances are you’ll show up for an appointment with someone else, and once you do, you’ve guaranteed yourself a workout plus a great chance to talk with a friend.

Run during daylight hours if possible. (If not, you should be wearing light-colored, reflective clothing and consider carrying one of those handheld flashing lights.)

Run against traffic so you can see oncoming cars (and jump out of the way if necessary).

Run on populated neighborhood streets.

Run different routes at different times of day. At the very least, if you run alone, don’t run the exact same route at the exact same time every time you run.

Carry identification (either a driver’s license or one of those cheap strap-to-your-shoelaces bands with your name, phone, and medical information, purchased for about a dollar at any decent running store).

Leave word of your route with someone else, even if just in the form of a note.

Make eye contact with people around you and consider taking a course on self-defense and the use of safety devices.

Stretch well both before and after your run. Ideally, your run should end with some walking as a cool-down; whatever you do, don’t just drop onto the ground or into a chair and sit there for a while. Besides being bad for your heart, it will make your muscles cramp.

Don’t:

Wear a headset or iPod while running outside. I know 90% of you are freaking out at this, but it blocks your awareness of vehicles and people around you. If you absolutely need the music to run, make sure the volume is at a low level so you are still aware of your surroundings.

Go up to a stopped car to give directions. Shout advice from your location, or, if you’re alone, just say you don’t know and continue running.

Assume that a car sees you, especially one that is backing out of a driveway or making a right turn (the driver is probably just looking left at oncoming traffic and won’t bother glancing at the right side of the car before making the turn).

Run in isolated or unfamiliar areas alone.

Run from an unfriendly dog (instead, walk away slowly without making direct eye contact).

Think you can “just use these shoes I use for step aerobics” or any white sneaker off the rack at Kohl’s. Running in the wrong shoes can hurt your body all sorts of ways, plus it won’t feel good. If you mean to run regularly this summer, go to a good running store, try on several pairs of shoes, and invest in a shoe that is meant exclusively for running.

Leave for a run longer than one hour in duration without plans for hydration. Either plan your route around drinking fountains or run with a water belt.

Now that I’ve completely depleted your desire to run with all my boring rules, I will say this: You don’t have to follow them all, all of the time. You can get away with breaking a few of them, here and there. Just don’t be that person running alone, with the traffic, in the dark, wearing an iPod turned up too loud and crappy shoes. Eventually, you’ll get hurt.

And remember: the first few runs NEVER feel good. I’ve been running for most of my adult life, including one marathon, one half-marathon, and soon-to-be three 25Ks, and anytime I’ve taken a break, those first few runs back are pure torture. Expect it to be tough. (Here’s where running with a partner is key, so they can drag you along when you most want to quit.) But remember that there’s nothing else like that elusive “runner’s high” when it finally does hit.

Happy (safe) running!

By Laura Charon of Snerkology

Well. Like many health minded folk out there, I jumped on the Resolution Revolution and vowed that beginning January 1st, 2009, this would be My Year. My year to get in shape. My year to develop healthy habits. My year to reach my fitness and weight goals. My year to FINALLY stop screwing around and really, honestly DEDICATE myself. I was motivated, people. I was enthusiastic. I was READY.

I was thwarted.

I completely underestimated just how out of shape I was, so when I jumped into exercise, my body went, “Oh, you think so, do you? Well, I’ve got news for you, honey…”

The thing is, I didn’t think I was starting off too quickly. A friend of mine from work and I started walking around our work campus a couple of times a day – so that represents about two miles in total distance. I started stretching more, doing yoga, and I dusted off the ol’ elliptical machine at home. I began adding in some weight training. I started Jillian Michael’s “30 Day Shred”. I got a Pilates DVD. I adjusted my eating habits and started tracking my intake and exercise (I recommend sparkpeople.com, by the way).

I thought I was doing everything right. Oh, how wrong I was.

See, I have notoriously bad feet. They just hurt all the time, and have for years. Like many adults, I just brushed this off as signs of aging, and figured that as I got stronger with my New! Motivated! Me! my feet would get themselves in shape, as well. I was very, very wrong. Years of wearing the wrong type of shoes (Arizona is the Flip Flop capital of the world), coupled with severely tight hamstrings, resulted in a GLORIOUS case of plantar fasciitis (there is good info on the condition here). My doctor actually mis-diagnosed it as a possible stress fracture, before the symptoms escalated.

I’m here to tell you, my friends, please do EVERYTHING you can to prevent yourself from developing this condition. It is severely painful. And once you get it, it’s a complete pain in the ass to get rid of. So get insoles for your footwear. Stretch your tight hamstrings. Follow the recommendations on the Mayo website to prevent this from happening to you!

Anyway! Here I am, barely able to walk, which equates to a complete de-railing of my fitness goals. No feet = no cardio. No cardio = no weight loss. Or so the discouraged part of me believed. After a week or two of indulging in a complete Pity Party for myself (which involved eating everything under the sun, which resulted in re-gaining five pounds – I’m so smart), I shook off the blues and started trying to come up with a fitness routine that wouldn’t involve using my feet.

I know. It’s kind of counter-intuitive, isn’t it? But it’s possible! So while my feet are healing, I can still develop the healthy habits and “routine” of putting my fitness first, making time for it each day, so that when my feet finally do cooperate with me, I’ll already have the foundation for success. Here’s what I’ve been doing:

1. Stretching. Now, I have to be careful because my tight hamstrings and the plantar fasciitis get aggravated by overly aggressive stretching (like yoga). But floor poses and positions are helpful and gentle enough to not cause additional damage.

2. Pilates. In keeping with the above, I have the “Pilates: Begining Mat Workout“. As the name suggests, it features floor/seated poses, with gentle dynamic stretching and good engagement of the core.

3. Balance Ball. The use of the balance ball enables me to keep the weight off of my feet. I have a couple of decent balance ball DVD’s that actually came with the ball that I purchased. I take it slowly and am mindful of any of the techniques that put weight on my feet, but for the most part this works pretty well.

4. Weight Training. I am fortunate enough to have a universal weight machine at home, but even if you don’t, just a good pair of hand weights work very well, especially if you have a bench. The only leg exercises I do are seated hamstring curls and leg extensions, very light weight, in order to encourage my body to develop strength enough to support and eliminate the plantar fasciitis. The rest is upper body conditioning – bicep curls, tricep extensions, flys, bench press, lateral raises, rows. By the time my feet heal I’ll have totally tricked out arms.

5. Abdominal work. A strong core is essential for burning calories and supporting your body’s overall fitness. I’ve heard good things about the “Perfect Abs” DVD, so this will be my next purchase in the near future. I mean, who doesn’t get bored with the same old crunches?

So. I may not be able to walk, or run, or bike, or paddle away on the elliptical. But that doesn’t mean I’m down for the count. Certainly cardio will be a key element of my eventual (inevitable!) success, but any exercise is good exercise, and the things I mentioned above are all excellent fitness options. Because of my inability to do much cardio, I have to pay special attention to my diet – something I gave up for a while in a fit of discouragement and the misplaced attitude that, “If I can’t do it all, I can’t do any of it!” I know. I’m an emotional, irrational creature.

I hope this helps anyone who is experiencing similar lower-extremity issues. Don’t give up! Eventually we’ll be healed and pain-free, but until then we still have options. Good luck!

What is the craziest thing you’ve done for fitness? Ran a marathon? A triathlon? Exercised in the dark/rain/hail/blizzard?

I punched other women in the face.

It all started innocently, at a cardio kickboxing class. (Watch out, Linda!) For six months I stood in front of a mirror with the rest of the class, jumping around and punching the air. My air punches were getting pretty good, but they were still air punches.

This was in 2001, before there were accessible non-scary boxing gyms on every corner. I whined to my husband about how there was no place a clueless white girl like myself could learn how to actually box, and he finally pulled out a phone book (again, 2001) and pointed to the number for a place called The Boxing Club five minutes away from our house. Oh.

I spent the next six months taking boxing classes and learning how to throw jabs, rights, uppercuts, and hooks. I even got pretty good at the rapid jump rope thing you see boxers in movies do. But I’d see those people in the ring, working out with a trainer and even sparring, and wonder if I could do it. I figured I couldn’t, that it was something only men or ridiculously butch or athletic women could do. Once again, my husband gave me the push I needed. That year for my birthday he gave me ten private training sessions with a boxing coach. That’s how I met Tony.

Tony is an ex-boxer and Muay Thai (that’s kickboxing) fighter. He’s trained a lot of pro boxers and kickboxers, and also happened to train the few female amateur fighters at the gym. Tony led me away from the bags and held up focus pads, yelling out combinations: left, right uppercut, slip, slip, right. At first my punches were slow and awkward, but after a few sessions they started to flow. Once I had gone through all of my training sessions, Tony suggested I get in the ring to spar with one of the other women he trained.

I have never been more terrified in my entire life than that first time I stepped in the ring to spar another woman. Well, except maybe the third, the fourth, and the fifth time. Here’s the funny thing about boxing. No matter how much experience you have, no matter how many times you’ve sparred or fought, getting in the ring with someone whose goal is to punch you in the face is unnerving. But when you land a solid punch, or finish a round without major injury, the exhilaration is total. For the first time in my life, I was completely committed to the sport and getting better each time. My improvement was dramatic and easy to measure. When I first started sparring I’d end each session with a bloody, sore nose. As I learned to keep my hands up and throw a constant stream of jabs, I kept my opponents from getting in close and I rarely got injured. Of course my team members still got in good shots that made my head ring, but I learned how to use that to my advantage, and play off their punches, instead of freezing like a cornered rabbit. I continued working with Tony, sparring with other fighters, until one day Tony said I was ready for an actual amateur boxing match.

My first fight was with a woman who was similarly inexperienced, and to my astonishment I won. The match wasn’t pretty. It was clear both of our minds were completely blown just by being in the ring with judges and a referee and an audience. Somehow, I landed more punches and scored more points. At the end of the three, two-minute rounds, the referee held on to both of our glove-covered hands and raised mine into the air. I won a boxing match. I won a boxing match!! It was unbelievable.

From there I went on to win my next two fights, and I was named the Southern California Regional Champion (which is not as impressive as it sounds, given how few women were actually doing the sport at the time). I lost a few matches, traveled to Miami against my better judgment to compete in the 2003 USA Women’s National Amateur Boxing Championships and got eliminated in my first bout. The wins and losses didn’t matter—I loved the camaraderie of my sparring team, the feeling that I was learning a skill rather than putting endless miles on a treadmill, and the thrill of a solid punch. I continued to spar and work out with Tony, even after the birth of my daughter in 2005.

My second pregnancy and the birth of my son in 2008 temporarily put the brakes on my boxing career. Now I’m back where I started—punching the air in a cardio kickboxing class. Once I’m ready, I’m going to give Tony a call and get back in the ring. However, in the meantime, I jump rope better than anyone in the class, my punches are crisp, and I know that if I had to, I could kick some serious ass.

– article by Hilary Achauer. Hilary is a freelance writer (and former amateur boxer) who lives in San Diego. She can be found at flickr, and at her website.

I should start this off by saying that I am in no way at all an expert on fitness. I am just a woman who has managed to, for the most part, fit exercise into her life for the past nine years.

I have posted here before about “my journey to fat and back“. The rundown is this: I was a “big girl” throughout my teenage years and my early twenties. I finally took some steps towards better health in my twenty-fifth year. I started eating a balanced diet and exercising. In the span of a year I lost nearly thirty pounds and sculpted my body to a point where it had never been. My muscles actually had definition for the first time in my life.

They likely had a little definition before then but those thirty pounds of cellulite hid it well.

My first true stint at exercising was when I was a newlywed living in Vancouver. There was a gym next to my office and I would attend exercise classes either before work or during my lunch hour. My firm promoted fitness and allowed me a longer lunch in order to go to class.

The following year my husband and I moved to a (very) small town. There were no fitness classes and I wanted to stay in shape. He bought me a book on running and trained with me as I built up my stamina. Once I could run without stopping he quit running with me altogether. He hates running with all of his being but had done it to help me get started. He is a keeper.

We are now three (And no more!) kids in, and figuring out fitness while pregnant/post-partum is difficult. I can testify to that fact. There is a season for everything, but sometimes it is not “exercise season”. After my third child was born, exercise went on the back burner. I had a not-quite four-year-old boy, a just-turned two-year-old boy and a just-came-out-of-my-hoo-ha girl.

Exercise was on hold.

I was able to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight via good eating habits (and also, the flu), but once my baby girl was about a year old I started to long for that fit body I used to have. To have the strength I used to have. To beat this body of mine back into the shape it was destined to be in.

I signed up for a Boot Camp now offered at the community center in our wee town and have not looked back. Except to check out my finally-firm-again booty.

Through the stages I have lived through these past nine years, I have had to adapt my fitness routine. It has changed along with me, and I want to give you some ideas. Because once you have your husband pat you on the butt and exclaim, “NIIIIIICE”, you want to keep it up.

1. Sign up for a class.

I am a person that likes the commitment. If I have paid for something, you better believe that I am going to BE THERE. I am frugal, yes, but it is also about the accountability. In the past nine months I have only missed one Boot Camp session. I had the (achy) flu and was on the couch. The next class all of the girls were asking, “Where were you?”

Accountability. It works.

2. Re-define “Power Lunch”

While pregnant with my second son, I was working in an office (I’m an accountant. Pity welcome). I was afraid to run while pregnant so chose instead to power walk. I changed into good runners and yoga pants and booked it for thirty to forty minutes.

I did not get to the “sweaty pig” stage, but got my heart rate up to a good level. It helped me keep my pregnancy weight gain to the recommended level, so that was awesome.

3. Break out the DVD’s

After my second child, I purchased the Billy Blanks Tae Bo DVD (Yes. Yes, I did). While his unitard was a little distracting, as was his dialogue (Reach up to your Higher Power and ask him to GIVE YOU SOME!), the workout itself was good.

While I have been attending Boot Camp (See point #1), two days a week just wasn’t cutting it for me. I wanted more. Insert the 30 Day Shred (See Linda’s post). On the days where I do not have Boot Camp I, for the most part, manage to get the Shred done. Twenty minutes later I am tired, I am annoyed, and I am proud of myself for surviving.

I know that it is hard to get started with exercising but I believe it is like any other habit. Give it seven days. Before you know it it will be part of your life and you will not be able to imagine life without it.

As an added bonus, you can pose like this and state the following:

WELCOME TO THE GUN SHOW.

– Article by Angella, who can be found online at Dutch Blitz, her personal blog; her professional photography website; Flickr; Work It, Mom!; and Blog Nosh.

Growing up, I wasn’t exactly the most coordinated person you would have ever met (okay, closer to the truth would be to say I could find a way to bruise myself in a room made of Nerf), so I never really excelled at many sports. I wanted to (oh how I wanted to) though. But what was girl to do who had no hand-eye coordination, was petrified of physical contact with other players, and found it awkward enough trying to coordinate her own body, never mind her body decked out in cumbersome sports equipment? I’ll tell you what – join the team that required the least amount of coordination yet still qualified as a sport. I ran track!

Through the years, running has always been my go-to exercise, but I’ve found that, now that I’m getting older, my body is less forgiving of the kind of joint punishment that running can inflict when you do it on a regular basis and that it just isn’t as fun when you’re off on your own and not part of a team. So, over the past few years, I started incorporating some yoga into my fitness repertoire. But, as much as I love the flexibility, tone, and zen calm I gain from that, I found it just wasn’t really getting my heart rate up for long enough or helping melt away those extra pounds.

When I moved a couple of years ago, I ended up befriending the coach of a fencing team. I saw him and his wife fence and became friendly with many of their fencing friends. God, it looked like so much fun! And they all kept encouraging me to give it a try. I kept thinking about it, . . . but the gangly dork inside of me kept reminding me that I’d probably just impale myself. Thankfully, with age has come less fear and I finally told my gangly inner dork to stuff it and I let my friend give me a few lessons. That was three years ago and I’ve been fencing and loving it ever since!

Fencing is just a really satisfying sport. It provides what I love about running (the aerobic workout) and what I love about yoga (tone and flexibility training) in one sport. There’s a lot of lunging, extended reaching, and quick footwork and reactions involved; you do it all while holding your arm up for long periods; and the entire time you’re doing this, you’re dressed from head to toe in fencing equipment that doubles as your own personal sauna! And fencing is a great sport for all ages. (I see kids as young as 12 and adults as old as in their 60s doing it.) Not to mention, it’s just damned gratifying to poke someone with a sword . . . er, I mean, land a touch.

Fencing is also a great challenge for the mind. Some have even referred to it as “physical chess” because you are often trying to figure out your opponents’ strategy and revising your own to expose and take advantage of their weaknesses. I also often compare it to poker because, sometimes, if you fence with certain opponents long enough, you can figure out their “tells” (e.g., when they are going to try a certain move), so it’s also kind of like an experiment in psychology!

In fencing, there are three different weapons – foil, sabre, and epee – and the weapon you use dictates what is considered target area on your opponent (see above). You’ll notice that the bell that covers the hand is bigger on an epee than it is on a foil. That is because the arm is part of the target area when you fence epee and you need more protection from attacks on that arm. Similarly, the bell on a sabre extends around the hand because the hand is actually considered a valid target when you fence sabre. . . . The goofy get-up is the same regardless of what weapon you fence though – a mask, a glove, a jacket, a plastron, knickers (yes, knickers), and a plastic breast plate (for women). If you want to fence in official tournaments, you’ll need a metallic lame, special electrical cords, and an “electrified” weapon because points are monitored electronically.

Don’t worry, “electrified” doesn’t mean that shocking each other becomes part of the goal! Touches on the lame and the point of the weapon are just communicated via a very low electrical current that travels through the cords I mentioned to a scoring machine. And the point of the weapon is not sharp either. The point is blunt and covered with a rubber tip.

As is the case with most sports, you can get extremely nice equipment for a pretty penny (including fencing-specific sneakers, socks, and special grips for your weapon), but you can also get a basic “dry” (non-electric) set-up for under $150. And there are more places that offer fencing than you may think. To find places to fence near you, check out the directory of clubs and facilities at the United States Fencing Association’s website.

– article by Cheri, who can be found at Parlancer and The Brain Blog

I’ve been doing the 30 Day Shred workout off and on for over three months now, and I am here to tell you this DVD is the best investment I have ever made in my fitness, bar none. Why is it so awesome? Let me tell you:

• It is short. Each level is only 20 minutes long, not including a few extra minutes for warmup and cooldown. Each level is broken down into three sets of different areas of focus, so there are three segments that go like this: strength interval, cardio interval, abs interval. Each interval is only a few minutes long. That means no matter what god-awful routine you are in the middle of (jumping jacks with HAND WEIGHTS, for instance, or squats combined with overhead presses), you only have to do it for a short period of time. 

• Some moves can be modified, but not all. This pushes me beyond what I think I can do, while still giving me some options to make it through the hardest segments. 

• The instructor, Jillian Michaels, offers a tough love approach. I have always sort of hated/enjoyed how the instructor of Turbo Jam tries to make the whole thing enjoyable, and chirpily reminds you how she bets you don’t even feel like you’re exercising because you’re having so much fun, but Jillian pulls no punches. “This SUCKS, I KNOW,” she says. “You can get THROUGH this, but I want you to be GARGLING YOUR HEART. You want a 20 minute workout, you have to work HARD the WHOLE TIME.” It makes me whimper, but I like it. I can’t go back to the Chirpy, now that I’ve experienced the Badass.

• You will see results. I call B.S. on the way she wraps up each level by reminding you that by the end of 30 days, you’ll be totally shredded (come on), but I cannot imagine anyone doing this workout for even a couple weeks without seeing some improvements. I have more definition in my shoulders, my arms, my legs, and my belly. I have visible obliques, you guys. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE.

• Did I mention that it’s short? This is so, so great for people trying to fit exercise into their busy lives — between my kids and work and freelance and everything else, this routine is working really well for me right now. Lately my husband and I have been doing the workout together after the baby goes to sleep, while our 3-year-old either pretends to do it with us (which is awesome, BTW), or sits nearby and watches a short video on a portable DVD player. (Note: you don’t need a lot of floor space to do this, if you can take a big step forward and back, you’re good.)

It is HARD, I won’t lie. You will hurt the first time you do it. If you’re like me, you’ll be so sore afterwards it will be challenging to do such activities as walking, and sitting on the toilet without issuing a little shriek of pain. But: it gets easier. You will get stronger. And pretty soon you’ll be doing actual, no-shit pushups like some kind of JOCK.

I guess the idea is that you’re supposed to do the workouts every day for 30 days, working your way up through the levels. I didn’t do that, I just cycle through the different levels so I don’t get too bored of any one segment — your mileage may vary on that approach. Also, I know it’s good to get longer amounts of exercise when possible, so my feeling is that this workout is extra awesome when mixed in with other activities. I take a kickboxing class a couple days a week, and that combo seems perfect.

If you’re looking for something that will really challenge you without eating up all of your free time, I can’t recommend it enough. And, as of this writing, the DVD is $7.50 on Amazon. SEVEN DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS. I’m telling you: best investment ever.

(Original article posted at Balanced Living.)

Okay, I need to start out this review by saying I never EVER would have tried this video if it weren’t for my friend Ashley’s recommendation, because HIP HOP ABS ARE YOU KIDDING ME. She was raving about it, though, and I was trying like hell to rid myself of my post-partum Buddha belly, so I decided to give it a shot.

I am nearly as good of a dancer as I am a nuclear physicist, so I didn’t have high hopes for my ability to follow along with anything with “hip hop” in the title, but to my surprise the moves were easy to copy. I was even more surprised to find that I was actually having fun while doing the workouts — the instructor, Shaun T, is an absolute scream, I really can’t get enough of him. If you haven’t had the pleasure, please enjoy this little clip of his appearance on Ellen a while back:

*happy sigh* Oh, Shaun T.

The Hip Hop Abs Package DVD includes a few different workouts, including a cardio routine, a strength segment, and a segment devoted entirely to abs. All were enjoyable, all gave me an excellent workout. There’s even a “teach you how to dance” bit where you can learn how to put the steps into a more complicated choreography routine, but that was above and beyond my coordination level.

His whole shtick is that you don’t need to do crunches to build ab strength; he’s got this standing ab move called the “tilt, tuck, tighten” (as shown on that Ellen video). It’s actually quite effective, even though it initially doesn’t feel as challenging as crunches, and while I was doing this video I saw a visible improvement in my core strength.

I haven’t been doing Hip Hop Abs lately (in favor of the gym and 30 Day Shred), but I really liked it and plan to mix it back in when I want some variety. It’s fun, you can do it even if you can’t dance, and it’s a good little workout. Oh, and if you’re like me, once you master a few of the moves you’ll find yourself doing them around the house when no one’s looking. Go Linda, go Linda, it’s my birthday, it’s my – ahem. Anyway, two thumbs up for Hip Hop Abs and Shaun T!

I bought my first Turbo Jam video (Punch, Kick & Jam) almost two years ago, and it sounds hokey to say, but it’s been one of the major turning points in my fitness journey. I started working out to this DVD more and more, and eventually became fit enough to try other DVDs, embrace other workouts, and join a gym. Honestly, I think of Turbo Jam as my exercise gateway drug.

Punch, Kick & Jam is about 45 minutes long, and involves a warmup period, the core of the workout, a short segment using weight resistance (she uses a rubber band type thing, I use hand weights—neither are necessary, though), and a cool-down/stretching at the end.

The workout itself uses a lot of repetition, so even if you aren’t familiar with the moves you’ll get there fairly quickly. The instructor, Chalene Johnson, incorporates basic boxing/kickboxing techniques like jabs, uppercuts, speed bag, roundhouse kicks, front kicks, etc, and mixes them with high energy repetitious movements (squatting, marching, jumping rope). In researching the links for this review I found a comment that said her “cueing” isn’t that great, I agree that she doesn’t waste any time but once you do the routine a few times (and listen to the music) it becomes almost intuitive which moves are coming next.

I noticed that the better I got at the routines, the better of a workout I could give myself. When you start getting stronger and you’re rotating through the punches, bending your legs and getting low, etc, you’re working your muscles even more. It’s definitely not a workout that you’ll ever think is too easy, no matter how good you get at it.

Some nice touches: there’s a little graphic at the bottom of the screen that shows you how much time is left in each segment, with the “turbo” (a short period of high intensity) segment highlighted so you know when it’s coming; one woman in the class demonstrates lower-impact modifications to the whole workout.

I also have the Fat Blaster video, which is 30 minutes of interval training: there are four “turbos” mixed with slower versions of the turbo exercises. It’s pretty good—leaves me sweaty and panting, anyway—but not as fun as the Punch, Kick & Jam video.

For more variety, I really like the goofily-named 5 Rockin’ Workouts DVD. This DVD collection has an instructional ‘Learn and Burn’ video, which isn’t terribly useful; but also offers a 20-minute workout, a comprehensive strength training section, a workout devoted to abs, and a cardio workout that’s much more choreographed than Punch, Kick & Jam. Of these, my favorites are the 20 minute workout and strength sections, those alone are worth the price of purchase in my opinion.

The music is fun, the instructor is inspirational, and the time just flies by. If you’re looking for an intense cardio workout to do at home that also builds strength, I highly, highly recommend Turbo Jam.

Some notes:

• I don’t know anything about the Beachbody company, which owns Turbo Jam. It seems that you can’t buy just one workout from them, they have some expensive package deal.

• I bought my Turbo Jam DVDs used from Amazon; they were cheap and came in great condition. You might also try checking them out from Netflix, if you’d rather not buy them without trying the workout firsthand.