Exercise at Home with Workout Videos

Guest Post:  Former H3 Guest, Leslie G.

If you’ve spent time at Hilton Head Health, you know the days are filled with opportunities to move. 

From the sunrise beach walk to the thermal walk after dinner, it’s easy to find ways to add a few more steps on your pedometer.  You can try dozens of fun, new exercise options during your stay, and you’re bound to find something you like – something that you’re likely to pursue when you return home.

But what about that?  How do H3 guests keep up the momentum after they’ve left the Island?  What if you’ve fallen in love with Latin dance workouts, but there’s no class in your neighborhood?  What if you discovered that you love to walk, but the weather keeps you inside more often than not?

For some, exercise videos are the answer.  One of the most comprehensive online and mail order sources for videos is Collage Video.  If you’ve been through the H3 program, you’ll find Collage Video mentioned in the materials you received at the end of your stay. 

I started exercising with workout videos more than 20 years ago, for one very simple reason.  I live in Minneapolis and we have long winters.  The thought of going for a run (or driving to the gym) when there’s snow and ice all around leaves me, well, cold!  Also, I exercise before heading to the office, and exercise videos make it easy to add a workout to my morning routine.

Interestingly enough, Collage Video is also based in Minneapolis.  I think they recognized there was a big market right in their own backyard!  No need to travel to the Twin Cities to buy, however.  You can shop for videos by mail with their catalog, but you’ll also want to check out their website at www.collagevideo.com

Collage Video offers every type of exercise video imaginable – you can search by workout type, fitness level, your goals (weight loss, flexibility, strength) and more.  You can search for popular instructors like Jillian Michaels from The Biggest Loser, or Leslie Sansone, the reigning queen of at home walking videos.

The best feature of the Collage Video website is the video player that lets you preview clips from nearly 1000 exercise videos for sale on the site.  You can get a real feel for the tempo of the workout before you buy.  Too fast (or slow) for your taste?  A little too dance-y?  You’ll know before you place an order.  You can hear the instructor’s voice, and for me, this is key.  Are they encouraging, silly, menacing, no-nonsense?  You can choose the instructor and workout that will work for you.

Best of all, Collage Video has tapes and DVDs for many of the activities you tried and came to love during your stay at H3 – from aerobics to yoga, and everything in between.  Another great feature – “every video on the site has been tested by an ACE-certified instructor and a ‘regular person.’ “They also have a wonderful section called “Success Stories” where you can see photos and read stories from women and men who have lost weight and gotten fit by way of exercise videos.

Can you tell I’m a big fan?!  For me, exercising at home is the easiest, most effective way to stay in shape.  I’ll be back every so often to review individual workout DVDs, so check back often.  Until then, just keep moving!