Conventional wisdom has it that a person should consider a recipient’s interests when choosing the “perfect” gift. But we all know how that can work out: If an earnest giver misinterprets the recipient’s interests, not well.
Let’s say a woman exercises regularly. She may read magazine articles and books with titles such as How to Avoid Turkey Wattle Triceps. She may frequently mention a need to change or step up her routine. She may periodically pinch an inch, and wistfully express a desire to fit into the little black bespangled dress hanging in her closet since 1988.
So you know she’s 1. a fitness buff and 2. concerned about her weight. (Or 3. needs to clean out her closet, but that’s another article. ) Based on these assumptions, conventional wisdom would lead you to an appropriately themed gift — perhaps the newest video in The Biggest Loser collection.
Pffft, only if you want to be slapped silly with a Pilates band.
Here’s the rule: Never — ever — give a woman a gift that suggests she needs to lose weight.
However, if her interest lies in fitness and exercise videos, then you could be sitting pretty on the stability ball, because there are many from which to choose. Perhaps too many, so we’ve decided to make your life easier by providing a look at some of what we think are the best fitness videos released during the past two years.
Unless otherwise noted, videos are available at stores and online.
Hemalayaa Beautiful Belly, Acacia
Who would like it: Anyone who wants a “beautiful belly” like that of Indian dance and yoga instructor Hemalayaa. Her belly’s not flat, not a ridged six-pack, but more of a two-pack, with slightly rounded definition above and below the navel. Like a real person’s belly.
Who it’s for: Exercisers of all levels who want fun with their fitness.
What it’s like: Shimmies. Hip circles. Undulations. Leg scissors. Lots of fun. Dynamic. Hemalayaa’s contagious energy and playful demeanor carry through all the workouts, which include belly dance and Indian folk-dance movements, as well as basic yoga positions such as the cat, downward-facing dog and upward-facing dog.
The beauty: There is not one crunch (unless you count a standing crunch, and we don’t ).
Length: 42 minutes
Price: $ 14. 98
Women’s Health Perfect Body Workout, Good Times Video
Who would like it: Exercisers for whom the ideal workout includes cardiovascular exercise, strength training and core training.
Who it’s for: Exercisers of all levels.
What it’s like: Lunges, squats. Biceps curls and knee raises followed by lateral arm and leg raises, along with other com binations. The cardiovascular routine borrows movements from several sports, among them tennis, swimming, speed skating and kickboxing, and combines them with the basics such as the lunge and squat. Trainer Amy Dixon’s cardio combinations make sense, and keep all of the muscle groups moving. The same can be said of her strength combos, such as the squat paired with a row. The core segment presents more combinations, such as the “lotus crunch,” an exercise in which your legs are crossed in lotus position while you lie on your back and crunch the abdominal muscles.
The perfection: Dixon’s motivating enthusiasm and clear instructions.
Length: 67 minutes
Price: $ 14. 98
Strong Body, Ageless Body, Acacia
Who would like it: People who want to maintain physical strength as they age and who understand that “ageless” doesn’t mean “anti-aging,” but refers to a workout that will benefit people of all ages.
Who it’s for: Beginners can handle it, although they may want to run through the workout a couple of times without weights before adding that challenge. Experienced and intermediate exercisers will welcome this to their fitness repertoire.
What it’s like: Biceps curls, triceps extensions, squats and lunges, combinations. Trainer Erin O’Brien has put together a selection of exercises to strengthen all the major muscle groups and build a firm weight-training foundation. Throughout the workout, O’Brien cues viewers clearly and succinctly, giving complete descriptions of how the whole body can be engaged to get the most benefit from an isolation move such as the biceps curl.
The strength: Most DVDs show the instructor from only one camera angle — the front — but here you get front, back and side views of O’Brien as she demonstrates exercises. The multiple views allow you to see how the muscle groups work together and help you understand proper form.
Length: 45 minutes
Price: $ 14. 99
Fat Burning Fusion, Buff Girl Fitness
Who would like it: Fitness ducklings who want to be swans.
Who it’s for: Intermediate and experienced exercisers.
What it’s like: Traveling plies, squats with butterfly arms, a swan-inspired move of extending the arms fluidly side to side and upward, torso twists and leg lifts. Ellen Barrett puts forth a form of exercise she calls “liquid cardio,” which blends movements from Pilates, calisthenics and ballet to push exercisers into a “fat-burning zone, with flow and grace.” The video contains four segments that flow seamlessly into each other for a single workout or that can be played separately for short fit-takes. Everything is gentle, focused.
The fusion: There are movements to flex and tone each part of the body, with plenty of twists for the spine and torso, and even flexing exercises for the feet.
Just so you know: Although “fat” is in the video’s title, it has nothing to do with dieting. The focus is on keeping the metabolism running at a high calorie burn.
Length: 45 minutes
Price: $ 14. 99
Dance and Be Fit: Brazilian Body, Acacia
Who would like it: People short on time who want a workout long on benefits.
Who it’s for: All exercisers.
What’s it like: Maculele, capoeira, samba. Three short dance-inspired routines generate fun, perspiration and a sense of the joyous abandon present during Brazil’s Carnival season. One workout finds inspiration in the maculele, a dynamic Brazilian dance with African roots. Another features the samba, the foundation of Carnival dance; heavy on pelvic moves, it’s sexy and life-affirming. The capoeira — martial arts crossed with dance — inspires the third segment and will “connect you to your inner warrior by strengthening your upper body,” says dancer / instructor Kimberly Miguel Mullen. It’s your chance for crunches, squats, lunges, half-cartwheels and yoga poses such as child and cobra.
The fit: All you need is a little floor space and a willing spirit.
Length: 48 minutes
Price: $ 14. 99
Bollywood Burn With Hemalayaa, Acacia
Who would like it: Those who enjoy dancing and laughing.
Who it’s for: All exercisers, but it contains a lot of bouncing and hopping that may be hard on those with knee problems.
What it’s like: Hopping, bouncing, head-bobbing and hair-flinging. “Think of it as a double-chai high” or a “yoga espresso,” Indian fitness star Hemalayaa says of her spicy, bouncy workout style. She promises, and delivers: “These moves will make you feel so happy, you’ll be addicted” to the Bollywood (the world of India’s filmmaking industry ) style of dancing to a bhangra beat. Bhangra is a spirited form of folk dance and music that originated hundreds of years ago in the Punjab region of India. The video contains three progressively livelier 15-minute workouts. The dance steps aren’t complicated, so you need no previous dance knowledge.
The burn: Lungs and legs are set on fire as you do crisscross leg kicks, bounce on one leg, run in place, shimmy and shake.
Length: 47 minutes
Price: $ 14. 99
Ballet Conditioning, Anchor Bay
Who would like it: Fitness traditionalists and anyone who wants a strong dance-based workout.
Who it’s for: All exercisers. No dance experience required.
What it’s like: Plies and more. Ballet conditioning, says instructor Elise Gulan, is the secret to having a streamlined dancer’s body. The video consists of four segments that flow seamlessly into one workout. Performed using a chair as a barre, you do movements such as knee bends (demi and grande plies ), circular leg sweeps (rond de jambe ) and rising on the toes (releve ). Gulan provides an effective workout to condition the whole body, especially problem areas such as the hips and thighs. Maintaining proper ballet posture throughout strengthens core muscles.
Worth a jete: Gulan cues well and keeps a tone of encouragement throughout the video, making sure that exercisers who can’t lift their legs as high or bend them as low as she does don’t feel inadequate.
Length: 51 minutes
Price: $ 14. 98
Rock Your Body, Good Times Video
Who would like it: Children, teens, adults — everybody who wants to unleash their inner rock star.
Who it’s for: See above.
What it’s like: “Groove step,” “ pimp walk” and box step. Here’s your chance to see how the three come together for an invigorating dance workout. For this fitness video, choreographer Jamie King says, “I wanted the viewers to feel what it’s like to be in rehearsal with myself and my dancers.” The video includes a warm-up that’s more moving and grooving than stretching and groaning, two blocks of “rehearsals,” a “dress rehearsal” of the routine learned in the rehearsals, and a “performance” segment complete with a cheering audience. The rehearsals make up the majority of instruction.
What rocks: Precise movement-by-movement instruction, professionalism, four dancers, a lighted stage. Music by Christian entertainers Kierra Kiki Sheard, DJ Maj, Jump 5 and KJ-52, along with R&B singer Kreesha Turner and hip-hop’s DJ Bakdraft.
Length: 67 minutes
Price: $ 19. 98
Get Ripped 1000, Razor Digital Entertainment
Who would like it: People who want to eat their cake and burn it off, too.
Who it’s for: Intermediate and experienced exercisers.
What it’s like: Squats, lunges, presses, flies. Get ready to sweat, feel your lungs pump like bellows and your heart race like it’s Kentucky Derby day. “The Ripped One” herself, muscular Jari Love, presents a combination of aerobic and anaerobic exercise purported to burn off 1, 000 calories per session. (That’s four Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts. ) Exercises are melded for double duty. Using a step increases the challenge of performing lunges and squats, and also figures into the cardio segments.
The rip: Love provides a less intense version of the cardio workout. A bonus segment offers motivational tips such as keeping a journal of goals, activities and what you eat.
Length: 70 minutes
Price: $ 14. 98
Qi Gong for Seniors, Pacific Healing Arts
Who would like it: Anyone seeking to maintain or regain flexibility and range of motion.
Who it’s for: Although the title specifies this is for senior citizens, the video is suitable for people of all ages.
What it’s like: Hip circles, side stretches, shrugs, ankle raises, wrist circles. Qi Gong (chee gong ) instructor Lee Holden promises to “restore youthful vigor and well-being” through movement. Pop in the DVD, turn it on and you are transported to beautiful Lake Tahoe in California, where Holden leads viewers through 30 minutes of gentle, relaxing (but energizing ) movements. There are two versions of the routine, one performed standing and the other sitting on a chair. In both workouts, you begin with deep abdominal breathing, then proceed through 15 movements that will loosen the entire body.
The gong: The movements are simple, but Qi Gong makes a person feel more attuned to his body and may bring a realization of just how constricted your joints and muscles have become. You’ll also be reminded of the value of life in motion.
Length: 120 minutes
Price: $ 20 at www. exerciseto heal. com
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