The "DVDs/videos don't work" mentality

[Vintage VFer]

I've been working out for over 30 years and I've never belonged to a gym. I had a free pass and went once. The hard sell to buy an expensive membership was awful. This was around the time when tons of gyms went belly up and clients never got their money back. I did do Jazzercise classes or run around the track at the local park in the 80's.

DH was a gym rat for years, but now does videos and runs. We have a big workout room at home that is nicer than any noisy, over air-conditioned, germy, nasty gym.

I'm not the social type, so videos are great for me.

And, I can work out in my jammies if I want to.

ETA: Nobody ever asks us how we keep in shape. Either they figure we're just "naturally fit" or they figure whatever we're doing is too much work.

[Alan]

I'm sure that 90+% of people who buy workout videos are hoping to lose weight, so I could imagine people being disappointed when they discover that exercising for a few minutes per day is not a free license to eat whatever they want.

[Jeanne Marie]

Originally Posted by Eibhinn

If you use videos and run, people will likely only see you running and assume that's the only way you keep fit. Most successful video fitness people are sort-of invisible.

This is exactly what I've found! If someone asks me how I stay fit, their eyes glaze over if I mention working out at home with videos. When I add in that I also run, they are all excited about it and immediatey want to know more about my running.

They do not want to hear that I've had to work hard with weights, steps, tubing, stability balls, etc in addition to my running. They want to hear that I jogged around the block a few times and here I am.

I also agree with what others have mentioned about people not realizing the difficulty and advanced nature of videos these days. I say "workout videos" and Richard Simmons pops into their brain. I can almost see the bubble over their head!

[Jeanne Marie]

Originally Posted by Leonana

I think it's personality. Introverts like working out at home, extroverts like the gym.

I can see where this might be the prevailing thought, but it's definitely not always true. At least not in my case. I wouldn't call myself an over the top extrovert, but I'm not shy. I started working out at home because we live in such a rural area. My drive to the gym would take about 20-25 minutes one way. That's almost an hour in the car. I can get an entire workout done at home in the time it would take me to drive to and from the gym.

Now that I have my workout room (I started working out at home with the Firm Volume 1 on the living room floor in front of the TV), I wouldn't dream of doing it any other way.... not to mention all I have invested in the DVDs. It's the perfect way to work out for me.

I do have an interesting story about a neighbor of mine. She is actually a personal trainer and has been a fitness competitor in the past. One day she came over and did a workout video with me. It was Bob Harper's Total Body Transformation. She was sore for days after, in ways she hadn't ever been before. It was completely different from what she was used to in the gym. I think that's a great recommendation for a workout video if it can make a personal trainer sore!

[BigBadBetty]

Originally Posted by hotncmom

I know a couple of Les Mills instructors and they are utterly convinced that no one can get a good workout without their "help". Hello, they're standing at the front of a room demonstrating and the music is so loud you can hardly hear the cues. How is that better than what I do? I think a lot of regular people who attend classes are of this mindset too. They think home workout videos are "easy" or "dumbed down".

The issue I see with live classes is peer pressure to do more than you're capable of, which can lead to injury. When the instructor shows the modification and then the advanced, almost every single person in the room will go for the advanced, because they do not want to be the only one staying modified. People are using heavier weights than they probably should be, because they see other people doing it. And the class sizes at the Y? So large that there's no way an instructor can keep an eye on everyone (not that they are probably getting paid enough to bother).

I hated the Les Mills classes. The music was so loud that I couldn't hear the instructor. Where I worked out the instructor was not on a raised platform, so I couldn't necessarily see the instructor either. Of course, I didn't want to be in front as a newbie. Unfortunately, most gyms around here only have Les Mills classes.

The spin classes were not Les Mills so it was better, quieter music. I enjoyed those for a few months. I stopped taking spin classes because of an instructor. She was always telling people to work harder. Well, I was working as hard as I could and she had the nerve to increase my tension on my bike. I moved it back. I don't workout to be insulted. There were some awesome spin teachers, but the awful one work best with my schedule.I like that consistency of instruction on DVDs. I know the instructors I like and stick to them.

[topfitmama]

Originally Posted by Jeanne Marie

I do have an interesting story about a neighbor of mine. She is actually a personal trainer and has been a fitness competitor in the past. One day she came over and did a workout video with me. It was Bob Harper's Total Body Transformation. She was sore for days after, in ways she hadn't ever been before. It was completely different from what she was used to in the gym. I think that's a great recommendation for a workout video if it can make a personal trainer sore!

Absolutely!

Which just goes to show that we have access to a lot more variety through videos than we would have if we went to a gym.

[fitloon]

*Consistent* exercise is very important part of fitness and I think it's very individual choice of how to go about it. Some will prefer a gym, some will prefer home (either paper or DVDs), some prefer a bit of both.

There are of course, advantages and disadvantages of both, which has already been discussed here, so I won't repeat all of it.

I sometimes get the urge to join a gym. It would be nice to have more workout partners! I would enjoy the company. However, I always talk myself out of it because I prefer the convenience of home and prefer solitude more often than not. VF is a great place for exercise discussion though and I enjoy the company here.

[Leonana]

I realized I should add to my original post that I like Pilates, and don't have a problem with it now. I think I started with something too advanced, and it discouraged me.

Originally Posted by deineira

I don't think this is necessarily true for everyone and cannot be said as a blanket statement. I am an extrovert, and I prefer to work out at home for myriad reasons, not the least of which is that the flexibility of it suits me as I can workout on my schedule, the gym offerings are limited, and I HATE machines. My husband on the other hand is a total introvert, and is one of those people who thinks the gym is the only place you can get a "good" workout.

Although he tells me I'm fit and comments frequently on what great shape I'm in, he does not seem to make the connection that I'm living proof you can get fit using videos. Hello??

I stand corrected. My opinion came from a thread on another forum, and the fact that we were all introverts came up. I don't like large groups of people, so working out at home by myself is more preferable.

My dh is pretty supportive of my video workouts, and is happy I'm in better shape. Although, he doesn't get the need for more videos, lol.

Originally Posted by Jeanne Marie

I can see where this might be the prevailing thought, but it's definitely not always true. At least not in my case. I wouldn't call myself an over the top extrovert, but I'm not shy. I started working out at home because we live in such a rural area. My drive to the gym would take about 20-25 minutes one way. That's almost an hour in the car. I can get an entire workout done at home in the time it would take me to drive to and from the gym.

Now that I have my workout room (I started working out at home with the Firm Volume 1 on the living room floor in front of the TV), I wouldn't dream of doing it any other way.... not to mention all I have invested in the DVDs. It's the perfect way to work out for me.

I do have an interesting story about a neighbor of mine. She is actually a personal trainer and has been a fitness competitor in the past. One day she came over and did a workout video with me. It was Bob Harper's Total Body Transformation. She was sore for days after, in ways she hadn't ever been before. It was completely different from what she was used to in the gym. I think that's a great recommendation for a workout video if it can make a personal trainer sore!

I can see how convenience can make the difference between home and the gym, regardless of personality type. For me, it was also the cost. On a side note, being an introvert and being shy are two different things. I'm an introvert, but I'm not shy. I know you didn't mean anything by the comment, but it's a common misconception.

And that is a great recommendation for a workout video!

[MomOf2Gremlins]

Originally Posted by topfitmama

I LOVE my exercise DVDs because I feel free to do things I wouldn't want to do in a room surrounded by other people. I can exercise in whatever I have to wear, however old, stained or holey it may be. I can sweat to my heart's content without worrying that someone else might think I sweat too much, I don't have to worry about someone else's bacteria on dumbbells and other equipment... on and on.

ITA with this, Ruth! All I have to deal with here at home is my kitties shredding my yoga mats if I'm not fast enough rolling them up!

I also think for many people workout DVDs don't work as they don't feel motivated enough to actually get off their butt and DO a workout! It's strangely easier for some to stick to a scheduled time for a class at the gym! For me it's the other way around... While I might sometimes (especially now during the summer break!) not always stick to my preferred time (working out in the early morning after my cup of coffee and breakfast), at least I know I can work out any time I want, even if it ends up being in the late evening! I don't depend on a class!

[MomOf2Gremlins]

Originally Posted by Alta-tude

ETA: Nobody ever asks us how we keep in shape. Either they figure we're just "naturally fit" or they figure whatever we're doing is too much work.

LOL, same here! Usually people tie my physical appearance to my plant based diet, which of course does have something to do with it to an extend but there are plenty of vegans out there who're overweight and unhealthy!.. For some reason the label 'vegan' just automatically puts into people's mind that we're all fit/healthy/skinny (the latter word is nothing I like to have applied to myself, but that's another story..)..