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by Editors of Fitness Magazine
The editors of Fitness "tried and tested countless at-home workouts" and created a list of the best exercise videos in several categories. Also included is a brief reason why the video was chosen, comments… from someone who tried the video, estimated calories burned and a clip of the video. However, we don't know how many videos didn't make the cut, which damages credibility. For strength training the pick is "Jeanette Jenkins: 21 Day Total Body Circuit Workout." For aerobics the choice is "Billy Blanks Tae Bo Amped." For all-over body fitness, try the "Bell Express 15 Cardio Fitness Kit." For "instant calm" try the "YogaFit Ultra." If you don't have much time to exercise, the "10 Minute Solution: Tone Trouble Zones!" is recommended. For advanced exercisers the "Get Ripped & Chiseled with Jari Love" is a good choice, say editors.
by Editors of CollageVideo.com
Editors at Collage Video call themselves the "exercise video specialists" -- reviewing and selling exercise videos since 1987. Included are 60-second clips of every video sold on the site -- helpful for… catching a glimpse before you buy. The site explains that an ACE-certified instructor and a "regular" person (phone consultants) test and select all 741 workout tapes (out of thousands they've seen). The criteria, however, are explained only in a general way. Video reviews rate level, impact, choreography and toning. We like that the site includes a quick review for every video listed. Customer reviews are also posted, but videos are not ranked (although they are rated with one to five stars). "Jari Love's Get Ripped & Chiseled" gets a perfect score from 76 customers and is also a staff favorite.
by Readers of Self magazine
Over 1,000 readers submit their top choices for best fitness video. The popular reader favorite is "Denise Austin's J.H. Pilates Matwork." Winning for best cardio DVD is "Tae Bo Flex," while "Tae Bo Cardio"… wins best kickboxing DVD. The readers' pick for the best ab-sculpting video goes to "The Firm Body Sculpting System 2: Firm Abs." The best new video (in 2005) is "David Kirsch's Ultimate New York Body Plan." Yoga and Pilates-specific DVDs are other categories earning honors.
by Dimity McDowell
Editors worked with fitness experts to test videos for Health magazine. For weight training, experts choose "Kathy Smith Timesaver: Lift Weights to Lose Weight 2." The best cardio DVD is "Crunch Cardio… Salsa with Giselle Roque de Escobar." Testers like "On the Ball: Pilates Workout for Beginners with Lizbeth Garcia," and for beginners, a good choice is "YogaLift: Inner and Outer Strength Workout." The award for the most innovative video goes to "ABC Ball Workout with Patrick Goudeau."
by Vicky Lowry
Fitness experts in five specialized fields sample fitness videos for Real Simple magazine. Their top choices make up this review. "Power Yoga Total Body" is chosen because of the attention to teaching… proper form. "The New Method Pilates Precision Toning and Sculpting" accommodates both novices and intermediate viewers. The aerobics-focused "Trainer's Edge Cardio Interval Training" is chosen because of its "inspiring" instructor. In the strength category, editors like "Angles, Lines & Curves," which combines Pilates, dance and Tai Chi. For pregnant women, "Prenatal Pilates with Sarah Picot" offers workout options for each trimester. The review also offers runner-ups honorable mentions in each category.
by Marianne Woods Cirone
Marianne Cirone is a certified Yoga instructor who reviews three videos. The top pick is "Yoga for Every Body." This video is Cirone's "new favorite" because it is "perfect" for people who get bored using… the same exercise videos repeatedly. Also reviewed is "Yoga Conditioning for Women," but it isn't recommended because "all of the poses are done fairly quickly with little or no explanation." "Yoga for Inflexible People" is also liked because of its "clear instructions and modifications." This Iyengar-style video is good for both beginners and more advanced students and offers many routines to choose from. While only these three videos are reviewed, it's clear that Cirone has tried them out.
by Paige Waehner
As the Exercise Guide for About.com, Paige Waehner chooses "Ali McGraw - Yoga Mind and Body" as her top favorite even though the yoga video has been around awhile. Yoga Journal's "Yoga for Beginners" is… also one of Waehner's favorites. This video also comes with a 52-page booklet. "Power Yoga" and "Abs Yoga for Beginners" round out the top four picks. There are some brief comments that accompany each listing, and it does appear that Waehner at least watched these videos herself (though she does not explicitly say so). Note that About.com and ConsumerSearch are owned by the same parent company, but are not affiliated editorially.
by Paige Waehner
Ms. Waehner is the About.com Guide to Exercise. In this article she ranks the top ten cardio workout videos. The top choice is the "Cathe Friedrich Imax 2" which is for the advanced exerciser. "Step Reebok:… Intense Moves," "Season Zieger's Straight Up Step" and "Christi Taylor's Fantastic 4" round out the top four. As with Waehner's other picks for exercise videos, a few comments lead us to believe Waehner watched these videos, but she does not specifically spell out any testing criteria or offer any other evaluative data (such as calories burned, whether the videos were good for different body areas, etc.).
by Paige Waehner
by Editors of FitnessVideoReviews.com
by Selene Yeager
Certified personal trainer, Selene Yeager, offers up a Monday-through-Friday exercise plan, with a different video for each day. She says fitness can be achieved in a mere twenty minutes a day: "The secret… is in the mix: shifting routines challenges different muscles for the fastest results possible." Because of this, only quick, effective videos are chosen. "Ultimate Body Workouts for Weight Loss" is Monday's cardio pick. "Kathy Smith Timesaver: Lift Weights to Lose Weight Volume 2" works the lower body on Tuesday. Balance and flexibility is achieved on Wednesday with "Baron Baptiste: Journey into Power, Level 1." Thursday is for the upper body with the "Kathy Smith Timesaver DVD." Yeager's week ends with "Leslie Sansone's Walk Away the Pounds Express."
by Paula Z.
Paula Z. is a personal trainer certified by the American Council on Exercise (ACE) who reviews and rates 200 workout videos. When we visited, dozens of videos were archived alphabetically, rated from two to… five stars and identified by workout type and fitness level. Although the individual reviews are very thorough, they are not ranked, you can't sort by ratings and you need to click on each title before you know how Paula rates it. This site is a good place to visit once you've narrowed down your choices. There is also a list of the twelve best videos of 2007 including Prevention's "Drop It in 30" and "Pump Party," but these are not ranked either.
by D.K. Howe
by Richard Seven
by Editors of NEA Today
This article appears in the National Education Association magazine and includes reviews of three fitness videos. The "Biggest Loser: The Workout, Volume 1" is for beginners. The routine is led by Bob… Harper, the trainer for the TV show, and "real people sweat and strain" in the video. "Dancing with the Stars Cardio Dance" lets you dance your way to fitness. Three dancers teach the steps to the Samba and Cha-Cha, sometimes too quickly, but with this video you will feel like you are dancing, not exercising. "Crunch: Belly, Butt & Thighs Boot Camp" has "four levels of exertion for each move" and the instructor carefully teaches each move. We are not told how these videos were chosen or if they were tried out.
by Karen Shideler
by Contributors to Fitness Infomercial Review
by Editors of YourExerciseDVDs.com
by Subhamoy Das
by Contributors to VideoFitness.com
This site was created in 1997 by self-described fitness enthusiast Wendy Niemi Kremer to publish exercise video reviews written by other fitness enthusiasts. Anyone can submit a review for consideration,… though no methodology or guidelines are posted on the site, so the effort is not as credible as the other reviews in our chart. There is a section on favorite videos but the editors admit that the section is outdated because it was difficult to maintain with so many videos meeting their criteria.
by Kathy Wicks
by Contributors to Amazon
Amazon.com invites visitors to review and rate exercise videos on a five-star scale. Among the titles earning high ratings from contributors are "Leslie Sansone - Walk Away the Pounds" and "Billy Blanks Tae… Bo Amped." "Pilates Workout for Dummies" and "The Firm: Total Body" also get many reviews and good overall ratings. The Fitness & Yoga DVDs section on Amazon.com lists upcoming fitness DVD releases by week. Be sure to also check for VHS versions if you prefer tapes.
by Contributors to Epinions
Like Amazon.com, Epinions asks users to submit their opinions and rate exercise videos on a five-star scale. Thousands of videos are listed, few with more than one or two user ratings; hence the relatively… low ranking for this site in our chart. Several videos rated here include "Yoga Zone Conditioning and Stress Release," "Karen Voight's Great Weighted Workout" and "Richard Simmons' Sweatin' to the Oldies."
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This is our assessment of the review’s relevance, clarity of testing and thoroughness.
Read more about our Ratings Criteria by clicking the link at the top of the page.
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Leslie Sansone Walk Away the Pounds Express: Advanced Walk 3 Miles [VHS]
 from Amazon.com New: $5.47 In Stock.
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Kathy Smith TimeSaver - Lift Weights to Lose Weight, Vol. 2
from Amazon.com New: $8.99 In Stock.
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