Exercise Video Brands and Links

Best workout video brands and must-know information

If you are just starting out on an exercise regimen, we recommend consulting with your doctor to consider any particular fitness limitations.

Many exercise videos and DVDs can be found, at least in small snippets, online. These online clips are an excellent way of exploring a new video before committing to purchase. Even Netflix offers a selection of workout DVDs that can be added to your queue prior to committing to a specific workout.

Or, opt for watching your entire routine online. Exercise.TV offers more than 115 free full-length workout videos that range from 10 to 45 minutes long. 

Cable subscribers can completely alleviate the need for exercise videos and DVDs. Comcast and Time Warner Cable both include workout programming available on demand. Users can choose when they want to watch and can select from a variety of options. Plus, many local stations offer fitness-oriented programming. These are often offered very early in the morning, but if you're not up for a 5 or 6 a.m. workout, they can be recorded with a DVR for later viewing.

Video on Demand (VOD) is also available to traveling fitness enthusiasts. At hotels such as the Hilton and Embassy Suites, guests can order up a workout via the in-room television. Programming is filmed on-site, in hotel rooms. This provides guests with an identical environment to their instructor's and shows them how to utilize hotel room items for a workout.

About.com has many articles about exercise videos, including "Before You Buy Exercise Videos" by Paige Waehner, About.com's exercise guide. (Note: ConsumerSearch is owned by About.com, but the two don't share an editorial affiliation.) 

Manufacturers' links

Billy Blanks/Tae Bo

Walk Away the Pounds

Kathy Smith

Winsor Pilates

Denise Austin

Jillian Michaels

Jackie Warner

Bob Harper

Jari Love

Exhale: Core Fusion

Hemalayaa

The Firm

Physique 57

Gaiam

Mindy Mylrea

Leslie Sansone (Walk at Home)

Zumba Fitness Party