Where the magic happens:)

Just thought I would show you my stair climber set-up!!

Photo

I was watching the Friends episode with Phoebe’s 3d artwork…..classic.

The stairs of death are a great lowish-impact (compared to running) way to keep your fitness up if you are injured.  Some of my sweatiest workouts EVER have been on this machine!!

I don’t know if you remember but last spring they canceled ALL of the group fitness classes at the gym that is close to me….I know, RUDE.  That meant I no longer had my beloved pump class Wednesday and Friday mornings (I am trying not to cry as I write this).

There is a gym that offers the body pump class but it is farther away and I don’t partically like one of the morning teachers so my only other options are Monday and Saturday pump, I know….what a tough life decision I have here;)

That means I should probably get my strength training in on my own somewhere in between Monday and Saturday…….and we all know I last 2 minutes if I am not lifting in a class or with my sister so I have decided I need to do DVD’s either before or after school on Thursdays.

I have Jillian’s 30 Day Shred and I like it a lot but I want a change…….(ps I have already tried Insanity or P90x)

So, I need your help.

Any good Strength Training workout DVD recommendations? I will make you cookies:)

WHAT WAS YOUR WORKOUT?

-20 elliptical 20 stair climber 10 elliptical and 30 day shred after school (if I can convince myself that is more important than wasting my life away watching Bachelor Pad).

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87 comments

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I am going to follow this post because I am looking for new suggestions for strength workouts as well :)

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Tae Bo Boot Camp: Maximum Power! (with weighted resistance bands)

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Try Jillian’s No More Trouble Zones as well as Biggest Loser’s Power Sculpt and BootCamp…all good strength training options!

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I have the Biggest loser’s power sculpt too, and I love it!

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Have you tried Chalene Extreme? Hers is one of the few programs I actually finished. I’m doing Supreme 90 right now, which I also like. But it’s similar to P90X so would probably be redundant.

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I’m pretty much the same with strength training, that’s why I haven’t done it in probably a year (yikes!).

I’m not sure what my workout is today yet. I’m loving your setup on the stair climber.

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did you not like P90x Janae? Just curious. I recently got it and I like it but am not really following the program I just do them randomly dependant on what and when I feel like (haha)

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Me too! I use it when I want a change from lifting free weights and do not follow the actual program.

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me too! I only do legs and back, chest and back and shoulders and arms. I hate ab ripper and yoga! I also prefer running over plyo or the other cardio options.

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you should really try The New Rules of Lifting for Women – i know it’s not a dvd and it’s super popular right now, but honestly it is awesome! i’ve been doing it for a month and the workouts have only been about 30 minutes so it isn’t a huge day-to-day commitment. prior to this i’ve always hated weight lifting outside of body pump but this is super simple and effective – i love it!

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I love this program. Warning: in stage 2 – the workouts get longer… but still awesome and great results.

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I am telling you that crossfit will kick your but and someone tells you what to do every day, and it’s different every day. Just google crossfit and find a gym with a website and they will post a workout of the day every day. you can do some of it at home or do it at your gym. the 2 sites i follow are http://www.crossfit22.com and http://www.gppfitness.com. but there are a million sites out there there is also just http://www.crossfit.com It is killer workout!

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Just a short 30 min weight workout at home this morning! I have a work BBQ tonight so no time for any run :(

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Physique 57 is the bomb! I am totally addicted. I have been doing them for a year and they still kick my butt. I feel stronger than I ever have. http://www.physique57.com/workout-dvds.htm

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p.s I used to do Jillians workouts and then I did phyisque 57 for a couple months. Then I tried to mix it up and use the 30 day shred and it was too easy after doing p57. Kinda crazy because I remember that workout being killer. It’s all girls, not as manly as p90x but it is a sweet workout.

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agree 100% on this one!! Physique 57 will work you in ways you never thought possible.

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I was going to write the same thing! It depends on the kind of weights you like, but personally I like the low weight high rep format of p57! My husband noticed a difference in my booty after two workouts, so you know its good;)

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love love love physique 57!! It will help with your knees and shins big time!

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I like Jillian’s Ripped in 30. It uses the same 3-2-1 method but has 4 levels instead of 3 so there’s a lot of new moves. PS: It’s rough and I haven’t made it past level 2.

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What size weights do you need to do the 30 day shred? I want to try it!

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I usually use 5 lbs.

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If you like to laugh whilst getting your sweat on, try the “_____of steel” series from the 90s.

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The Jillian Michaels Shred it with weights Kettle Bell workout is great! Highly recommend it :)

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Physique 57!! It will also help strengthen your calfs/knees and shins with the strength training and orthopedic stretching. I also really love Jackie Warner Power Circuit! It’s 40 minutes but flies by and you will be so sore the next day.

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Have you ever tried any of THE FIRM videos? They are locally owned in SC with only one location, but the videos are sold nationwide (and I’m sure someone has seen them on QVC!) They kick my butt! You can check out their wesbite here: http://www.thefirmstudios.com/ (Emily, the owner [in blue], is a friend of mine.)

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I’m OBSESSED with those videos! Bootcamp with Allison Davis is my favorite.

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Physique 57 is amazing! I am totally addicted. I keep thinking it will gt easier but it doesn’t! It’s awesome! xoxo from Trinidad

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i completely agree! as soon as you feel like you’re mastering it, you do it the next day and you feel like a beginner again! it’s such a great workout

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If you wanna stick with Jillian (who wouldn’t want to stick with Jillian!?) her No More Trouble Zones is also really good! totally focused on weight training!
~Jenn

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You should try Jillian Michael’s No More Trouble Zones. That’s a great one and is 40-minutes long. Lately, I have been doing workouts from BodyRock.tv though, and love it. I’ve been doing it since March and seen really great toned results.

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Lately i’ve been doing the Exercise TV on demand videos. They are awesome workouts! My current favorites are the beach body ones. My arms are still burning from my Tuesday workout.

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Loving the ideas. Right now there is only one bodypump class during the week that I can get to and then I have the 30 day shred, too.
Yesterday I ran 2 whole miles (furthest since sfx!)! Then spin. Today I am going to try a few more miles and then play volleyball.

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Ahh I suck at weight training. I do it anyway because I have a race coming up where I need big muscles to lift myself over walls and stuff. I’m following the program from the race website (Men’s Health Urbanathlon). It’s not a video, just a circuit with little video snippets! Other than that, I don’t really do DVDs. I hear a lot of people say they like Bodyrock.tv but it’s hard to get past the half naked Zuzana while you’re watching!!

I’m on my way to do my circuit training now :) Hopefully some cardio too if I still have some energy. That stair machine kills me every tim! I’m mad that the one at my gym doesn’t have somewhere to rest my ipad! I just bought one and want to bring it with me to watch movies too :) :) PS What program do you use to watch your movies on your ipad?

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glad you asked this b/c I too need a change from 30 day shred. I’ve been doing NROLFW but there are some days I want an easy DVD to just pop in and follow along too. I’ve contemplated trying P90x but just not sure if I want to make that commitment. I’m also tempted by these Bodyrock workouts that have been gaining popularity. Ashley @ edibleperspective is supposed to be writing a bit more about them and I can’t wait to read that!

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Have you tried a Kettlebell workout? Jillians Shred it with weights or Bob Harpers Kettle Bell Cardio Shred are good. Because they a different from the typical workouts I do, Turbo Fire, P90X or weights I always feel the change in different muscles. A bonus is Bob Harpers Kettlebell workout was on Clearance at Target. You should check it out and see if it is near you ;)

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I can’t decide between yoga or some randomness at the gym tonight…but I know I must go. All of those “should” workouts I’ve been posting on here never happened. It’s time to get back in the game!

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This is probably an option no one but me would pursue but I do BodyPump at home b/c I can’t afford a gym membership. I bought the bar/bar weights online from (Troy Lite workout set… looks like this http://www.bebodysmart.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=TLW40&eq=&Tp= ), and then bought the step (which you can get anywhere like walmart) and got the dvd’s online (some ripped off copies from China). I think I spent about $200 total but it was worth it because I do it often and don’t have to pay for a gym membership.

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I’d say either Jillian Michael’s No More Trouble Zones or Physique 57. No More Trouble Zones is similar to 30 day shred but about twice as long. I found Physique 57 to be more difficult as far as strength training, but it has very minimal cardio, so I don’t sweat as much. Both awesome though!

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you could try crossfit. the daily workouts are posted online. they are short and sweet, but will make you STRONG!

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I love the 10lb Slim Down. I don’t know if you have access to Exercise TV or not but if you don’t, you can either download the DVDs or buy it here: http://www.exercisetv.tv/workout-plans/ and get more information. It’s a similar set up to Jillian’s 30 day shred but I like the Slim Down better. It’s actually 5 videos-one to focus on upper, one for lower, a total body, abs, and a yoga one. You can download them individually. They take about 20 minutes per video and can be combined easily. I definitely feel the burn when I do them.

If you do have access to Exercise TV, you should be able to get the workouts there for free.

Regardless of what you decide to do, I hope you’ll keep us all posted on what you choose and how you like it.

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Jackie Warner’s Power Circuit Training is great! She really gets those arms, legs, and abs burning…even us guys! Haha

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I love Jackie Warner’s Xtreme time saver workout. It’s a 30 minute weights video that works the entire body and is broken up with exercises for arms and glutes, shoulders and legs, core and more. I love love love this video. I cannot say enough good things about it. It gets your heart rate up and seems to be over in no time.

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I too luv Jackie’s workout videos!

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have you been to bodyrock.tv yet? awesome, very short but effective strength workouts, with a new one posted about 4-5 days/week. Lindsey @ CotterCrunch told me about them!

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Stair climbers are so tough! I used to have really sweaty workouts on them in college. I should definitely hook up with one at the gym again. Not sure of any DVDs because I have been obsessed with Pump lately, but I do like some of the weight yoga workouts on yogadownload.com

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What about Action Hero Babe – its similar to the beachbody workouts where it comes in a set of DVDs but its focused around strength training and you do your own cardio on the off days. Its worth checking out!

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Who needs strength training anyway? Just practice lifting your fork to your mouth slowly and focus on form. ha ha!

I like to make up the lamest circuits at home at night. I’ll do 50 jumping jacks and then just grap my 10lb dumbells and do something with them. I’m sure its not helping at all but at least its keeping me entertained while I watch non stop hours of reality tv. :)

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I LOVE ChaLEAN Extreme (beachbody.com). The strength training workouts involve heavier lifting which = shorter workouts. They are super tough & they definitely work!! :)

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Spin this morning. Followed by that same stair machine but I stopped because I was STARVING!

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I got through my first ever 20 mile run!! My friend and I powered through it this morning and we passed a blogger (Racing with Babes) and he is getting married tomorrow!!! So all in all it was a successful, awesomesauce run!

P.S. I am deathly afraid of the stair climber

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Have you tried Bodyrock.tv? They’re interval training sessions…nice and short but soooooooo intense!!!! Sometimes it’s bodyweight only! You work all kinds of muscles you never knew existed lol!

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I agree, try Bodyrock! I did one of their bodyweight workouts the other day, and it was one of the hardest workouts of my life – way harder than some of the weights workouts I’ve done.

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I’ve heard good things about Turbo Fire (another beachbody dvd set). I also like Six Week Six Pack by Jillian Michaels. Now you’re gonna laugh, but my favorite DVD workout is Sweatin’ to the Oldies, with all its 80s glory and Richard Simmons. Not really hardcore, but soooooo much fun. :)

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Jillian’s Shred It with Weights (the Kettlebell version) is an idea! This thing burns! There’s a medium and a hard on the dvd, and I found it at walmart for like 9.97! (The kettlebells are only like 15 bucks too)

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THAT IS WHY I NEED AN IPAD! I want to watch Friends while exercising.

I just do my own thing with weights. Ang is a personal trainer so she just tells me what to do. It’s like having my own Jillian in the house! :0)

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My Dad calls them the stairs of death too! LOL! They are a serious butt kicker :)

Today’s workout: 40 min spin followed by 20 min of free weights/pushups/situps

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I love all of Jillian Michael’s workout DVDs. She has a few new ones too. They’re pretty much all circuit training that involve strength and a little cardio too.

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bodyrock.tv!! You will die. Don’t let her boobs scare you off.

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BAHAHAH THANKS KIM!

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Wish I could give you some work out DVD advice, but I can hardly fit in my marathon training runs and some cycling and swimming for my first sprint tri in a week. Doing my first 20 miler (since getting injured in February 2 weeks before a marathon) tomorrow before work. Looking forward to that 4:45am alarm!

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AHHHH HOW DID YOUR 20 MILER GO!?!? I am so so excited for your FIRST SPRINT TRI, please let me know how it goes!

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Janae, my 20 miler went great. It was SLOW, but I read your post about the benefits of doing your long runs slow, so I’m keeping that in mind. It just felt amazing to be out there so early in the morning and get to run as the sun was coming up. What a gift. As you know after being injured so much, there is such a sense of gratefulness when you can finally get back to running again. I can’t wait for you to be completely better and running again too!

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Hey- I don’t have any DVD advice. I stick with the P90 videos and sometimes just make up my own workouts from their moves. BUT I do have a question.. how did you get Friends on your ipad? This may be stupid… but I’m new to the iPad thing… I have all the Friends seasons on dvd but couldn’t figure out how to download them onto my itunes…

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HEY GIRL!!! I downloaded them on iTunes and then connected my iPad in and pushed the sync button…..I bet you could download the DVD’s to your iTunes and then transfer it to your iPad…does that make sense?

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I’m the same as you are when it comes to weights. I like using Jackie Warner’s circuit DVD for shorter routines, or Bob Harper’s new strength DVD that’s an hour. Yup, an HOUR.

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Cathe Fredriech!

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Biggest Loser’s PowerScult workout or (for cardio) CardioMax are the BEST!

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I tried some body pumpish DVDs from Jari Love. I checked them out from the library. They are a bit disjointed because it’s divided into sections and not one continuous block. But I feel like it worked my muscles pretty good. I have a review on my blog on two of them if you want to check it out.

Please note, I haven’t done body pump in a few years so you might be a little more advanced then me and the DVDs might seem like sissy work. If you want to try them out though drop me an e-mail because I have an idea. :)

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Jari Love’s Ripped & Toned workout is almost EXACTLY like body pump…her outfit and music is a little old school but its a great workout

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I totally agree! And I think she needs a little more pizazz in her attitude. She seems a little dull. But it gets the job done.

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Well boo I was gonna suggest Jillian’s shred, that’s what I have been doing lately, but Bob Harper’s strength dvd is pretty bad ass, it works you like crazy! And I ordered my off amazon for like $8 so it’s cheap too!

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Strength training is the very thing missing from my workouts. I hope to add this back next week. I SO miss the show Friends!!!! The best ever!

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BodyRock TV is the awesome! The girl is from the Czech Republic, I think and she has the cutest, hardest rocking bod! Plus her accent is adorable.

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Pure Barre class all the way! I joined in May when my local Pure Barre opened in Redondo Beach, CA and am hooked! I try to go at least 5 days a week and combine it with my running, RIPPED class at my gym (AMAZING workout), and strength training via free weights and weight machines at the gym.

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OOPS! You wanted DVD recommendations lol! Well, Pure Barre has a great DVD set too…you just need a small ball, resistance band, and light weights. Purebarre.com. You rock girl!

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i love the 10 pound slimdown workouts, they are free OnDemnad or pretty cheap online. They make me say “I hate you” in a good way at least 3 times each video

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where do u get the friends episodes from? i have an ipad…i want to watch friends :)

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I bought them on iTunes!!!!

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My workout was 45min swimming and 15min bike ride outside with the kids!
Did you not like P90X? I feel that I have really gotten stronger and a great workout from that. I dont follow them in order, just kind of do what I feel like on that particular day.

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Try the videos the Tone It Up girls do. They’re awesome and free!!!

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try midwest fit!! midwestfit.com They are literally amazing! All of the workouts take like 45 minutes and as a lifetime exerciser, I have always done at least an hour, but these will burn fat and get you ripped like you wouldn’t believe!! Trust your fellow Utahn!!

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Cathe friedrich! Love her. She has a workout tape called ‘muscle endurance’ that is exactly like a body pump class:

http://www.amazon.com/Cathe-Friedrichs-Intensity-Muscle-Endurance/dp/B0009Y2PDC

pricey but she kicks your butt. I am sore in new ways I never feel in body pump classes and I use only dumbbells because I have no barbells at home.

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That’s so sad that your gym cancelled all those classes!! How come?? I just tried Body Pump finally and I loved it :) It’s the only way I can make myself get any strength training in! Have you ever tried Crossfit?

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Ahhh I am so so happy that you loved body pump!!! Our gym is cheap ha that is why they cancelled it!

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I am obsessed with Group Power which is our gym’s version of Body Pump. Its VERY hard for me to do weights at the gym if I am not doing a class. I also do a lot of running and elliptical and don’t like to use too much weight for my lower body! If you like the Body Pump/Group Power format, then I recommend Jari Love DVDs. Also, Bob Harper from the Biggest Loser came out with a good total body workout that doesn’t absolutely kill your legs. Physique 57 is great when you are injured (I used it when I had an IT band injury) but its a LOT of very difficult lower body work!

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Another suggestion is the Nike Training App on iTunes. I know it’s not a DVD but it’s pretty awesome. It has all sorts of workouts where you can set your own playlist while the prompter is telling you what move to do next. As you achieve a certain amount of minutes, then they will give you a free workout to add. It’s pretty awesome. What makes it even better is that it’s FREE!

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I know this is several years after the fact, and you probably won’t even see this comment, let alone respond, but I CAN’T BELIEVE NO ONE COMMENTED ABOUT GLADYS (Pheobe’s art). I mean come on, she was on Pheobe’s apartment walls for years as a forgotten character, and then this post comes along and no one says a thing about her? Sad day for Gladys…

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