winter workouts
My mornings during the week are pretty much exactly the same.
Workout…
Coffee and Breakfast…
Then fight to get the girls out the door on time…
Getting and staying in shape isn’t easy and anyone who tells you it is easy is either lying to your face or they’re an alien walking around in a fit humans body. Working out is hard. That’s why it’s called “working” out…
But to me staying in shape is the hardest in the cold weather months. Living in St Louis it starts getting cold in October and then becomes freezing in December or January and doesn’t start really getting bearable again until March — AT LEAST! And since I’m a big cold weather baby you will NOT find me all bundled up outside going for an afternoon run. It’s just not going to happen. So until I can afford a treadmill I have to find other things to do to stay in shape. That’s where workout DVDs come in.
You may or may not have seen me my WODD posts on facebook or twitter, but it stands for Workout DVD of the Day. And I have quite the library to choose from when it comes to workout DVDs. 
A few of my favorites are…
30 Day Shred
My love for Ms Jillian Michaels runs deep. She is my fitness hero for a plethora of reasons! I love her style (yep — the barking orders works for me) and I love that she really cares if I’m doing it right. She tells you that working out is hard and that to see results you have to push yourself. She doesn’t sugar coat it.
This DVD is meant to be used as a progression from Level 1 to Level 3 in 30 days. Each level has a Beginner and an Advanced person to watch and follow depending on your ability or you can bounce back and forth between the two. I love that you can alter the intensity by using different hand weights and each level stands alone as an individual workout as well. This is the DVD I’m currently using and I’m on day 2 of Level 2.
Body By Bethenny
Being a St Louis girl I’m an Andy Cohen addict and Bethenny is easily my favorite of all the housewives. I’ve read her books, watched her own shows and have both of her yoga DVDs, but this one is my favorite of the two. It’s 40 minutes of Intermediate level yoga, which is perfect for me, and is filled with Bethenny’s witty banter and one liners. I’m not a huge fan of yoga (I’m trying!) but this DVD makes it that much more enjoyable for me.
The added bonus after the yoga portion is ten minutes of weights for arms and a five minute booty workout because, really, who doesn’t want a higher and tighter booty?! 
P90X
Tony Horton tells you to “Bring It” and you definitely do that in these DVDs. Again this is a workout program, but each DVD can be used on it’s own whenever you want. I love that he has some workouts dedicated just to strength training, some dedicated just to cardio, one that is all yoga and one fifteen minute DVD dedicated to abs and only abs.
My favorite of ALL the P90X DVDs is the Kenpo workout. It’s a mixture of boxing, kickboxing and blocking. It’s definitely a “cardio” workout, but after all those punches in multiple directions your arms are killing you by the time it’s all said and done.
TurboFire
Can’t get outside for a run because it’s freezing cold or it’s raining or you can’t find your favorite running shoes? Not to worry. Chalene has you covered. This woman is on FIRE! TurboFire is another workout program that can also be used intermittently at your discretion. These cardio DVDs are intense! No matter which one you pick you’ll be dripping with sweat when it’s all done.
My favorite from this program is the HIIT 20 because it’s quick, super intense and feels like I literally did just go for a super fast, fairly short run. It more than makes up for not being able to hit the pavement.
Shred it with Weights
Yep (I told you I loved her!) Jillian makes the list again. This workout is crazy intense! I don’t own a kettlebell, but you can use a single dumbbell just as easily. This workout is quick, high intensity with a mix of cardio and strength training.
When the workout starts to seem a bit less intense all you have to do is get a heavier dumbbell. When I first bought this DVD I was a using a 3lb dumbbell (yep — wimpy!), but now I’m up to a 10lb dumbbell and that is crazy difficult, but totally worth it when the workout’s over.
I know that as Winter moves it’s crappy self right on out of here I’ll be heading out more and more for afternoon runs, but until then I will be using (and looking for new) workout DVDs like nobody’s business. I might even continue using them in the mornings because I love them so much.
Why you ask?
Well this is why…..
