Walking and Workout Videos ... What Works for You?

In my quest to get back in shape and lose some weight (again), I've decided to try some workout videos.  I've watched a couple of them here and there in years past, but I never stuck with any of them because they were either too fast or required footwork that was too fancy for me to keep up with and I'd end up tripping over my own feet.  I'm one who focuses on running more than anything, so the thought of doing other types of workouts in a gym or similar setting never appealed to me.  Still, I know that working other areas of the body is important to overall fitness, and of course does help with running too ... strengthening core and all that.

Enter Leslie Sansone.

My first association with Leslie was back in the early 90s.  She had cassette tapes that you could play in your Walkman or similar device and walk to the beat, with a couple of different cadences available. You'd hear her talk as well as the beat of the music and walk at that pace for a mile.  I believe the other side of the tape was just the beat without her voice.  I can still hear that beat ... tap, tap, tap of the drumstick on the wood block.  It was pretty popular concept back in the day ... and yes, I'm dating myself!

A friend has a couple of her walking DVDs and swears by them, and she put the bug in my ear about looking into them again.  Since she's been around for decades, Leslie Sansone has created numerous walking/fitness programs and has a huge following.  As of this week, I guess you count me as one of them.

I poked around on eBay and amazon to see what was out there, and was surprised at the number of Leslie Sansome walking DVDs that are available.  Being the cheap person that I am, I wasn't keen on buying a bunch of videos only to find that they weren't a good fit for me.  I checked with my local library system and they have several available, either at my branch or other branches that will do an interlibrary loan, so I picked up two the other day, and have two more that are in transit.  I might or might not have gone just a wee-bit overboard and completed both DVDs in two days, and also did one that I found on YouTube ... no trouble getting my Fitbit steps in this week!

So ... I'm sold.  I think Leslie will be my go-to gal for workouts other than running, and I'm going to try these other two videos and decide which of them I like best before committing to purchasing.  I noticed there are some available  through Amazon Prime Video, so I might go that route too and just stream them rather than mess with an actual disc that I have to insert into my DVD player, deal with another remote, etc.  She also has intro versions on her YouTube channel, so I can check those out too.

I'll be reviewing the videos that I try in upcoming blog posts, but in the meantime, I'd be interested in knowing if you're a fan of any particular Leslie Sansone's walking/workout videos, and what you did/did not like about any that you've tried.  Let me know in the comments, please!

~ Marie Anne