Working on Fitness

Part of my New Year's Resolutions involved incorporating more exercise into my life. More. Nice and vague. That's how you build a successful resolution list folks.

So in a good faith effort I've begun doing some exercise. (You see, I've already won!)

And I have to say that my favorite way to work it in is to use Leslie Sansone's video series, Walk Away the Pounds (or some variation of that title).

Photo from Amazon.com

She has a ton of different videos offering workouts in various lengths - from as short as 20 minutes to upwards of an hour. Most allow you to customize so you can exercise more or less as much as you want each day. This is great because I never know how much time I'll have. Most nights I can fit in 20 minutes. On extremely rare nights I can work in 30 minutes to an hour.

I feel it very important to inform you all (those of you who aren't aware anyway) that I can't dance my way out of a paper bag. I don't have an ounce of rhythm and frequently injure myself just walking around my own home. I've felt horribly inept attempting to do various workout programs and exhausted myself just trying to learn the steps. But then... Leslie entered my life. Beautiful, sometimes annoying Leslie. She has basically four steps that she requires for her workout... walking in place (I'm gifted at this one), stepping from side to side (also an area that I excel at), kicking your legs out in front of you (score), and kicking your legs behind you (again, score). Trust me when I say that if I am able to follow every single move and not fail, you will be able to dance circles around her. It's too easy not to do. Lorelai can even do the exercises. Mommy, can we play exercise?

I also like that it's really low impact - a must for me. I can do these exercises in the middle of the day in blue jeans and a sweater. Really. No need to put on workout clothes (other than sneakers). That's my kind of exercise.

And I feel compelled to mention that Leslie doesn't look like a Barbie doll. This is key for me. Nothing worse than watching some skinny model bouncing away while I'm sweating like a fat pig trying to keep up and tripping over my own feet. Leslie looks like my ideal body weight. She looks healthy and pretty, but not like she got there by not eating.

That being said, there are a few downsides to this video series... first, Leslie can be annoying at times. She's a little too perky for me. Lots of smiles - I can take that, but motivational statements along the way just piss me off. And she likes to mention God from time to time. Honestly, if there is a god, I doubt she cares much about the size of my ass. Because she'd be cool like that.

So get the videos, mute the tv, turn on your own music, and go to town. Trust me. It's the only video series I'll ever use.

You can check out her website at www.walkathome.com or you can find her videos at Amazon, Target, etc.