Clare

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Age: 45, rapidly turning 46
Hometown: Lake Zurich, IL
Family: Husband, 17 year old son, and 15 year old son
Occupation: Office manager for my husband's furniture restoration and repair company
Fitness level: Intermediate Advanced
Collecting videos: since 1992, when I rented The Firm Vol. 3 from Blockbuster. No turning back after that!
Number of Videos Owned: exactly 100, with 7 more on order. I have also traded away about 15 tapes, plus I have done every tape my local library owns, including some senior tapes. Probably another 20 tapes.
Other Fitness Activities Because of my illness (Lyme Disease), I didn't really do anything extra until very recently. I trained for the bike section of a triathlon this last summer, plus I enjoy walking. I recently started Power Pacing.
Current fitness goals: To be as healthy as possible. I would like to look good as well, but my overall feeling of health and well being is much more important. I have recently pledged to walk a marathon before the end of this year.
Loved ones' opinion of video habit: Once I set up a workout area in the guest room and was no longer interfering with their TV watching, they were very accepting. I think my sons are rather proud of me in some ways. My husband is sometimes bemused by how many I have and how many I want, but he says that he remembers how sick I was and feels that my habit has been so positive for my health and well-being that he can't complain. I was pleased that my youngest son wanted a weight bench and weights for Christmas

Clare's opinions:

Current Favorites:

Cardio:

• Intense Moves- A Wipeout Workout of the first caliber. And perfect for a Klutz like me!
• Gilad's Step Aerobics- I don't know why, but I enjoy this workout every time I do it. I love the music, the setting, and the basic but fun moves. And it still gets my heart rate up there.
• Step Max- A killer workout that even the Queen of the Klutzes (me) can do. The 2nd section is so much fun and seems to just fly by. And the "Plyo Power" 3rd section has me gasping every time.
• Platform of Power- An oldie (1992) but a goodie in my opinion. One of the best exchanges I ever made. Low-impact step with interesting combinations that even I can do.
• Step Heat- Another fun oldie. Took me a long time to get, but I like it!
• The Firm's Not So Tough Aerobics- This is still my favorite "add-on" tape. It is intense but low-impact. And the short amount of time it takes means I can have intense cardio with every work-out if I wish!
• Power Kicks- A new addition at this time to my collection, but I love it already.

Total Body Toning:

• The Firm Vol. 5, Abs, Hips and Thigh Workout- I know most people dislike this tape, but I just find it so versatile. I love to use the first 20 minutes (through the end of the leg presses) as a warm-up to other cardio tapes. The abs section is outstanding, and the floorwork is some of the best.
• The Firm, Strength- What can I say? There's a reason this tape is in the Hall of Fame!
• The Firm, Tough Tape- The best over-all strength workout in the shortest amount of time in my opinion.
• The Firm, Standing Legs- The leg presses on this tape have re-shaped and lifted my butt. I love it!
• The Firm Vol. 6, Boomers- This is the one I reach for when I am feeling a little out of whack.
• Body Max- Even though I am getting slightly bored with parts of this, I still have to acknowledge that it is the best all-around tape made so far.
• MIS- This one is like eating my veggies. I can only bring myself to do the upper body work, but it is a heck of a workout!

Stretch/Yoga:

• The Yoga Zone: Conditioning and Stress Relief- I truly believe that Alan Finger is the best instructor I have ever seen. Or should I say the best instructor I have ever heard? You can literally do his tapes with your eyes closed. This tape is now a "must-do" in my weekly rotation.
• Yoga Journals' Yoga for Beginners Series: Every tape I have tried in this series has impressed me. Wonderful instructors, marvelous routines for beginners, the most beautiful scenery, and the best editing I have ever seen in any exercise series.

Favorite Instructors

Tracy Long
Cathe Friedrich
Alan Finger
Gin Miller
Gilad
(and I think Aaron Lankford has great potential to be one of my favorites :))

Underrated:

Two of my favorites: Not-So-Tough Aerobics and The Firm Vol. 5- These are just marvelous low-impact tapes in my opinion.

Also, The Firm- Upper Body Reebok's Aero Step- This is a fun step tape, much better then the original Reebok Step Tape

Richard Simmons Sweating to the Oldies II- I still love to dance with Richard on this one. It's a great pick-me up for an easy day!

Biggest Disappointments:

Extreme Step- This was so awful that it still makes me slightly queasy to think about it. Especially since I loved Intense Moves.

Anything by Karen Voight- I have tried everything that she has done and, except for Pure and Simple Stretch, I don't think I have ever done any of them more then once.

Would love to see:

I'm with Mandy Lee on this one. I would love an intense circuit training video with great step routines and Firm style weights. With lots of leg presses! And since I currently love Power Kicks, it would be great to see Aaron do a kickboxing video/and weight toning circuit video. With good driving rock music from the 60s and 70s! (my era!)

Words of Wisdom:

Exercise and eat right to keep yourself healthy! Looking better is a side benefit, it's how you feel that counts. After being so ill with Lyme disease, I rejoice in my recovery and just having the strength to do the simple things in life. Keep expanding your fitness horizons, strive everyday! Never give up. Take baby steps to start with and soon you will be making giant strides.

Also, I am here to tell you that you don't have to be coordinated or do high impact to achieve your fitness goals! I am the queen of the Klutzes and I always modify to low impact. I have worked my way up from 10 minutes of barely being able to shuffle my feet to doing 90 minute intense combos! Yet the majority of my 100 videos are intermediate level tapes. You don't have to kill yourself to get fit. But sometimes you should push yourself to find your limit!

Keep coming to Video Fitness! This site has helped me to keep going, keep striving. A major portion of my success must be attributed to Video Fitness. The motivation I find here was, and still is, outstanding. Being ill and working at home isolated me from most of my friends. It would have been easy to fall into a depression about my situation. Video Fitness was a bright spot. There were many days when I logged in feeling blue and unmotivated, and went away with a fresh attitude and the will to keep trying!