Hometown: Boston, MA
Family: Single
Occupation: Administrative Coordinator, currently in graduate school for literary writing and electronic publishing
Fitness level: Intermediate/Advanced
Collecting videos for: 4 years
Number of Videos Owned: 100+
Other Fitness Activities I have always loved ballet and Pilates exercises since I used to be a professional musician, concert pianist, and dancer. I also love being outdoors and enjoy taking long evening walks during the summer.
Current fitness goals: Four years ago, I stopped dancing all together when I lost my fianc�e to cancer and could barely do anything. Now that I am in a much better place emotionally, I want to gain back my athletic strength and flexibility. My goal is to be as healthy and as happy as I can possibly be.
First video purchase: My jazz teacher recommended the Firm Volume 1 when it first came out. After that I got hooked!
Loved one's opinion of video habits: My Chinese family is very traditional. Exercising in the "American way" is considered pornographic in the Chinese culture. So I do not discuss my passion for exercise and dance with my parents, or they would disown me!
Jeannie's opinions:
Current Favorites:
I love Cathe's recent new tapes: BodyMax and Step Works. I also love PowerMax, anything by Kari Anderson, and The Firm tapes, especially Firm Strength and Tough Tape. I also love Power Yoga (Bryan Kest, Baron Baptise, The Power Within) and Pilates exercises.
Favorite Instructors
Kari Anderson
Cathe Friedrich
Susan Harris.
Underrated:
the older Firm tapes. The music and sets might be "cheesy" to some people, but I find Volumes 1 - 6 to be great workouts.
Biggest Disappointments:
Karen Voight. Although I think Karen's Energy Sprint is one of the most thorough circuit training videos on the market, I am disappointed that she has not produced anything new that has been all that challenging.
Would love to see:
More tapes like BodyMax from Cathe Frederich. I wish the Firm would produce tapes that are more geared towards higher intensity exercisers. I would also love to see Kari Anderson produce a video on weight/strength training, using dumbbells and a barbell.
Best motivation: :
The Boston Video Fitness group and all my fitness buddies and e-mail pals who write me every day! Thank you all! You are the very best!!
Words of Wisdom:
I have learned to never give up or lose sight of my goals. Even if I suffer some setbacks, I know that I am still in control of my health and fitness levels. I have found several instructors that I love, and stick with those that give me the results I want and have fun with them! We all come from different levels of fitness and have different body types and goals. I am learning to respect my own limitations and to keep myself challenged. I also want to thank my friends from videofitness, because they have all been invaluable in helping me progress and move along.
