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Age: 1963 model
Hometown: Columbia, MD
Family: Married since 1990, one daughter
Occupation: Customer service at utility company
Fitness level: Advanced
Collecting videos since... My first "real" video (apart from a fuzzy homemade
tape of TV's 20 Minute Workout) was Kathy Smith's Fat Burning Workout, which I
bought around 1988. I still highly recommend it for beginners, if you can
overlook the vintage-'80s neon outfits.
Number of Videos Owned: By now I've probably gone through about 120; currently I
have perhaps 75, of which about half are CIA videos
Other Fitness Activities I belong to a gym, where I do most of my strength
training. I also enjoy cycling and rollerblading.
Current fitness goals: My only real goal is to manage to fit regular exercise
into my schedule.
Loved ones' opinion of video habit: My husband has been a sweetheart - he never complains
about the growing mountain of videos, and willingly moves to the upstairs TV
when I want to use the living room. I think he likes the result of all my
hard work!
Sue's opinions:
Current Favorites:
CIA 9801
Intense Moves
CIA 9704
CIA 9802
All time favorites:
Anything with Christi Taylor
Kari Anderson's Two the Max
Kari Anderson's Fitness Formula
CIA 7005
CIA 7004
CIA 6003 (Greg's segment)
CIA 5005
CIA 8003
Step & Slide with Linda McHugh
CIA 9701
Favorite Instructors
Christi Taylor
Kari Anderson
Franny Benedetto
Greg Twombly
Donna Richardson
Underrated:
As one of VF's first CIA boosters, I'm really glad to see them getting the
recognition they deserve. They're not big-budget or mass-market, but no other
series has improved my cardio conditioning like CIA has. Some instructors who
deserve more fame and more tapes: Candice Copeland, Charlotte Williams, Linda
McHugh, Gay Gasper, Robert Mellott, Jennifer Mills, Faith Scarinzi.
Biggest Disappointments:
While I've tried to avoid "Cosmo Girl's Lose 10 Pounds by Friday" type tapes,
I haven't escaped being burned. The worst tape I ever bought by an otherwise
good instructor, is Kathy Smith's Ultimate Video Workout. I am also not much
of a FIRM fan; I have four of their tapes (my favorite is probably Tortoise)
but I only use them if I can't get to the gym. To me they're only a so-so
substitute for a good gym workout.
Would love to see:
More interval tapes similar to Intense Moves, especially a step tape with
super-fast hi-lo intervals. Also, more advanced funk tapes with really good
dance soundtracks.
Words of Wisdom:
One of my favorite sayings is "Success is a result, not a goal". Once I
stopped "dieting" and striving to fit a certain size or look like a certain
body type, and instead focused simply on exercising regularly and increasing
my performance, did I start seeing physical results, as well as a better sense
of well being. VF is truly unique in that it focuses on becoming healthy and
fit through exercise, and recognizes that everyone goes through a SLUG period
once in awhile, rather than talking about fad diets, miracle potions or how to
look like a model. It really has changed my way of thinking!
