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Age: 37
Hometown: Lafayette, IN
Family: married 16 years with three daughters currently almost 4, almost 6, and 9
Occupation: same as family right now! --I'm a stay-at-home mom
Fitness level: high intermediate
Collecting videos since: 1-1-99. I requested Step Reebok Circuit Challenge for Christmas in 98 and made a deal with myself that if I exercised faithfully 3x a week for January, I could buy a new tape. I did that for a few months and then, well, I just got carried away!!
Number of Videos Owned: I've had close to 150 different titles total, but I'm a neat freak who often pares down to the very BEST few, about 85 (not that it ever stays there, there's always something new and exciting to try!)
Current fitness goals: I want to maintain my current level of fitness and have fun doing so. I'm not particularly goal-oriented in terms of wanting to achieve a certain "look" or change my physical stats. Right now it is mostly about FUN, because I spend most of my life taking care of other people, and fitness is my little selfish corner of the world that keeps me sane. I simply CANNOT get goal-oriented in this area because it would defeat the purpose. SO, the goal is fun, period. My workout time is my playtime.
Loved ones' opinion of video habit: my kids are enthusiastic, their friends are impressed, my husband is proud and amazingly tolerant.
Susan's opinions:
Favorites, old and new, that will always survive my semi-annual purgings:
Hi-Lo Heaven (Christi Taylor)
CIA 2K05 step section (Franny Benedetto)
CIA 9003 (Greg Twombly's hi-lo)
CIA 9901 (step with Andre Houle)
CIA 9801 (Christi Taylor's hi-lo)
CIA 7005 Boston Marathon (Franny Benedetto)
Tae Bo Advanced Live #8
Step Works (Cathe Friedrich)
Angles, Lines, and curves (Kari Anderson)
Stretch and Flex (Denise Austin)
Firm: Crosstrainer Cardio (actually a STRENGTH workout!)
Firm: Volume 4, the Time Crunch workout
Firm: Maximum Body Sculpting (re-named Maximum Body Shaping)
Firm: Super Sculpting
Underrated:
Petra Kolber is an excellent instructor and her tapes are generally a lot of fun. There are a few Crunch tapes that are good, notably TurboSculpt, Fat Blaster Plus, and BootCamp. Also Denise Austin's Totally Firm tape. I know many find Denise irritating and on this tape she is particularly so, but the workout is excellent because she does every move SO slowly, much more slowly than most tapes, so you can go really heavy. Unfortunately, she talks about looking sexy so much that I refuse to do this tape in front of my daughters. They have been taught that I exercise to grow strong muscles and bones, not to "be sexy" (ugh!).
Biggest Disappointments:
CIA 9806. I LOVED the Anderson sisters in 9807 and everyone at VF says 9806 is awesome so I tried it but never could get into it! I was so bummed. Also CIA 9903, BootCamp with Helen Vanderburg. Too many pushups, unattractive sets/outfits, uninspiring music. . . Good thing she hit the jackpot with 2K07, the Real Athletic Workout! CIAs are inevitably my very favorite cardio and my greatest disappointments. CIAS are like a box of chocolates, I suppose. . . .
Things that ought to be abolished:
black/gray/industrial sets. Strobe lights. Droning "music" that is actually little more than a metronomic beat. Boring choreography. Instructors who don't smile. Instructors who won't say it if it's not on a cue card. One-on-one tapes (I want some fellow exercisers in the background!). Instructors who think they are Encyclopedia Brown (Charlene Prickett, bless her, is thinking "who, ME??")
Would love to see:
more tapes made with great music like Christi and Franny are starting to use, and like you hear in the Tae Bo Live tapes. Also, more total body strength workouts in 60 minutes! More athletic stretch tapes like Denise's Stretch and Flex that stretch you out VERY thoroughly and hold the stretches a significant amount of time. Also, if you're out there listening Kari, where is ALC II?? I am SO ready!! and more pretty sets! Light and bright, thank you.
Words of Wisdom:
figure out your own motivation. If you are a goal-oriented soul, set goals! If you are competitive, compete! If you are hedonistic, have fun! Don't try to fit into somebody else's framework. It won't last long. You have to find your own rhythm and motivations for exercise. Listen to your body, honor your aches and pains. Appreciate what you can do. Enjoy the way you feel. Obey your own "shoulds" and "oughttas" and ignore everyone else's. Focus on function, it is ultimately more rewarding than appearance. Make sure you're fit on the inside, as a person, as well as on the outside. And be thankful. There are people out there who can't even walk, let alone dance along with Christi and Franny.
