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Most people know that Netflix is an easy and convenient way to rent a huge variety of movies, TV shows, concerts, and documentaries. Netflix also has a large and growing catalog of fitness titles, so you can try workouts before you buy them. Renting fitness videos from Netflix is also great for people who crave variety, or who don't like doing a workout more than a couple of times. Once you sign up for Netflix, you create a "queue" or list of titles you would like to rent. Whenever you return a DVD, Netflix will mail you the next available title in your queue.
If you are already a Netflix member, log in and select "Sports & Fitness" under Genres, then "Workouts," or click here for a direct link. from there you can see a gallery view of covers or click on the "Sortable List" tab to get a list of available fitness titles. There are sub-categories like Pilates and Yoga in the right column so that you can further refine your search. If you are not yet a Netflix member, the link above should allow you to browse a selection of the available titles in each category.
Netflix plans currently start at $4.99 per month for 1 DVD at a time and go up to $47.99 per month for 8 DVDs at a time. All Netflix plans that cost $8.99 per month and up also allow unlimited video streaming to your computer, or to your TV if you have a $99 Roku Digital Video Player
, an Xbox 360
, or a compatible TiVo or Blu-ray player. More information on devices that will stream Netflix selections to your TV is available on Netflix's Web site.
Netflix's Watch Instantly video streaming feature is available for both PCs and Macs. Though the Watch Instantly collection is limited, and does not offer most of the latest Hollywood titles, new selections are being added all the time. Movies or fitness titles that you stream do not count against your allotted number of discs. Watch Instantly is also great for those who travel--if you have a laptop and an internet connection, you can watch movies and play a selection of fitness DVDs at any time without having to bring along your discs or burn them to your hard drive. There are a small number of fitness titles available for instant video streaming, and that number is likely to grow over the next few years. Any title with a blue "Play" button is available for instant viewing.
Another Netflix feature that many fitness enthusiasts will enjoy is the ability to have multiple queues with different choices in each queue. This is particularly useful for those whose plan allows them at least 3 discs at a time. You assign the number of discs you want at a time from each queue. Netflix presumably created this feature so that different members of a household could each have something they wanted to watch at any given time, but it is also useful for fitness titles. If you set up a separate queue for fitness titles, then on the three discs at a time plan, for example, you could assign one of your discs to the fitness queue and two to your movie queue. Whenever you return a fitness title, the next available disc in the fitness queue would be sent, so at any given time you would have have two movies and one fitness DVD.
To set up an additional queue, click on "Your Account" at the top of any Netflix page, then on "Account Profiles" and click "Add Profile." After you set up a new profile for fitness, log in to the new profile and put some fitness DVDs into your queue. Then log back in to your main account, click on "Reassign DVDs" and you can specify how many DVDs at any given time will come from each queue.
The $16.99 monthly cost of a Netflix 3-at-at-time plan is comparable to the cost of purchasing one new fitness DVD. If you are already a Netflix member and don't want to decrease the number of movies available to you at any given time, consider whether paying a few extra bucks for a larger plan that allows an extra DVD or two is worth it. If you are able to avoid purchasing workouts you won't use, or if a title you are interested in is available to Watch Instantly any time you wish, then a Netflix membership or upgraded membership could be well worth the money. New Netflix subscribers can try Netflix for free for two weeks to see if the service is right for them. (VF Affiliate Link)
If you have additional Netflix tips for fitness buffs, email them to [email protected].
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