I have a short attention span.
People don't like watching films with me because I fidget. Sometimes I start a book from the last page. And I get bored of the gym within ten minutes.
But it's January, we are full of resolutions and fitting back into my skinny jeans is on my list. My usual routine of yoga, pilates and faffing about in my fancy gym gear, doing very gentle exercise, isn't going to cut it. I need to bring out the big cardio guns so I decided to do a little research into what is popular with the sweaty people.
And there are a plethora of options out there.
Clockwise from top left: Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred, P90X, Insanity, TRXSome of the most well known programmes are high intensity workouts, designed to increase strength and aerobic fitness. They promise great results but you just know that you are going to collapse in a heap on the floor within ten minutes.
- Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred is among the most popular. It's a twenty minute workout, combining cardio with strength training. It has three different levels, each one more difficult than the last.
- Beachbody is a company that provides at home work-out videos and nutrition advice. It is the home of both P90X and Insanity. These are both extreme workouts, with P90X focusing mainly on weight training with cardio days slotted in through the programme, whereas Insanity is cardio-based with some additional resistance. (The company also have workouts entitled Hip Hop Abs and Brazil Butt Lift, with these names being much more appealing to me than Insanity. )
- TRX is a form of suspension training, working your core while improving your strength and flexibility.
But if those don't sound like your cup of protein shake, then maybe the celebrity DVDs that have flooded the market would suit better.
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You are no one in celeb-land unless you have your own workout video for sale on Amazon. Sometimes the marketing is so transparent that you can see their weight gain documented in the tabloids and you just KNOW that a fitness DVD isn't too far away. Geordie Shore's Vicky is a prime example of being such fodder for the Daily Mail's bar-of-shame, while Davina appears more credible and there are those who swear by her fifteen minute routine.
And then there are the workouts that are absolutely bonkers. Joanna Rohrback has found herself at the receiving end of international ridicule interest with her Prancercise programme.
Brace yourselves.
Joanna's exercise creation was initially perceived as a parody but nope, Joanna fully believed in her, eh, fitness revolution. She defines it as:
"a springy, rhythmic way of moving forward, similar to a horse’s gait and ideally induced by elation".
I'll be honest, I haven't tried it out.
But I have watched some of her Prancercise on You Tube and it gave my laughing chops a good workout (I especially love when it ramps up into trotting and galloping).
But with the original receiving almost a million hits, maybe she is onto something. Or maybe she is just on something.
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Do you follow an exercise programme? Are you a Jillian Michaels devotee or do you like to push yourself with Insanity? And will you trot out some Prancercise in your local gym? Tell us in comments!
