Lindsey Lanquist is a writer and editor specializing in fashion, lifestyle, and health content. Her work has appeared in SELF, StyleCaster, SheKnows, MyDomaine, and more.
Shereen Lehman, MS, is a healthcare journalist and fact checker. She has co-authored two books for the popular Dummies Series (as Shereen Jegtvig).
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Best Overall: XTrainFit Circuit Burnout 90 (10 DVDs) at Amazon
"The 90-day challenge forces you to build a habit the way a personal trainer might in-person from the comfort of your home."
Best High-Intensity: Insanity Max 30 Base Kit at teambeachbody.com
"The challenge only demands 30 minutes of your time each day, making it an excellent choice for those with busy schedules."
Best Strength Training: Body Beast Base Kit (4 DVDs) at Amazon
"Offers weightlifters of all levels 12 at-home resistance training workouts that call for a pair of dumbbells and nothing more."
Best Cardio: Strong by Zumba High-Intensity Cardio at Best Buy
"Fans love that the trainers combine simple, straightforward moves to create a workout that's challenging, but approachable."
Best Toning and Flexibility: PiYo Base Kit at Amazon
"Low-impact but high-intensity, the DVD offers a challenging routine that calls for no weights, no equipment, and no jumping."
Best No-Equipment: Mark Lauren You Are Your Own Gym at Amazon
"Offers 24 bodyweight workouts that make fitness from home feel totally doable, with three levels of difficulty."
Best Low Equipment: Cathe Friedrich's XTrain Series at Amazon
"The 40-minute boxing workout is veritably at-home-friendly, only calling for an optional pair of boxing gloves."
Best Time-Saving: 10-Minute Body Transformation at Amazon
"It boasts five 10-minute workouts that range from pilates and calisthenics to cardio and kickboxing."
Best for Seniors: Grow Young Fitness at Amazon
"Offers five workouts that help viewers build different skill sets—plus, a bonus video dedicated to reducing pain and inflammation."
Best for the Whole Family: Zumba Dance Fitness for Beginners at Amazon
"Taught by the creator of Zumba himself, fans appreciate the fun music and clarity of instruction, and say it's for every skill level."
At-home fitness routines have long offered challenge and convenience in equal measure. Sure, very few of us can recreate all the benefits of our monthly gym memberships inside our own homes, but workout DVDs offer a way for us to capture some of the magic.
In addition to offering a flexible take on fitness, workout DVDs provide a generally budget-friendly way to exercise. A workout DVD will rarely run you more than $20—in fact, some cost as little as $3 per routine. That’s far less than what you’d expect to spend on an in-person class. Even better: Once you’ve bought a workout DVD, you have access to it for life.
Whether you want on-demand access to your favorite fitness routine or you’re determined to keep up your workout regimen at home, rest assured knowing there’s likely a workout DVD out there that meets your needs. We've researched the best workout DVDs for every space, budget, and fitness level so you don't have to.
If you’re looking for a workout regimen that’s both challenging and efficient, you’ve found it in XTrainFit’s Circuit Burnout 90. The 90-day challenge will demand that you show up day after day for a full three months, forcing you to build a habit the way a personal trainer might in-person.
With your purchase, you get access to 10 workouts, which alternately target your upper body, lower body, core, and full body. The challenge offers both up-tempo circuit training and lower-tempo toning workouts, making it a great pick for those interested in a combination of cardio and strength. Plus, a bonus DVD offers instruction on stretching and injury prevention, so you can rest assured knowing you’re taking care of yourself in more ways than one.
Fans love that the program is tailored to both beginners and experts. The challenge’s trainer, Dr. Monique St. Pierre, routinely offers modifications so viewers can make the exercises as challenging or beginner-friendly as they want them to be.
Team Beach Body
Fans of high-intensity interval training will surely appreciate the Insanity Max: 30 Base Kit, a program that promises to push you harder than you’ve ever been pushed before. The challenge only demands 30 minutes of your time each day, making it an excellent choice for those with busy schedules—as well as those who prefer to go as hard as possible for as little time as necessary (fans of lengthier, lower-impact workouts will not find what they’re looking for here.)
The Insanity Max: 30 Base Kit demands two full months of consistent effort, offering viewers the accountability they might find in a gym or personal trainer. The best part of this program? It comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee. So if you’re not happy with the results—or if you’re not enjoying the workouts as much as you thought you would—you can send the base kit back for a full refund.
Many of us assume that we can’t weight train in our homes—at least not seriously or efficiently, anyway. But Body Beast’s Base Kit challenges this logic, offering 12 Dynamic Set Training workouts that call for a pair of dumbbells and nothing more.
The 90-day weight training system is tailored to a range of experience levels, providing experienced lifters with a challenge and teaching beginner lifters fundamentals they can bring into the gym once the program is done. And don’t worry about getting too big too fast: The program offers a “huge” schedule and a “lean” schedule, so you can challenge yourself in a way that aligns with your fitness goals.
If you don’t end up liking the Body Beast Base Kit as much as you expected, you can return the program. As long as you return it within the first 90 days, you’ll receive a full refund. (Yup, that’s a three-month return policy—plenty of time for you to figure out whether or not you like it.)
Courtesy of Amazon
Zumba’s Strong DVD offers 80 minutes of high-intensity, high-cardio fun. Since the workout is so dance-centric, you’ll feel like you’re genuinely having a great time—but not at the expense of fitness. The workout is veritably challenging, making it an excellent choice for those who want to get in some serious cardio and have fun doing it. Fans love that the trainers combine simple, straightforward moves to create a workout that's challenging, but approachable.
Those who prefer a slow burn will find it in Charlene Johnson’s PiYo base kit, which blends pilates and yoga to create a flexibility- and strength-building workout. Low-impact but high-intensity, the PiYo base kit offers a challenging routine that calls for no weights, no equipment, and no joint-straining jumps.
Every workout in the three-DVD kit is filled with bodyweight exercises, offering you the flexibility to do the program in just about any space—so long as a room is large enough to accommodate you planking, you’re good to go. If you’re not satisfied with the program, you have 60 days to return it for a full refund.
Part of the joy of working out from home is its inherent affordability—you can get fit without spending a ton on equipment (or on a monthly gym membership). Mark Lauren’s You Are Your Own Gym program offers 24 bodyweight workouts that make fitness from home feel totally doable. And the exercises call for no equipment at all.
Mark Lauren’s program offers 90 days of scheduled, guided workouts, so you can build the habit of working out, all the while knowing you’re doing each exercise safely and properly. Each workout boasts three levels of difficulty, so you can craft a routine that meets your needs—and you can increase the challenge over time (assuming you don’t start at the most intense level).
The best part? You get all 24 of these workouts for a totally reasonable price.
Boxing seems like the kind of thing you can only do in-person—a misconception Cathe Friedrich challenges with her XTrain Series: Hard Strikes DVD. Her 40-minute boxing workout is veritably at-home-friendly, only calling for an optional pair of boxing gloves. The DVD also offers a five-minute cool-down worth tacking on to the end of your routine, and it boasts four bonus workouts as well.
Though no punching bag is required for this boxing workout, Friedrich includes a bonus section for those who do have access to a punching bag. This workout will be waiting for you if you decide you love boxing so much you want to invest in a punching bag. But those who prefer to keep things simple and equipment-free can just as easily do so.
On a time crunch? Jillian Michaels’ 10-Minute Body Transformation was designed with you in mind. The DVD boasts five 10-minute workouts that range from pilates and calisthenics to cardio and kickboxing. Plus, the program comes with a warm-up and cool-down you can tack on as time permits. This DVD is one of the most budget-friendly picks around. And it’s an excellent way to make the most of your time—even when you have very little of it.
Seniors looking to build strength, improve balance, alleviate knee pain, and/or lose weight will find a program that meets their needs in the Grow Young Fitness Exercise DVD for Seniors. Though $19.97 may seem pricey for a single DVD, the program offers five workouts that help viewers build different skill sets—plus, a bonus video dedicated to reducing pain and inflammation.
Every single workout in the program is at-home-friendly, and the exercises only call for one piece of equipment: a chair. Fans appreciate the approachable pace and easy-to-follow instructions.
Looking for a workout fit for the whole family? Zumba’s 101 Dance Fitness DVD is fun enough to do as a group and so beginner-friendly no one will feel inappropriately challenged. The DVD drills down on basic steps and foundational rhythms, keeping things incredibly approachable. And it’s taught by Beto Perez, the creator of Zumba, himself!
Purchasers will get two 30-minute workouts. So if your family loves the first one, you’ll have a brand new routine to tackle. Fans appreciate the fun music and clarity of instruction, and they assure it’s suitable for everyone—even the “rhythmically challenged.”
Beginners looking for a program that will help them build a habit without absolutely overwhelming them will appreciate Beachbody’s 3-Week Yoga Retreat Workout Program. The program offers 21 unique classes, each of which is 30 minutes or less—making it a great choice for those who are pressed for time. Plus, the first seven classes focus exclusively on fundamentals, so beginners can ease into their fitness practice, knowing they’re doing each move safely and properly.
Since the program caters to the full body, it’s an excellent pick for those who want to build strength everywhere. And the focus on foundational yoga will help viewers improve balance and flexibility, as well.
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