Prevention
There's proof the best workout in town starts by pressing play. A new study found that doing fitness DVDs can burn a whopping 480 calories an hour. We sweated through over 40 new releases to bring you our five faves: workouts that are effective, easy to follow, and fun. Whether you want to drop a size, shrink stubborn belly fat, or just start exercising, we have the plan for you.
Prevention tested: Five new DVDs we love
Pick just one, mix and match, or follow our customized plans designed to help you achieve your fitness goal
1. "10-Minute Solution: Quick Tummy Toners"
Focus: Targeted toning
Why We Love It: The five fast, doable routines—from calorie-torching standing exercises to mat-based whittlers—beat boredom and firm your abs from every angle.
You'll need: Yoga mat
2. "6-Minute Quick Blast: Total Body Calorie Blast"
Focus: Cardio and toning
Why We Love It: Whether you have six minutes or an hour, you'll get a heart-pumping cardio blast plus intense sculpting to reshape trouble zones like the butt, thighs, and abs.
You'll need: Yoga mat, dumbbells
3. "Prevention Kick-Start Your Metabolism"
Focus: Cardio and toning
Why We Love It: Prevention fitness pro Chris Freytag will teach you to punch, jab, and kick your way to a firmer body—no experience needed. You'll melt up to 680 calories an hour while having a blast.
You'll need: Yoga mat, dumbbells
4. "Exhale Core Fusion Pilates Plus"
Focus: All-over toning
Why We Love It: Carefully controlled movements target each muscle group with laserlike precision. Gentle stretches end each segment to ease your body and mind.
You'll need: Yoga mat, stretch belt, or towel
5. "Dance Off the Inches: Dance It Off Ballroom"
Focus: Cardio
Why We Love It: You'll peel off pounds as you gracefully twirl around your living room with these easy-to-follow routines featuring samba, cha-cha, and jive.
Goal No. 1: "I need to start exercising."
If it's been a while since you've worked up a sweat, this is the program for you. Starting with a manageable 18 minutes a day, you'll safely build an exercise habit you can stick with. The short bouts of high-energy toning can be broken up throughout the day to fit into even the busiest schedule. And the anyone-can-do-them dance moves will make working out fun (no partner required).
One week at a glance:
| Monday | Wednesday | Friday | Saturday | |
| DVD | Total Body Calorie Blast | Total Body Calorie Blast | Total Body Calorie Blast | Dance It Off Ballroom |
| Play | Total Body A (6 min), Mind Body A (6 min), Quick Abs Blast (6 min) | Total Body B (6 min), Mind Body B (6 min), Quick Abs Blast (6 min) | Total Body C (6 min), Mind Body C (6 min), Quick Abs Blast (6 min) | All (42 min) |
| DVD | Dance It Off Ballroom | |||
| Play | 1st week: Step Guide (18 min). Subsequent weeks: Samba and Jive (10 min each) | |||
| Total time | 18 min | 18 min | 36-38 min | 42 min |
Goal No. 2: "I want to flatten my belly."
We've enlisted a three-tiered flab-fighting fix: Cardio to melt fat, targeted toning to shrink your waist, and yoga to de-stress.
One week at a glance:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
| DVD | Dance It Off Ballroom | Kick-Start Your Metabolism | Dance It Off Ballroom | Dance It Off Ballroom | Dance It Off Ballroom | Kick-Start Your Metabolism |
| Play | 1st week: Step Guide (18 min). Subsequent weeks: Samba and Jive (10 min each) | Fat Blast (15 min), Ab Attack (15 min) | Cha-Cha (10 min), Samba (10 min) | Samba (10 min), Jive (10 min) | Cha-Cha (10 min), Samba (10 min) | Fat Blast (15 min), Ab Attack (15 min), Body Sculpt (15 min) |
| DVD | Quick Tummy Toners | Quick Tummy Toners | Quick Tummy Toners | Quick Tummy Toners | Quick Tummy Toners | |
| Play | Crunch-Free Abs (10 min) | Yoga Abs (10 min) | Bikini Belly (10 min) | Ab and Waist Definer (10 min) | Yoga Abs (10 min), Sporty Abs (10 min) | |
| Total time | 28-30 min | 40 min | 30 min | 30 min | 40 min | 45 min |
Goal No. 3: "I need to jump-start my weight loss."
A precise mix of fat-melting cardio and sculpting moves is just the recipe for shedding pounds. This routine obliterates calories with kickboxing and dance, then sculpts metabolism-boosting muscle. Shave 250 calories per day from your diet and you'll be about a size smaller in 30 days.
Weeks One and Two
One week at a glance:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Saturday | Sunday | |
| DVD | Kick-Start Your Metabolism | Dance It Off Ballroom | Kick-Start Your Metabolism | Dance It Off Ballroom | Dance It Off Ballroom | Kick-Start Your Metabolism |
| Play | Fat Blast (15 min), Ab Attack (15 min), Body Sculpt (15 min) | All (42 min) | Fat Blast (15 min), Ab Attack (15 min) | All (42 min) | Cha-Cha (10 min), Jive (10 min) | Fat Blast (15 min), Ab Attack (15 min), Body Sculpt (15 min) |
| DVD | Dance It Off Ballroom | Core Fusion Pilates Plus | Core Fusion Pilates Plus | Core Fusion Pilates Plus | Core Fusion Pilates Plus | |
| Play | 1st week: Step Guide (18 min). 2nd week: Samba and Cha-Cha (10 min each) | Thigh & Gluteus (10 min), Flat Back/Round Back (10 min) | Upper Body (10 min) | Thigh & Gluteus (10 min) | Upper Body (10 min), Flat Back/Round Back (10 min), Pure Core (10 min) | |
| Total time | 63-65 min | 62 min | 40 min | 52 min | 50 min | 45 min |
Weeks Three and Four
One week at a glance:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Saturday | Sunday | |
| DVD | Dance It Off Ballroom | Kick-Start Your Metabolism | Dance It Off Ballroom | Dance It Off Ballroom | Kick-Start Your Metabolism | Kick-Start Your Metabolism |
| Play | All (42 min) | Fat Blast (15 Min), Express Kick-Start (10 min) | All (42 min) | All (42 min) | Fat Blast (15 min), Body Sculpt (15 min) | All (67 min) |
| DVD | Kick-Start Your Metabolism | Core Fusion Pilates Plus | Core Fusion Pilates Plus | Core Fusion Pilates Plus | Core Fusion Pilates Plus | |
| Play | Ab Attack (15 min) | Thigh & Gluteus (10 min), Flat Back/Round Back (10 min), Core Flexibility (10 min) | Upper Body (10 min) | Pure Core (10 min) | Thigh & Gluteus (10 min), Flat Back/Round Back (10 min), Upper Body (10 min) | |
| Total time | 57 min | 55 min | 52 min | 52 min | 60 min | 67 min |
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