So, did you see? If you missed it for some reason – we’re having a BOY!!! So excited to know that its little Braedon Hunter growing and moving around in there. :)Thanks for the comments and excitement everyone. Your love and support always warm my heart

After the appointment today, I craved movement. You could say I had energy to burn. I broke into my workout DVD case. Check out the monstrosity of it.

That would be an old-school CD case filled with likely at least 60-70 workout DVDs. My love of fitness began in the living room of my parents’ old house the summer after my sophomore year of college with workout DVDs. I relied on them and didn’t join a gym until my senior year of college. Even though I love they gym, I still continuously compile at home DVDs to have some extra variety and an option for when the gym can’t happen. Overall, workout DVDs have many pros…but they also have cons.

Pros

• Good option when no gym available or can’t make it
• More flexibility with scheduling – work out when YOU want to
• Less overall time needed without driving to/from gym
• New ways to challenge yourself – do moves you wouldn’t do on your own or at a gym
• Good starting point for beginners – guided workout and not as scary as a gym

Cons

• Less variety unless you have a larger collection
• Hard to get motivated for a workout with your couch, roommate, dishes to do right there
• Can add up cost-wise to buy DVDs and related equipment if needed
• Need extra space in your home
• Noise or distraction from others

Since I also have access to a gym and acquired most of my workout paraphernalia over a few years, the pros outweigh the cons for me. My personal library includes an extensive selection. Let’s take a look shall we?

Slim in 6 – Beachbody

My first workout DVD set and what started it all. These videos fit a beginner perfectly. They are very basic and I don’t use them in my regular scheduling anymore. They do come in handy after birth though. I used them beginning a few weeks after M and plan to do so again after this baby.

Turbo Jam – Beachbody (and Turbo Kick borrowed from a friend instructor)

For fun I tried out Turbo Jam and ended up falling in love. These don’t provide the most intense of workouts but they are fun and get the heart rate up. I turn to them often because of the fun factor. Plus, at 45 minutes, they are the perfect length for quick but effective training.

Cathe Friedrich

She blows my mind. Every time. I don’t believe you can find a more top notch instructor in the fitness DVD world. She cues perfectly, knows just how to motivate, and works you HARD. I don’t end a single workout of hers without feeling spent. Everything she makes is fantastic. From weight workouts to circuit workouts to HIIT workouts to kickboxing. She does it all and well too. Can you tell she is my favorite? 😉

Those are the options I currently own. I do want to add Turbo Fire and Insanity to that mix though. I’ve also heard wonderful things about Jillian’s workouts and things like Core Fusion. And I will let you in on two that I HATE. Anything Tony Horton (including P90X) and anything Billy Blanks (TaeBo). It’s not the workouts I can’t stand…it is solely the style of the instructors. I can’t help it. I hate them. You can throw rocks at me now.

• Do you use workout DVDs? If so, why do you like them? If not, why not and what do you prefer?
• What are your favorites? Or what would you be interested in trying?
• Giveaway coming tomorrow on the blog!!! 😀

First off, I loved reading all of your comments on the random acts of kindness. Many of you have such great ideas on how to brighten up someone’s day. Us bloggers must have kind hearts. 😉

Okay, okay. I’ll get to what you’re waiting for. We had our doctor visit this morning. Everything went extremely well. The nurse even kept her mouth shut on my weight gain and left it at simply “It’s perfectly healthy and you’re doing great”. Finally she gets the point! I don’t need reassurance I’m gaining only X amount; I just don’t care. For those of you who may not know, I don’t want to know my gain during pregnancy because I don’t believe it matters. I strive to practice what I preach in all ways and not worrying about the scale, even in pregnancy, fits into that.

So, baby looks great. All the bones look strong; baby measures normal sized (which is a good thing because M was always too small); the heartbeat is strong. Everything. And look how cute. 🙂

Then, the money shot came. And there was no question -

“Look at me! I’m a boy!” There’s something to mother’s intuition, I tell ya. 😉 Now I gotta get baking. We’re doing a colored cake to tell my parents tonight when they come to go to dinner with us. Have fabulous days!

I’ll leave you with a few things to check out -

• Heather’s Faces of Beauty site she just launched. It’s a MUST see!!! She is fabulous and I love what she’s doing there.
• Thermos Twitter chat TONIGHT 8pm ET/7pm CT - Join @ThermosBrand to celebrate the launch of our new series with a group of renowned health and fitness experts: The Cold Matters Coaches. Ask questions, provide tips about what matters to you and help your family stay active, cool and hydrated through the rest of the summer. Participate using the #ThermosCold hashtag and you will automatically be entered to win some of our newest insulated hydration products. PLUS look for a giveaway on my blog from them tomorrow!