Cardio For Beginners With Petra Kolber

So, you're staring down the new year with dreams of sticking to fitness resolutions dancing in your eyes. But, if you're an exercise novice, do you know what to do? You don't have to buy a gym membership or hire a personal trainer. In fact, you don't even need to brave the freezing temperatures outside at all -- you can just find a beginner exercise DVD to kickstart your fitness routine!

Cardio For Beginners with Petra Kolber is, as you would guess from the title, designed for beginners. The video is an hour long, but is comprised of four workouts -- two are 20 minutes long, the other two are 10 minutes. It also features a five-minute bonus stretch as well as a booklet of workout tips that explains things like Perceived Rate of Exertion and Target Heart Rate.

Petra Kolber is a well-known name in the fitness industry -- people love her for her enthusiasm and positive attitude. But is the video truly for beginners? I tried it out to be sure.

Level of Difficulty
Beginner. Truly.

Next Day Soreness
None for me, but if you've been sedentary for quite a while, I imagine you'd feel it in your legs!

Who's It For?
This is for beginners who want guidance in elevating their heart rate.

Likes
I like Kolber a lot -- her accent is lovely, and she's encouraging and helpful without being cheesy. I also liked that each segment was made up of simple moves, but you move through them quickly enough that they'll continue being a challenge even after you've mastered them. Additionally, there's a great mix of traditional aerobics moves (hamstring curls, grapevines) and dance moves with fun descriptions (wash your hair, Ginger Rogers). It would be very easy to do this with more or less intensity, depending on your level of fitness.

Dislikes
I can see where this could be a bit fast paced for a true beginner. However, because it's a DVD, there's no reason one couldn't simply rewind the same section until it became easier to do.

Bottom Line
This was a little too beginner for me, but I would recommend it without hesitation to anyone looking to incorporate cardio into their lives. It's fun, it's positive, and it goes remarkably quickly.



This isn't the only workout that's great for beginners. Have you ever thought about practicing yoga?