Workout Wednesday: GaiamTV

I do almost all of my workouts outside or in the gym — outside of P90X and maybe Physique 57, I’ve never really found a program that I love enough to commit to at home. (I do have lots of DVDs that I rotate through, including several from Jillian Michaels, but I would ALWAYS rather go somewhere else to sweat.)

So when Erica from Gaiam TV approached me and asked if I’d be interested in checking out their streaming workouts, I hesitated… (also, I don’t do many reviews — so I try and pick those that actually might be helpful to you guys!). But I said yes, since I will be house-bound in just 8 1/2 short weeks (gulp) and could really use some good resources for staying active.

I’m a couple of weeks into my 4-week test run (free for me, $9.99/month normally). So far, I’m pretty impressed — there are LOTS of great workouts available, and at $10 a month, doing just a few videos a week is cheaper than joining a gym or buying a ton of different DVDs. Some of the videos I watched (I had to modify most, since I’m growing a human, but I did try them to see if I would be interested in doing them all-out in the future):

• Yoga for Runners
• Jillian Michaels Extreme Shed and Shred
• Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30
• Mari Winsor Pilates Bootcamp

In addition to fitness videos, there are lots of other things to watch:

• Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead (I reviewed it here)
• The Happiness Prescription
• Manifesting a Happy Life

Just like with Netflix and other services, you can build a playlist, which is pretty cool. And a major bonus for me — Gaiam TV has an app for the Roku, so I was able to stream everything right through my TV (much easier than trying to watch on a laptop).

You can also search by filters — level, style, instructor, etc.

I admit to squealing a little when I saw all of the videos from “The Firm” since I impulse-bought the step and some other equipment a few years ago. And for the Jillian library alone, it’s pretty impressive.

In the end, would I pay $9.99 a month ($120/year)? I just don’t know. Like I said, my bias is that whenever possible, I choose a group class or an outdoor workout over something in my living room. I just find it too easy to let myself off the hook when my couch.is.right.freaking.there. I would certainly pay it to test drive some of these programs before buying the DVD.

And for people who love working out at home, I think this is a GREAT deal — I’d like to see Gaiam continue to add to the library so that it’s not too outdated, but it seems like that’s the plan.