Ways that fitness videos address real-life needs of home exercisers (or not). - Page 3

Kathryn · 12-18-10, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kat999

Do live instructors ever really face the same direction as the students, though? I've taken lots of in-person yoga, ballet, and aerobics classes, and only in ballet did the instructor ever face away from us, since the room had floor-to-ceiling mirrors so she could still see us. In aerobics, they always faced us and mirror cued, and in yoga they tended to start the move with us and then walk around the room giving verbal instructions while they corrected our form manually.

I have very little experience with live classes, but those that I have taken (cardio, step), the instructor did face the same way we did. Also, IIRC, it looks like Cathe faces the same way as the students when she leads road-trip classes.

Eibhinn · 12-18-10, 06:13 PM

One point which has come up several times, and which I think is important, is about the floor surfaces we have in our workout areas. My workout area is hardwood floor, so I hate when workouts unexpectedly have me moving to my knees/forearms etc. on the floor without putting a mat down. I can imagine people with carpet likewise have difficulties with workouts which throw in pivots and turns with little warning. Although it isn't an issue for me, I appreciate that some workouts have warnings that they aren't suitable for carpeted areas.

I own, but rarely use CardioFight (w. Wally Holem) because I don't think it was designed with much thought to the floor/workout surfaces most people are using. The participants are working out on a padded floor, and you definitely need a mat or some padding of some sort to do the moves on your knees and rolling onto your back. But then I found other moves, like turning 180/360 degrees while in a plank position, were difficult or awkward with a normal sized mat on the floor, but I didn't have any warning to move the mat. I think to use CardioFight to it's full potential you need a large padded floor area like one might find in a martial arts studio, which I do not have at home.

I also agree that a lack of mirror-cueing (which I find annoying) is probably due to people not thinking about what it's like to follow along a workout while facing the television, versus taking a class in a room with a mirrored wall. In a couple cases I had to get rid of DVDs because the lack of mirror cueing made them completely unusable. I've actually been surprised by the rave reviews for Trudie Styler/James De Silva's stuff because none of it is mirror cued. I have a Cardio Dance workout and it is incredibly confusing to try to follow.

DD1 · 12-19-10, 03:27 PM

Lack of chaptering renders a DVD completely useless to me. I rarely do the entire workout from start to finish, rather I'll do 30 minutes of some workout that I like. If I can't skip to certain sections, the DVD does not work for me.

I love Classic Firms but many of their DVDs suffer from lack of chaptering, and another big sin - not doing each side consecutively. Some of my FIRMS will do a set on one side and then its a good 15 minutes until they get around to the set on the other side. Again, based on the way I work out, this does not work for me

Joni O · 12-19-10, 03:56 PM

I agree with everything said here. Aside from making sure the workouts fit the home exerciser, I can definitely tell when an instructor isn't used to actually teaching. Debbie Siebers is an example of that. She may have gotten better by now, but it was obvious to me that she was a personal trainer who didn't teach classes when I first got Slim in 6 and Slim Series. It's one thing to train someone one-on-one, and a totally different thing to teach a class. The whole mirror cuing (which I know doesn't happen in a live class; I've taken hundreds), correct counting, etc. comes into play there. I'm not picking on Debbie. I LOVE Debbie. I just wish these personal trainers and other non-instructors would learn how to actually teach a class before filming a workout.

Something else that bugs me is when a DVD isn't shot in sections, but rather shot as one workout and then chopped up into sections to make a pre-mix. You have to keep that in mind when shooting - that you need a spot to make a clean break when you edit. I hate starting an upper body section with seeing the crew put down their barbell from the squats in the previous section, for example. There's a lot to think about, but a professional should be able to do it.

Kathryn · 12-19-10, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joni O

I hate starting an upper body section with seeing the crew put down their barbell from the squats in the previous section, for example. There's a lot to think about, but a professional should be able to do it.

Even worse in when chapter points (which are also used to make premixes) are too far into the segment: Cathe's DVD's have usually been good about chapter location, but Gym Styles (especially the Back workout) is horrible on this count: one chapter point is way to early, while the next is right when they're about to do the first rep. The Back/Bicep premix is unusable as-is because it's based on the second type of chaptering

The GS series very frustrating for me, because I have a habit of taking longer breaks between exercises than Cathe and the crew do, and other workouts allowed me to easily let them 'work ahead', then back-chapter to replay the exercise and be right in synch with them. With GS, I would have to pause the DVD to do that (and it's not the way I prefer to workout).

Joni O · 12-19-10, 04:21 PM

Ha - I actually was referring to Cathe's premixes

tigger · 12-19-10, 11:29 PM

[QUOTE=kat999;1690424]Do live instructors ever really face the same direction as the students, though? I've taken lots of in-person yoga, ballet, and aerobics classes, and only in ballet did the instructor ever face away from us, since the room had floor-to-ceiling mirrors so she could still see us. In aerobics, they always faced us and mirror cued, and in yoga they tended to start the move with us and then walk around the room giving verbal instructions while they corrected our form manually.

As someone who has taught lots of classes and been a participant in lots of classes, I'd say it depends. Typically, for complex choreography, instructors face the same way as the class. For example, during complex step routines, when one is moving over and around the step, students tend to prefer to follow the instructor rather than mirror them. And, since the room was mirrored, it wasn't like they were just staring at the back of my head. But, even then, I would mirror for the warm up, cool down, and any sculpting segments of class. I can't stand it in videos when the instructor doesn't mirror cue. My guess (and I could definitely be wrong) is that the instructors who don't mirror cue or do it well are probably personal trainers rather than group instrucors in their day-to-day jobs.

Oh yeah- and I also hate long intros and lack of chaptering.

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12-18-10, 06:13 PM
Eibhinn Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada	One point which has come up several times, and which I think is important, is about the floor surfaces we have in our workout areas. My workout area is hardwood floor, so I hate when workouts unexpectedly have me moving to my knees/forearms etc. on the floor without putting a mat down. I can imagine people with carpet likewise have difficulties with workouts which throw in pivots and turns with little warning. Although it isn't an issue for me, I appreciate that some workouts have warnings that they aren't suitable for carpeted areas. I own, but rarely use CardioFight (w. Wally Holem) because I don't think it was designed with much thought to the floor/workout surfaces most people are using. The participants are working out on a padded floor, and you definitely need a mat or some padding of some sort to do the moves on your knees and rolling onto your back. But then I found other moves, like turning 180/360 degrees while in a plank position, were difficult or awkward with a normal sized mat on the floor, but I didn't have any warning to move the mat. I think to use CardioFight to it's full potential you need a large padded floor area like one might find in a martial arts studio, which I do not have at home. I also agree that a lack of mirror-cueing (which I find annoying) is probably due to people not thinking about what it's like to follow along a workout while facing the television, versus taking a class in a room with a mirrored wall. In a couple cases I had to get rid of DVDs because the lack of mirror cueing made them completely unusable. I've actually been surprised by the rave reviews for Trudie Styler/James De Silva's stuff because none of it is mirror cued. I have a Cardio Dance workout and it is incredibly confusing to try to follow.

12-19-10, 03:27 PM
DD1 Join Date: Oct 2002	Lack of chaptering renders a DVD completely useless to me. I rarely do the entire workout from start to finish, rather I'll do 30 minutes of some workout that I like. If I can't skip to certain sections, the DVD does not work for me. I love Classic Firms but many of their DVDs suffer from lack of chaptering, and another big sin - not doing each side consecutively. Some of my FIRMS will do a set on one side and then its a good 15 minutes until they get around to the set on the other side. Again, based on the way I work out, this does not work for me __________________ Dee

12-19-10, 03:56 PM
Joni O VF Supporter Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Twin Cities, MN	I agree with everything said here. Aside from making sure the workouts fit the home exerciser, I can definitely tell when an instructor isn't used to actually teaching. Debbie Siebers is an example of that. She may have gotten better by now, but it was obvious to me that she was a personal trainer who didn't teach classes when I first got Slim in 6 and Slim Series. It's one thing to train someone one-on-one, and a totally different thing to teach a class. The whole mirror cuing (which I know doesn't happen in a live class; I've taken hundreds), correct counting, etc. comes into play there. I'm not picking on Debbie. I LOVE Debbie. I just wish these personal trainers and other non-instructors would learn how to actually teach a class before filming a workout. Something else that bugs me is when a DVD isn't shot in sections, but rather shot as one workout and then chopped up into sections to make a pre-mix. You have to keep that in mind when shooting - that you need a spot to make a clean break when you edit. I hate starting an upper body section with seeing the crew put down their barbell from the squats in the previous section, for example. There's a lot to think about, but a professional should be able to do it.

12-19-10, 04:21 PM
Joni O VF Supporter Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Twin Cities, MN	Ha - I actually was referring to Cathe's premixes

12-19-10, 11:29 PM
tigger Join Date: Feb 2005	[QUOTE=kat999;1690424]Do live instructors ever really face the same direction as the students, though? I've taken lots of in-person yoga, ballet, and aerobics classes, and only in ballet did the instructor ever face away from us, since the room had floor-to-ceiling mirrors so she could still see us. In aerobics, they always faced us and mirror cued, and in yoga they tended to start the move with us and then walk around the room giving verbal instructions while they corrected our form manually. As someone who has taught lots of classes and been a participant in lots of classes, I'd say it depends. Typically, for complex choreography, instructors face the same way as the class. For example, during complex step routines, when one is moving over and around the step, students tend to prefer to follow the instructor rather than mirror them. And, since the room was mirrored, it wasn't like they were just staring at the back of my head. But, even then, I would mirror for the warm up, cool down, and any sculpting segments of class. I can't stand it in videos when the instructor doesn't mirror cue. My guess (and I could definitely be wrong) is that the instructors who don't mirror cue or do it well are probably personal trainers rather than group instrucors in their day-to-day jobs. Oh yeah- and I also hate long intros and lack of chaptering.