Things that turn you off from buying a video

[metalbarbie]

I have to admit this bothers me when pre-viewing a video. I don't like it when the instructor starts lifting the dumbells and starts twisting and turning like a pretzl. Doing curls and squats at different angles. I would much rather do a gym-style (straight up and down) traditional strength routine. I blame Tracie Long for starting this trend . Also, not a fan of compound moves.

You?

[LindaL]

1. When I see that the instructor is just walking around instructing and not actually working out.

2. An instructor who has a really unappealing voice - mostly it's the "shriekers". I really don't need to be yelled at.

[goldillocks]

I can't stand yelling, barking orders and constant counting.
So that means I avoid everything with Jillian Michaels, Billy Blanks and Biggest Loser

[athompson10]

Yelling.

Inane chatter - if the instructor is saying stupid stuff in the two-minute preview clip, I know how annoying the whole workout will be.

Weird camera angles - I like to see my workout front and center, full body shots, with side views, close-ups for form, and isolated shots of backgrounders as needed. I don't like anything where the camera operator is zooming in and out, or quick-cutting a lot, or angling in.

[Clare*]

Originally Posted by metalbarbie

I have to admit this bothers me when pre-viewing a video. I don't like it when the instructor starts lifting the dumbells and starts twisting and turning like a pretzl. Doing curls and squats at different angles. I would much rather do a gym-style (straight up and down) traditional strength routine. I blame Tracie Long for starting this trend . Also, not a fan of compound moves.

You?

Have to admit, I'm with you on the pretzel & compound moves. No curtsy lunges for me. Any time I've been injured with videos, it's been compound moves like shown in CLX, twisty turny stuff.

Too much high impact jumping along with lots of push-ups makes my list. I'm trying to use my knees for about 30 more years, plus I have issues with my shoulders and chest due to my cancer surgery. I can modify anything, but I'd prefer not to have to do it too much. Surprisingly, I have no problems running at the moment-I think it's because I run mostly "Chi-style"- it's just high impact aerobics that kill my knees.

Finally, I can not stand hip-hop style music. Hate, hate, hate the beat, the moves, and usually hate the lyrics if there are any. Any thing with that kind of music (Turbo Jam comes to mind) gets my "Joni-Oed" treatment.

[Blackadar]

1. Moves that are too "dancey". I'm a guy and I'm uncoordinated. If you're going to try to make me flap my arms like a bird while doing the two-step, we're not going to have any kind of workout relationship. I don't have any Cathe's outside of STS Meso 1 because her moves are always to feminine for me to duplicate. There's even a few workouts done by guys where the moves are too feminine to duplicate.

2. All-women casts. This isn't an absolute, but one of the first things I look at is if any guys are in the background. If not, I figure that the workout isn't suitable for guys and don't buy it. Hence the reason I don't have any of the KCM workouts (though that will probably change soon). It's probably not a valid assumption and I like looking at super-fit chicks working out, but that's what tends to happen.

3. Poor lighting/dark sets/bland sets. I've avoided almost every Jari Love because her sets are too dark. Give me something easy to look at or nothing at all. Shooting it against a dull wall isn't going to capture my attention. If you don't want to pay for a set, go with the Tom Holland minimalist set, which is at least different enough to be interesting.

4. Too perky or too dumpy lead instructors. I'd probably like Susan Chung's Rapid Fire, but she looks like she just rolled out of bed in that workout. At the same time, there are many instructors who are far too perky for me to workout to at 5:00 AM.

5. Weird camera work. I don't want special effects on my vids. While it's fine to switch cameras to highlight something else, this ain't a music video and I want to clearly see their form so I can try to duplicate it.

6. I'm not flexible. At all. Period. End of story. I will never be flexible. Period. End of story. So if you're to bend and twist a lot, I'm not going to buy your vids. Period. End of Story.

[PeakFitness]

Dark set
Yelling (like Jeanette Jenkins)
Using just pushups to work the chest
Compound moves make me say "maybe not," not a definite no.

[turbo1]

silly giggling, music with vocals that over shadow the instructors cues, BAD music, endless reps, low ends, pulses, choreography that doesn't flow well together, off beat instructors.....

[Demeris]

• Denise Austin
• Shiva Rea (sp?)
• anything weight-lifting oriented or focused--for that I can go to the gym
• any move that looks like it might torque my knee
• anything that moves too fast. I loved this in my yoot. No longer.
• anything that looks like bad form (I forgive Leslie because I'm not following her stretchy-band, hand weight advice--I'm in it for the walking to get my heart rate up)

[a_real_twit]

* Instructor not in time with the music
* Poor cueing
* Swearing, which is starting to crop up, unfortunately
* Sneering & Obnixous (i.e. Jillian Michaels, IMHO)
* Weird camera angles and effects, definitely