Fit Bottomed Girls recently published a top ten list of fitness DVDs to try at home. I took it as a personal to do list. I started by logging onto my library’s website to see which DVDs they had in stock. A cost-conscious mom, I always try my library first to decide if DVDs worth buying. However, their selection wasn’t exactly Amazon’s, so I had to tweak the list a tiny bit.

Instead of Billy Blanks: This is Tae Bo, I was able to borrow Billy’s Favorite Moves. Dedicating Baby’s second naptime a few days a week to this venture, I put on some fun workout clothes and my old jazz sneakers to dress the part.

I’m hesitant to share this out loud, but here goes: I love Tae Bo. Really, any cardio kickbox class will do. I tend to be an upper body weakling. I’ve yet to learn how to throw a ball. Consistent yoga practice has helped me develop some arm strength, but my hidden crush on kickboxing predates my yoga flow. Throwing punches was never something I wanted to do in public. Thus, being able to do this video in my family room made it all the more enticing.

Billy’s Favorite Moves was fast paced and fun. Moving in counts of eight, we’d do each move slowly a few times and then faster on tempo with the music. The people working out in the background kept up the pace counted out the reps for each move. Meanwhile, Billy would take a second to point out the correct form to do each move correctly (something I really appreciated). With some combinations through, I felt like I just had to go for it. Lots of mistakes were made (especially at tempo), but that only made the video more challenging and worth doing again.

Halfway through the video, the pros on screen were clearly sweating. Me, not so much. Maybe because I wasn’t yelling out the counts. Doubtful. More likely because I was focusing on not tripping instead of going all out. The quick moves and sometimes tricky footwork kept my head from wandering off to other things, which for me is a sign of a great workout regardless of sweat sown.

As soon as the video was over, I felt it. Actually, a little before it was over. When I saw that I had already worked out for over 30 minutes, I fast forwarded through the core series and skipped to the cool down. Naptime only lasts so long, and I was on a tight schedule.

My muscles had not been worked like that in a while. As the day went on, I really felt it on the lower sides of my back. I stretched more and took an ibuprofen before bed. After a middle of the night feeding, I took a couple more and repurposed some breastfeeding ice packs onto my back for 10 minutes or so before falling back asleep. I was sore.

By morning I felt a lot better, and was ready to try it again the next day. The second time around there was definitely sweat involved, but luckily no more soreness. Billy’s Favorite Moves won’t become my go-to workout video, but it’s definitely a fun one to throw in every now and again.

Do you have a secret exercise love? How do you kick your cardio up a notch?