The Fitness Situation

I'm finding that some of these workouts are a bit difficult to research. For instance, this video, which had to have been released sometime in the early 90s, is only available through Amazon, which gives no info on its origins and nor does Denise Austin's wikipedia or personal website. I know this was released in the early 90s because a certain scholarship program I participated in (AND WON) used almost the exact same music playlist and many of the same pieces of choreography, as did the program from the next town over from ours and this was in 1993. What a time for country! Out in the sticks, anyway. The songs: Achy, Breaky Heart (Billy Ray Cyrus); Boot Scootin' Boogie (Brooks and Dunn), I'm in a Hurry (Alabama), Down at the Twist and Shout (Mary Chapin Carpenter), Elvira (The Oak Ridge Boys) If you don't have a deep burning passion for country music or at least a nostalgic connection to it for memory's sake, don't bother with this video. However, if you en...

 There is not a date or year anywhere associated with this video, judging by the listing on Denise's Wikipedia it would have to be pre-1988, and the musical selections' timing would coincide with this timeframe.  Business woman intro is back!  This workout is quite a bit more inspiring due to the increase in production all around: sky-blue tinted studio with multi-colored 80s geometric shapes on the walls, a crew of aerobics buddies for Denise all in cool-colored leotards, Denise in hot pink, an orchestrated soundtrack (heavy on the synthesizer) of upbeat 80s hits, and a multi-camera setup that allows a few different views of the action. Hair and makeup are pure 80s perfection.   Here are the highlights:  1. Warm up is easy enough, done to instrumental arrangement of "How Will I Know?" by Whitney Houston. This is the only part of the workout that is not challenging, at least the first time through. 2. First floor segment has several stretches and exercises ...

(Also referred to as "Total Workout") This was a bit of an adventure. First, the hair and hot pink cutaway leotard on Denise, which is late-80s perfection, and second, the exercise ball (medicine ball?). Were those ever a thing in aerobics? I don't remember anyone ever having one, although I grew up in a town of cornfields where working out was probably seen as some feminist Democratic waste of time.  The copy on YouTube was much like the big bands copy, pretty muffled audio and blurry video quality, but the overall production on the original was pretty low quality, too. It's filmed in a gym, on a mat, with poor acoustics, there was only so much they could really do in such a place, and the camera just sits, static, and records straight ahead, head-to-toe on Denise for the entire workout, which was normal in 1988. It runs about 35 minutes, and for low impact, the speed and intensity were both pretty manic. We're Businesswomen . Here are the takeaways from the expe...

 Denise Austin was the first fitness expert I ever watched, back at six in the morning before school on ESPN. There weren't that many other options then, in the late eighties. Jane Fonda had several videos, of course, but those seemed very mom-ish to me. Corey Everson and Gilad were on in the time slots after Denise but these were mostly studio shows, maybe a beach here but not as interesting. Denise travelled a lot for Getting Fit ; I think I learned half of the Caribbean islands just from her introducing them on her show.  So it's as a Denise Austin fan that I've approached fitness videos and exercise in general throughout my life; if I felt like I needed to get in shape, I looked for her videos. I still own several of them on VHS (Hit the Spot is my absolute favorite series) and a few on DVD, but once everything started popping up on YouTube, I was able to find awesome, old school late eighties and early nineties Denise Austin videos and put together an awesome vintage w...