Getting to the gym with a newborn in the house has proven difficult. We wake up with the intention of going to the gym, and all of a sudden it’s dinnertime and we haven’t even showered yet.
So I decided to look for more effective ways of working out at home. After getting bombarded with DailyBurn ads on my Hulu+ account for the past few months, I decided to give their thirty-day free trial a go.
What is DailyBurn?
DailyBurn is basically an online exercise program. You pay a monthly fee of $12.95 and get access to their full library of workout videos. There are a variety of programs you can follow, with fun titles like Total Cardio, Intelliburn, Tactical Bodyweight Training, and Inferno. Each one focuses on different types of workouts, and after you fill out an initial survey about your body, health, and fitness goals, DailyBurn will recommend a program to start with. I am starting with Black Fire, a full body workout to help take my fitness to the next level, designed and hosted by Bob Harper of The Biggest Loser fame.
How it stacks up against other at-home workouts
I have been around the block a few times with workout videos, including some hours spent with Tony Horton’s p90x, Shaun T’s Insanity, and even Denise Austin’s yoga videos. After a certain amount of time watching the same workout videos, the trainers get monotonous and annoying (especially Tony Horton—he got muted after about a week). So far with DailyBurn, though, I am finding all of the trainers fairly helpful and easy to watch. We’ll see as time goes on whether they start to grind on my nerves, but for now they are still helping me get through a set of pushups.
The pros of DailyBurn
The great thing about DailyBurn is that it is available on so many devices. I can log in and use it on all of my iOS devices, my Roku, and even my Google TV. (However, the Google TV app is pretty terrible, so I end up just using my phone and streaming to my Apple TV.) It’s great for sneaking in a workout during baby’s morning nap, but will also be really helpful for doing workouts in hotel rooms while traveling. I would even consider doing some of the workouts at my gym listening on headphones. Most of the workouts don’t require any equipment other than your own body weight, but some do require small free-weights, boxes, and yoga mats. This might add to your monthly cost if you want to buy some of the equipment for your home.
I really like the variety of workouts that are offered, as there are over 100 different videos on the service. You can do anything from a kettle bell workout to an aerobic salsa-dancing workout. Variety will keep me motivated, instead of following the same routine over and over again. One downfall to the service is the lack of ability to have different profiles on your account. Netflix finally figured it out last year and lets you have five different users on your account. With DailyBurn, you can only have one profile, so my wife and I have to share one account and the workout recommendations have to be set to only one of us. She is the primary account holder right now, and it keeps suggesting that I do post-natal yoga videos.
Overall, I think Daily Burn is an excellent addition to a workout regime, especially for new parents. I’m not dropping my gym membership now that I am a DailyBurn user, but I’ll definitely supplement my gym-going with a variety of at-home workouts. If you find yourself in need of some motivation and a flexible workout routine, this might just be the thing you’re looking for.
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