Alright, it's time to face it: You simply cannot go to the gym without getting a complex. You'll just get too self-conscious of your excess pounds jiggling inside your spandex to fully concentrate on your routine. Besides, the bronzed bodies surrounding you will only serve as a harsh reminder that it's going to take you forever to get there.

So you go online and buy all sorts of fitness videos so you can do your workout right at home. But are exercise videos right for you?

This article aims to give you the lowdown on the pros and cons of relying on exercise videos to stay fit. By examining the advantages and disadvantages of following workouts on screen, you can then come to a sound decision whether to buy fitness videos or simply opt for a gym membership despite the wriggling of body fats under your spandex. Here goes:

Advantages of Using Exercise Videos:

1. They are very affordable. At the most, you only fork out $25 US for one video. Compare that to the hundreds of dollars you have to spend for gym membership and you know that in terms of cost, fitness videos are hands down, the more viable choice.

2. Choices are varied. There's virtually every video for any and every form of exercise conceived by the fertile minds of certified fitness instructors and health experts.

3. They are convenient to use. They allow you to exercise at your own time. Exercise videos are ready for use anytime of the day. Whether you have time to exercise in the morning, afternoon or even late at night, all you need is to simply put in the video in the player and voila! You can immediately begin your workout right at the comfort of your own home without driving all the way to the gym. Plus, you can keep on working out even during inclement weather.

4. Your privacy is assured. Yes! If your main concern is the jiggling body of fat under your spandex, then exercise videos will certainly give you the chance to get rid of them right in the confines of your home.

Disadvantages of Using Exercise Videos:

1. You don't have an instructor to correct bad form. If you're just beginning, a professional trainer will certainly be indispensable to guide you in the proper technique of doing certain exercises. Aside from being unable to maximize the benefits of exercise, doing them wrongly puts you at a greater risk of injury or strain.

2. No exercise video admits its flaws. This is particularly true with those marketed by celebrities who aren't professionally trained and certified to lead any form of workout to begin with. In fact, there are even unscrupulous individuals who rehash old videos and market them as new using the strength of popular faces. Careful with them since they contain moves that have already been proven unsafe by modern fitness experts.

3. It takes double the willpower to stick with your regimen. Unlike in a Yoga, Pilates or aerobics class with a set schedule to follow and the pull of a group to keep you motivated, you do exercise videos on your own, follow a schedule on your own and motivate yourself on your own. It can be very challenging.

4. They can be boring. If you only have one video, then watching and doing the same routine day-in and day-out can bore the living daylights out of you. The more titles you have in your collection, the more interesting your workouts will be.