Don't have time for the gym? Try aerobics at home with exercise videos!

There are a thousand and one excuses not to get in at least three solid aerobic workouts each week. One of the most popular is "I just don't have time to go to the gym!" or "I can't afford an expensive gym membership!" or even "It is just too hot outside right now to exercise!" The good news is that you really can get a heart-pumping, sweat-filled workout at home. The bad news is that you can no longer use that as an excuse to remain a couch potato!

Exercise videos have come a long way since Jane Fonda started the craze back in 1982 with her "Jane Fonda Workout." Today, there are literally hundreds of videos to choose from.

From low-impact aerobics, to high-impact step aerobics, to kick-boxing, to specialist videos for maternity, the elderly and even children, the range of options can be overwhelming.

In addition to convenience, home exercise videos have several advantages over gyms:

* Exercise videos are generally inexpensive, between $10 and $25 each, and the equipment needs are very low. Outside of a good pair of shoes, the most you'll typically require is a dumbbell and perhaps a step.

* No need to worry about the weather. You can work out to your exercise videos when its hot, cold, raining, snowing, or anything in between.

* Great instructors. The best video instructors combine motivation with showmanship and skill. (TIP: use the resources at the bottom of this article to help you find the instructor and videos that will be best for you.)

* You can exercise in private. A lot of people don't like to work out in front of others, especially when they are just getting started. There's nothing more intimidating than a group exercise class where you are the only one that doesn't know the moves and feels like a klutz.

With all that going for them, what's the downside of exercise videos? The biggest is that you have to be completely self-motivating. The social network that many exercise classes bring isn't there, and sometimes putting that tape in one more time can seem like the most awful thing in the world. A lot of people combat this problem by getting a variety of videos to choose from. If you constantly change your video rotations around, its less likely that you'll get bored with them. (Hint: Ebay can be a great place to pick up exercise videos for next to nothing.)

Convinced? Want to get started? While you can certainly run down to your local video store and pick up titles that look interesting.