Fitness gurus are starting to provide interactive workout videos over the Net. From At-Home Workouts Move From TV to Computer:
Thanks to the proliferation of broadband and advances in Internet video technology, a number of companies are starting to offer online fitness classes with the aim of providing exercisers with instant variety — and, sometimes, an interactive experience.The Yoga Learning Center, where Ms. Hitchcock takes her classes, offers about 50 online video and audio yoga practices and meditations, double the amount it launched with in October 2003. Customers pay $9.95 a month for unlimited access. The center is adding at least one new class each month and, by next year, plans to expand into Pilates.
Meanwhile, New York Yoga, which has offered live, online yoga classes from its New York studios since March 2001, expanded into prerecorded streaming-video classes in December. The site now offers 60 live classes throughout the week and 21 prerecorded sessions. Joining the online studio starts at $7.95 a month.
Beyond yoga, a new site called Daily Fitness is set to launch later this summer with six streaming video classes, including kickboxing, step aerobics and belly dancing. The site will also offer personal training and nutrition sessions, via video teleconference. A base membership is expected to cost about $14.95 a month and training sessions around $35 to $40 an hour.