Whilst YouTube has a reputation as a haven for procrastinators, I was surprised to note that the site also boasts a huge selection of fitness videos. Initially, it might seem like a strange idea. However, there are actually quite a few advantages:

1) It’s a bargain – there is no need to buy a gym membership or expensive equipment.

2) It’s flexible – forget that dreaded feeling when you arrive at a gym class and realise the instructor is a tyrant and the class is made up of budding Olympic competitors; if you feel the class is too hard you can just click on to another one.

3) You can do it in private – if you’re not the sort of girl who likes to parade around the gym in skimpy shorts and a cropped top, you’ll appreciate there being no one else around to witness your hot flushes and sweaty brow.

4) It’s available 24 hours a day – going to classes at a gym can be quite restrictive, but the YouTube workouts are available all day, every day.

5)It requires less effort – it’s raining, it’s cold, it takes you 45 minutes to get there…Sometimes half the trauma of going to the gym is actually making the effort to get there. With YouTube workouts it’s just a question of pulling yourself up off the sofa…

So, unable to face watching Susan Boyle singing I Dreamed a Dream one more time, I decided to try out some of the website’s more ‘practical’ offerings…

Dance Fitness – Old School Dance – Paul Eugene

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DW1W5Aeoj0&mode[/youtube]

Although the quality is terrible, this routine, taken from a cable TV program, is really easy to pick up and certainly got me breaking into a sweat. Instructor Paul Eugene is full of energy, reminding me of a slightly more streetwise Mr. Motivator. He incorporates some old-school dance moves into a fun aerobics routine, which had me singing along, ‘shake it, don’t break it, whoop’!

Tyler from RW Ballet Workout Video

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNnrOXc2JI0[/youtube]

After all the excitement of Paul Eugene’s energetic funk soul dance routine, I decided to relax with a bit of classical piano and try some ballet moves with Tyler Duckworth. The ‘Ballet Booty Workout’ is very, very basic and does feature a few suspect moves…have you ever seen Darcey Bussell do a ‘pop up’? Still, this is a great way to tone up the legs and bum.

Look Better Naked…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-RMa5Vj0vI[/youtube]

My next instructor, the softly spoken Les Romack, crawls towards his Web cam, getting within inches of the lens. It does freak me out a bit, but actually this San Diego-based instructor has been in the business for over 15 years, and he knows his stuff. Les provides speedy snippets of yoga and Pilates moves and offers useful advice on how to get the best out of each movement.

Exercise for a Sexy Back

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8UxJXIG2SU[/youtube]

Featuring a funky beat in the background, this professional video from Diet.com is short and sweet, demonstrating an effective strength-training technique. However I do feel a bit of an idiot as they’re in a gym using dumbbells and I’m in my bedroom with a tin of tomatoes…

Britney Spears’ Ab Workout Revealed Video

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yev3RErAaV4&feature=channel[/youtube]

Instructor Stephen Cabral promises me Britney Spears-style abs. I’m hoping he’s talking about the Pop Princess circa 2002, because my current fitness regime has more in common with Breakdown Britney. Stephen is leading bubbly girl-next-door Sarah, and it makes me feel better that she isn’t too perfect. Sarah usually demonstrates about 10 of each movement, although we’re told that Brit does 50 of each – ouch! The final movement, the leg raiser, or ‘hip thrust’, as Stephen likes to call it, works the lower abs a treat.