Keep Moving with Cher Workouts

Wow. The last few weeks have given me a crick in my neck. Civil War is no joke. It's very stressful here on the brink.

So you have to stay hydrated. (Oy.)

You can't just melt into the couch. (Good grief.)

I had a lot of these blog posts prepared before the U.S. election but the week prior I got sick (again) and last week was just a hot mess. But here's some diversion for you.

I received the February 1993 issue of Vogue with a review of Cher's second workout VHS tape, Body Confidence. Her first VHS tape, New Attitude came out in 1991 and Body Confidence came out in 1992. I purchased them both but didn't really have any sense at the time of what else was going on in the celebrity fitness market or how well Cher's VHS tapes were received. Since then, the workout videos have been released on DVD but only for the PAL format. But happily you can get DVD players now which play any format for about $40 on Amazon. 

This Vogue review is from a fitness column by Rachel Urquhart. Here she reviews many celebrity offerings including tapes by Cindy Crawford, Marla Maples and Cher among others.

“In Cher Fitness: Body Confidence, the sequel to Cher’s best-selling fitness debut, there’s an even greater credibility gab to negotiate [than for Marla Maples]. It is, after all, a little hard to feel inspired by the figure of a woman who is rumored to have had ribs and teeth, among other nonessential body parts, surgically removed in order to look slimmer. [Cher never had body parts removed and it's irresponsible of Vogue to repeat it]. But that said, it’s hard to resist Cher’s approachable manner—not to mention her novel workout fashion sense.  Why not forsake baggy gray sweats for a strapless black vinyl leotard with heavy metal zipper? As for what to wear during evening sweat sessions, her sheer black body stocking covered with well-placed webs of sequins, sequined garters, and thigh-high opaque stockings seems to set just the right aerobics-goddess-cum-street-walker tone. [This is Vogue so of course they’ll notice her outfits.]

As for the actual workout, Cher aerobicizes through a 38-minute, easy-to-follow series of dance steps designed to get your heart rate up and shape your body without the aid of a scalpel. I liked the 45-minute muscle-toning workout that follows even better. Dressed in black shorts, fishnet stockings, and a wide vinyl belt, Cher is a relatively sedate presences here as she follows her no-nonsense personal trainer through more exercises than I ever dreamed were possible using a two-foot long rubber band. [Bands were a novelty at the time I guess]. Another reason this tape stands out is that Cher uses semi-real music-—soundalikes belt out the tunes of Chaka Khan, The Kinks and Marvin Gaye, to name a few—instead of the usual dreck heard only on exercise tapes and when the Amtrak reservation desk puts you on hold. And she does her best to seem human; she trembles when the exercise get hard; she complains; she jokes about her ‘weird elbows”; she talks about shopping. She’s not being a star—she’s just being Cher."

Work along with YouTube:

New Attitude: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1kp9fbBoqA

Body Confidence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhXcQsfqTJQ