Trying out PUSH.tv

A month or two ago, I was browsing through an old issue of Oprah that featured some interesting new tools for weight loss. Some were websites, and the one that caught my eye was PUSH.tv.

PUSH is an interesting mashup between old-fashioned workout videos (made a little more “new-fashioned” by using DVDs) and the web-based personalization that tech-savvy folks have come to expect. I was intrigued, and thanks to this very blog, was able to get a review subscription so I could test it out and share.

The concept

The core product/service is personalized DVD workouts based on your current (and constantly increasing) level of strength, your interests, and equipment on hand. A new DVD arrives each month with two “personal training” (strength) workouts, a cardio workout, and various extras.

The idea is that you avoid boredom because you do your current, personalized workout for just two weeks before moving on the next one. The plan dictates that you do the strength workout three times a week, plus 100 minutes of cardio, so you end up doing a workout six times… enough that you feel pretty comfortable with it, but not enough to get bored.

The signup process

The service is subscription-based ($25/month, with discounts for multiple months), and when you enroll, you’re asked for personal preferences in workout equipment. I have an exercise ball, dumbbells, and can borrow a step from my sister, so I listed those.

You also get to choose your “personal trainer”—your DVD instructor. There are four trainers to choose from. Each trainer has a short bio to help you pick, but I’d really like to see a sample exercise segment on each profile, since it kind of felt like random selection (sure, he may sound nice, but how will that translate into instruction?). I ended up asking the PUSH system to select a trainer for me.

There are a few more preference kinds of questions, like music style and activity interests. I chose cycling, though I’m not convinced this choice has any real bearing on the workouts; that’s just too many variables. But it seems like an idea with real potential for future expansion—I’d be much more interested in workouts that are specifically designed to make me a stronger cyclist.

Finally, you enter your payment information, and you’re done. It’s just a matter of waiting eagerly for the first DVD to arrive. Right after subscribing, PUSH sent me an email telling me that they had received my signup and my DVD was scheduled to ship that night—impressive! It was expected to arrive in two weeks—not impressive. As it turned out, though, my DVD showed up only two days later. Details about the actual workout coming soon!

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