With the holiday season upon us and the year quickly coming to a close, we decided to take a look at some of the best new fitness DVDs. From high-intensity workouts to routines designed to strengthen and sculpt the entire body, here are three of our favorite newly released (or soon to be released) workout videos.

Breathless Body 2:

The Edge

In this day and age when everyone seems to be so pressed for time, who wouldn’t want to maximize results by making the most of time spent exercising? As a follow-up to the wildly successful Breathless Body: The Ultimate Cardio Burn, this second installment in the series, Breathless Body 2: The Edge, provides a challenging 55-minute cardio workout that will work your entire body, pushing you to your limits, while helping you to take your fitness to the next level.

Using a cardio respiratory training technique known as high-intensity interval training – one of my favorite ways to train – and involving no equipment at all, this workout is divided into four different sets, each featuring three dynamic drills.

Progressions and regressions options are offered for each of the drills, allowing you to customize your experience by choosing the movement option that is best suited for your fitness level. Amy also urges exercisers to pause the video at any time if they need additional time to recover between drills.

Each drill is performed for 30 seconds, followed by 15 seconds of rest, and the sequence of three drills is repeated three times to complete one set. Amy ups the challenge in this workout by following the four sets with one final 6-minute set that revisits all 12 of the drills featured throughout the video.

Given that this workout is high-intensity in nature and involves various plyometric exercises, safety and proper technique is of the utmost importance, so this DVD is best suited for those who have an established base of fitness.

Price: $19.99

Where to buy:

www.amydixonfitness.com

10 Pounds Down

Better Body Blast

As a big fan of Chris Freytag’s 10 Pound Slimdown Xtreme, which released late last year, I thought I’d be hard-pressed to come across another DVD that offered the same level of quality, detailed instruction and effective exercises – that is, until I got a sneak peek at the new 10 Pounds Down Better Body Blast. With a similar-sounding name and featuring another dynamic instructor, Jessica Smith, this DVD delivers fun strength-training routines that are conveniently divided into three 20-minute segments (arms, abs and legs), and require nothing more than a pair of dumbbells and an exercise mat.

With the option to tackle each workout individually if you’re pressed for time, or the ability to combine them together to create one awesome full-body workout, this DVD is jam-packed with innovative, functional exercises that will undoubtedly have you breaking a serious sweat.

Price: $14.98

Where to buy:

www.gaiam.com

STOTT PILATES

Intense Body Blast

For those seeking a mind-body approach to health and fitness, STOTT PILATES Intense Body Blast: Pilates Interval Training, Level 1 provides a total-body workout that focuses on quality of movement along with integrity of breath.

With a run time of just over 30 minutes, this routine can be integrated into even the busiest of schedules and, requiring only a sticky mat, can easily be performed in a relatively small space.

The workout begins with a dynamic warmup and is followed by an assortment of exercises designed to strengthen the musculature of core and enhance both stability and mobility, while also strengthening the major muscles of the body.

Instructor PJ O’Clair does an amazing job cueing each movement, continually focusing on proper alignment and helping to ensure the effectiveness of each exercise. She seamlessly transitions from one movement to the next, creating a well-rounded beginner routine that is sure to work your entire body from head to toe.

Price: $14.95

Where to buy:

www.merrithew.com