Workout videos still around, New York Times reports

The Style section of the country's newspaper of record has bestowed its trend-spotting wand on what this here blog is all about: at-home fitness videos. But! They're not talking about ye olde workout videos from the likes of Jack LaLanne, no no. They're talking about new offerings such as the "Lord of the Abs" series pictured above, bowel-dropper P90X and an old favorite here at World of Sass, Hemalayaa's Bollywood series. Some interesting tidbits from the piece:

During the recession, the fitness DVD industry has thrived as consumers opted for $15 videos instead of gym memberships, according to the research firm IbisWorld, which says that fitness DVD production revenue jumped 12.6 percent in 2012, to $264.5 million.

The article also touches on the increasing trend of celebrity-driven videos, ranging from Kelly Rowland's ab workout to Tracy Anderon's ever-expanding empire. Also, there's the still-emerging trend of on-demand fitness videos online:

Industry executives are also beginning to offer live-streaming and on-demand subscription services. Bill Sondheim, president of Gaiam, one of the largest domestic producers and distributors of fitness DVDs, which is based in Louisville, Colo., last year introduced GaiamTV, costing $9.95 a month for unlimited access to more than 500 fitness videos.

The most popular genre, according to the article? Yoga. Funny, because that's the one genre of personal fitness I think can't effectively be substituted with a video -- except, like, running. Duh.

To read the full article, click here.