Hi again, Llgreen (I think)! Couple more tidbits we need from you:
What is your time availability per week? You sound like you have a very busy schedule, and it may come to pass that you need to "invent" an hour a day 5-6 days a week. Please list what your work hours and class hours are so that we can help you find that window of time each day.
Given your schedule, and given the fact that you need a good beginning, I stand by my suggestions to start with Cathe's Cross Train Express (CTX) series and her Timesaver DVD from the Body Blast series.
Cross-Train Express is a 6-workout series, five workouts of which include a 30-35-minute cardio component (among modes such as step, hi/lo, step-kickbox, traditional kickbox and leg-circuit cardio), an upper-body muscle conditioning component that focuses on one muscle group each workout (i.e. chest, back, etc.), and four of the six workouts include an ab or ab/core conditioning workout. The sixth workout, "Leaner Legs" is dedicated to leg strengthening with barbell and dumbbells, and includes one of the ab segments (btw, one of the best traditional ab sequences on the market). These workouts are spread out among 2 DVDs, and one of the DVD's pulls together all of the upper body segments into an "Upper Body Split" premix, and also pulls together all of the ab/core routines into an "All Abs" premix. What's really great about this series, in addition to the high-quality organization of the workouts themselves, is that it takes the guesswork out of scheduling: just do one workout each day, and On The Seventh Day You Rest. If you don't have time for an hour each day you can just scoot with your remote to the next chapter, doing what you can in the time available.
The Timesaver DVD is a 5-workout disc that Cathe fashioned from footage from the other workouts that were produced as stand-alone workouts from the Body Blast series. These workouts too include cardio components and targeted muscle conditioning, so that by the end of the 5-workout week you've banged all the muscle groups and gotten your cardio in as well.
I think that if you got CTX AND Timesaver, and just scheduled yourself to do CTX one week, Timesaver the next, then CTX then Timesaver, you'd be off to a great start, and you would then be able to decide better what your next purchases are. The fun factor of Cathe's workouts totally amplify their effectiveness because they become activities you look forward to for their own sake, as well as for their health-enhancing benefits.
That's my Point-Oh-Two - for now. Do let us know what your thoughts are on this. The key to succeeding at any fitness program is consistency. Understand too that regardless of when you do your workouts you might not be at your peak energy-wise; it is exercise that energizes you. It's okay to feel tired when you begin the workout; if it's a good workout that challenges you without killing you, you'll feel pumped at the end.
HTH - and welcome aboard!
A-Jock
(couldn't believe that she has given birth to two boys-she looks fabulous 