Customer Reviews

10 Minute Solution: Slim and Sculpt Pilates-with Pilates Band

5 star:		(73)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is hands-down one of the best Pilates DVDs I have ever tried and exactly what I'd been looking for. I like the 10 Minute Solution series in general and have both Pilates DVDs by Lara Hudson. However, I feel that "10 Minute Solution: Slim & Sculpt" Pilates lead by instructor, Suzanne Bowen (who gives excellent demonstration by the way) far outshines both of Lara's for several reasons. For one, her movements are overall safer and much simpler, generally sticking to more traditional Pilates routines - and it's far more effective. I definitely felt this working my entire body by incorporating the use of the Pilates resistance band, which offers a very similar effect to Pilates machines. The workout is divided into five 10 minute segments - each for the upper body, lower body, abdominals, a total body routine, and a stretch - which can effectively be combined or done separately. This is also one of the few Pilates DVDs on the market that is on the higher end challenge-wise, that is equally fun to do! I can tell I'll be using this one a lot. Highly recommended!

Rating: Excellent

This is another winner for the 10 Minute Solutions series and another wonderful pilates addition. I cannot say how much I love the 10 Minute series, which allows me to workout for as little or as long as my schedule allows, plus provides effective workouts and this one is no different! I loved the other pilates dvds in this series, but this one is unique in that you use a resistance band with it, which I love. It gives an added "umph" to get toned even quicker with the band. The moves are very effective and unique. The instructor, Suzanne Bowen, gives wonderful cuing, very helpful in describing the moves before they are done and gives good modifications when possible. She is easy to follow and listen to. The different workouts, each targeted to a different area of the body and then a stretching segment, really are fun and get the job of toning and slimming the body done! I am very excited to have added this to my collection!

As always, you get five different 10 minute segments here and a 6 foot resistance band. I like the fact that you can do either 10 minutes only, or close to an hour if you put them all together. Everyone can do at least 10 minutes and then before you know it, you could be at the end and have done 50 minutes.
In each of the segments, you work specific body parts like lower body and upper, total body, abs and a stretch. You can do these in any order you like and that keeps it interesting and fresh. With the band, you can hold it in different positions to give yourself more of a challenge (like making it shorter to up the resistance).
Suzanne Bowen is a good instructor and she is friendly and cues really well. This workout is fun and easy enough to do and I especially love the stretch. I like doing this whole workout in different orders each time (keeping the stretch till the end though) to not let myself get bored. I'm really enjoying this (I got it at another online source) and always look forward to new workouts from them.

This is actually one of the better videos I've found. I have a lot of exercise videos to compare it to, including many on yoga and pilates, and I really like this one a lot. The workout is direct and clear. Suzanne demonstrates, sets it up, often notes easier alternatives, and then does the workout with you. No fancy production and music, no annoying chitter chatter, but that's a good thing. There's an introduction segment, but you can skip that and then the five separate exercise sections just get down to business. The exercises flow rather fast, so it's best to watch everything first to familiarize yourself with the positions. It may seem too fast at first, but you will appreciate the speed later on when you know the routines and just want to do them as efficiently as possible. I really like the flow of things within each segment.

I hadn't used bands before (a band comes with the video) and had thought they were probably not very useful, but after using the band I've come to think it's a very good tool for pilates. The band doesn't really take the place of Pilates equipment, nor does it replace weights etc. The band with this video doesn't provide a lot of actual resistance (I suspect it's a "light" weight band, although nothing defines what level it is). The degree of resistance it provides seems to help you stay in the proper position and you can thus focus on the movements rather than getting distracted by holding yourself in a particular pose. This seems to make things easier on your neck and lower back, for example.

I like the organization: five 10-minute segments, divided into body parts such as lower body, upper body, abs, etc. For one thing, you know going into a segment exactly what is being targeted. You can do as many of the segments as you want at any particular time, and if limited by time to just one or two, you can easily choose which body areas you want to do that day. I like that particular feature since I often like to work on certain areas more than others so I like being able to find the appropriate section quickly. Suzanne is very pleasant to watch and her explanations and cues are very clear. She has a good clear voice and a nice manner overall.

At first glance this video could look deceptively simple (especially if you just judge it by watching it rather than doing it!). Some of the exercises LOOKED quite simple but on doing them, I realized they were not simple at all when you got beyond the first few reps and they most definitely were working the targeted muscles. And any of these routines could actually be made harder by just doing more reps. This would be true even for someone who is a more experienced exerciser, which I consider myself to be. This DVD was NOT too easy. And I don't feel it would be too hard for beginning exercisers. Easier modifications for certain exercises are included for those who need them in the beginning.

A previous reviewer noted a lack of Pilates principles, and that is true. This seems more like an exercise video which uses Pilates exercises but it isn't strongly teaching you Pilates per se. If you want true Pilates, you'd probably want one of the very serious Pilates videos such as the Rael, Winsor or Caban series, all of which seriously lay the Pilates system all out, both by philosophy, form, breathing, etc.

My only suggestion would be that somewhere they include information about what level band was included and how one can progress in band stiffness or if that is even needed or desired.

Suzanne is a great instructor. She cues well and makes very clear about how you should breathe. This DVD includes 5 segments: Pilates for upper body, lower body, abs, total body and flexibility. I love ALL of these segments because they are doable, yet VERY effective. With the help of the pilates band, I definitely feel the burn in the first 4 parts and have a very comfortable stretch at the end. What scary is it's addictive! The "10 minutes" is a trick! Because once I finished one segment, I want to do another! So I end up just pushing the "play all" button when I have the time. Highly recommend!

Each 10 minute section had classic pilates exercises in a nice, flowing routine. In the abs section you'll do the roll up, hundred and single and double leg stretch. The resistance band not only provides an added challenge, it also helps you to maintain good form. In the lower body section there are leg raises done lying on your back, on your side and in reverse plank. I was surprised at how effective the upper body section was. You cover all areas - biceps, triceps, chest, back and shoulders in a nice, sculpting series. I liked that the total body section was challenging without being impossible. Suzanne's good form and great cuing make this workout easy to follow.

Maybe it's the novelty of the resistance band, but this DVD is both challenging and fun. The resistance definitely enhances the pilates moves you might be familiar with from mat classes or DVDs. I also really like that you get an upper body workout not just in the "upper body" segment of the DVD, but during many of the exercises. You can vary the resistance level by adjusting your grip on the band. Suzanne Bowen is cheery without being irritating (also a plus!). She got on my good side by avoiding use of the word "buns" during the lower body segment.

The nice thing about these 10 Minute Solution workouts is that if you just press "Play All" it's most likely that you'll blink and find you've just done all 5 segments. This is a nice routine; and it comes with the resistance band.

I am new to pilates and I find this DVD is easy to follow and yet challenging. I have not made it through the entire 50 minutes but it is getting easier. I also lke it because you can set up your own routine in whatever order you choose. Some reviewers have mentioned that the band is cheap but I think it works well for this application. The instructor in pleasant and encouraging.

These ten minute modules of exercise are great! It's a perfect way to get yourself to exercise, because everyone thinks, "I can do just ten minutes." But once you start, and see how fun and valuable the exercise is, you decide to do more, and before you know it, you've done all five of the ten minute modules and you feel great! Excellent product!

I am old (46) and hadn't worked out much so I was looking for something easy to help me get some shape back. I bought this DVD for a very low price and it even came with 2 stretchy bands which impressed me immediately. Then I decided to try the option that would take me through all the 10 minutes segments. I was able to keep up with most of it right off the bat! Sometimes it was relaxing. Sometimes it was very difficult. It seemed to work all of my muscles and even my balance. The 10 minute segments is helpful psychology to keep you going, I think. Everytime you complete one of them you feel accomplished. Suzanne tells you "Good job."

At my work we have a gym. There was a class that was canceled and some other women were just stretching. I told them - hey I have this Pilates DVD... So I popped it into the DVD player and they loved it! And they are in better shape than me. So now we have our own class and everytime women try it they love it. The experienced ones say it is "relaxing" but they also say they sweat. It is the kind of thing you don't have to be all psyched up to do.