Product Details

• Format: Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
• VHS Release Date: September 21, 2004
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (139 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0002J58MY
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #248,967 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

182 of 184 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My New Favorite Pilates-Inspired DVD, October 16, 2004

By 

J. Norton - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 10 Minute Solution: Pilates (DVD)

I'm a big fan of the short workouts, because I have a very demanding and irregular work schedule (long hours, lots of travel). As I get further away from my college years, I also find that there's more "trouble areas" developing on my body, so I prefer workouts that hone-in on specific body target zones. This DVD fits the bill. I enjoy the pilates-inspired workouts because they leave me feeling like I get a good workout without working too hard. The thing that makes this DVD so special is that it works my muscles even harder than previous pilates DVDs I've tried: the workouts give me that "good workout soreness" the next day, but do so without exhausting me so much that I can't bring myself to do it again after another long workday. I also like that in addition to focusing on my favorite trouble spots (abs, buns and thighs), this DVD has a 10-minute pilates sculpting workout (get out your light weights, everybody), a 10-minute cardio-toning pilates workout (get that heart rate up, everybody) and, my personal favorite, a 10-minute flexibility workout, which is relaxing--not strenuous--and is the perfect workout nightcap for any exercise routine (I truly mean that, it loosens all the muscles with a great, unique set of stretches). Another great benefit of having this DVD is that it allows you to build the number and order of the 10-minute workouts so that you can play as many or as few as you want, in whatever sequence you like.

To top it all off, Lara Hudson is a fantastic instructor. I didn't realize the importance of a good instructor until I found some folks that I didn't like (for example, Denise Austin's raspy voice gets on my nerves). Lara Hudson, on the other hand, is sweet, motivating, and explains the exercises with just the right amount of dialogue. She's also very attractive without being impossibly in-shape (so she's pleasant to look at and you can actually imagine yourself having a body like hers someday). The scenes are all in a well-lit studio with modern exercise music playing softly in the background. Overall, I have no complaints. The one word of caution I must say though is that I think these exercises are better suited for people who have prior pilates experience or who are at least moderately in-shape, because they are quite challenging and do not offer modifications on the movements. So for those of you who like short, challenging, effective pilates-inspired exercises with variety, a good instructor, and a pleasant ambience, I strongly recommend this DVD.

171 of 175 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars jackpot - this is the Pilates video for me., January 12, 2005

By 

Shannon B Davis "Nepenthe" (Arlington, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 10 Minute Solution: Pilates (DVD)

This is my second Pilates video, and it is by far the best I've tried. The 10-minute Solution DVDs offer 5 10-minute workouts. I really liked how this DVD was configured. You could choose to play all five, just one, or personalize your workout. Personalizing means you could put the workouts in any order and choose as many or as few as you liked. Not all exercise DVDs have such advanced features, and I felt it was worth noting.

One of the reasons I like Pilates is that it requires very little equipment. I do not even use a mat. Speaking as one, any business traveller could make good use of this DVD for exercise on the road.

This workout is fairly challenging, and I liked that. It wasn't so much that it tired me out. The challenging bit is that each exercise really made me feel "the burn". The instructor's excellent cues and the good use of videography allowed me to follow along easily. She offered many reminders of body positioning and what we should be doing, stretching limbs away from eachother, squeezing our stomach towards the spine, or breathing.

The music and set are non-distracting. The instructor is the only exerciser.

50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not for Pilates purists or beginners, August 21, 2007

By 

Reviewer (Anytown USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 10 Minute Solution: Pilates (DVD)

If you are completely new to Pilates and looking to learn the traditional matwork and at least some of the theory behind it, don't start here. This video will probably drive Pilates purists crazy. If learning matwork sequence correctly in a minimal amount of time is your goal, I would recommend Ana Caban's beginner and intermediate Pilates DVDs in conjunction with Brooke Siler's book "The Pilates Body".

Even though I realize this is a 10 minute solution format, and this whole next section is going to sound preachy, I would be remiss if I didn't point out that Pilates matwork was meant to be done in a specific sequence with an ultimate goal of perfecting each move and being able to flow through a workout smoothly and fluidly without stopping. The 10 minute approach flies in the face of that concept, chopping the routine up into several segments and mixing up the moves, with nothing in the way of theory and very little modification offered (I think the instructor offered only one or two modifications for exercises and did so verbally and in a fast enough way that if you weren't paying attention you'd have missed it, instead of physically demonstrating). Lara was the only exerciser in the DVD.

I am not sure whether doing the workout in this format will help you achieve that overall toned, sleek elongated look, but you should be able to tone up individual parts well enough unless you're already very fit - in which case this would probably be too lightweight of a workout for you.

One of the more significant problems with the DVD is failing to acknowledge and distinguish between levels of capability - specifically the limitations of a beginner - and this becomes a critical issue with the demonstration of The Teaser. For those unfamiliar, you may recall seeing this pose on various book and DVD covers, showing a woman sitting up in sort of a "V" shape - legs raised up off the mat with toes pointed straight out and arms extended straight out in front. Unless you're quite athletic and/or have a strong back with strong abdominals, DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT ATTEMPTING THIS AS YOU WILL LIKELY HURT YOURSELF.

Why? This is an advanced movement that a beginner should build up to with modified versions before attempting to plunge into the advanced form of the exercise. Personally it took me about one or two months to work up to this one. It's indicative of the progress you've made in Pilates work to be able to get up to this point. What's worse, she jumps right into the most advanced version by demonstrating the movement with hands over head, never once indicating that beginners should NOT attempt this straight off and should work up to the poses by starting out with a bent-leg version. This is the one point of the video that sorely need someone demonstrating beginner and intermediate poses.

For the above reasons - failing to distinguish between beginner, intermediate, and advanced exercises and generally forgetting to offer modifications, and also for throwing in at least one non-Pilates exercise like "cat and cow" (a yoga move, not Pilates) to confuse the uninitated as to what constitutes authentic Pilates and what does not, I will knock off two stars.

The only other thing I didn't like as far the exercises themselves was the way Lara threw her leg around too vigorously during leg raises, and she leaves off front/back of the side kick series altogether. Jerking your leg up down as she does might hurt your hip if you are inflexible, out of shape and trying to keep up with her.

Having said all of that, I do think this is fine for someone who already has a solid understanding of the Pilates method and just wants to mix things up, but doesn't plan on using this as their daily routine. The pros are - good production value, a very minimal set with non-intrusive music; a fine instructor who for the most part does a pretty nice job of demonstrating proper form throughout; and great flexibility for mixing and matching workouts as your schedule permits. It also offers an upper body sculpting segment using Pilates techniques with weights that other DVDs and books I've worked with typically leave out.