Customer Reviews

Denise Austin: Mat Workout Based on the Work of J.H. Pilates

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(54)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

I am not a fan of Denise Austin, too perky, not great technique, but she changed my opinion on this! This a great Pilates workout technique and cuing is great. Both workouts are about 20 minutes which is great to incorparate with other workouts or use alone when time is limited. Workout 1 is all pilates and your abs will feel strong and flat after about 3 sessions. Workout 2 combines yoga and pilates and it is tough! This provides even more toning and opens your hips and just makes you feel lean and graceful. For years I've had lower back problems, yoga and pilates have provided me tremendous relief. If you're looking for a do-able pilates tape this is it.

This 42 minute video begins with a brief introduction which follows with 2 pilates toning sessions. The first one is 22 minutes long and features some of the well know Pilates stretches as THE HUNDRED and LEG CURLS, etc. The second session is tough with pilates/yoga based toning..you will feel it!

This is a great addition for home exercisers, goes well with her recent book, "LOSING THOSE LAST 10 LBS." and for those who haven't seen/read this book, Denise suggests 2 pilates/yoga

toning days a week. If you have seen Denise in the past and/or present you will see that she has achieved a leaner look using this toning style.

Denise is her usually CHEERLEADER self, but i like her toning style, and it has seemed to work for her.

I like the 2 short segments you can do l or both. Toning is what she does best, in my opinion and she shines in this one!

The first time I did this video I did both workouts back to back and was very disappointed. I thought it was not very challenging at all. Then the next morning, I felt it in my abs and even my legs. It is especially effective for the lower abs. I do abs five days a week and I felt it for the whole next day. I've been using this video for about three weeks now, doing both workouts two days a week and I think it is definitely slimming out my legs, which were getting too lumpy from weights. But the real beauty of this workout is the ab benefit.

Denise Austin is her usual cheery self, but taken down a little. The video workout is great. The first workout is an effective pilates style workout, you will notice a difference in your abs the first week. The second workout is very challenging, and uses pilates and Yoga movements. A great addition to any fitness routine. And a do-able intro. to Pilates.

I just purchased this video. I really liked part 1 which is only pilates (part 2 combines both yoga and pilates). Part 1 has a good pace which allows you enough time to complete the exercises. Part 2, however, seems to speed through the exercises a little bit too fast for my taste. I own several yoga videos which are strictly yoga and I enjoy them better. However, I cannot stress enough how much I like Part 1. She did a great job and I really, really can feel the ab workout that it provides! Again, however, she includes a lengthy introduction before she gets into part 1 of the tape--it would have been much better to put it at the end because you are left fast forwarding it everytime. Overall, I would recommend this video to my friends. Parts 1 and 2 make a great workout and really strengthen and tone your abs.

I have to admit I'm a fitness beginner but the whole Pilates thing was extremely interesting to me. So I thought I'd try a video. First I got the All-In-One Workout by the Method because I thought it seemed like a good mix. Boy, was a wrong. Maybe it was a good video to some but not for a beginner like me! Especially when I was expecting more of the Pilates workout. I bought Denise Austin's tape afterwards and I love it! She gives a great (and short) presentation at the beginning on the basics of the workout and you start. I've only had the tape about a month or so and I've yet to actually try the second workout. The first is just challenging enough to keep me motivated and excited without making me feel like an inadequte moron. And the benefits... I've already noticed a improvement in my posture and abs. I've really been pretty bad about getting down to exercising. If I manage it twice a week I'm amazed! But as soon as I pop this tape in I realize what I've been missing. For a great introduction to a Pilates/Yoga based workout this is an amazing start and I recommend it to anyone who finds Joseph Pilates work and theories interesting.

I don't agree with other reviewers that this is a beginner video. The second workout has some advanced yoga poses with little instruction. The Pilates workout also contains some advanced Pilates exercises. Denise is calmer in this video than other videos. The production quality is also very nice. A great introduction to Pilates on video is Stott's Essential Matwork and Lynne Robinson's Body Control. Even better take a class and then try the videos at home.

First off, Pilates is more for toning up than losing lots of weight. I'm 24 but this video is good for any age. It gets you a flexible body as well as a very toned body. I use this and bike a bit and that's all I need. If Denise bothers you, just mute it (though she is pretty subdued in this one). Personally, I think she is pleasant enough that I watch her 5 out of 7 days and if I do mute the TV its just so I can listen to my own music. I also have Jennifer Kries and she is obviously more hard core, but somehow I just opt for Denise much more often. Do this video a few times a week and you will come to love it just for keeping you sleek. The best thing about it is you will be firm all over without fear of bulking up. This was key. But I guess that's more about Pilates than about this particular video. Still, I've tried several Pilates videos over the last year and a half and I ALWAYS go back to *this* one (its better than her most recent one BTW). I recommend doing both workout segments though (20 min. each). One is not enough.

When I bought this tape I was looking for something that would be a break from videos with girls frantically hopping around, desperately trying to burn every calorie they could. The first time I did it I was impressed; the cuing on this video is the best I have ever seen in an exercise video. I usually give up after a few tries with normal videos because I just can't master the complex moves. This workout is more sedate, but very challenging. Even someone, who like myself is not in great shape, can benefit immensely from this well-planned, and not-too-long video. It grows with you; Denise shows beginners modifications they can do to get the same benefits from the exercises. After doing a few times, I feel more flexible, I have more energy to do my other workouts, my posture is better, and my appetite has actually gone down. Yes, Denise is slightly goofy in a kindergarten teacher sort of way, but it's great for those of us who want a rigorous workout without feeling like we've been left in the dust by Amazonian instructors executing complicated moves that are oftentimes not suited for beginners at all. Denise seems to me to be a real person in great shape who makes you believe that you too will improve your health. My advice is, is you have an inclination to buy his video, do so. If you are in really great shape, you might consider just doing both workouts on the video back to back.

I have purchased a few of Denise's videos in the past and they all were just so-so. This however, is wonderful. Her calm soothing (yes, it is Denise) voice and great instruction are a plus. I give this four stars due to the fact that the second session is a little hard on the wrists. Thanks to this video, after 3 weeks of doing it 5 days a week, I have lost 12 pounds and my abs, legs, arms and buttocks are much firmer and toned. I love the way I feel after completing the short 20 minute workouts and the results speak for themselves! I reccommend this video to anyone who is just starting to practice Yoga and/or Pilates, and also for those who are advanced. (She offers more challenging variations of the moves throughout the sessions.)