Customer Reviews

Hit the Spot - Pilates

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

If you only have 10-minutes to workout or you want to add a Pilates routine after walking or a cardio session, this Denise Austin DVD gives you 7 10-minute target workouts or you can select specific workouts and play them all at once. You can also choose to exercise for 30 minutes, either focusing on the Abs and Waist Line or Lower Body. There is also a 15-minute Pilates Challenge.

The intermediate pace makes this an invigorating workout routine and Denise's "double the workout in half the time" exercise are unique and creative. While this is mostly Pilates, there are a few Yoga poses. Denise Austin also takes familiar exercises and combines them or increases the challenge.

I am finding this DVD to be most useful as a customizable routine. This allows for more variety and that makes exercising more fun. The new Denise Austin DVDs are encouraging, vibrant and very enjoyable. The outdoor settings are healing and the exercises are creative.

~The Rebecca Review

Chances are you have heard the word "Pilates." If you don't know much about Pilates, the best way I can explain it is that it seems like a form of yoga mixed with body stretching and bending. Pilates is a total body work out.

Whether you are just getting started with Pilates or consider yourself an expert, Denise Austin-Hit The Spot Pilates is a very effective home Pilates exercise routine. The dvd includes two segments.

The Abs and Waist Line
This segment consists of three 10 minute work out routines. These techniques will help you define your abs, trim your waist and improve your posture.

The Lower Body: Hips, Thighs and Buttocks
This segment includes three 10 minute workouts, each zeroing in on each body section.

Overall, Pilates is a form of working out using your body. You don't need a lot of extra equipment. Despite appearing somewhat easy, if you have any physical problems you should probably check with your doctor before beginning a Pilates program. Several of the work outs include a lot of bending, stretching and squatting, so if you have bad knees be careful. Denise Austin Hit The Spot Pilates is a great way to start a Pilates workout program in the comfort of your home. This was my very first time doing a Pilates workout and I felt like this work out was very easy to understand.

Denise has tweaked the Pilates moves on this workout for the ultimate challenge to the deepest muscles in your core and lower body. During certain excruciating parts, I actually have to stop and recover before I can resume. But Denise keeps encouraging and motivating throughout, so I happily keep going. As a plus, the tropical setting is the loveliest I've ever seen on an exercise program and the music is pleasant-yet-lively.

Since this workout mainly emphasizes the core and lower body, I like to do it in between days where I do one of Denise's dvds that work out the upper body. The 7 chapters (3 levels of intensity for the abs, 3 for the legs/hips, and one full body challenge) can be arranged to play by the viewer's preference. I start with the 15-minute Pilates challenge (which really gets me going), followed by one 10-minute leg chapter and one 10-minute ab chapter. By arranging it this way, the dvd offers three different 35-minute workouts. It's a similar set-up to Denise's Personal Training dvd.

I saw Denise promoting this dvd and her new nutrition book on Larry King. She is a very articulate and intelligent person, and her sweet, bubbly enthusiasm seems to be completely sincere. Her workouts have really improved the quality of my life, and I plan on picking up her new book too.

These are seven 10-minute workouts that target "trouble areas"- waist, abs, thighs, hips, etc. You can do them all or you can select as many as you'd like. Each workout includes many movements taken directly from the traditional Pilates exercises, as well as some yoga movements and others that are a combination of both, or where you target different muscles at the same time. While the workouts are short and varied, and provide a welcome twist to the routine that can set in on regular Pilates mat exercisers, I got annoyed by Denise's overly protective, motherly style which distracted me from fully focusing on each exercise.

The workout includes 3 different sets which target the abdominal area, waist and laterals. Surprisingly no hundreds. (Hello, isn't that the most important Pilates exercise?). She includes the 'stomach series', boat pose, lots of T stands and variations of it, one legged downward dog pushing to one legged plank, side stretches, lots of side twists as well.

There are then 3 segments of 10 minutes each, targeting the hips, buns and thighs respectively. She covers practically every exercise included in the side leg mat series (if you are familiar with Pilates), T stands again, lots of inner and outer thigh work, as well as a standing Pilates series and lunges. A nice burner overall.

My complaints about this video:

1. While Denise sure knows her stuff and displays good form, she did make me wonder, is this a Pilates video or did I just pay to hear Denise's nonstop blabbing while she does Pilates at breakneck speed? I don't need to be reminded that "this exercise works the waist". I think I can get an idea of which area these exercises target once I do them, or at least she doesn't need to mention it 10 times. Or she often tells you how this exercise is her favorite (they all are!), or "how challenging this exercise is!". Is she trying to motivate you? I don't know. It takes away your attention from the exercise.

2. The workout is too fast with very few repetitions of each exercise. Yes, intermediate Pilates is faster, however, she could have added few exercises with more precision. She repeats some exercises in a couple of segments, which she could have avoided by adding more repetitions to each exercise.

To summarize:
If you are a beginner in Pilates:
There are other quality videos you could try before venturing to this one. I would recommend getting a Stott Pilates video before progressing to this one, which offer superb instruction. Denise makes occasional remarks about form but she moves too quickly from one exercise to the next so you may be better off with a Stott Pilates beginner's video or one of the Gaiam beginner's ones, that way you can learn proper form and breathing and then progress to this one.

If you have some Pilates experience:
Again, this will be a fun twist to your mat routine. You could add one lb ankle weights to the hip and thigh sections to add challenge. I do need to mention that there is music only option. You can listen to Denise the first time to get familiar with the routine and then try it with music only.
There are other great DVDs that present short sequences (10 to 15 min each) and with much more pleasant instructors. Check out 10 minute solution Rapid Results Pilates with Lara Hudson or The Method Target Specifics Plus. Both are greatly recommended. Karen Voight "Total Body Pilates" is an excellent routine as well.

This was a very nice production as far as the set, music, and variety of pilates exercises. However, IMO Denise Austin is a very poor instructor. She does not count so you know how many of each exercise you're doing, the flow was strange to me (for example, you'd be on your back doing ab exercises, then switch to your side, then on your back again)so there was a great deal of changing positions. Also, Denise often wouldn't tell you the name of the exercise you were doing until you had completed several reps. I prefer a more flowing routine like those taught in the Crunch Pilates series with Ellen Barrett, the 10 Minute Solution Pilates dvd with Lara Hudson, or any of the pilates workouts by Michelle Dozois. I guess I've realized I'm just not a fan of how Denise teaches, and will stick to Ellen Barrett, Lara Hudson, and Michelle Dozois for pilates. Good thing I got this from the library to preview rather than buying it!

I really like this dvd. I have been doing Winsor Pilates for about 2 years and decided to purchase this one. There are similar exercises like Mari Winsor has, but there are also a few new ones. Now I alternate the Winsor pilates DVD's with Denise Austin's DVD. That way, it might benefit using other muscles that I haven't been working.

There are 3 exercises for abs, and 1 for each of the following: hips, thighs, buttocks. In addition, there is a standing exercise. The exercises are all 10 minutes in length. I like this because I can just do 1 or 2 if I don't have much time. In addition, you can customize the workouts by picking the ones you want to do at the beginning of the tape.

This dvd is definitely worth the money.

I love this DVD because it makes you work, but in easily digestible 10-minute chunks. And because you can customize your workout you won't get bored. Plus, the short segments keep it from being discouraging. Instead of being unable to finish an hour long DVD and feeling frustrated, you can start with one complete mini workout and just slowly work your way up. It's also great for busy, busy people. Who doesn't have 10 or 15 minutes? I LOVE the 15-minute "Pilates Challenge" at the end. It gets your heart pumping just enough to be invigorating, not exhausting. I do it in the mornings to wake up! This is a good buy.

This is a better workout dvd than others she has done. It's actually well cued (for a change). There are three full ab routines and a hips, butt, thighs and full body series. You can watch these in any sequence. There is matwork and standing exercises and she's as bubbly as usuall (if not overly so). This has already produced some results with me and so I recommend this highly.

Denise is great; she is both motivating and positive. The DVD is broken down into diff. sections so you can work the body parts you want. I do the entire DVD takes about 1hr and 10 minutes. It is a great work out for those who are looking for a good workout without stressing the body. If you are a beginner and new to pilates, I highly recommend this DVD since you will not have a professional trainer watching over you to make sure you do the execerises with proper form. Denise tells you exactly what to do and gives you important pointers on how to perfect your poses, which is very imp. DO this tape 4-5 times and you'll get the moves and form down.

I will admit I am not usually a fan of Denise as her workouts are to easy and her delivery too chatty, but this one is a pleasant change - it is really good.
The exercises are well chosen and really hit where they should. Unlike Winsor pilates, Denise actually does enough reps so you can feel it working. There are 7 x 10 minute sections: a warm-up, 3 for abs/waist/back or 'the core' then hips, thighs, buns and the 15 minute 'challenge' which is a mix of all the exercises done while standing. This is great, really tests your balance and I do it twice as a great warm-up before I do weights.
The setting, sound/picture quality and menu are are fantastic - you can program any/all of the exercises in the order you like, you can even choose multiple plays of areas that need a little more work.
I hope Denise releases more workouts of this quality, so many of her dvds are gathering dust on my shelf - this one I really use on a regular basis.
This workout is for intermediates, if you are a beginner I would suggest you start with Rael 7 pilates as he is a fantastic instructor/teacher and you can safely learn the basics. If you want another great pilates workout try Rael's 17 and 27 too - superb quality.