Customer Reviews

Jennifer Gianni's Fusion Pilates for Pregnancy

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This DVD is the only pregnancy exercise program that I ordered and I love it. It is almost an hour long, but it goes quickly and targets every single part of the body with toning and stretching. If I don't have an hour, I can do part of the DVD and still feel like I got some quality exercise. It is excellent for flexibility and circulation. Someone said that they were disappointed that there are no stomach exercises, but you spend the whole time contracting your pelvic muscles which targets the very muscles that need to be strengthened. The only thing I add is gentle squats because the leg toning is limited. I have and will continue to recommend this DVD.

I found out about this video in FitPregnancy Mag which said that it was one of the best workouts for pregnancy. I couldn't agree more. This is by far the best video for pregnancy I've found- and unfortunately-I've tried a few before I found this one. So many of them that I've tried are too strenuous to be safe. As far as I'm concerned, pregnancy is a time to maintain your health, body and your mental state, not a time to go crazy trying to get into shape. This video seems to target the areas that have effected me since I became pregnant. I'm in my 3rd trimester now, and the biggest problem throughout has been my back. Doing this workout has literally cured my back pain. It's the mixture of the stretching and the toning has really gone a long way for me. Not to mention, this video totally mellows me out... It's so relaxing and Jennifer is so gentle with her instructions. The workout itself is a little longer than most, about 50 minutes, but that includes about 10 minutes of relaxation at the end which I sometimes skip- although I have to say, when I have the time to do the entire video from start to finish, I feel amazing for the rest of the day. I highly recommend this video.

I was excited to see another pilates exercise tape on the market since the other ones got such bad reviews. But this one seems like it must be as bad. First of all it is excrutiatingly boring. The instructor is boring and the exercises are boring. It seems to take forever for the instructor to tell us about the exercise, then she can't even figure out her left from her right. Yikes. I too am a mother of one with one on the way so I have to do my exercises right before bed, I don't have a lot of time to waste. It's too bad that I wasted my money because I dread doing this tape, but make myself do it since I paid for it.

The other tape I use - and love - is the Perfect Pregnancy Workout. Look for it, use, love it! Don't bother with Leisa Hart's fit mama, that is horrible too.

Happy working out!

As an avid pilates person, I bought this video to keep doing some of it during my pregnancy. This video is LONG, and it incorporates a lot of yoga-like moves (slow and deliberate). The stretches are wonderful and I feel very good after doing it. It is just time consuming (57 minutes) and forced me to rearrange my workout schedule just to get this in once per week. You can see how some of these moves will definitely help with the birth and recovery. This video does focus on the whole body and is easy to follow. Gianni is so pleasant I almost feel bad about complaining about the lenght of time it takes. All in all, a thorough full body workout that leaves you feeling energized and relaxed.

This is the second pregnancy dvd that I've ordered, and it is by far the best. If you're looking for an aerobic workout, you won't get one here. What you will get is a yoga, pilates, mild weight session that really helps to stretch and strengthen muscles and feel more in tune with your body. I found it helpful to have 3 models to follow, one doing more strenuous stretches for the 1st and 2nd trimester folks and the other two doing modifications of the same stretches for 3rd trimester. I have personally found yoga to be boring, but this tape moves quickly enough to keep my interest and incoporate pilates moves to make it go quickly and be relaxing at the same time. Of course, you will need to "invest" in some equipment to get the most from the workout; you'll need a stool or chair, 2 2lb. weights, a small ball, and a pole about 4 ft. high for some of the stretches. Sometimes I find that I really need to watch the screen to follow Jennifer Gianni's instructions. Unfortunately, she does not mirror what you are doing (she says, "stretch to the right" and she does, but it looks as though she's stretching to the left from my perspective), but I believe that in time I'll get used to the workout and won't have to depend so much on visual prompts. Overall, I am happy that I spent the money on this dvd. I will probably keep on watching after my delivery. This exercise, combined with a brisk daily walk and some other areobic activities make me feel as though I'll be ready when it's time for labor!

Wow. What a great workout. It's so nice to have the person on the screen actually BE PREGNANT. This workout puts safety first, but it's still energizing and strenuous. The greatest part is that the main lead does all of the modifications for her trimester, but there are two others who do modifications for the other two trimesters. So you don't have to watch a certain section for your workout- it's all right there.

I feel energized and RELAXED after this workout. It's also helped tremendously with my back pain. I highly recommend this video to anyone who is serious about staying in shape and being SAFE during their pregnancy.

This is the best pregnancy workout I've tried yet. So many of them have you working on your back or doing other things that are dangerous for moms to be. The main instructor is great and the video is easy to follow and very soothing.
The other thing that's great about this one is that the modifications for different trimesters are done by the three instructors throughout the video- so you can use it from the moment you find out you're pregnant until delivery- and you don't have to fast forward to the trimester your in- it's all right there throughout.
I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a great workout that's SAFE!

What I thought most inadequate about this tape is the lack of stomach and pelvic exercise. Arms, shoulders, and legs got a good stretch, but the part i wanted the most--exerciswe to strengthen the lower back, hips, and stomach muscle--was miniscule. Also, like many other reviewers, I found the presentation unhelpful and rather irritating; she enunciates extremely slowly, as if pregnant women need more time to understand instructions. Unlike experienced instructors, she is unable to give enough verbal cues so that the class could perform the exercises *just* by listening to her. You need to constantly look up to see what she's doing becuase she'll be in a move that she hasn't mentioned yet. A very disappointing tape.

This is my 2nd pregnancy. The first fusion tape I got was the post pregnancy which is an informative and challenging tape. It really helped me get my body back from my 1st pregnancy and prepare for my 2nd pregnancy.
The fusion pre-nantal tape is right on target. You know the instructor is an informed and excellent teacher just by looking at the different programs she has for each tape. She understands what a prenatal exercise routine should involve. I ordered 2 other pre-natal tapes that except for a few modifications , are just like regular routines. These other workouts don't take into consideration your heart rate if your doing cardio, over stretching, movements that are too fast and jarring, No mention of the importance of balance, pelvic floor, breathing or the transverse. This preg workout covers it all. It's also all at a nice, relaxing pace. You pace yourself because of how the tape is organized. There is a challenging, strength building exercise and then a stretch sequence. You feel worked, relaxed and great after the tape.

Before pregnancy, I did yoga regularly, but I had never done pilates, so I can't compare this video to other pilates options, prenatal or otherwise. I can say that I feel good after a session with this video - more flexible, relaxed. My back, in particular, seems to benefit. The exercises are varied, with some yoga, some pilates, some light weights (upper body only), and stretches. It is good to know in advance that some "props" are used in the video - a stool, a wooden dowel (I use a mop handle), 2-pound weights, and a yoga mat if you like to use one. They also recommend a ball and a blanket, but I don't find those necessary. Easy to use with the sound off once you have been through the routine a few times. The modifications for 1st and 2nd vs. 3rd trimester seem appropriate, and all are shown simulatenously, so no need to skip around to find your trimester. I watched the intro and "Kegel" exercise portion only once, and skip the relaxation segment at the end, so a session now takes about 50 minutes. The instruction is generally clear, and it is nice to see a real, healthy- and happy-looking pregnant (3rd trimester) woman leading the video. If you are looking for a pregnancy workout video that is very aerobic/high intensity, you might look elsewhere, but for stretching, strengthening, flexibility, relaxation, and overall feeling good, this one is helpful.