Customer Reviews

Karen Voight - Pilates - Abdominals & Back [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Are you looking for a video to strengthen the "powerhouse" area of your body? That area from which all movements should begin. Karen has designed this beautifully and as you zero in on your abdominals, you also focus on strengthening you back.

This is a 50-minute ALL-floor workout. You alternate between abdominal sculpting and simple back-strengthening and stretching moves to create a more balance and stable center. Karen combines the teachings of Joseph Pilates, yoga, and ballet with her own body-sculpting techniques.

"Imagine your body, no matter its shape, having the posture, lightness and elegance of a dancer." ~Karen Voight

This will help you create a more stable center. You will find yourself sitting up taller and this particular video left me lying on the floor watching the second half because after you finish this workout, you know you have worked out.

There is a small bonus section which shows how you can incorporate the Resist-a-Ring into your workout. I didn't find that part of the video that appealing as there was no music and you would have to remember how to do all the moves. It might be useful for those who are very experienced with the moves Karen has developed. I would have rather seen them incorporated into the video in a more organized fashion.

For this video you will only need a yoga mat and a towel. This helps to give you enough padding if you are working on a carpeted surface. Karen does sell a body reform mat if you are working out on a hard floor.

If you love this video, you will also enjoy Core Essentials and Total Body Training. They are all great fun and really motivate you with a great combination of creativity and enjoyable music.

I feel completely relaxed after doing any of the Body Reform videos. They have a wonderful balancing effect on my emotions and my mind seems to be free of distraction. As if the cares of the world just drift away with Karen's magical calming voice.

You will just love some of these moves if you work on the computer all day. It is amazing how tight your shoulders and chest can become. This workout will open out your chest and stretch that tired back.

Definitely Intermediate in some exercises, but mostly this is for anyone. There is one move, you might want to consider skipping. It is the one where you are raising your back off the floor and you then raise one leg up into the air. It is tricky, tricky. I would not recommend it for anyone who is not practicing yoga on a regular basis!

Get ready for some tummy torture! This girl knows how to get you motivated. Just looking at her body makes me wish I had her motivation! She is just amazing. I can't wait for more Karen Videos. I want them ALL! And I am dying for her to make a really long and wonderfully relaxing stretch video. The one I have is good, but I would love to see her do a really creative outdoor video with tons of stretching. Something that would just help you drift away.

If you enjoy this video, look for The Method Videos. They have
similar movements and are a bit more advanced and intense.

This tape is 43 minutes long. It starts with an 8 minute stretch, goes on to 30 minutes of pilates like ab work, and ends in a relaxing and thourough 5 minute stretch. As always, Voight's instruction is clear and friendly without being TOO friendly, if you know what I mean. I consider it an intermediate level tape although I still do it and I have been doing pilates for years because I just like Karen. You will gain core strength and flexibilty from this tape and it leaves you feeling nice and refreshed! You can't go wrong.

Reviewer: Carol A. Bletz from Chicago, IL USA
I recently purchased this video along with Karen's Core Essentials. I have tried them both. I found the instructions and moves easy to follow, but as a 55 year old women who works out an hour almost everyday - aerobics and strength training, I found these two tapes to be almost too easy. I used the abs and back tape this AM and felt stretched afterward but sort of guilty - like I didn't work out. These would be good for relieving stress as an end of the day workout - like yoga. I have quite a few of The Firm tapes, Cardio Split, Super Cardio, Super Sculpting, Cardio Burn, all the "Tough" tapes and several of the "Total Body" tapes, which incorporate a lot of toning and pilates like core strengthening and I feel they do more for me when I only have an hour or so a day to devote to a workout. The Firm tapes are good because as you improve you can add heavier weights, ankle weights and increase the challenge.
This tape would be good to develop smooth control on a lot of moves and help people who need back and ab strengthening and beginning toning as well as loosening up tight muscles, but for a person who regularly works out I'm sure they will find them "whimpy".

This is a good workout if you are looking to focus on your back and abs. As someone who works out regularly, I would not choose this as my everyday routine. It is a good addition to help add variety to your workouts. I have back problems due to an accident and I find that if I don't use this on a regular basis, I can detect a decline in my overall back strength. This is one of my favorite workouts but that is largely due to the fact that I specifically have to target train my back and abs.

I find lots of workout videos to be lacking in the music area. The music is pretty decent in this video.

Karen is one of my favorites because she is not too annoyingly chipper.

First of all, I want to note that although this workout is now being advertised as "Pilates: Abdominals & Back," it was originally packaged under the name "Body Reform: Abdominals & Back." This 44-minute, all-floor routine is a blend of Pilates, yoga, and traditional abs and back work. You'll find some classic Pilates moves such as the hundred and single leg circles, but many of the exercises are done with a twist--eg, modified corkscrew and modified teasers. Similarly, instructor Karen Voight incoporates movement into traditionally static yoga poses such as bridge and boat pose, and finally, she includes crunches and back work. The result is a smooth, flowing routine that will leave your entire body feeling thoroughly stretched and relaxed.

Although this workout is somewhat similar to the abs portion of Karen's Streamline Fitness video, it is more relaxing and less intense. However, during the last 8 minutes of the tape, Karen offers suggestions on how to incorporate her resist-a-ring (or other Pilates/fitness circle) into the routine, which would definitely make it a more challenging workout. Karen is a great instructor who is warm and friendly while still providing excellent cuing and precise instructions on allignment. She works with an assistant who displays more advanced versions of the exercises for those wanting a greater challenge. I use this video frequently, and I highly recommend it to others of all fitness levels.

This video is not for the Pilates purist. This is for someone who wants to thoroughly strengthen and stretch through the torso. Unlike more traditional intermediate Pilates workouts, this is not a total body workout. Your legs and arms get some stretch, but not a lot by way of strength.

Having said that, Voight leads a challenging but relaxing workout. From Pilates matwork, she includes the Hundred, Roll Up (and Roll Down) variations, Single Leg Circles, Single Leg Pulls, a variation on the Double Leg Pull, the Spine Stretch forward, a variation on the Corkscrew, a variation on the Teaser, and the Seal. She also includes from yoga modified incline planks, cobra and locust as well as side twists. And of course, a couple of calisthenic crunches and reverse crunches.

Her sequencing works well. Before you can feel assaulted by a strenuous exercise, she stretches out the muscles you just worked and/or works an opposing muscle. Though she changes the order of the exercises, this is in keeping with most modern Pilates classes.

My biggest quibble is Karen's form on the Seal. As she rolls all the way back on her head, she tells you not to let your head touch the mat. She also looks like she's using a little bit more momentum than she should. Minor quibble since she does a very good job on the rest of the movements.

I know many find the stretching at the beginning and the end extensive, but I loved it, particularly the side stretches, which a lot of traditional ab workouts don't touch.

Pure Pilates? No. Effective and soothing core training? Yes.

-- Karen Voight is a great teacher and very easy to watch, with no annoying mannerisms or giddy "motivational" behavior. This 50-minute routine is well balanced between abs and back.
-- Karen and her assistant show different levels of difficulty.
-- The only equipment you need is a mat, although there is a section at the end that shows how to incorporate a "resist-a-ring" into the workout.
-- No single workout is going to work the abs in all the ways they should work, so it helps to rotate this tape with other types of abdominal workouts. I especially like Tamilee Webb's "I Want Those Abs," Karen Voight's "Greated Weighted Workout" (which works the whole body and has an excellent abdominal section), "Callanetics," "Your Best Body -- Abs & More" with Keli Roberts, and kickboxing.

I found this workout to be relatively easy but still enjoyable and relaxing. I did feel as though I had worked out especially in my back which I could feel the next day. That's probably because I don't work my back very often. A few of the moves are also featured to those in The Method - Pilates Precision Toning. These are the only 2 pilate tapes that I own and find them to be somewhat similar.

I found this workout to be relatively easy but still enjoyable and relaxing. I did feel as though I had worked out especially in my back which I could feel the next day. That's probably because I don't work my back very often. A few of the moves are also featured to those in The Method - Pilates Precision Toning. These are the only 2 pilate tapes that I own and find them to be somewhat similar.

This is a great tape for focusing on abs and back. I use it to supplement other pilates exercises but I use this tape alot by itself too. This 40 minute or so tape is great to start and followed up with a leg or arm weight segment for a total of one hour. I've used this tape for 6 months about 4x/wk and feel that it has helped me make more progress in pilates than otherwise I would have. I prefer workouts for flexibility and strength (rather than cardio)and this tape fits right in. My only beef is her demonstration of the Seal, where she rocks too far back (and forth) without first instructing you not to touch your head (which could endanger your neck)or feet. Karen is encouraging and offers easier and harder alternatives throughout the workout. I like that she periodically stretches different muscles out before and after certain exercises throughout the workout.