Customer Reviews

The Method Pilates - All in One Workout

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

In-between whipping up magic in the kitchen (cooking), keeping your life organized (cleaning, errands), securing a paycheck (work), and making everyone happy (family responsibilities), it may sometimes feel like you are much less than an exercise goddess. After all, who has 90 minutes to exercise?

My solution has been to make time to escape to the workout room. I've found that I can get more done because of the increase in energy. So, technically, I don't have time "not" to exercise.

Once I start the "All in One" workout, I know I am going to feel like a goddess, move like a dancer and feel like I really did work every muscle group in my entire body.

The precise movements in this video do take time to master, yet are fun and creative. With three instructors and constantly changing exercises, you will never be bored. You will in fact experience a new dimension in total physical conditioning. A combination of yoga, T'AI Chi, classical and aerobic dance, and exercises inspired by Joseph Pilates will encourage the integration of the entire body.

You will also find yourself feeling more balanced. Of all the workout videos I have tried, this one excels in developing balance. Improving strength, endurance, suppleness and flexibility are also included in the game plan.

There are three sections or if you add "lengthening," there are four sections.

1. Warm-Up Conditioning is an innovative variety of dance-based movements to firm every major muscle group. This is one of my favorite segments and is 15 minutes.

2. Aerobic Cross-Training (30 minutes) warms your body to fat burning intensity. You alternate between aerobic dance and weight exercises which are not overly challenging, but seem to work well.

3. Centering Makeover (35 minutes) helps you to become more aware of your body's center of energy, balance and strength. It encourages good posture, balance and poise. The anti-gravity techniques help to defy aging.

4. Lengthening (10 minutes) is a cool-down segment, which is reminiscent of yoga. I would have enjoyed another 10 minutes in this section if it had included more yoga stretching. At this point, I was not going anywhere and was flat on the floor anyway! This is a tough workout, but you will love the challenge.

Overall, you will enjoy the variety. The dance segments evoke a "from the beginning of the earth" tribal feel (drums alternate with a more Jazzy track) and make you feel centered. The footwork is challenging at first.

If you keep your feet moving you can work your way past the more complex routines which are not that complex on your third use of this video. They are actually quite fun and the dance is alternated with weights so you get a break from the dance segment to catch your breath. The dance steps do demand your full attention.

I rate this an intermediate to advanced workout. If you have been walking on a treadmill a few times a week, you will have no problem completing the 90 minutes.

Jennifer Kries makes her appearance in the beginning and end of this video. If anyone is a fitness goddess, she is! Soon after she begins instructing you in the Method Techniques, you will realize why. She also seems to have a subtle humor and enjoys encouraging you to push your limits. I especially enjoy the Method workouts when she is the instructor. All the instructors in this video are easy to listen to and inspire you to keep going.

I give this my highest recommendation for all over body conditioning and enjoyment. I am very picky about workout videos, so you know this one is going to be good! The dancing in this video will really make you feel like a goddess and you don't have to have a perfect figure. Dance away and enjoy life, that is what is important!

~The Rebecca Review

AFter I gave birth to my daughter I had some extra weight to lose. I have been going to yoga classes on and off for two years but I had never tried pilates before, so I got this workout dvd and decided to give it a try.

Starts off with 15 minutes of warm-up conditioning (basic stretch movements).
Next is 30 minutes of aerobic cross training to burn fat and firm major muscle groups.
Centering Makeover - 35 minutes of abdominal and back exercises that I think really do work.
Lengthening - a 10 minute cool down to stretch all the muscles out again to keep you from cramping and from bulking up.

I thought the warm-up was very basic and as extensive as it should have been for the exercises that follow.
I hate aerobic exercise, but realize that it's part of losing weight... the 30 minutes of dancing around isn't exactly my favorite, but it's not bad. Every once in a while I have to walk in place to take a breather.
The Centering work out is difficult. Luckily I've had the yoga training, but even I wasn't able to do everything so I don't know how someone with no dance/pilates/yoga experience would be able to pull this off. NOT for beginners! You will be discouraged and annoyed -or even hurt yourself!- with this and never use it again if you are not in good shape.

I kept up with it, though, and gradually got better. I lost 13 pounds and three and a half inches by doing pilates and barely cutting down my calorie intake in about three months time (I did the pilates work out 4-5 times a week). So it definitely does work. It's just extremely difficult. Even after three months of doing it almost daily, I still have trouble with the moves.
The strength training part with 3-5 lb weights is pretty good if you're looking to tone but not bulk up. I don't like looking bulky, I just like not having that extra flap of skin hanging under my arms!! So this workout is pretty good for that.

I'm giving it four stars because it succeeded in helping me lose the weight that I wanted to lose. It's great for your abs and back strengthening. Picking my daughter up all the time really does a job on my back, so these exercises help with it a lot. I didn't give it five stars because of how difficult it is and it can get boring if you're planning on doing this video all the time.

As a newcomer to Pilates, I found this DVD to be entertaining as well as a good workout. I also found that Pilates is helping strengthen my easily-injured back. On this DVD (my first and only Pilates DVD), the instructions, when combined with the video, are usually quite good, though some better verbal descriptions of some of the movements would have been helpful. There are times when the instructor tells you to make sure to look straight ahead for a movement, or at your belly button, but doesn't provide enough verbal cuing for you to continue the excercise as she does. There are also several segments where the demonstrators are confused about how to do a movement, and until the camera shifts back to the instructor, it's unclear how to do that movement. Once you've been through the dvd a few times you figure it out, but one would wish for more careful editing and more practice from the producers before they release the dvd.

The dance segments are fun and the weights introduced in the cross-training segment a nice change (and a good introduction to using light weights). I've found that doing the warmup + cross-training one day and warmup + centering the alternating day makes it very easy to fit excercise into my busy schedule, and the variety is welcome too.

As a special education teacher, I really appreciate when workout videos demonstrate quality instruction. If you have never had any formal dance training, skip this video. Not only are the steps complicated and hard to follow, but the cueing is poor. The instructors offer little guidance on how to perform the steps properly, nor do they warn viewers when the steps change. I am not the most coordinated person on the planet, but I like to challenge myself. However, I gave up on the cardio portion of the workout after 3 or 4 attempts. It's hard to get through without falling down! Negatives aside, I do enjoy the warm-up portion of the tape, which is only 15 minutes long. I do that on days when I don't want to do a heavy workout or to add some stretching after jogging or a session on the elliptical trainer. During the warm-up section, the moves are not complicated and are quite fun. The live drummers in the background are a refreshing change from most generic workout video music. For me, this video is not worth the price given that I find only the first 15 minutes are actually useful.

Since other have adequetly described what the DVD entails I will just share my thoughts. I do not recommend it.

The warm up is OK. It's not great and it's not horrible, but I do think it is too long.

The cardio section is absolutely NUTS! I did not even get past about the first minute of it because she adds way too many dance moves way too fast. I could not even keep up with the second and third dance moves she added. Obviously I am not a seasoned dancer and I do not recommend this to anyone who is not a dancer. I'm sure it's a good workout if you can get through it, but since I couldn't even keep up it was worthless to me.

The centering section is a pretty good ab workout.

My problem with this DVD as a whole is that I had never done Pilates before I tried this and I this DVD does not explain anything about Pilates or what is important in Pilates before it begins. It think it is important to know why Pilates works and what you are supposed to focus on during Pilates in order to be really effective.

I do however, highly recommend Pilates for Dummies over this DVD. And it's not just for Dummies OR beginners. It's a great workout and it shows exactly how each exercise should be done. There is a beginning level and intermediate. Unless you have been doing Pilates for many, many years then I think anyone could benefit from Pilates for Dummies.

Like some of the other reviewers, I found this DVD frustrating & disappointing.

Warm-up: Pretty basic; nothing special but does what it intends to do.

Cross-training: This part consists of both dance moves & weight training segments. I agree with others who said the dance part is nuts! It is so frustrating - just when I think I have the hang of a move, it changes. The instructor is not helpful; I have to concentrate so hard keeping up with the moves that I don't feel I get a good workout at all. I have tried this several times & only made it through the whole thing about 3 times...I usually end up turning it off & switching to another video out of frustration.
On the other hand, the weight training segments are pretty good & the only reason I ever attempt this section.

Pilates matwork: Jennifer Kries is a great instructor & this is a challenging workout. However, it gets repetitious because the routine is run through once, and then repeated with the bar.

If you're looking for an effective and unique pilates workout, I recommend Jennifer Kries' "New Method: 3 Dimensional Toning" instead, which incorporates dance, yoga, and Pilates.

The warm-up segment of this video is fun and effective. The mat work, while I found it difficult at first, by sticking with it, did really strengthen my abdominal core and yield results.

HOWEVER, I have to agree with the other reviewers regarding the aerobics segment. I also found it incredibly frustrating; I tried over and over again to "catch on," but I never did. Now I do the warm-up and mat work, and skip over the cross-training section and instead, do some other video or exercise for my aerobic workout.

I have had this DVD for quite a while and have found that it is one that ends up in the back of the cupboard unused. There are a couple of reasons for this. The primary one is that the cardio section of this tape is so hard to follow for someone with no dance experience (like myself) that I end up not feeling like I've had any kind of workout. The moves are hard to follow and there is really no instructor cueing to help much. Also, in order to properly do this section of the workout, you must have a fairly large space to work in. If your TV room is filled with furniture (as mine is) you will probably get more of a workout moving furniture around to accomodate the moves in the tape than you will from the actual tape. I liked the weight section in this portion of the tape, however, and I think they present moves that will tone you up without additional bulk.

The warm-up is too long for what it accomplishes. I did enjoy the final section, which is where you really get into the pilates, but there are so many other pilates workouts around now that I usually choose to do one of them over this tape, simply because I want a more complete workout and am so disappointed in the other sections.

This is a great DVD for those who are looking for a combination of cardiovascular, strength-training, and flexibility. There are three segments, each working a different area. It's vigorous, and hard to keep up with the first time through. But, as your strength and flexibility improve, you'll find it easier with time. I've tried several of the videos featuring Jennifer Kreis, and they are a great step up from the easier videos if you're wanting more of a challenge. I would highly recommend this video. The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is because I had some difficultly keeping up with everything, and the drummers in the background are kinda cheesy!

I love working out to videos, but as has been said by other reviewers, the cardio portion (which is a major part of my workouts) is terrible: there is no time taken to instruct on the dance moves, the steps change without warning. I get irritated within the first 3 minutes of the cardio and turn the video off in disgust, with only the 15 minute warmup under my belt for a work out. I have come back to this video every year, to determine whether I just gave up too easily, and the same outcome occurs. The warmup is good, the pilates part is pretty challenging, and the stretch at the end is nice, but without the cardio, I just don't feel like I've had a workout.