Customer Reviews

The Method Pilates - Target Specifics

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Jennifer Kries has created a challenging intermediate to advanced workout in response to requests for workouts to address specific areas of the body. If you are looking for a great full-body workout, you can do all four workouts one after the other. If you are short on time or just want to work on one area of your body, you can choose from four workouts:

Abs (15 minutes)
Arms (15 minutes) - Need 1-3lb weights
Hips (15 minutes)
Thighs (15 minutes)

You will recognize many of the signature "Method" postures and exercises in this workout, however there are quite a few surprises. Not only are all the exercises even more precise than before, they seem to be the "next" challenge. The pace is slightly faster at times and the "d'gag'" reaches a new level of intensity.

Some of the Exercises:

The Hundred
Roll-Up
Leg Circles
Rolling Like a Ball
Double-Leg Lower Lift
CrissCross
Active Moving Cat
Active Cat with Yoga Press
Down Dog
Exercises from the Side Series for Legs
Swimming
Sun Salutation
Standing Sculpting Series
Chest Expansion
Boxing
Pli' Series (makes you feel like you are doing ballet)

It is helpful to have Jennifer Kries' new book: Pilates Plus Method to learn the names of all her exercises and read the finer details of how your body should feel as you work through each exercise.

"Try to feel as if you were pushing your foot through the sand on the beach, moving with great resistance." (from her new book)

There is hardly time to give extra advice, but Jennifer still manages to give you tips throughout this workout. If you have been doing her exercise videos over the years you will almost "hear her advice in your mind" as you go through the exercises.

If you are just starting to exercise with Jennifer Kries try:

The Method - Pilates: Precision Sculpting (1996)
The Method - Pilates: Precision Toning (1996)
The Method - All in One Workout (1997)
The Method - Precision Yoga (1998)
Pilates Method and 3-Dimensional Toning Box Set (2002)

The Method Pilates "Target Specifics" seems to be the most advanced workout I've tried so far when I do all four sections in one hour. If you can make it through the list above, you are ready for this workout. Once you complete Target Specifics, you will reach a new level of confidence and fitness. For me, this was the next level in my Pilates practice. The drums keep you motivated and keep you at the pace you need to be to burn those calories! Definitely an intermediate to advanced workout.

If you are just starting to do Pilates, it might be difficult to learn the moves and keep up with the fast pace. Start with some of the slower paced workouts from 1996 and learn the basics. I'd also recommend finding the Winsor Pilates workouts because they are excellent for anyone who is just discovering these amazing exercises.

Results from The Method workouts include:

Flat, firm stomach without having to do sit-ups or crunches
Defined buns without lunges
Sculpted Legs without bouncy aerobic exercises
Tones arms without heavy weights
Improved posture and flexibility. Even your feet become more flexible.
Mind and Body Healing - Your mind becomes calm and your body feels invigorated.

If you are looking for a Pilates/Ballet/Yoga challenge, this is it.

~The Rebecca Review

I've been studying pilates and gyrotonics for six years with some of the top instructors in NYC but with the increasing popularity of pilates, the sessions have gotten absurdly expensive, which is why I wanted to try a DVD. I have never been one to work out in my home, but ths is truly an amazing workout and not only have I saved so much money by doing this DVD instead of my beloved studio sessions, but I'm able to incorporate it into my busy schedule and do it much more often than I ever could with the sessions.

As the reviews before me have indicated, the DVD is broken up into four segments that each target a specific area, but I think that's slightly misleading. While about sixty or seventy percent of the exercises in each section do target the area they are labeled under, each section also contains a variety of stretches and counter-workouts as well, which make for a more overall workout, whether you're doing one section or four at a time. For instance, in the section entitled "abs" you'll also find exercises that strengthen the back muscles and legs. Therefore, you're able to get a lot of variety and a great overall workout!

******NOTE: I recommend this highly for intermediates and advanced students of pilates, but NOT for beginners!!! In order to do these exercises correctly, you must know the basic pilates foundation such as pelvic placement, breathing techniques, and proper alignment. If you are attempting these exercises as a beginner, they may seem straightforward, but without the proper foundation and knowledge (which is NOT explained), you may not be doing the exercises properly and worse, could get hurt.*******

For those who are newer to pilates, I would recommend perhaps watching the video first, as it moves at what I would consider a fast intermediate pace.

My first Jennifer Kries purchases were her newest set, The New/Pilates Method. Between those three videos, she covers a lot of ground- anyone who enjoys yoga, Pilates and dance would do well to take a look at those. When I heard about about Target Specifics, I wasn't sure that I would find a whole lot that I didn't already have in that series. Curiousity got the best of me, and I made the purchase.

This is a great DVD to have in your collection. If you're short on time, you can pick the area that you need to work on that day. If you want to make this a full workout, you can use the entire program.

For abs, Kries includes almost the entire Intermediate Pilates mat program. As with all Pilates programs, proper form is important here if you want to feel the work. If you're new to Pilates, you may want to watch this section a few times before you join in.

For the arms and upperbody, Kries uses most of the Standing Sculpting series as well as a few yoga-inspired moves. A lot of people have mixed feelings about this work. It would be very difficult to get large muscles or even gain significant upper body strength using these light dumbbells (3 to 5 lbs is the maximum recommended). However, proper technique will contribute to overall integrated strenght, that is, properly using your center as well as your limbs. Again, this may be better done after viewing a few times.

At first glance, there is quite a bit of repetition between the Thighs and Hips section, and that can be annoying. However, upon closer examination, there are enough differences to justify doing both sections. The Hips section is predominantly ballet and Pilates movements. The moves here concentrate on lateral movement, thus more effectively targeting the hips. A bunch of plies as well as tendus and degages (ballet kicks) are performed here. You may want to modify if you have sensitive knees.

The Thighs section uses a small bit of ballet and Pilates, concentrating on yoga. This section includes Sun Salutations (sneaking in some upper body strengthening as well), Awkward Chairs/Fierce Pose and Lunges (again, modify if your knees are not your strong suit).

There is quite a bit of overlap between this and Kries' newer offerings. However, it would be a good way to introduce yourself to her fusion-style in small pieces before you take the plunge into some of her longer tapes.

I love The Method tapes, and this is a great addition to a workout video collection.
The tape has four 15 minute sections dedicated to "Target Specifics," go figure. They have very little warm-up, and the slightest hint of a cool down, but that seems mainly because of the prohibitive 15 minute length of the sections. They are a perfect addition to an aerobic workout, and can be rotated throughout the week.

Abs: The core of Pilates based instruction seems to be promoting a strong center, and Jennifer Kries promotes your strong center through use of slow steady movement that is not overly repetitive, but is definitely effective. Some of the exercises are more challenging than others, but they are all easily explained and understandable. The workout also includes some back strengthening, though not a great deal.

Arms: The arms section uses light hand weights in a highly effective manner, adding self-created resistance to increase the work load as necessary. Again, the slow, steady movement with easily understandable instructions makes the arm workout both easy to learn and very effective.

Hips: Ballet work and Pilates make up the Hips section. A little training in dance would help maintain proper alignment and form, though most of the exercises can be done easily with out any formal training. This is my favorite way of working the hips and leg region, as the movements tend to make you feel more flexible and the muscles longer and stronger with very little impact on the joints.

Thighs: The first half of the thighs workout works my upper body more than my thighs, mostly because my thighs are much strong than my arms, and both are being used during the Sun Salutations and other yoga poses that make up the first half. The poses are fairly easily understood, but they feel a little hurried the first few times through. The second half makes you feel the burn if the first didn't, as it includes several lunges, squats and other thigh strengthening exercises. None done too often, and all very effective.

I would not recommend this video as a primary workout video, nor is it intended to be one. It is an excellent time sensitive toning video, and I've often substituted its toning section for other video's.

I bought this DVD because I liked the Precision Toning & Sculpting video alot. I liked the fact this one was divided into several target specific 15min workouts. However there is an awful lot of ballet in some of the workouts, which I am not graceful enough for! I was hoping to have more floor exercises. I do really like the "Abs" workout, especially if you are short on time but want a really effective workout. It has many of my favorite abs exercises from the Precision Toning & Sculpting video but at a much faster and more efficient rate. I also think they could have come up with better music. The funky tribal drum beat gets old real quick! Silence would've been better.

This is a good DVD. It is broken down into four 15 minutes segments one for abs, one for arms, one for hips and one for legs, which is great if you are short on time. I usually do the abs each morning. For those advanced persons ,you can do all segments at one time, but for the more mature crowd ,like myself, I will do one segment, or two at the most, at a time.The workouts are effective but not exhausting . After you finish the segments, you may think that you did not get a good workout,but you will feel it the next day.

I just did Jennifer Krie's Target Specifics and I really enjoyed it, I got a great workout and was dripping with sweat by the time I was done with it.

While this is a program that is designed so that it can be done in 15 minute self contained increments, I was curious to see how it would be to do it as one long session with very short breaks between sections.

The individual sections were certainly excellent in and of themselves and can easily benefit someone who is pressed for time but wants to get some Pilates/Yoga and some Ballet type exercises in.

The format of the program is so well explained by other reviewers I won't rehash all that they have laid out so well.

You don't need much to do this program, just a Yoga or Pilates type mat and a set of very light hand weights. I must admit that at first I thought that using those light weights wouldn't do much, but now I can see that the point is about having fluidity of motion with control, as well as awareness of the core. The weights just create a gentle resistance to the movement. I had to get past the mindset of my old weight training days in order to appreciate the value of using light weights through these various ranges of motion.

As a relatively uncoordinated (in terms of dance movements) 46 year old male, I found the ballet type moves that are incorporated in the third section to be something that will really help me with my balance. The movements weren't that hard to grasp and were an interesting challenge.

If someone has never done Pilates or Yoga before they should probably start with something that explains the basics of those disciplines. Stott Pilates Basics is a great program for Pilates and Yoga Zone Basics is a great place to start with Yoga.

Once you have an idea of the fundamentals of those approaches then you will at least have some background in which to try this program. It moves fast and fluidly without much explanation so you will want to have some experience before trying this.

Highly recommended!

I bought this DVD to add some variety to my everyday workouts.
If you are short on time the 15 minute workout segments are perfect.

The excerises are easy to follow and after a few times you will begin to memorize the positions in their order. Jennifer Kries does 2 to 4 reps not sets of each position, emphasizing on quality not quantity. Doing 4 positions correctly is much more effective than doing 12 and losing your form once you begin to fatigue midway through.

I gave this video a 4 star rating because the first 2 15 minute workouts are really for beginners and the last 2 are for intermediate to advanced. The last 2 workouts have positions that are harder and require more strength and flexibility.

Other than that this is a good workout video.

I have had this dvd for over 2 years and I never get tired of this workout. You can select whatever you feel like working on and it is not redundant, the music is calming and the excersizes work very well for the amount of time you spend. I hate home videos that have a instructer with an annoying voice, it makes it so I can't concentrate or relax. This instructer is not annoying at all and you can go at your own pace. You can benefit from this workout at almost any fitness level.

I had two babies in two years and two c-sections. Needless to say, I had a lot of work ahead of me in order to flatten out my tummy. I am happy to say that one year and two months after my baby was born - I have a pretty flat belly!! woo-hoo. The ab section on this video is the best ab workout I have ever done. I did this daily for about 6 months after my baby was born and then I switched it up and did other videos - worked out at the gym and so forth - well I lost all the baby weight and some more! About 6 weeks ago, I came back to this video and the results are amazing!!! GET THIS VIDEO !!!