Customer Reviews

P.M. Pilates Mat Workout [VHS]

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Ana Caban's P.M. Pilates is designed as an evening Pilates routine to help you wind down and de-stress at the end of the day. It's perfect for this purpose (although a bit too strenuous to be used right before bedtime), but it would also serve well as an energizing routine in the a.m. or almost any time. The workout is filmed against a rocky, oceanside backdrop, and the soundtrack consists of soft, soothing piano music.

Ana begins the workout in a seated position with several simple neck stretches. She then moves to the floor for a traditional Pilates mat series, starting with the hundred. Although Ana mostly follows classic Pilates sequencing, some of the more difficult moves (e.g., rollover) are left out, and other moves are done in a modified form (i.e., a rolling prep and an open-legged rocker prep instead of the full movements). Despite these modifications, the routine is still challenging, and it proceeds along at a moderate but steady clip. The workout concentrates on the stomach series and other abs-focused moves; the side kick series is absent, and there are no Pilates push-ups. The mermaid (performed seated) and a standing stretch complete the routine.

Ana is a very good instructor: her form is impeccable, and she is encouraging without being overly chatty. Those who are familiar with her Beginning and Intermediate Matwork videos should note that this video contains voiceover rather than live instruction. Also, Ana does much less teaching here, which makes the workout flow more smoothly; although this made the practice perfect for me, a Pilates practitioner in the advanced intermediate range, I don't this would be a good video for Pilates beginners. Finally, at 25 minutes, I think the length is ideal for allowing me to attain a thorough Pilates workout in a relatively short period of time.

If you're into Pilates or considering starting, this lady is very well educated and explains everything very well. Well worth the money.

I don't know what happened to the quality of videos at Living Arts. The pilates series is really way below standard-- compared to the yoga videos. I have the beginning mat series with Ana and I returned both of them because of the inadequate instruction and low quality production. READ THE REVIEWS for these other videos before buying this one! Don't be fooled like me. Some other pilates videos I would recommend are Denise Austin's Pilates for Every Body, Suzanne Deason's pilates for weight loss (ignore the title, it is more challenging and complete then the ones by Ana-- and gives me some hope for Living Arts). Honestly speaking though to get a total body workout that brings together mind and body stick with yoga-- it's as good as it gets. Pilates is good if you use the machines, on the mat it basically touches on portions of what yoga covers more completely.