The Pilates Body Kit: An Interactive Fitness Program to Strengthen, Streamline, and Tone (includes 2 audio cds, flash cards & workbook) [Audio CD]

Brooke Siler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 5, 2003

Pilates is the fastest-growing trend in fitness today, with millions enjoying its muscle strengthening and body toning benefits. In this follow-up to her New York Times bestseller The Pilates Body, Brooke Siler provides a safe, effective, and personalized Pilates course for home or travel that allows readers to progress at their own pace, with a master teacher leading the way.

This unique, interactive kit contains:
- Two 70-minute-plus audio CDs containing eight complete classes
- 70 full-color instructional cards with photographs of each pose and breathing and techniques tips
- A 64-page workbook with a 20-page journal and a record-keeping section to track progress.

Brook Siler was hailed by Vogue as on of America's most sought after Pilates trainers. Author of the New York Times bestseller The Pilates Body, she is owner of the acclaimed re:AB® studio in New York City, where her clients have included Madonna, Liv Tyler, Amber Valletta, and many others. She studies under the tutelage of Romana Kryzanowska, Joseph Pilates' protege for more than 30 years, and now sits on the board of the Pilates Guild®.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Whether you're recovering from back surgery or looking for a decent full-body workout, Pilates has something to offer--and this practical kit from well-known guru Brooke Siler pulls a complicated system together with finesse. Emphasizing equal stretching and strengthening of the muscles (especially those throughout the torso, referred to as "the powerhouse"), Pilates mat work is conveniently portable thanks to its total lack of fancy equipment. Combining a video with Pilates is asking for poor muscular alignment and a lot of mental distraction, so while the kit's components may seem a little old-fashioned, they're both effective and appropriate. Two CDs and 70 illustrated flash cards work together to supply visual and oral cues for each exercise; a simple book and exercise journal complete the package. With a portable player, you'll have private instruction in public gyms or hotels without expensive classes or tight schedules. The first disk provides a solid grounding in the fundamentals and progresses up the ladder. Many postures are possible for everyone, regardless of fitness level, and it's also a good backup for advanced students if an accident or illness forces you to start again from scratch. The second disk takes you through the intermediate exercises, some of which may be difficult (or impossible) at first but remain inspiring--Siler's gentle authority and creative metaphors make it easy to visualize a day when we'll all be as lean, strong and flexible as she is. --Jill Lightner

Review

[Brooke Siler is] one of the top personal trainers in the country."--Vogue

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (April 5, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312316259
• ISBN-13: 978-0312316259
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 6.3 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #365,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #74 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Pilates

More About the Author

Brooke Siler is the co-owner of re:AB, the renowned studio for Pilates®; training in New York City, where her clients include Amber Valletta, Shalom Harlow, and Liv Tyler. Hailed as the "trainer to the stars," she trained under Joseph Pilates' protege, Romana Kryzanowska, and has been recognized by Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar, and the New York Observer as one of the country's leading fitness gurus. She lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A nice reference if you already know the basics, December 9, 2004

By 

Maggie "of the Great White North" (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pilates Body Kit: An Interactive Fitness Program to Strengthen, Streamline, and Tone (includes 2 audio cds, flash cards & workbook) (Audio CD)

I love pilates. It's a great workout, and you quickly feel the results. (If you have lower back pain, consider pilates. It strengthens your back muscles and may help to ease your pain.)

If you have never done pilates before, this may not be the right starter kit for you. Pilates exercises are not necessarily intuitive. How your body is positioned is very important in pilates, and you may find it easier to learn with a video, so that you can watch how you body is supposed to move through each exercise.

Once you've learned the basics, the flashcards will make your life easier. I take the flash cards with me when I travel. They're small, pack easily and serve as a great reference tool. With this in mind, if you are already familiar with pilates, the flash cards are worth the money.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I was a skeptic, but now I'm sold on this kit, August 6, 2003

By 

D. Booth "digitographer" (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Pilates Body Kit: An Interactive Fitness Program to Strengthen, Streamline, and Tone (includes 2 audio cds, flash cards & workbook) (Audio CD)

I learned Pilates from tapes and DVDs by other instructors, but now I prefer using this CD for my every day workouts. I like the efficient pace of the workout tracks. They provide great guidance without including every laborious instruction from the introductory tracks, and there are no gaps where an instructor is blabbing and you're sitting on the floor waiting to do the next exercise. Therefore, if you do the 20 minute workout, you're really doing 20 minutes of exercise. I was skeptical about buying this system, but thought it was worth a chance for the price. Now, I'm sold on it. Not only is it easier to fit a workout into a busy schedule, but the results are better, too. I agree with other reviewers, however, in hoping to see another CD soon with a more advanced workout.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very thorough Pilates guide, March 12, 2004

By 

dnk "dnkboston" (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Pilates Body Kit: An Interactive Fitness Program to Strengthen, Streamline, and Tone (includes 2 audio cds, flash cards & workbook) (Audio CD)

While I enjoyed Siler's "The Pilates Body" and found it to be a comprehensive reference, I could not imagine myself using the book while performing the exercises or even walking away with all of the important points she made about each movement. She veered too far into the wordy side at times, and I could see how absolute beginners could find her intimidating.

This kit is a great follow-up or add-on to her book. Her instructions for each of the sections are very clear, and the cards that she provides for each movement give just the right amount of information about what you should be thinking about for each exercise.

I enjoy the CD format of the workout. The format makes it very easy to skip over to the section that you want to work on that day without having to skip around as you would in a video. Much has been made about why Siler would come out with an audio version and not a video or DVD. Having read interviews that she's given, I know that there are plans to come out with a video. Frankly, I suspect that she wanted to expand her market cautiously by coming out with an audio version first, which, I believe, would be somewhat less expensive to produce than a video.

Also, while some may disagree, I feel that a more advanced Pilates mat workout really requires a visual component. I would be very nervous about a product that instructed, say, the JackKnife without giving an idea of how it should look. While that could be gotten across to some extent on flash cards, I think it would be very helpful to see the more advanced movements in motion to give the viewer an idea of the speed and care necessary to use when performing them.

While I enjoyed the workouts and recommend them to any Pilates student, I'm giving this four stars instead of five because the constant references to "Authentic Pilates" in the first two or three sections of the CD became very annoying. Most students acknowledge the superiority of the original method Siler and her mentor teach, but constantly bringing it up don't further convince me, just irritate me.