Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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496 of 501 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Recommended For my Students-Taught By A Certified Instructor, July 2, 2004
By A Customer
I am a Pilates instructor and recommend this to my students who come to class looking to get in shape and lose weight.There is a wide range of work outs for them to use and the instruction is expertly done. Prior to recommending it to my students, I watched this DVD and did some research on the instructor's background. Both were impressive (she was trained and certified by Romana Kryzanowska.) As others have pointed out, Pilates is not a "weight loss" method in and of itself, but was developed to help develop "core" strength and flexibility. It is used extensively in physical rehabilitation; in other words if you are out of shape or have an injury the general nature of Pilates is designed to be helpful to get you back into shape with less stress on your body than other forms of exercise. To me it accurately and faithfully represents what Joseph Pilates developed. This DVD additionally provides three levels of instruction (Beginner, Intermediate and Advance) with the proper Pilates modifications for each level so you will be able to use it for a long, long time even as you progress and get back into shape. The notes on the DVD state it "is the perfect complement to any weight-loss program" and instructor reiterates this on the DVD - Pilates will be one aspect in helping you get into shape and other changes in your lifestyle, such as diet, may be needed. There is never a magic bullet that will make you lose weight. While there are also other physical activities you can engage in trying to get in shape, Pilates is one that is worth considering based on how and why it was originally developed. And if you already know that you would like to make Pilates part of your activity, then this DVD is perfect.
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259 of 262 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Pilates buy, May 24, 2004
This is the best pilates tool anyone could own. I am overweight and looking to lose weight, and after I started exercising regularly, I wanted to add both Pilates and balance ball exercises to my routine. After searching for a LONG time to find a great dvd, I found this one. It has been such a rewarding dvd for so many reasons, and I have already lost weight in combining this dvd and others in my routine. This dvd has three sections for beginners, intermediate, and advanced levels. The great thing is that each section has 5 workouts ranging from 10 minutes to 90 minutes, and you can choose a program with or without a warm-up. The instructor is great and each move is done a good amount of times. There is nice music in the background as well. What I also find to be truly invaluable in this dvd is the fact that during the workout the instructor will remind you to breathe properly, just in case you forget, and she also tells you how many are left during each exercise. I can write forever about how GREAT this dvd is, but I don't like reading long reviews myself so I wont make you! Just know that this is the #1 DVD for Pilates students at any level, from novice to advanced, and I LOVE IT!!!
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101 of 104 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A comprehensive Pilates DVD designed for all levels, January 23, 2007
This DVD contains not 1, not 2 or 3, but 15 different Pilates mat routines. The routines are broken down into 3 levels, Beginning, Intermediate, and Challenging, and they are instructed via voiceover by certified Pilates instructor Karen Garcia. In addition to the workouts themselves, each section of the DVD also includes a "Lesson," which breaks down the new moves at each level. Within each level, the same footage is used in more than one routine in order to create a variety of different practice options.
Here is the main DVD menu, with my notes in parentheses:
Lesson: Principles/Cautions (overview of basic Pilates principles)
Beginning Routines
Intermediate Routines
Challenging Routines
Interview (6 minute Q&A session with Karen)
About the Instructor
Other Products (lists other Body Wisdom DVDs)
Contact and Credits
Okay, now I'll break down each of the three levels. The times are as they appear on screen, but the times in parentheses are based on my own review. I've included an overview of the exercises included in each practice (this is not intended to be comprehensive).
Beginning Routines (displayed by Sherri)
*Beginning Lesson (24m)--instructions for the hundred, roll-up, leg circles, rolling like a ball, single and double leg stretch, spine stretch forward, open leg rocker, corkscrew, saw, beginning side kicks, teaser, seal, modified Pilates push-ups, beginning weight series
*Basics, 10 minutes (13m)--the hundred, modified roll-up, leg circles, single and double leg stretch, modified teaser, corkscrew, saw, seal
*Basics Variation, 20 minutes (17m)--adds spine stretch forward, open leg rocker, and side kicks to the above
*Basics with Warm-Up, 30 minutes (28m)--adds a 6.5 minute standing stretch series and a 2 minute seated warm-up; also adds Pilates push-ups and the weight series
*More Challenging Basics, 20 minutes (17m)--a less modified version of the Basics Variation which includes the weight series
*Challenging Basics with Warm-Ups, 30 minutes (29.5)--adds the warm-ups described above; also includes seal, Pilates push-ups, and the weight series
Intermediate Routines (displayed by Karen herself)
*Intermediate Lesson (20m)--instructions for a Pilates sit, single and double leg stretch (unmodified), single and double leg kicks, neck pull, shoulder bridge, spine twist, side kicks, full teaser, swimming, mermaid, seal, and intermediate weight series
*Short Variation, 15 minutes (15.5m)--the hundred, roll up, full series of 5; most difficult exercises include the teaser and swimming
*Short with Arm Work, 20 minutes (23m)--the segment utilizes unusual sequencing and includes the neck pull, teaser, seal, Pilates push-ups, and the weight series
*Short with Leg Work, 30 minutes (29m)--the leg work here is in the form of additional exercises such as the leg kicks, shoulder bridge, and side kicks; also includes the weighted arm series
*Longer with Leg Work, 35 minutes (34m)--adds the 6.5 minute standing warm-ups; also includes the neck pull, side kicks, swimming, and mermaid/seal/push-ups to finish
*Longest with Warm-ups, Abs, Leg, and Arm Work, 35 minutes (38m)--includes both the standing and seated warm-ups, full series of 5, open leg rocker, corkscrew, leg kicks, neck pull, shoulder bridge, side kicks, mermaid/seal/push-ups, and weight series
Advanced Routines (displayed by Alice)
*Challenging Lesson (15m)--instruction on the roll-over, corkscrew (advanced version), swan dive, side kick series, can can, hip circles, leg pull-down/pull-up, boomerang, plus advanced Pilates push-ups and weight series
*Short Variation with Warm-up, 20 minutes (21.5)--includes both the standing and seated warm-ups flowing into a fairly standard advanced mat routine; most difficult exercise is the boomerang
*Short Variation without Warm-up, 20 minutes (19m)--again, a standard advanced mat series which includes the advanced corkscrew, slow and fast repetitions of the series of 5, multiple repetitions of Teasers 1 & 2, and the boomerang
*Short Variation with Leg Work, 20 minutes (22.5m)--the leg exercises include the shoulder bridge, the leg pull-down/pull-up, etc.; this segment also seemed to have more intense ab/back work (eg, the neck pull and the swan dive)
*Longer with Leg Work, 35 minutes (31)--includes the 6.5 minute standing warm-up plus additional side kicks exercises
*Longest with Warm-ups, Abs, Leg, and Arm Work, 40 minutes (<43m)--this segment adds both the standing and the seated warm-ups, a Pilates ring during the teaser, and the weight series
In general, the practices on this DVD followed traditional Pilates sequencing, although some of the shorter routines deviated a bit. I was a bit surprised by how some of the exercises were classified--for example, I've usually seen open leg rocker and corkscrew rated as intermediate exercises, not beginner as taught here, and similarly, some of the challenging exercises were what I would consider to be intermediate. I'm at an intermediate level myself, and I was able to complete the Challenging routines without much difficulty (whereas Hilary Burnett's Advanced Mat is a bit beyond my level).
I think that this DVD would be fairly well-suited to someone who is new to Pilates and who is looking to purchase just one DVD that they can grow with over time. The add-on style teaching here (ie, you add in more challenging exercises as you progress) is similar to Brooke Siler's The Pilates Body, an excellent book for those new to the discipline. Although this video also contains more challenging practices, I would not recommend it for someone like myself who is already coming in at an intermediate or above level, largely because so much of what is offered is likely to go unutilized by the more experienced practitioner.
In summary, this DVD would likely work best for those new to Pilates who have had little experience with other Pilates videos.
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