Customer Reviews

Romana's Pilates: Optimum Weight Management [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm a beginner/intermediate to Pilates and had been going to a local studio in AZ for about 2 months. My instructor just opened her studio so she was green too. At her studio, she teaches mat and Reformer. What I noticed is that when I left class I often hurt for days. Some things about the workouts just didn't seem right to me so I decided to check 'other' Pilates material: books, DVDs, etc. I even read material Joseph himself wrote. What I found was my instructor was one of the many that's churned out from some instructor-over-night certification class---and she didn't know much more than I did. She certified under Stott and I trusted they wouldn't certify them if they don't know what they're doing. Not true! Once I asked, "how should I be breathing?" I was told by the instructor..."I really don't think it matters that you breathe as long as you breathe." WRONG! In Joseph's writings he preached breathing is essential and is always done through the nose, never the mouth. He spent a lot of time going over the dynamics and impact of breathing to get the optimum results from the workout.

After purchasing Romana's DVD, I am certain I'd be headed for life long back pain and injury if I continued to let some just-certified(incorrectly)-instructor teach me poor technique. I feel that Romana's DVDs teach the proper techniques safely and that they help you execute each move to get the intended and maximum results. By doing the moves correctly, you're gaining strength, flexibility and a better body.

I read the reviews where people complain..."oh there's only one workout." You want variety....don't be cheap---buy another DVD. For my $15, it's the best money I've ever spent and it will take me time to master it. If you went to her studio to learn this very session, you'd be paying a lot more than $15--so what really are you complaining about?--the fact that you can't do the workout? Stick with your $15 DVD; it'll come. Romana has saved me from injury and given me a better workout. After all, Joseph Pilates only created so many moves to be executed in a particular order on the mat. True Pilates is done exactly this way and took he and his pupils, like Romana, years to master. Hell....if you're bored or have outgrown the mat, get a Reformer or advance to another apparatus. This is pure common sense! When you passed the first grade you didn't stay there....you went to 2nd grade.

Oh and by the way, for those who complained about it not being a weightloss program. I was a size 14 two months ago and now wear a size 10. Go figure...my doing the ONE workout helped me lose weight. I concentrate on the moves and apply myself each day I play the DVD. I improve DAILY. I plan to continue use of Romana's DVD, master it and move to the next level.

I think people should have realistic expectations and want to do Pilates for all the right reasons. It's seems that many of the poor reviews that were written came from people who either already worked out with Romana or are practically instructors themselves. Give me a break! The rest of us millions of average everyday people haven't been to Drago's gym or had lessons with Romana. You should consider yourselves blessed. The majority of the population would get GREAT benefit from this DVD, so your viewpoints were found biased and downright unimportant. If you're dedicated to your form and the workouts 3-4 times a week, you CAN change your body and the way you feel about yourself. I am emerging a better me thanks to THIS DVD! I recommended it to anyone desiring better health, strength and above all attitude. I have chosen Pilates and it is a lifestyle change for me. I am so excited about what's to come for me for integrating it into my everyday routine! My only wish is that I could one day meet Romana and share a workout or two under her instruction. She is truly an amazing lady!

I thoroughly enjoy this video. After seeing 80 year old Romana performing her routine on the Cadillac, you may vow to make Pilates a permanent part of your life.

The video begins with a history of Joseph Pilates and actual footage of Pilates performing his exercise routine. A young Romana is featured in the historic chapter.

Then Romana walks through the basics, explaining the Powerhouse, breathing, etc.

Next is the workout with Romana prompting and her student, Petie, performing an approximately 25 minute Pilates session. The set is beautiful, a studio with sunlight streaming in through a high window draped in white. The exercises are performed on the most luxurious mat I've ever seen. Romana is a riot, standing with arms folded, in her high heels, tapping out time and snapping form pointers to her student. She has a "stern yet earthly" instructor quality, this is not a video filled with repetitive, inane chatter.

Romana's instruction chapter is followed by Petie performing the full routine to a subtle voice-over cue, which progresses more smoothly without Romana stopping to nitpick her form. Even without Romana there to oversee, Petie is very inspiring in her strength and form. The exercises flow and transition one right into the next for an advanced-beginner to intermediate workout. I wouldn't recommend this for a first-time beginner.

Exercises include One Hundred, Leg Circles, Ball, Single and Double Leg Stretches, Open Leg Rocker, Swan Dive, Single and Double Leg Kicks, Teasers, and several others, finishing with Seal and some standing footwork. There are short bonus sections featuring a wall workout and foot strengtheners.

In performing the workout, I found it to be fast-paced, flowing, and strong. I'm an intermediate Pilates student and this video had me breaking a sweat, breathing hard, and feeling lengthened and very hard in my core afterward. I look forward to using it again, and plan to purchase the whole Romana series. Romana belongs in the video library of every Pilates devotee!

Romana Kryzanowska is such a controversial person: on the one hand, she is revered as the person who received Joseph Pilates' blessing to carry on his teaching and methods, while on the other hand she is seen by some as turning a system of exercise into a secretive discipline. With those prejudices in mind, I waited a long time before I got my hands on this release. Now I'm very happy with it.

Romana comes across as matter-of-fact but with an appropriate sense of humor as she guides Petie, the participant for this video, through the routine. While the staples of the Hundred, the Rollup, and Single Leg Pull are included, she leaves out 3 of the 5 Stomach Series movements. However, although she leaves out the Rollover, she includes really tough exercises like the Full Corkscrew, the Jackknife and the Leg Pulls. Because of this, I would call this high intermediate, but I wouldn't quibble about calling it Advanced if someone insisted. As she instructs and corrects Petie through the movements, she makes knowing comments about the differences between the Rollup and the Neck Pull as well as remarks about some exercises she personally dislikes (Swimming, and possibly the Side Series Bicycle- perhaps Romana is predisposed to a weak back?). Her insights, though small and offhand, are valuable.

What I enjoyed most about this was how, even though the "workout" proceeded quickly (17 minutes?) and Petie was sweating halfway through (I need someone to explain to me why Pilates won't help with weightloss, because I always work up a sweat), she made it seem, if not effortless, not only enjoyable but also beautiful- no other way to describe it. People shouldn't, of course, feel that they have to do a certain discipline solely because of the way it looks, but I must admit that does add to the charm. The real pull, of course, are the results you can get from Pilates.

Having seen the footage of Romana at the age of 80, I can honestly say that I am in awe and that I want to be just like her when I grow up. Very flexible and very strong- it would be an achievement to have her strength now (I'm in my thirties), much less fifty years from now- she is living proof of what regular Pilates can do.

This video is part of a series by Romana Kryzanowska a student of Pilates founder Joseph Pilates and in fact the heir to his original teachings. Now in her 80s, Romana is simply amazing--a guru, a diva, and an inspiration all rolled into one. This DVD offers documentary footage (including "History of Pilates" and "Romana: Keeper of the Flame and Force of Nature"), and it is incredible to watch both Romana and "Uncle Joe" at work.

Of course, this is also an exercise DVD, and to me, the workout did not disappoint. In the main practice, "One on One with Romana," Romana leads a female student, Petie, through a Pilates mat series. This is a flowing segment which I would rate at a low intermediate level, with the most challenging exercises being the neck pull and the jack knife (oddly enough, though, the rollover is omitted). Romana sticks mainly to the classical Pilates sequencing, going from the hundred, roll up, leg circles, and rolling like a ball to the single leg stretch, although she skips the rest of the series of five to move into the spine stretch forward, open leg rocker, corkscrew, saw, swan dive, single and double leg kicks, neck pull, jack knife, an abbreviated side series, teaser series, hip circles, swimming (which she makes a point of saying that she does not like!), the rarely-seen leg pull (face down and face up), kneeling side kicks, mermaid, seal, and final stretch. Romana is quite humorous in her instruction, and I loved the little tips she provide here and there (although her comments sometimes resulted in an uneven number of reps being performed from one side to the other). Overall, I thought the workout had a very similar feel to Winsor Advanced Body Slimming; Mari Winsor, one of the many Pilates instructors interviewed for this video, was clearly influenced by Romana. In addition to Romana's coaching, there is also occasional voiceover commentary providing additional information, and a graphic comes on screen announcing each upcoming exercise (I thought that both of these techniques served to break up the flow of the workout a bit; I would have preferred listening to Romana only). The entire sequence is about 20 minutes long.

A second workout option is "Workout with Petie." Here, student Petie repeats the above mat series on her own to voiceover instruction only. The transitions between exercises flow more quickly here, and the workout time is a bit shorter, about 16 minutes total. Although the reps are even here and it is a well-designed workout overall, I definitely missed Romana's presence, and so I will turn to this version only when I am short on time. Finally, the DVD offers a few bonus exercise segments, including "Wall Alignment Warm Up," which has three students demonstrating some simple stretches at the wall, and "Around the Clock with Kathi," in which student Kathi performs the double leg stretch while revolving in a circle (ie, the outline of a clock).

I'm not sure that I'd want to collect all the DVDs in this series (this is the only one I've tried so far), but I'm definitely happy to have acquired this one. Although the workout itself probably only rates 4 stars, working out with Romana is definitely a 5-star experience.

I have been doing Yoga daily for close to 10 years and have been doing Pilates every day before my Yoga practice for a little over a year. Pilates has made a huge difference both in how my body looks and feels and is a great compliment to a Yoga practice.

I currently have 35 Pilates DVD's and over 100 Yoga programs (between VHS, DVD and CD audio), so I'm a person whose practice is home based (aside from the weight training I do at the gym in addition to home). I just mention that to show my familiarity with using media for my Pilates and Yoga practice.

There is a session led by Romana which is longer and more detailed and then a separate one with Petie (led by a voiceover) which flows more and is only about 16 minutes long (it's the same session but much shorter because of the way it is paced). In the Romana led session (which is a "live" session, not a voice over) she points out certain details that helped me further work on my form in the exercises and I also thought her personality was very encouraging. She certainly knows her stuff and yet has a light hearted and joyfulness regarding the Pilates method.


I'll probably use the voiceover session more frequently because of the flow and the shorter length of time and use the Romana one on one session occasionally just to keep my practice in check.

As far as the whole "weight loss" thing, that certainly seems to be a marketing deal. Of course a person who is sedantary who does this should have some weight loss just by virtue of not being completely sedantary anymore. Still, I don't find Pilates to be a calorie burning practice as much as it is a strengthening and coordination (neuromuscular) practice.

I would rate this as an early intermediate practice though some of the exercises are treated in a more advanced manner than most of the other intermediate programs I have (such as lifting off in the "corkscrew" and her treatment of the "Teaser" in which she has you lower and raise the legs).

For me the documentary section w/ footage of Joseph Pilates himself was really interesting. In fact, when I saw that was included when I read the cover of the DVD it was what made me make the final decision to purchase it. I was also intrigued by seeing how Romana led a session as well.

I guess depending on what you are looking for in a Pilates program will determine if you think this program is for you.

I tend to like to mix my Pilates practice w/ more "classic" Pilates one day with a more Pilates "inspired" practice the next, this seems to work best for me because it keeps things interesting and my body doesn't do the same exact movements day after day.

I bought the whole set. After the slew of lawsuits surrounding Pilates trademarks, it's nearly impossible to find "Authentic" Pilates instruction. "Pilates" doesn't work if it's not "Pilates." No one alive today knew Mr. Pilates better than Romana Kryzanowska. She was and remains his "Chosen One."
These tapes are priceless in the sense that no one had a closer relationship to Mr. Pilates and his work than Romana. The only reason why I'm not rating it "5 STARS" is due to lots of repetition on each tape. I.E., the history of Joe, history of Romana, and basics are on each tape. Then the lessons. I understand some people might buy just one tape and to be thorough, all the history is included. And it's fascinating. Still completely worth the money considering each private lesson would cost you at least $50/hour by any instructor--authentic or not... I prefer a more rhythmically paced speaker. Otherwise, it's tops!
It's funny to read reviews criticizing the fact that the "optimum weight" tape never mentions food or diet, etc... If you paid attention to the increased physical exertion, you'd clearly understand that stepping up the intensity of the workout will kick up the loss of weight. Sensible eating should be assumed on any fitness program. The GLORY of REAL Pilates, is that as your body internalizes the work, it begins to reject empty and/or extra calories. Your body actually becomes repulsed by overeating. You can't do it. It's the body mind connection that happens regardless of you. That's the "non-mystery/mystery" of Real/ Romana's Pilates. BUY IT. STUDY IT. DO IT!!!

As a student of Romana Kryzanowska's for many years, I was surprised that she allowed production of a video titled "Optimum Weight." Anyone who knows Romana is aware that she would not attempt to sell Pilates videos using terminology associated with weight control. When practiced properly, of course, the Pilates method can help people achieve a better balance of strengthening and stretching. To include weight control as a goal within the principles of the Pilates method, however, is something outside the original technique.

Like another viewer, I was also disappointed with the name "Romana's Pilates" because this extraordinary method is not Romana's; it is the sole creation of Joseph Pilates. This follows a marketing trend of "Winsor Pilates" and "Polestar Pilates," which is unfortunate. I'm sure Romana would completely agree with this.

As for the video itself, I don't think it showed Romana's remarkable talent, wisdom, and humor. The workouts are interrupted by some akward titling, and the number of repititions of each exercise are not shown on screen. The demonstrators are certainly professional, yet I didn't see the joy, the passion, and the thrill that is often part of taking a wonderful lesson with Romana.

I really enjoyed the challenge and fast pace of this video. The work out is only about 20 min but it never fails to make me sweat. It took me a few times to catch on to all the moves (even though I've been doing Pilates for a few years) and to keep up, but now that I know the sequence, I hardly look at the tv.
Some reviews didn't like all the intro's and history...but if you buy the DVD you just go to menu and go right to the workout each time. I have about 8 Pilates DVD's and this is my favorite one!

When I heard the famous Romana Kryzanowska was going to make videos I jumped for joy! I live on the West Coast and have been fortunate enough to study with teachers who were students of Romana's.

The strange thing is that I've never heard my instructors talk specifically about weight loss as related to Pilates. One day, however, I asked my teacher about this subject. She told me that tradtional Pilates should never be thought of as a weight loss strategy. That Pilates is a complete cross-training system within itself. And that if you study the classical Pilates method, then your body naturally changes and becomes slimmer as result of good form.

This video is OK, but weight loss doesn't seem to be part of the traditional Pilates technique that I studied. I wonder what Joseph Pilates would think. And I wonder what Romana would think.

I love Pilates. I do the mat routine everyday. To keep it interesting, I go to different instructors and own about 15 DVDs. I do the different workouts on alternating days. I was excited to see a Romana DVD come out. However, it is clear that they put Weight Lose on the cover to get people to buy it. I bought it to see how the workout would differ from other styles. It doesn't really differ at all. It is really just an intermediate workout, but a good one at that. There is absolutely no mention of weight lose at any time on the DVD. Romana never talks about it and there is no indication, besides the title, that this will help you to lose weight. Clearly a marketing ploy. Not all bad though!! Even though the Romana DVDs only have 13-18 minute workouts, it is nice to be able to experience working with her when you don't live in New York City. I find that this workout and the Powerhouse Mat workout provide quick morning routines before jumping in the shower and heading off to work. If that is what you are looking for, buy this DVD. If you want to lose weight don't be fooled. My overall choice, Anna Caban, all of her DVDs, including the Cardio Pilates, which is a great overall workout.