Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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149 of 151 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My New Favorite Pilates-Inspired DVD, October 16, 2004
I'm a big fan of the short workouts, because I have a very demanding and irregular work schedule (long hours, lots of travel). As I get further away from my college years, I also find that there's more "trouble areas" developing on my body, so I prefer workouts that hone-in on specific body target zones. This DVD fits the bill. I enjoy the pilates-inspired workouts because they leave me feeling like I get a good workout without working too hard. The thing that makes this DVD so special is that it works my muscles even harder than previous pilates DVDs I've tried: the workouts give me that "good workout soreness" the next day, but do so without exhausting me so much that I can't bring myself to do it again after another long workday. I also like that in addition to focusing on my favorite trouble spots (abs, buns and thighs), this DVD has a 10-minute pilates sculpting workout (get out your light weights, everybody), a 10-minute cardio-toning pilates workout (get that heart rate up, everybody) and, my personal favorite, a 10-minute flexibility workout, which is relaxing--not strenuous--and is the perfect workout nightcap for any exercise routine (I truly mean that, it loosens all the muscles with a great, unique set of stretches). Another great benefit of having this DVD is that it allows you to build the number and order of the 10-minute workouts so that you can play as many or as few as you want, in whatever sequence you like.
To top it all off, Lara Hudson is a fantastic instructor. I didn't realize the importance of a good instructor until I found some folks that I didn't like (for example, Denise Austin's raspy voice gets on my nerves). Lara Hudson, on the other hand, is sweet, motivating, and explains the exercises with just the right amount of dialogue. She's also very attractive without being impossibly in-shape (so she's pleasant to look at and you can actually imagine yourself having a body like hers someday). The scenes are all in a well-lit studio with modern exercise music playing softly in the background. Overall, I have no complaints. The one word of caution I must say though is that I think these exercises are better suited for people who have prior pilates experience or who are at least moderately in-shape, because they are quite challenging and do not offer modifications on the movements. So for those of you who like short, challenging, effective pilates-inspired exercises with variety, a good instructor, and a pleasant ambience, I strongly recommend this DVD.
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160 of 164 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
jackpot - this is the Pilates video for me., January 12, 2005
This is my second Pilates video, and it is by far the best I've tried. The 10-minute Solution DVDs offer 5 10-minute workouts. I really liked how this DVD was configured. You could choose to play all five, just one, or personalize your workout. Personalizing means you could put the workouts in any order and choose as many or as few as you liked. Not all exercise DVDs have such advanced features, and I felt it was worth noting.
One of the reasons I like Pilates is that it requires very little equipment. I do not even use a mat. Speaking as one, any business traveller could make good use of this DVD for exercise on the road.
This workout is fairly challenging, and I liked that. It wasn't so much that it tired me out. The challenging bit is that each exercise really made me feel "the burn". The instructor's excellent cues and the good use of videography allowed me to follow along easily. She offered many reminders of body positioning and what we should be doing, stretching limbs away from eachother, squeezing our stomach towards the spine, or breathing.
The music and set are non-distracting. The instructor is the only exerciser.
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48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful pilates video..., June 5, 2005
Based on the great reviews this video has gotten I decided to get it myself. There are 5-10 minute segments to pick from and they are all solid workouts that pack a lot into 10 minutes.
The first segment is abs, you will see the hundred, rollup, double leg stretch, criss cross, scissors, corkscrew, double straight leg stretch, rollover, spinal twists and the teaser. I always feel a fire in my abs after this segment.
The second segment targets the lower body. First you lie on your side and work your legs with side leg lifts while flexing and pointing your foot, then you will move into leg circles, then the ronde de jambe, and finally inner thigh lifts. After repeating this on the other side you will move onto your stomach and work your inner thighs again with the grasshopper again with pointed and flexed feet. Then you will move onto your back and do shoulder bridges, clean hip presses, then hip presses with one leg extended in the air, then you lower and lift the leg in the air which is a bit challenging. Then it's time to stretch.
The third segment is called Sculpting Pilates, where you work on toning and defining your arms using light weights (2-3 lbs). First you work the shoulders with the zipup, then move onto bicep curls while holding your arms up in front of you, then holding them out to the side. Then you do arm circles, where you raise your arms up and down while doing little circles, you will do these lifting your arms in front and sideways. Then you will work your chest with out and in, which is basically a pec fly like motion standing up. After this you will do the "bug" which is the same as a rear delt lift in a bent over position. Then it's on to triceps, where you do an exercise called "shave the head", which is kind of similar to an overhead press, tricep kickbacks follow. Boxing comes next, you lift one arm at a time straight up, then you lean over and lift your arms front and back. Finally you do the "Superman Lunge", where you step into a shallow side lunge, lift your arms front and up then side and down, then you repeat the other way and step back to standing.
Pilates Burn is the next segment, which is a total body segment. You will see planks into heel presses then pushups, swimming, mermaid, under the bridge (mermaid while twisting underneath), hamstring kicks into one legged pushups, lunge position into hip presses, and extended cat pose (extending one arnm and opposite leg then curling under. Then you will do some leg exercises while on one knee and lifting the working leg to the side, first moving the leg front and back, then leg circles which is quite tough, definitely harder than it looks.
The final segment is Pilates for Flexibility, which is a nice routine that stretches you out nicely. Cat pose, lunge position, hamstring stretches, side stretches, spinal twist, the saw and around the world are some of the moves you will see here.
Overall, a fantastic pilates DVD, which is programmable where you can customize your own workout, a very nice feature. Or you can pick just one or two segments if you are short on time. Lara Hudson is a very pleasant instructor with excellent form, she makes all the exercises look easy. I hope one day to be as flexible as she is. She also offers good form pointers and tips, as well as modifications for people less experienced. She also tells you the name of each exercise which is nice. I highly recommend this DVD for those who like pilates, but are somewhat familiar with it.
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