Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Overall Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Disc One: Step by Step Basics (30 minutes) Rating: 4/5
On this disc, Mari walks you through the proper breathing technique to use during Pilates and proper technique for the basic Pilates moves. This is informative and should definitely be watched and practiced along with before attempting the workouts. The disc uses a graphic before each new exercise, showing you where on your body you should feel the stretch, and what is proper technique. The pace of this disc is slow, building one concept on top of another until you've built the entire move and have the position and technique down pat. She doesn't show you every single move that will be on the other discs, but you get a good base of knowledge that should allow you to properly execute the other workouts. You should walk away from this disc knowing the proper breathing technique, the frame of your body, and 'Pilates stance' for proper leg placement during certain moves.
Moves covered: Pilates 100, Roll-up, Single Leg Circle, Rolling Like a Ball, Single Leg Stretch, Double Leg Stretch, and Spine Stretch Forward. If you can master these moves, you can move on to the Pilates workout discs.
This disc is great for beginners, but if you already know the basics of Pilates then you do not need this disc.
Disc Two: 20 Minute Workout (26 minutes) Rating: 2.5/5
This workout did nothing for me. Sometimes you can't fit a long workout into your schedule, and you need to have a shorter one to fall back on. I guess this is better than nothing, but that's about all it's better than. There's not enough movement in it. There's some stretching , a little ab work, a little leg work, and finito- honestly, you'd be better just doing crunches and lunges for 20 minutes. I guess I want a little more bang for my buck, or in this case, for my time. When I want a shorter workout, I normally grab something high cardio so I feel like I've actually gotten something out of it. Plus, all the moves on the 20 minute workout are included in the workout on disc three, so if you want a shorter one, just skip around that disc and do whichever of those moves you want to do, and make that workout as short or as long as you want. I wound up loaning this disc to a friend and never bothered getting it back. When I can't do the full hour workout, I just skip around, hitting the major moves, until I feel I've gotten a decent makeshift workout from it.
Disc Three: Accelerated Body Sculpting (57 minutes) Rating 3.75/5
I want to give this four stars, I really do, because I actually love the workout, but Mari... she just won't shut up! It feels like at least ten minutes of this workout is spent waiting around for Mari to quit talking and tell you what exercise is next. She makes the dumbest little comments like "make sure your torso is quiet" and "activate your buttocks" and "it's the last one, maybe that's why it's my favorite" while making a silly face and speaking in some cutesy pie voice that grates my very last nerve. She spends a gratuitous amount of time setting up the moves, which you should know already if you watched disc one, and even if you haven't, you'll know it by the second or third time you do the workout, anyway, so it just gets old really fast. I think that sometimes instructors forget that you'll be doing this workout a lot and will only be a novice for a short while and won't need all the commentary that they put on there. Plus, that's why there's a separate instructional disc. She should have put that all on disc one if it was that important. Now that I know the routine really well I'll just start on the next set of reps while she jaws on, or if it's really getting to me I'll lug myself off the floor and fast forward (I have no remote!). Her talking drags out the time between the sets and can really upset the flow of the workout.
That being said, the workout itself is fantastic. It really is worth it, once you learn to tune her out. The different exercises are in a good order so that after you've done something rather strenuous, the next set is stretching, giving you a little reprieve before moving on to the next strenuous set. Some of the moves are hard-core- don't try to prove anything- do the modified version on the harder moves until you gain more flexibility and master your breathing technique. When the moves are properly executed, I can feel it in my arms, abs and legs. It improves posture and flexibility by leaps and bounds, and when you master the breathing it has a centering, calming effect, much like what you'd get from basic meditation.
I really do love the Accelerated Body Sculpting workout. Of the three discs, it is the only one I still use. I like to alternate it in my rotation; if I've done a really hard workout with weight training, or if I've done 60+ minutes on my elliptical for hard cardio, the next day I like to do Pilates as it helps limber up my body and allows me to still get a good workout in without overly pushing myself every day. I wouldn't recommend Pilates if your sole intention is to lose weight. You'll probably lose some if you do it every day, and you'd certainly get some tone, but you need the cardio to burn the calories. This one is a good one for people who want to rotate workouts, or who normally do strictly cardio and want something for muscle tone, or for people who sit crunched at a desk all day and want to get some flexibility and correct poor posture.
I'll give Mari this- as much as she annoys me personally on these discs, I think her Pilates program is better than any other I've seen or tried, and I've tried several. I also enjoy that I need no special equipment. I hate having to spend tons of money on props that I have to have to do the workout, or big equipment that takes up tons of room. I don't want rubber bands and beach balls all over the place, and it seems like you can hardly get a Pilates workout without needing one, the other, or both. This one, all you need is yourself and your own motivation. This also makes it great for travel, you can bring it with you if you're out of town and still be able to work out. I know if I get off routine, it's hard for me to get back on, so I appreciate being able to take it with me when I'm on the go.
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