Functional Pilates w/Lower Foam Rolling & Core

BlakKat

Cathlete
I did the main Core program 2 days ago & I am happy to say my lower abs are still sore! Cathe uses a stability ball & also incorporates lower back, hips & glutes. There are even pushups on ball & some hamstring pull-ins. Loved this complete core workout. The mini ball is only used for the bonus which I didn't have time for.

I did the Functional Pilates & lower body foam rolling yesterday. After lugging all the holiday decorations up & down stairs from the attic & shopping over the weekend, my body was achy & creaky. This w/o got all the kinks & pains out & I felt so good. It really opened up my back & hips. Cathe uses a foam roller, orange/light fabric loop & mini ball. I loved every exercise she does in this program; I could feel them stretching/lengthening & working my body plus they were so much fun, watch out for those pizza presses at the end. I really loved this workout so much & can't wait to do it again! The beginning of the lower body foam rolling w/o, Cathe goes through all the exercises that you can do so that you go through them once & then you know you can go back to them if/when needed.
 
I did the Functional Pilates & lower body foam rolling yesterday. After lugging all the holiday decorations up & down stairs from the attic & shopping over the weekend, my body was achy & creaky. This w/o got all the kinks & pains out & I felt so good. It really opened up my back & hips. Cathe uses a foam roller, orange/light fabric loop & mini ball. I loved every exercise she does in this program; I could feel them stretching/lengthening & working my body plus they were so much fun, watch out for those pizza presses at the end. I really loved this workout so much & can't wait to do it again! The beginning of the lower body foam rolling w/o, Cathe goes through all the exercises that you can do so that you go through them once & then you know you can go back to them if/when needed.
I did this one today - loved it. This series is a winner - so happy Cathe produced these. It was well worth the wait!!!
 
I did this workout on Thursday in place of my STS 2 foam rolling lower body workout.

I got really confused with the premix titles as they said stuff like "Foam roller and ball only". I mistook "Foam roller" to be the BONUS foam roller workout, so it took me through the pilates workout exercises that used the foam roller, NOT the bonus foam roller workout.

I'm on the fence if I like this workout or not. I'll have to try it in full when it comes up in the intended rotation.

I honestly got a little cranky when she went into some body weight lower body exercises after the very brief foam rolling section in the bonus. I'd rather she'd done the lower body exercises then followed up with the foam roller. I was looking for a more restorative approach than a mini workout thrown in.
 
I did the main Core program 2 days ago & I am happy to say my lower abs are still sore! Cathe uses a stability ball & also incorporates lower back, hips & glutes. There are even pushups on ball & some hamstring pull-ins. Loved this complete core workout. The mini ball is only used for the bonus which I didn't have time for.

I did the Functional Pilates & lower body foam rolling yesterday. After lugging all the holiday decorations up & down stairs from the attic & shopping over the weekend, my body was achy & creaky. This w/o got all the kinks & pains out & I felt so good. It really opened up my back & hips. Cathe uses a foam roller, orange/light fabric loop & mini ball. I loved every exercise she does in this program; I could feel them stretching/lengthening & working my body plus they were so much fun, watch out for those pizza presses at the end. I really loved this workout so much & can't wait to do it again! The beginning of the lower body foam rolling w/o, Cathe goes through all the exercises that you can do so that you go through them once & then you know you can go back to them if/when needed.
thank you for the review!! I also did the core program last Thursday and abs are still sore today! I love that one! I haven't done the Pilates yet, perhaps tomorrow!
 
I'm on the fence if I like this workout or not. I'll have to try it in full when it comes up in the intended rotation.
I did the Pilates Fusion & Bonus LB Foam Rolling today ... I'm on the fence too. It felt good, like a mobility or stretch segment does. It was not what I consider a workout as there's no sweating or high heart rate or needing to catch your breath, or lift anything heavy. But it is movement. I'd definitely include this in a recovery week, or as a recovery workout when I'm a bit achy - it would feel good then. Having On-Demand to blend parts of this to other workouts might be ideal. I would not discourage anyone from it as it does feel good and not all workouts have to be hard. And I like using the foam roller, mini-ball & band, even as props as I get more use out of them - but they are not actually needed for most of the exercises that use them in this dvd. I might add this particular dvd to my weekend lineup which are more restorative in nature (yoga, stretching, mobility, walking) - that might be a good place for it, for me, at this time.

ETA Next Day: my hamstrings are whispering today - they're not talking or screaming tho. I think it was the hip lift with feet on the foam roller exercise. Gripping the roller with my feet to keep it from moving I think activated the hamstrings more than if done on the floor. I wore the same grippy socks as Cathe & crew.
 
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I did functional Pilates and the lower body balance disc workout today, and I agree this was movement and not a workout. Mondays are often recovery days, and it was very nice for that purpose. I like movement, and frankly, I need workouts that keep me from grabbing a “typical” sweaty workout. I will get a better balance now I have these. maybe. In a year, ask me how many times I have used them. I hope I’m smart enough to let them help me have those recovery days.
 
I found the hamstring rollouts on the foam roller very hard. I like these workouts because they are different. I like working on my balance and mobility, and I'm usually sore the next day. I did total body yesterday and my thighs, arms and chest are sore. What a win!
 
I'm one who LOVES this workout. It's PERFECT for an active recovery day. I enjoy the long lever moves & lengthening. The move where you do bridge with your feet on the roller is the most challenging part of this one & I always feel it in my hamstrings. I also love doing the foam rolling first before moving on to the rest of the workout. These changes from the usual progression are something I totally enjoy. I feel soooo good every single time I finish this one.
 
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I finally did the Pilates workout in full (not the foam rolling bonus, so I've yet to experience the bridges on the foam roller - I'm sure those would definitely hit the hamstrings good.)

I'm in agreement with others in that this was more of a gentle movement workout, perhaps a little closer to mobility, than any other kind of workout. When I think "Pilates", I also think "core work" and there was very little of that in this workout.

Probably not my favorite of the series. That's not to say it's "bad" or that I won't ever use it again. As others mentioned, it would be a good workout to throw in on a day where I need some gentle movement, for instance, on a day I'd maybe have a mobility workout or chair yoga workout scheduled.
 
This is actually one of my favorites. I can see where in the Pilates repertoire Cathe chose to pull exercises and translate them to the roller. When you look at all the Pilates apparatus there’s so much more exercises than just the mat work.

Tomorrow is day 3 of Week 3 for me and this series is a real winner for me.
 
Finally did the mini workout that follows the foam rolling and I can definitely see how the hamstrings get worked pretty good. So crazy such a simple move and prop does that. I combined this with the lower body balance disc bonus and it made for a good, solid 40-ish minute workout in full.
 
Finally did the mini workout that follows the foam rolling and I can definitely see how the hamstrings get worked pretty good. So crazy such a simple move and prop does that. I combined this with the lower body balance disc bonus and it made for a good, solid 40-ish minute workout in full.
Hmmm...interesting combo ...may try it for a 2nd leg day workout!
 

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