Looking for a good Pilates workout

F

feebee

Cathlete
I have read that crunches will define your abs (and maybe make them bigger) and that Pilates will flatten them. So what I'm looking for is some good Pilates workouts, and why and results from anyone who has them or tried them. Any help would be so greatly appreciated!!!
Thanks, Colleen
 
I started doing Pilates in 1992 before it was mainstream. Pilates does elongate your muscles and it is a great stretch. Yes my abs have gotten bigger since I started lifting again.(not much but there is a difference) Also planks and some other ab work Cathe does is similar or the same as pilates, which is great. Any way, the best video I have found is one from the Physicalmind Institute in Santa Fe,NM.phone: (505)988.1990.I bought it in 92 and still have not found one better or more consise. It is called physicalmind workout II intermediate matwork. I did read an article about Pilates first and had a basic understanding of Pilates. A close second would be Stott Pilates. They have a web site.(StottPilates.com ) I don't have their matwork videos just the reformer videos and they are very good instructionally. I personally didn't stick with Pilates long- it led me to ashtanga yoga which is a fantastic workout and I stayed with that for 10 years until I ran out of advanced tapes and there were no studios for ashtanga yoga in the dc metro area close to me and with child care!! Good Luck, Deanie:)
 
Deanie, I don't mean to hijack the thread, but where in the DC metro area are you?

Also, do you find pilates to be difficult? I only tried one pilates tape (years ago) and it didn't feel like I was doing anything. I think it may have just been a bad tape.

Thanks,
Becky
 
Hey Becky, I'm in upper Montgomery County MD. Are you from or in the DC area? I do not find Pilates difficult. I have found in the begining that if you think its easy your not doing it right. It was such a switch from the firm which i was doing before i started Pilates it took a while for me to get the gist of it. But it also was not that challenging- at least not the challenge i was looking for- which is why after 2 years, which included me getting the reformer and progressing on that, I moved on to ashtanga yoga. That was very challenging and had cardio benefits all in one which was helpful as I was home with a new baby and had very limited time in which to work out. Deanie:)
 
The video I started with was Ana Caban's Beginner Mat Workout in combination with "The Pilates Body" book by Brooke Siler. I never use the Ana Caban video anymore, but I thought it was a good introduction to very basic pilates. You really have to understand the breathing and how to focus on just using your core for the exercises for them to be effective. If you use other muscle groups, it will seem easy. From there, I used Stott and the book shows all of the more advanced exercises. Now, I just use the book and do it by myself.

I think the best video out there though is Classical Pilates Technique.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...2/103-9548997-2708668?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846

I bought this video after using all the others and it progresses from beginner to super advanced. It also moves at a faster pass that Stott, which I like (however, I admit it is a bit boring). Therefore, I would buy this video and the Siler book. I don't do pilates as regularly any more, but I used to do 5-10 minutes of it on my own with the book each day for a while and my abs were in the best shape ever.

Hope this helps!

- Diane
 
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