Pilates suggestions?

[maddiesmum]

I was thinking about giving pilates a try, beyond the moves that Cathe and other instructors use in their workouts.

I can't afford to subscribe to classes, so I am wondering if any of you could make recommendations for some excellent pilates DVDs I could peruse and use at home? Who are your favourite instructors?

Thanks for all your help!

Clare

 

[lainiefig]

My favorite Pilates DVD instructor is Ellen Barrett. She has done a few Crunch Pilates videos and my two favorites are Crunch: Pick Your Spot Pilates, which has 4 10-minute sections focusing on different parts of the body, and Crunch: Super Slimdown, which has a Pilates and Yoga blend that flows beautifully. You can find her stuff at http://www.collagevideo.com. Her workouts are generally beginner/intermediate.

10 Minute Solution also has a couple good Pilates workouts--each of their DVDs has something like 5 10-minute workouts so you have can do anywhere from 10 to 50 minutes of them at a time--great for adding on to other workouts.

I also liked the Breakthru Pilates DVDs with Michelle Dozois and Tracy York--though it doesn't seem to be available through Collage anymore.

[font face="comic sans ms" font color=teal]***Lainie***

My fitness blog: http://web.mac.com/lainiefig/iWeb/Site/Exercise/Exercise.html

"The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself." -- Mark Twain[/font]

 

[maddiesmum]

Thank you for the suggestions Lainie. I was at my local Borders store this evening, browsing their exercise DVDs shelves, and I seem to remember seeing both the Dozois and Barrett DVDs. Thanks!

Lainie, can I ask you, what does pilates do for you? What benefits have you seen from using Barrett's workouts?

Anybody else got any suggestions for me?

Clare

 

[lainiefig]

Clare,

Well, after writing about this I am thinking I should go back to doing Pilates more often again. For a while it was something I did every other day or so but I have not had it in my rotation so often anymore. A lot of people talk about Pilates lengthening muscles or leaning them out, but I never noticed that effect. For me, it helped to strengthen my core and improve flexibility (2 things I still need). I also just liked that I felt graceful doing Pilates (no small feat for a klutz like me), particularly Ellen's Crunch: Super Slimdown workout which I think flows so beautifully.

I have a good friend who loves Mari Winsor's Pilates workouts. The ones I tried I personally didn't like, but I know she's quite popular, so that's another option for you. Some of her stuff is on Collage as well, so you could watch a video clip there.

HTH

[font face="comic sans ms" font color=teal]***Lainie***

My fitness blog: http://web.mac.com/lainiefig/iWeb/Site/Exercise/Exercise.html

"The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself." -- Mark Twain[/font]

 

[andtckrtoo]

I like Yogilates by Jonathan Urla. I have the level 2 and level 3 DVD (level 2 you can get from Collage Video). It's more of a combination, but honestly he's a pilates instructor that tacks on yoga - so it's more pilates than yoga, but it's still a good stretch and very calming.