pilates

[kaykay]

Hi, I have never done pilates before and I saw a dvd at Walmart called Pilates for weight loss. It has Ana Caban. Is she a good instructor? Thanks for any opinions.

 

[Poochy]

Hey .. yeah it is a good video but moves EXTREMELY slow .. slower than normal ..

.. I like the Windsor pilates w/band workout .. it is tough .. and the movement flows a bit better for my preference ..

 

[LauraMax]

Ana Caban has a great pilates workout called "Pilates for Abs." You can get it on its own or combined w/Rodney Yee's yoga for abs workout. It's short--about 25-30 minutes, but it really gives you a burn.

 

[dianet]

The first pilates video I ever did was Ana Caban's Beginners Pilates workout or something like that. I thought it was a really good introduction to pilates. I also really liked The Pilates Body book by Brooke Siler. I like to stick to the classic series, so I also like Classical Pilates Technique mat video. It will show you how to do the classic series from beginner to super advanced, so you can grow with it. I would get Ana Caban beginners video and the book to start and get the basics down, and then get the Classical Pilates video to grow with.

 

[pixie9]

I would just like to chime in and add that although Pilates is great for learning to use your core etc, it's not all that great for weight loss. I haven't found any form of pilates that will help with that so to me, that title sounds a little misleading("pilates for weight loss"). If you're interested in strengthening your core then pilates is great. But if you're interested in losing weight, then I would focus on cardio. But then again, there may be some sort of pilates/cardio mish mosh out there that I'm not familar with. I've never seen one though.

carolyn

 

[Soosan]

I think Ana Caban is an excellent instructor and I often do her Intermediate workout as well as the abs one LauraMax recommended. The slow pace of the abs DVD makes it especially effective. Modifications are shown throughout both of these workouts.

 

[dianet]

Agreed. Pilates alone will not make you lose weight. But pilates, combined with cardio and some traditional strength training, will give you a flatter stomach and slimmer hips. At least it did for me when I did it regularly. When I had the best results from pilates is when I did a quick intermediate routine (from the book or from the Classical video) about 5 times a week. It only takes 8 minutes max if you know the moves, so it was quick and effective.

 

[kaykay]

Thank you for your replies. I will check if the ones you all mentioned are there also. The weight loss part caught my attention, but core strength is really what I am after. I love Cathe for everything. Thanks again.

 

[BAM]

I, too, really liked Ana's beginner's pilates. It was fun and her instruction was very good. She showed a sense of humor. Her intermediate pilates wasn't as humorous. :-( I recently purchased her Pilates Body Band Challenge. It came with a 6 foot band so I figured I could use it with Cathe workouts. I was very disappointed in this DVD and unfortunately I can't get my money back.