rjroubi...Got pilates DVD...now what?

melodygirl

melodygirl

Cathlete
Hi Robin-

I received my Sara Picot More than Mat pilates DVD yesterday. Now, what is the best way to incorporate pilates into weight & cardio rotations? For one more week & 1/2 I'm doing one body part per day (long heavy weight w/o) & putting in 4 cardios & 3-4 core w/o during the week. Then I will probably go to UB/LB weight split w/cardio 4x/wk, core 3-4x, not doing cardio & wts on same days. Pilates best on weight or cardio days? Does it matter?

Also, in rummaging through DVDs I have discovered an unopened DVD "a.m. and p.m. Pilates Mat Workouts" w/Jillian Hessel & Ana Caban (apparently I was going the pilates route previously, but was detoured). Any opinions on that w/o?

I value your pilates knowledge & TIA for letting me "pick your brain".

Anyone else w/suggestions, I'd love to hear. I'm totally new to pilates.
 
Melody,

What I have been doing is my regular workouts (cardio and/or weights) in the morning and then I've been going to a pilates class in the evenings. I just go the one night for pilates. However, I have yoga DVDs and other stretch DVDs that I often incorporate at night after the kids go to bed, of course. It wouldn't be very relaxing to do if they were still up. ha ha!

Sometimes I'll throw it in when I feel like I need some good stretching.

That seems to work best for me.

I'm sure you'll get lots of good suggestions.

Dallas
 
There are 2 different schools of thought....some say treat it like a weight workout and others say it doesn't matter. I don't believe it should be treated like a weight workout (unless you are doing reformer work) and if you do it after cardio there have been studies showing you actually can increase the calories burned during and following the Pilates workout (if that's a goal). In other words, whichever way you can fit it into your schedule should be fine, but there is some additional benefit to doing it after your cardio.

I don't own the AM and PM Pilates Mat Workouts so I can't really tell you my "honest" opinion. I do think because they are considered beginner workouts they may be wonderful just to get your feet wet;)

Some suggestions:
Breathing is essential to the flowing movements and proper muscle balance so really learn it. (Each exercise has a specific breathing pattern assigned to it.) Take your time and enjoy the way your body feels while you are doing it:)

Incidently, I found that most people who say Pilates is easy usually aren't doing it right:eek: It requires precision, stability and control to be really effective and that takes quite a bit of practice.

ETA: Rule of thumb: if it feels too easy....you are probably not doing the exercise right ;)

HTH
Robin:)
 
>
>Incidently, I found that most people who say Pilates is easy
>usually aren't doing it right:eek: It requires precision,
>stability and control to be really effective and that takes
>quite a bit of practice.
>
>ETA: Rule of thumb: if it feels too easy....you are probably
>not doing the exercise right ;)
>

I think I've figured that out recently! Oh, my obliques are so sore this week! }( I think it helps taking a class at a gym to be reminded of form, etc. I think I'll pull out that MTV Pilates Mix and give it a second chance. lol

I'll be trying out the reformer next week. I can't wait!

Good luck Melody!

Dallas
 
>Will let you know how I do.

Good luck...but please don't get any taller doing it..Ok? I've been really working extra hard this week on catching up to you...I just have a few more inches to go;-):p :p

Robin:)
 
So, please pardon me if I'm butting in, but I've been wanting to try pilates. I've taken a few classes at my gym, and enjoyed them, but don't always have time to do the classes when they want me to. Which video does everyone recommend?
 
>So, please pardon me if I'm butting in, but I've been wanting
>to try pilates. I've taken a few classes at my gym, and
>enjoyed them, but don't always have time to do the classes
>when they want me to. Which video does everyone recommend?


I'd like to know, too. I haven't done pilates in a long time but was used to using the reformer with the coaching of a personal trainer and I LOVED it. WOW! that was an effective workout. We did some mat work too that was good. My former PT liked Stott Pilates but that was years ago and there's alot more variety to choose from now. I just bought a Denise Austin DVD based on a recommendation from a thread here, but it's really beginnerish. It looks good if you can get past Denise talking to you like you're a 2 year old--LOL!

Michele
 
>>So, please pardon me if I'm butting in, but I've been
>wanting
>>to try pilates. I've taken a few classes at my gym, and
>>enjoyed them, but don't always have time to do the classes
>>when they want me to. Which video does everyone recommend?
>
>
>
>I'd like to know, too. I haven't done pilates in a long time
>but was used to using the reformer with the coaching of a
>personal trainer and I LOVED it. WOW! that was an effective
>workout. We did some mat work too that was good. My former PT
>liked Stott Pilates but that was years ago and there's alot
>more variety to choose from now. I just bought a Denise Austin
>DVD based on a recommendation from a thread here, but it's
>really beginnerish. It looks good if you can get past Denise
>talking to you like you're a 2 year old--LOL!
>
IMO:

Sara Picot More than Mat pilates intermediate is excellent...much better IMO then the Denise Austin DVD. It is more advanced and works more of your core (she also uses proper form...Denise doesn't during her roll-ups). It has a good instructional section on the fundamentals which you can bypass later. It has a longer workout section which you can cut into a 20 minute workout after you master it but take your time (doing Pilates correctly really takes time and practice). The only thing you may find annoying about the DVD is during the learning phase it does show you the mat exercises on the reformer and you can't bypass that. I also don't like that the 20 minute workout is called a "cardio flow" workout because it is not. It is certainly rigorous, but not cardio (my pet peeve).

Stott Intermediate Mat it is one of the best Pilates DVDs on the market for technique and form, but one of the least entertaining. The Stott stability Ball series workouts are also great for corework (ie: 3D balance, Superior Balance).

MTV Pilates Mix is an excellent and challenging workout, but offers poor instruction.

Most by Ana Caban are pretty good, but she is more on the beginner side. Again, don't be fooled by the "fat burning" cardio workouts.

Mari Winsor can be really good if you have some technique under your belt. If you don't .... they will be of little value because, IMO, she really doesn't teach it.

Rael Pilates is good for technique, but I must admit I find his voice annoying so I very rarely use it (along the lines of Denise Austin except we see proper roll-ups in his DVDs...LOL). I'm sure there are plenty of other people who love him.

I also incorporate many short Pilates DVDs into my workouts at times as add ons.....10 minute Pilates solutions has a great short ab section. If you just need something to boost your workout a little these can be useful. They can be used as a full workout or just use the section you are focusing on.

There are so many others that are good....but these are just some of the main ones that I can think of off the top of my head.

Of course, these are just my opinions and I really only know what has worked for me;)

Robin:)

PS. If it's too easy you're probably not doing it right!;-)
 
>WOW! Thanks Robin! That's fabulous info! :) :) :) :)
>
>I'm going to go check these out!


Ditto what Christine said!

Michele:D
 
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