Rating: 
Summary: Good workout, but not for beginners
Review: AFter I gave birth to my daughter I had some extra weight to lose. I have been going to yoga classes on and off for two years but I had never tried pilates before, so I got this workout dvd and decided to give it a try. Starts off with 15 minutes of warm-up conditioning (basic stretch movements).
Next is 30 minutes of aerobic cross training to burn fat and firm major muscle groups.
Centering Makeover - 35 minutes of abdominal and back exercises that I think really do work.
Lengthening - a 10 minute cool down to stretch all the muscles out again to keep you from cramping and from bulking up. I thought the warm-up was very basic and as extensive as it should have been for the exercises that follow.
I hate aerobic exercise, but realize that it's part of losing weight... the 30 minutes of dancing around isn't exactly my favorite, but it's not bad. Every once in a while I have to walk in place to take a breather.
The Centering work out is difficult. Luckily I've had the yoga training, but even I wasn't able to do everything so I don't know how someone with no dance/pilates/yoga experience would be able to pull this off. NOT for beginners! You will be discouraged and annoyed -or even hurt yourself!- with this and never use it again if you are not in good shape. I kept up with it, though, and gradually got better. I lost 13 pounds and three and a half inches by doing pilates and barely cutting down my calorie intake in about three months time (I did the pilates work out 4-5 times a week). So it definitely does work. It's just extremely difficult. Even after three months of doing it almost daily, I still have trouble with the moves.
The strength training part with 3-5 lb weights is pretty good if you're looking to tone but not bulk up. I don't like looking bulky, I just like not having that extra flap of skin hanging under my arms!! So this workout is pretty good for that. I'm giving it four stars because it succeeded in helping me lose the weight that I wanted to lose. It's great for your abs and back strengthening. Picking my daughter up all the time really does a job on my back, so these exercises help with it a lot. I didn't give it five stars because of how difficult it is and it can get boring if you're planning on doing this video all the time.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable Excercise, wonderful for strengthening weak backs
Review: As a newcomer to Pilates, I found this DVD to be entertaining as well as a good workout. I also found that Pilates is helping strengthen my easily-injured back. On this DVD (my first and only Pilates DVD), the instructions, when combined with the video, are usually quite good, though some better verbal descriptions of some of the movements would have been helpful. There are times when the instructor tells you to make sure to look straight ahead for a movement, or at your belly button, but doesn't provide enough verbal cuing for you to continue the excercise as she does. There are also several segments where the demonstrators are confused about how to do a movement, and until the camera shifts back to the instructor, it's unclear how to do that movement. Once you've been through the dvd a few times you figure it out, but one would wish for more careful editing and more practice from the producers before they release the dvd. The dance segments are fun and the weights introduced in the cross-training segment a nice change (and a good introduction to using light weights). I've found that doing the warmup + cross-training one day and warmup + centering the alternating day makes it very easy to fit excercise into my busy schedule, and the variety is welcome too.
Rating: 
Summary: Only for ballerinas!
Review: As a special education teacher, I really appreciate when workout videos demonstrate quality instruction. If you have never had any formal dance training, skip this video. Not only are the steps complicated and hard to follow, but the cueing is poor. The instructors offer little guidance on how to perform the steps properly, nor do they warn viewers when the steps change. I am not the most coordinated person on the planet, but I like to challenge myself. However, I gave up on the cardio portion of the workout after 3 or 4 attempts. It's hard to get through without falling down! Negatives aside, I do enjoy the warm-up portion of the tape, which is only 15 minutes long. I do that on days when I don't want to do a heavy workout or to add some stretching after jogging or a session on the elliptical trainer. During the warm-up section, the moves are not complicated and are quite fun. The live drummers in the background are a refreshing change from most generic workout video music. For me, this video is not worth the price given that I find only the first 15 minutes are actually useful.
Rating:
Summary: Not Enough Good to Balance the Bad
Review: I have had this DVD for quite a while and have found that it is one that ends up in the back of the cupboard unused. There are a couple of reasons for this. The primary one is that the cardio section of this tape is so hard to follow for someone with no dance experience (like myself) that I end up not feeling like I've had any kind of workout. The moves are hard to follow and there is really no instructor cueing to help much. Also, in order to properly do this section of the workout, you must have a fairly large space to work in. If your TV room is filled with furniture (as mine is) you will probably get more of a workout moving furniture around to accomodate the moves in the tape than you will from the actual tape. I liked the weight section in this portion of the tape, however, and I think they present moves that will tone you up without additional bulk. The warm-up is too long for what it accomplishes. I did enjoy the final section, which is where you really get into the pilates, but there are so many other pilates workouts around now that I usually choose to do one of them over this tape, simply because I want a more complete workout and am so disappointed in the other sections.
Rating:
Summary: disappointing
Review: I like workouts that include the abdomen, because there is nothing better than the feeling, later, of being able to perform daily tasks with the centered energy that comes from the abdomen. Currently I am responsible for taking care of an aged parent and when one is able to respond with vigor to at times querulous demands this maintains one's mood and center. However, those workouts that include the abdomen usually are extremely difficult. The best tape on this I used before this DVD was the old Jane Challenge workout and the ab section of Jane's tape is beastly hard. By incorporating stress on the center of the body throughout the workout, The Method Pilates avoids the problem of Jane Challenge, which for me is that you spend the entire workout before the ab section wondering if you're going to make it through the "crunch" time. The only downside about The Method Pilates is the absence of hard aerobic training and for best results I think you should keep on running if you indeed run while using this tape. Do not be discouraged if you cannot, the first time, accomplish the flagship pose of Pilates, which is legs and arms straight up with the tummy doing all the work. Be amused instead of you end up arse over tip. Either counsel your loved ones to treat your workout space as private and to consider you, when working out, to be as the dancing elephant in Africa, a sight not fit for mortal eyes. Or, as I did when residing with my ex-wife and son, counsel them that you look stupid when you work out and ask their permission. Men should dance. A network administrator at the World Trade Center who died was profiled in the New York Times was studying ballet because he and his wife expected grandchildren and he wanted to be able to chase after them and pick them up (ab work really helps in herding children, at Disneyland or in the park.) In his honor men should dance.
Rating: 
Summary: Good workout
Review: I like workouts that include the abdomen, because there is nothing better than the feeling, later, of being able to perform daily tasks with the centered energy that comes from the abdomen. Currently I am responsible for taking care of an aged parent and when one is able to respond with vigor to at times querulous demands this maintains one's mood and center. However, those workouts that include the abdomen usually are extremely difficult. The best tape on this I used before this DVD was the old Jane Challenge workout and the ab section of Jane's tape is beastly hard. By incorporating stress on the center of the body throughout the workout, The Method Pilates avoids the problem of Jane Challenge, which for me is that you spend the entire workout before the ab section wondering if you're going to make it through the "crunch" time. The only downside about The Method Pilates is the absence of hard aerobic training and for best results I think you should keep on running if you indeed run while using this tape. Do not be discouraged if you cannot, the first time, accomplish the flagship pose of Pilates, which is legs and arms straight up with the tummy doing all the work. Be amused instead of you end up arse over tip. Either counsel your loved ones to treat your workout space as private and to consider you, when working out, to be as the dancing elephant in Africa, a sight not fit for mortal eyes. Or, as I did when residing with my ex-wife and son, counsel them that you look stupid when you work out and ask their permission. Men should dance. A network administrator at the World Trade Center who died was profiled in the New York Times was studying ballet because he and his wife expected grandchildren and he wanted to be able to chase after them and pick them up (ab work really helps in herding children, at Disneyland or in the park.) In his honor men should dance.
Rating: 
Summary: Only for dancers
Review: I love aerobics and was willing to give pilates a try so I started with this one. Holy moly. I, unfortunately, never took a dance class as a kid. With ineffective cueing and the absense of a 1-2-3-4 count, I was completely lost. I didn't feel that I'd gotten a very good workout when all was said and done. I would have liked more aerobic movement if I could've actually done it. With quite a lot of work, I think I might be able to get some of these moves down, but it will be a while until I can get a good workout from it!
Rating:
Summary: Discouraging
Review: I love to work out; I enjoy dance and pilates. BUT--
this video was not for me.
I liked the weight segments but the dance ones are only good if you have a LOT of room in your living room to travel (otherwise you must compromise the moves). Also, the dance moves are awkward and dorky, not fun or fluid.
Rating:
Summary: A good place to start...
Review: If you already do Pilates or have other videos, you may find this DVD redundant. However, if you are new to Pilates or just don't work out much in general, this is a good place to start. The pace and intensity of the workouts will help you start to get in shape and ready to move to the next level. In two weeks, I have already seen a difference in my shape. My only complaint about the DVD is the production quality, esp. in the second segment with Alex where she makes a few mistakes that are not corrected.
Rating:
Summary: Goddess Workout
Review: In-between whipping up magic in the kitchen (cooking), keeping your life organized (cleaning, errands), securing a paycheck (work), and making everyone happy (family responsibilities), it may sometimes feel like you are much less than an exercise goddess. After all, who has 90 minutes to exercise? My solution has been to make time to escape to the workout room. I've found that I can get more done because of the increase in energy. So, technically, I don't have time "not" to exercise. Once I start the "All in One" workout, I know I am going to feel like a goddess, move like a dancer and feel like I really did work every muscle group in my entire body. The precise movements in this video do take time to master, yet are fun and creative. With three instructors and constantly changing exercises, you will never be bored. You will in fact experience a new dimension in total physical conditioning. A combination of yoga, T'AI Chi, classical and aerobic dance, and exercises inspired by Joseph Pilates will encourage the integration of the entire body. You will also find yourself feeling more balanced. Of all the workout videos I have tried, this one excels in developing balance. Improving strength, endurance, suppleness and flexibility are also included in the game plan. There are three sections or if you add "lengthening," there are four sections. 1. Warm-Up Conditioning is an innovative variety of dance-based movements to firm every major muscle group. This is one of my favorite segments and is 15 minutes. 2. Aerobic Cross-Training (30 minutes) warms your body to fat burning intensity. You alternate between aerobic dance and weight exercises which are not overly challenging, but seem to work well. 3. Centering Makeover (35 minutes) helps you to become more aware of your body's center of energy, balance and strength. It encourages good posture, balance and poise. The anti-gravity techniques help to defy aging. 4. Lengthening (10 minutes) is a cool-down segment, which is reminiscent of yoga. I would have enjoyed another 10 minutes in this section if it had included more yoga stretching. At this point, I was not going anywhere and was flat on the floor anyway! This is a tough workout, but you will love the challenge. Overall, you will enjoy the variety. The dance segments evoke a "from the beginning of the earth" tribal feel (drums alternate with a more Jazzy track) and make you feel centered. The footwork is challenging at first. If you keep your feet moving you can work your way past the more complex routines which are not that complex on your third use of this video. They are actually quite fun and the dance is alternated with weights so you get a break from the dance segment to catch your breath. The dance steps do demand your full attention. I rate this an intermediate to advanced workout. If you have been walking on a treadmill a few times a week, you will have no problem completing the 90 minutes. Jennifer Kries makes her appearance in the beginning and end of this video. If anyone is a fitness goddess, she is! Soon after she begins instructing you in the Method Techniques, you will realize why. She also seems to have a subtle humor and enjoys encouraging you to push your limits. I especially enjoy the Method workouts when she is the instructor. All the instructors in this video are easy to listen to and inspire you to keep going. I give this my highest recommendation for all over body conditioning and enjoyment. I am very picky about workout videos, so you know this one is going to be good! The dancing in this video will really make you feel like a goddess and you don't have to have a perfect figure. Dance away and enjoy life, that is what is important! ~TheRebeccaReview.com
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