Rating: 
Summary: Results you can feel..
Review: I heard so many good things from people who do pilates that I decided to try it out for myself. This tape is good for beginners like me. Denise explains in detail how you should breath, and what muscles you'll be focusing on. She's also a good motivator. She encourages you throughout the tape. Some people find it annoying but I found it very inspiring. As other reviewers, I agree the first part is better than the second. The first is at a good pace but I found eventually, once you do the tape for more than two weeks, that if you do the second right after it gives you a great workout and the feeling of a good burn. Which is what I enjoy because I know I'm really working out my body. It also strengthens your lower back muscles and posture. All in all, it's a good tape if you want a change from the regular cardios.
Rating:
Summary: a revelation
Review: I took some Pilates classes three years ago and quickly gave up on account of the exorbitant cost ($... a pop). Bought the Denise Austin video more out of curiosity than anything else and got completely hooked. The exercises manage to be challenging and calming at the same time, and I feel weird on days I DON'T do them. Denise is encouraging and non-threatening. Some passages are too fast -- just slow down and do fewer reps. In all, a wonderfully relaxing and strengthening workout.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful and refreshing....
Review: Denise is an angel in this DVD. Lots of encouragement, support and quality instruction. Her voice is smoothe and beautiful and the workouts are challenging and refreshing. This makes a great addition to your current workout or as your complete workout. If more folks would excercise the way Denise describes it, there would be more fit folks in the world. "The goal is to train the body, not punish it!". I always recommend learning to really stretch and make your body limber and feel good before even beginning any other kind of workout program. Learn to excercise in a way that feels good and with nice, graceful form first. The second thing is to adjust your expectations....go for longer term fitness goals. Make a comittment to being healthy and fit all through your years. Do you want to feel good, healthy, fit and flexable for as long as you can? Oh, a side effect of enjoying excercise is that you will become more youthful and attractive looking and feeling. Just start with flexability, suppleness and grace. Those who would advise "No pain, No gain" are better off ingnored. If you can detect the difference between the feel of stretching muscles gently past the old comfort zone and into more flexability vs. pain from overextending joints and forcing muscles to perform WAY past their current level of extension, then you'll know that it's better to move toward pleasant sensation that causes some exertion. If you are too sore to excercise tomorrow...you went too far! On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being no effort and 10 being absolute maximum effort and force...try 70% of your wokouts at 6, 7 or 8 gently pushing up into the higher ranges to increase your capacity when your body is warm, loose and limber. This will make today's "10" next week's 9 and so on. Have fun and be nice to your body. Then your body will be nice to you. God Bless.
Rating: 
Summary: Pass on this Pilates Workout
Review: I wanted to try Pilates and I came across this tape (I decided to give Denise a chance even thoughI cannot stand her voice!) The bottom line: I did not like this tape. She breezed through the exercises! She looked wobbly and uncoordinated in the second half of the video. I'm going to try Pilates for Dummies and see how I like it.
Rating:
Summary: Former Dancer
Review: This is a very good video. The first session is for people who have never done pilates before or is just getting back into the groove. The second session is very challenging.
Rating: 
Summary: EXCELLENT but not for beginners! *(beg - intermediate MAYbe)
Review: I just wrote a review about the Living Arts beginner's mat workout tape as well. Between the two of them - the Living Arts tape with Ana Corban (??) is better suited for the beginner. This tape - despite it's difficulty - LET ME TELL YOU I only did HALF the tape, and I feel like I've had a POWER workout - in only twenty minutes! It's VERY challenging at some points, and a bit too fast in the movements. I much prefer the "speed" of the movements in the Living Arts tape (Which I actually modified my speed down to what the living arts tape is). BUT this one REALLY covers more of a full mind/body workout. I think within the difficulties of the movements, you really have to concentrate, which means you release everything else going on in your mind and dive into the movements wholly. I couldn't finish a lot of the "sets" of certain movements, but would rest using a "neutral spine/abs" position while they finished the reps for that particular set. (eek that make sense? hehe) It's VERY challenging, yet soothing when you're all finished. I feel VERY good right now (as I've just finished doing it!) I highly recommend this to compliment the Living Arts tape - in getting started. I've been doing the living arts pilates tape for about three weeks now. I feel THAT tape, helped me to do THIS one. Denise needs to SPEAK and not WHISPER. It's ANNOYING. But a good tape and workout nonetheless. I strongly urge people not to push themselves too far tho, this one makes it seem like you kind of have to. But you don't. And if you do this tape - even just the first half and you're a beginner, If you pay attention, use your focus, and follow the movements, you will feel GREAT afterwards!
Rating:
Summary: Challenging
Review: I found this tape very challenging. It is all based around strengthening the stomach. I found this to be much easier than yoga. She makes it very easy to understand all the moves. I actually sweated somewhat. This is a great tape dispite Denise Austin's ability to go on and on forever. You kind of have to tune her out but it's the easiest and most effective tape I have found so it's definatly worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: Fake Pilates, Wobbly Yoga
Review: This workout is so bad that I could not even view it in its entirety the first time through. I could only take Denise a little at a time. Denise is trying to be less peppy than her usual self by whispering her instructions. This only makes her even more annoying. Trying to teach Yoga and Pilates on one tape when you don't truly understand either one takes guts. People spend years studying and practicing each one. Denise obviously jumped on the latest fitness bandwagon to make a quick buck. Denise sounds silly as she blurts out key Pilates phrases but doesn't explain adequately what they mean (probably because she doesn't know). Whatever type of Yoga Denise is trying to teach in the second segment, it certainly isn't proper Ashtanga Yoga. She doesn't hold poses very well. Bad for beginners to learn and irritating for those who really practice Yoga. Denise has a nice friendly smile. However, it doesn't make up for lack of technique. Yoga and Pilates require much more to instruct. Stick with videos from real fitness professionals vs. "celebrities."
Rating:
Summary: Not bad
Review: Overall, I'm satisfied with this tape. However, I'd give it a 3.5 stars if I could. I don't think this tape is as good as the
"Power Yoga Plus" tape. This tape is much slower, and I feel that her Pilates form isn't as good as on the other tape (which makes sense, since PYP came out in 2001 and this one came out in 2000). There is also something about the set that I don't like- it looks like the same set as what she uses for Blast Away 10 Pounds, but dressed up differently. I think I don't like that you're supposed to think you can go right outdoors when it's clearly a set. I also think she uses too many repetitions. One of the things about Pilates that makes it so appealing is its emphasis on correct form; if you do the exercise correctly, you should only need to do 5-10 reps, not the plus or minus 20 she does for some of the moves here. But it's still a good tape (just not great). She doesn't include all of the classic "beginner" Pilates moves, so the over-repetition works out. The Yoga section on the second half of the tape is very good. She probably isn't going to impress the hard-core yogis, but she is doing some tricky asanas (balancing on one foot and camel, for instance), and I applaud her. Again, the thing to watch out for whenever you combine yoga and pilates is to change your breathing accordingly: yoga is all through the nose and pilates is in through the nose and out through the mouth. This isn't a bad tape to add to your collection, but if I had to choose I'd recommend Power Yoga Plus over this one.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good.
Review: I attempted this video a few times and I definately like both routines. Denise's routines are always fun and innovative and so she holds my interest. I especially like how the second segment is yoga and pilates all mixed together, even though its not "real" yoga. Whatever it is, its fun and it works. I definately plan to use this once I'm more advanced in my pilates. There are not enough beginner modifications. This is not the best pilates video if you're a beginner.
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