Rating: 
Summary: A Very Comprehensive Book for Mat Work
Review: From: Pilates Fitness Journal Review August 2003 www.pilatesfitnessjournal.com. This is a very comprehensive book. It covers around 200 Pilates exercises. The introductory chapters are inspiring especially for anyone who experiences pain. Allen Menezes, the author, experienced a great deal of pain himself and seems to truly understand how to help people work with and through their pain. The chapters cover:
· Why Our Bodies Need a Regular Fitness Program
· Mental Control Over Physical Movement
· The Importance of Posture
· Making Your Pilates Workout Effective and Safe
· Exercise Routines
· Move Yourself out of Pain
· Exercise Charts
The guided routines are for a warm-up, lower back pain and weak abdominal, basic, intermediate, and advanced routines as well as a Theraband routine. Each exercise has detailed descriptions and pictures (all black and white).
The reader would do well to read through the whole book first before attempting any of the exercises. The introduction helps with an understanding of the method behind the movements and the concluding chapters actually offer some information that is a must and probably should be in the introduction instead of the end of the book. This information is included in chapter twelve: " Move Yourself out of Pain." It goes over various types of possible problems - hip, back, shoulders, feet, knee, etc. Other pertinent information at the end of the book is the exercise charts. These give the reader a better sense of how to design a program, with suggestions for choosing exercises and the order. The basis routine may be a little difficult for the beginner. The warm-ups and exercises for low back pain and weak abdominals would be a good start.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Comprehensive Book for Mat Work
Review: From: Pilates Fitness Journal Review August 2003 www.pilatesfitnessjournal.com. This is a very comprehensive book. It covers around 200 Pilates exercises. The introductory chapters are inspiring especially for anyone who experiences pain. Allen Menezes, the author, experienced a great deal of pain himself and seems to truly understand how to help people work with and through their pain. The chapters cover:
·Why Our Bodies Need a Regular Fitness Program
·Mental Control Over Physical Movement
·The Importance of Posture
·Making Your Pilates Workout Effective and Safe
·Exercise Routines
·Move Yourself out of Pain
·Exercise Charts
The guided routines are for a warm-up, lower back pain and weak abdominal, basic, intermediate, and advanced routines as well as a Theraband routine. Each exercise has detailed descriptions and pictures (all black and white).
The reader would do well to read through the whole book first before attempting any of the exercises. The introduction helps with an understanding of the method behind the movements and the concluding chapters actually offer some information that is a must and probably should be in the introduction instead of the end of the book. This information is included in chapter twelve: " Move Yourself out of Pain." It goes over various types of possible problems - hip, back, shoulders, feet, knee, etc. Other pertinent information at the end of the book is the exercise charts. These give the reader a better sense of how to design a program, with suggestions for choosing exercises and the order. The basis routine may be a little difficult for the beginner. The warm-ups and exercises for low back pain and weak abdominals would be a good start.
Rating:
Summary: Quit being Quitter
Review: Have you tried every exercise program on the market only to quit after the first few lessons? That has been my experience until two weeks ago when I began a Pilates course. The instructor uses The Complete Guide to the Pilates Method as her instruction manual. Not only have I attended every class, I have purchased the book so I can continue the program at home.The Pilates method of strenghtening and elongating the muscles using precise, controlled exercises is wonderfully beneficial and has almost instant results. By the end of each class I was able to stretch further and perform more repeats. However, to ensure maximum benefit and reduce the risk of injury, it is essential that the exercises are performed using the correct technique and this is where this book is essential. Each exercise is set out in easy to follow steps and where required, the pre-requisite exercise is referenced. Important points such as perfect posture and correct breathing are stressed so that they become second nature and the wire spine means you can lay the book open flat on the floor and check each step as you go. Charts are provided to log your progress and you can follow a routine or devise your own. With this book as a reference guide, I can continue the Pilates exercises at thome and have quit being a quitter.
Rating:
Summary: Excellant book for health, wellness, and rehabilitation
Review: I bought this book because I also have a rugby-related back injury (which is what brought Mr. Menezes to Pilates). As a complete novice to Pilates, I found the extensive descriptions and photographs very helpful. Pilates is a very complex and versatile set of exercises, combined in different ways for those recovering from injuries or in good health. Mr. Menezes first explains the philosophy behind Pilates (with illustrations) and then moves on to detail an enormous variety of mat excercises. He includes recommended work-outs, from basic to very advanced, along with an entire chapter on how to tailor work-outs to recover from specific injuries or weaknesses. All excercises can be done at home without equipment. Each description includes what to focus on and what to watch out for - this allows you to self-correct and maximize the benefit from each exercise. After just a few work-outs, I am already experiencing less pain and more mobility. I also feel much stronger. I am extremely excited about Pilates and look forward to using this book for years.
Rating: 
Summary: Simply a great allround book!
Review: I have had back trouble for about 15 years and within only 3 weeks of following the teachings of JH Pilates I have noticed considerable improvement in mobility, flexibility and strength.
The book has lots of valuable information over and above the clear description and illustration of excercises contained within and makes for very interesting reading even when taking it easy!!
Rating:
Summary: Its soooo easy
Review: I have recently started Pilates at my gym and was talking to a class mate who recommended this book for when I can't make a gym class. Not only was it fantastic, but I have started doing other classes at the gym and concentrating on pilates at home. Instructions are simple, pictures are great. What more could you want...oh yes...it really does work!
Rating:
Summary: More changes than you can imagine
Review: I own most of the pilates books on the market and this is the BEST by far!
Not only is the attention to detail specific, but new concepts that I have not come across in Pilates excplanations are investigated - providing great results.
The breathing mentioned here is so important and may not even be an area of focus in other books. There are breathing 'rules' I have not seen before, but make complete sense for various movements.
The amazing B-Line works the abs differently and gets the area "below" the navel that I couldn't get before.
The stretch and work scales makes you work to your level of challenge at all times - providing fast results.
There are many other areas of attention that Menezes describes with simplicity and effect. You can tell he is a technician of the Pilates Method with great detail in all his work.
I can't wait for his next book!
Rating:
Summary: Attention to detail.
Review: I work in heavy industry, and have maintained poor posture since my early teens. As such, I suffer from intermittent lower and mid back pain and stiffness. I've heard a lot about Pilates, and when a work mate who had suffered a spinal injury told me that he had started it as a part of his rehabilitation, I thought I'd look into it. There were a number of titles at the bookshop, and this one stood out, as it was the only one that had simple black and white photos and hand drawn diagrams. I've learned the hard way not to judge a book by its cover, and such was the case here, as further examination showed that this was a serious, in-depth manual, not a glossy "pop-Pilates" coffee table book. It's value lies in the attention to detail and information given for each individual exercise. And that, after all, is what such a book should be about.It can be a lot of reading at times, but then, there are no "quick and easy" short-cuts to health and fitness. The only fault I can give it is that a greater selection of detailed photos would be an improvement. I have applied the information about lower abdominal control, posture, and correct bending to my work habits, and am already experiencing a decrease in lower back tension and pain.
Rating:
Summary: why didn't anyone tell me there was an up-dated version?
Review: This book is a valuable resource for anyone wanting to learn more about Pilates. Highly recommended. Basically, generally the same exercises (some variations), but if you follow his instructions, you will feel the difference. One minor complaint - after doing many, many exhaustive searches in Amazon on the word 'Pilates' to find books on the subject, I only found out about the new revised up-dated version of this book AFTER I had bought and received in the mail a used beat-up library copy. At that point, I did a search on the author in order to find the book and do a review, only to discover in that search that there is a new up-dated version, that I could have gotten CHEAPER! While I am very satisfied with my old second-hand version with the ragged cover and worn pages, someday curiousity may get the best of me, and I'll order the new version, since it got such a great review. But you, review-reader, have been tipped off about the new version, so you can make that choice now.
Rating:
Summary: Provides a unique perspective on the Pilates method
Review: This book provides a unique perspective on the Pilates method in that it was written by an athlete and focuses on athletes in particular. It includes more detailed information on general fitness physiology than I have seen in any other Pilates book and makes this information accessible through easy-to-understand illustrations. There is a particular emphasis on posture and alignment issues with plenty of descriptive information about these concepts. I particularly liked the author's use of the "B-Line": instead of imagining pulling your navel to your spine, he encourages you to focus on a spot a few inches below your navel and to concentrate on flattening this entire lower ab area.
Another nice aspect of this book is that the author includes prerequisites for each exercise; these are helpful in determining whether you are physically prepared to take on that exercise. The routines in the book begin with warm-ups and moves to strengthen weak abdominals before moving on basic, intermediate, and advanced level Pilates workouts. Unfortunately, the pictorial depictions of the Pilates movements were not as useful as they could have been, but the narrative descriptions were very well done. Some of the exercises include use of weights and therabands for an added challenge.
Overall, this is a very well put together book on Pilates that is probably most appropriate for those who already are athletes or regular exercisers and wish to expand their repertoire to include Pilates. Serious fitness enthusiasts will especially appreciate the inclusion of exercise charts to help you record your progress with this extraordinary method.
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