Rating: 
Summary: Dummies Pilates works for me
Review: I love this DVD. It's gotten me back into a workout routine. I alternate days with the Yoga for Dummies DVD. In just a few weeks I feel different - more flexible and stronger. I would reccomend this to anyone who's curious about the Pilates buzz in the media. This is a straight-forward and safe beginners' workout.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful beginners' pilates workout.!
Review: I bought this video on a whim in a local store, and let it sit for 5 months before I watched it. Once I did, I was hooked! This video is fast moving, fun, and easy to do. Since I bought this one, I have also bought others, including Kathy Smith's Pilates for the Lower Body (highly recommended) Quick-Fix Pilates, and Break-Through Pilates, which is a little too advanced for me at this point. I love doing Pilates and do it every day rather than 2-3 times a week, it's so much fun! It's too soon to see any results, but I do feel stronger after 3 weeks into it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent workout!!
Review: I have been very impressed with this DVD. Truly a beginner, I was pleased to see that while the instructor was very thorough, she did not make you feel like the dummy the title suggests :) The Pilates workout depends a great deal on your form during the exercise, and the instructor makes sure you know EXACTLY how to do it right. Great suggestions for easier and harder versions, reminders on the right way to do the exercise, and it really works! I was amazed at how effective it was without being difficult. The exercises are challenging, but not exhausting. It shapes and tones without sending you to the showers afterwards. I could immediately tell it was working. My abs and legs feel firmer at the end of each workout, and I notice that my posture is better for the rest of the day each time I do it. I really recommend this as a way to shape up without bulking up, as an addition to whatever cardiovascular exercise you prefer.
Rating:
Summary: Great for Beginners!
Review: I was new to pilates when I first purchased this DVD and now I am hooked! I recommend this video to anyone who is just starting out as opposed to someone more experienced with the pilates method. As a beginners video it is easy to follow with a pleasant instructor. More importantly, this workout is not intimating. A great first pilates DVD!
Rating: 
Summary: Don't love it or hate it
Review: I've recently started back with Pilates after a 4 year break. Since this had a beginner and intermediate workout, I thought it would be a good reintroduction for me. It's very mediocre. Like most tapes out there, there's too much time taken by the instructor teaching and demonstrating before every exercise in the routine. This is ok if you're a real beginner, but after the first 5-6 times through, or if you have some experience and familiarity, it gets very old. Once you forward through, you've lost the flow (picking up and putting down the remote a zillion times) and only get about 20 minutes of workout. The routines themselves are pretty good for newbies or out of shape people. The intermediate workout could really use more challenging exercises and less instruction between each one. If you're a true beginner and you use this tape at least 3x week, you'll be ready to buy something else in about a month tops. I wanted to give it a true middle rating of 2.5.
Rating: 
Summary: Really is for Dummies!!
Review: This is my first experience with Pilates, and as I've been very disappointed by other "Beginner/Basic" videos, I was excited to see the Dummies series come out with one. It has proved to truly be for someone who has never seen or tried Pilates. I have really enjoyed how easy it has been to learn the proper way to do the excercises, and found the little pop up tips helpful. I am a total convert to Pilates, and the only reason I rated it 4 stars is that I haven't really had a chance to use the intermediate section, so I don't know if it will be as good, but the DVD is worth it just for the beginner section. Also, I would highly recommend the DVD over the Video so you can start at the exact spot you want without pesky fast forwarding and rewinding.
Rating: 
Summary: Pain
Review: I really like the video.It is harder than it looks!
Has anyone had problems with their neck doing this or any other pilates excerises?
joan
Rating:
Summary: Not for me
Review: My only experience with Pilates is about 10 workouts with The Method (a pilates based system) tape and I've started using an "authentic Pilates" book (The Pilates Body). I was looking for a DVD that would supplement and chose this one because it said it has a beginner and an intermediate routine, and because so many of the reviews were good. I've used it 5 times and I'm pretty much done with this DVD. The beginner routine was just annoying with all the gabble and those ridiculous icons and pop up hints. Good thing I'm not a total beginner or I'd have strained myself by the time she shows modifications. The Intermediate routine was also frustrating because by the time I skipped over the instructors talk and showing how to do the next thing, there wasn't enough left to do at a pace that I felt any benefit. I do think you can get an effective workout with Pilates in 25-30 minutes, but only if it's a moderate or fast pace and moves quicker from on exercise to the next in the series. I have to give it 2 stars - one for the nice set and pleasant instructor, and one for the good marketing that got me to buy it. If you're a total beginner, pretty out of shape, or just like to have a chatty, attractive instructor over getting a good paced effective workout, then you will get some benefit from Pilates for Dummies.
Rating: 
Summary: I guess I'm not a "Dummie"
Review: I've taken a few Pilates classes but they are just too expensive for me so I've been tying out DVD's and tapes to use at home. I liked that I'd get a Beginner and an Intermediate workout on one disc, and there were lots of great reviews. In reality, I got the most annoying beginner program I've ever seen. If all "Dummies" tapes are like this, then this is my first and last. I don't like the boxed in frames or the pop ups. As for Michelle, she's very personable and might be good in a live situation, but on tape there's just too much time spent setting things up. After I did the intermediate workout I went for a run just to feel something. I'd prefer to have an intermediate workout that says to go back to the beginner if you have trouble with any of the moves instead of the drawn out breaks to talk about and demo the next move before actually doing it. This is really the downfall with most tapes, not just this one. But, for the[$$$] I spent, I suppose I've gotten my money's worth with the approximately 40 min of real time spent on exercise between the beginner and intermediate section combined. A 45 min class was costing me [$$$]. For now, I'll stick with the book I've been happy with (The Pilates Body by Brooke Siler) and I'll keep borrowing tapes from the library or renting from the store until I find one worth buying.
Rating:
Summary: Good for a Pilates Beginner
Review: This is great for a Pilates beginner or for someone who has no concept of Pilates. This is also good for people who used to dance when they were younger, but haven't danced in years. The exercises look easier than they really are. And I love how she stresses it's about QUALITY not QUANTITY. Great exercise program, I love it. I'm showing everyone around me how to do Pilates!
|
