Pilates likes and dislikes

I absolutely love Pilates, but it's not because it's easy.  It's tough and soothing somehow at the same time.  One might think if they do the same moves each time they do Pilates, it would get boring, but somehow it never is.  Most Pilates dvds I've done (and I've probably done 40 or so) have at least a dozen exercises in common with some variety amidst them.

There are some moves that I always look forward to doing and others that I just dread.

Top 3 Likes:

Single Leg Circles:  This is such a simple basic move, but it always sends soothing messages (to steal a phrase from yoga instructor Baron Baptiste) through my mind when I do them.  It works my legs, but feels relaxing too.

The Mermaid:  I add this move to my yoga asanas all the time because it is a better stretch for my side than any other I've found.  When I'm doing a Pilates dvd, I often do twice as many on one side because I don't want to switch so early when the instructor does, then I'll skip back a move on the dvd and do it twice on the other side.  Just heavenly.

The Seal:  This is usually done at the end of a Pilates routine much like Rolling like a Ball is done towards the start.  The main difference is that you have your knees out to the side instead of together and you clap, clap, clap your feet together (like a seal) as you sit up and again as you roll back and your feet are over your head.  The feet clapping together is like a bonus massage (bonus because you're already getting a massage on your back).

I love many of the side leg series exercises too.  I'll focus on those another day.


Top 3 Dislikes:

Swimming:  I always feel awkward swimming on the floor.  I stop part way wondering if my legs are truly alternating with my arms and they always are.  I just don't feel that coordinated and it doesn't feel great to do them.  But I read an article in Pilates Style magazine about Romana, who is now the grand dame of Pilates and she said that she didn't enjoy this move either, but Joseph Pilates told her she must do it and she saw great benefits.  Didn't make me feel like a wimp if even Romana didn't like it.

Teasers:  The more I do these, the better I get, but they are always TOUGH!  My legs quiver, my core feels it, I struggle at the end of each move to stay balanced, and then know that I must go back down onto the floor and come up again.  As hard as it is to do and as much as I dread it when the instructor says it's time to do the teaser, I always feel that this exercise alone does more for my body than any other Pilates move, so I press on.  And I love seeing the progress my body does after even doing them 3x a week.

Neck Pull:  I've read that this is a basic move for some.  Not for me!  I have a long torso and maybe my center is lower than most so I have a bigger challenge getting my upper half up and over the center line.  I'm not sure.  All I know is this is one of the most challenging Pilates exercises for me.  When I've been doing Pilates for a few months, then I don't hate this one as much because I have built up the strength to do it.  But generally, my core isn't strong enough and I have to modify by putting my hands in front of my face with my elbows bent instead of behind my head for coming up and over, then I put my hands back behind my head to roll back down.  The other alternative (which works better, but hurts my feet a bit) is to put weights over each foot to give me that leverage so I can come up.  It just takes tons of core strength.  But I can work up to being able to do it again since I'm doing much more Pilates now.  Maybe I'll post a video when I can!

Ellen Barrett -- Pilates Fusion Queen

I don't know if Ellen would ever aspire to be a queen, (she's pretty down to earth), but she's definitely found her nitch in the Video Fitness world, instilling that essential mind-body connection. Ellen's workouts are either pure Pilates or have Pilates inspired moves. She incorporates ballet, yoga, strength, and cardio, while keeping the mind engaged with that core center.

Ellen's first video was Crunch Pick Your Spot Pilates. I love this dvd. First of all, the cover art is purple, so that's always a plus in my book! The actual dvd has 3 ten-minute Pilates workouts, working the core, rear end, and thighs. There's also a bonus workout for the total body. It's probably one of the less challenging Pilates dvds that I have. I'd rank it between Beginner and Intermediate. I like doing it on mornings when my energy isn't really high -- where I don't feel like having to work really hard at the Pilates moves, but I still get plenty of benefits.

The dvd menu allows you to pick which of the 3 segments you want to do in any order you desire. If I remember correctly, you can't choose the bonus Total Body segment in with those 3, but I've done it many times just added on at the end (after I get back to the menu again). The pace, music, and Ellen's voice and demeanor make this dvd a joy to do every time. I particularly love doing the Mermaid with her -- it always feels so good and relaxing.

Ellen has several other dvds available. I've done all the Crunch workouts by her. My least favorite is probably Fat Burning Pilates. The style then was to have REALLY low waisted pants and one of the background exerciser's pants were so low that it was distracting (and unattractive) to me. I couldn't get past that.

I've never tried her Self workouts. From what I've read, they're more upper body toning oriented w/weights and I usually use Cathe Friedrich for my upper body work (and like the challenge of Advanced workouts for weights -- hers are Beginner/Intermediate).

I haven't tried Pick Your Level either because I didn't really like the set or the 1, 2, 3 graphics I saw (with different windows for different levels) on the video preview. (Edited to add that my good friend Robin just wrote and told me how much she LOVES this Pilates dvd -- she says there isn't a split screen throughout the workout -- maybe the clip just showed an intro or something. So give it a try. I'm sure I will sometime soon).

You can preview any of these at collagevideo.com. (You can do a search for Ellen Barrett if my link doesn't work. Sometimes the specific links for Collage just come up as the Home Page).

Crunch Fat Burning Pilates
Crunch Burn & Firm Pilates
Crunch Super Slimdown Pilates/Yoga Blend
Self Slim & Sleek Fast
Self Bikini Ready Fast
Pick Your Level: Weight Loss Pilates
The Studio: Fat Burning Fusion
The Studio: Yogini Workout
The Studio: Slim Sculpt

I've just tried one of The Studio workouts and was really impressed. I'll review it for you now and will hopefully get the other 2 later on to comment on later. (Edited to add I found the Yogini workout on the Ya-Ya Swap, so I should have it to do and review next week).

I did The Studio Fat Burning Fusion this morning. This is the second time I've done it and it's really a gentle, wonderful workout. It's 45 minutes of standing stretches, twists, plie's, ballet leg work, and a variety of flowing moves. I never took dance lessons when I was growing up. I always wished I could take ballet. There are some cues of "first position" or "second position" which are ballet talk, but it's not hard to see what they're doing. None of the ballet leg moves are difficult, but they stem from the core and work the lower body muscles.
If you have knee issues, like I do, you'll want to be cautious on a few moves that have you lunging from side to side or doing a plie' and a twist at the same time. I really watched what I was doing and was fine, but I did have to be mindful of it.

The set is a dance studio and has hardwood floors, wooden floors on the stage behind, and white walls, windows and draperies, with white lattice screens & drapery on the stage. It's very pleasant and peaceful. Ellen and her cast do the workout on yoga mats, but I did mine on the carpet yesterday without a mat and it worked just fine. I did notice a little bit of movement in my feet sliding a few times on plie's, so a mat might be nicer to use. I think I used it the first time -- my only problem with the mat is sometimes it comes up with my foot and interrupts the flow of my movements. Perhaps I need a mat that isn't so sticky. (I actually think I do have a Denise Austin yoga mat that I bought really cheap at Ross -- It isn't as sticky and I don't use it much, but it might work for workouts like this).

The music is gentle -- almost jazz-y. It reminded me of the music on Karen Voight's Streamline Fitness (which is probably my favorite of Karen's).

I will admit that I watched the clock about 14 minutes into it. Ellen is wonderful and the moves felt great, but for some reason, my mind was anxious and wandering. I got past that and enjoyed the rest of the workout.

At the end, I watched the Special Feature where Ellen talks about her Studio workouts -- the concept behind them. There were testimonials by women who come to Ellen's studio to workout with her. Ellen emphasizes that the mind-body connection is key in her workouts to feel and receive the benefits. She also mentioned in her workout and in this feature that the dance/Pilates fusion moves she uses help beautify the female physique. From looking at Ellen and her cast (and testimonials), they all have curvy lean (and toned) figures instead of super firm like you might see in Cathe's workouts.

BTW -- Ellen has a blog called Fit & Fab and writes in it often. Check it out. I've discovered on it that she's into raw food too!

Brooke Siler's new Pilates dvd

I just finished Brooke Siler's new Pilates dvd from the Element series, Pilates Weight Loss for Beginners -- First of all, Yay for Brooke finally making a dvd! I bought her first book, The Pilates Body, long ago and loved using it at night when I didn't feel like doing a dvd -- it's packed full of moves and information. Then I bought her Pilates Body Kit and have used those cards (and the Intermediate CD -- photo down much lower - not enough room here) many, many times. (Her newer book, Your Ultimate Pilates Body Challenge, didn't thrill me as much -- I liked the exercises in it, but there was much dedicated to Pilates form in activities like Golf that didn't really interest me). I've also enjoyed seeing Brooke sharing Pilates on TV shows from time to time, and she's been a contributer to Pilates Style Magazine. (I especially the September/October 2007 issue with her on the cover -- with a 6 week Pilates ball regime by Brooke inside. She also talked about having to get her own body back into pre-pregnancy shape after training so many others to do the same -- how she saw it in a new light being the one whose body went through the changes).

I rarely write reviews anymore, but I'm too excited about this one not to talk about it!

Anyway, Brooke recently teamed up with Andrea Ambandos (whom I worked with on the Slim Series Express -- she's produced most of the exercise videos on the market over the past 15+ years) and made a 51 minute Pilates dvd. My only hesitation when I saw this at Collage was that it says it's for Beginners (the title is even Pilates Weight Loss for Beginners). It makes me wonder if any of the Collage staff has done this video (or if they've done others and can compare).

Generally, Pilates videos for beginners spend time setting up each move and often take them slowly. This one doesn't do that at all. The only thing I saw that seemed more beginner-ish than intermediate was the leg circles (she did them with a bent knee on the floor instead of a straight leg), the teasers (we did teaser preps, but never full teasers -- but even the teaser preps were tough), and when we did the push-up preps, we had bent knees instead of a plank position- - but later I realized this was because it's a prep -- she did full planks at the end.

So I just have to get that out of the way. It's a solid Intermediate Pilates workout. The first 1/2 is done standing. On the menu, it says "Cardio" but it's nothing like Ana Caban's Cardio Pilates or Energizer Pilates. You're not doing jumping jacks or knee ups or anything like that. It's more like Ellen Barrett's style of standing Pilates. But it's different. It's more precise than flowing. It does flow, but you don't feel like you're doing Ballet moves -- you feel like you're doing Pilates moves while standing. From the very start (warm up moves), I felt completely conscientious of what each part of my body was doing -- even in shoulder circles. Brooke's just very precise and good at giving imagery for what to do and does her moves with precision so you can see what to do.

The menu gives you the option to do just the Cardio (standing work) or just the Mat work -- or both. I chose to do the complete program, which is unusual for me. I can do yoga for an hour or even an hour and a half, but I usually want to stop doing Pilates after about 1/2 hour. I had hopes though that Brooke would keep my interest. I was right.

The second 1/2 is on the mat and it's mostly traditional Pilates moves. I was interested to see her form because she was trained by Romana Kryzanowska (who was trained by Joseph Pilates -- I'm sure most of you know that). Anyway, it was interesting because on the seal exercise -- Brooke doesn't clap her feet together so her soles meet -- they are still in Pilates position -- so she's clapping the inner edges of her feet. (Brooke has VERY long feet, btw :)).

I've always loved Brooke's voice (from hearing it on her CDs). It was just a pleasure to hear her voiceover throughout. She has amazingly helpful cues -- like when we were preparing to sit up straight for roll over -- she said to pretend that the mat had hot coals and you were lifting your bottom up as much as you could (I'm butchering how eloquently she said it, but you get the general idea). Another one I liked was in a side series move (I think it was leg circles) -- she said to imagine you're brushing crumbs off the lower leg as you circle around.

It was really wonderful to do Pilates with Brooke. It's really obvious that she's spent her life studying (and teaching) Pilates. It's much different than doing some of the videos that are by less experienced fitness instructors who decided to get Pilates training along the way. The production (scenery, music, sound) was just perfect. For $9.10 (free shipping, even) at DeepDiscount, it's a steal.

I hope Brooke continues to make more Pilates dvds. But for now, I'm plenty happy to do this one a few times each week.

Pilates Pick -- Ana Caban

Today I did Pilates as an add-on to my upper body strength training. I have been doing Pilates for 6 or 7 years now, but I've never been consistent with it long enough to say that I'm really a Pilates person or anything. But I'm striving to do it 3x a week right now at the end of my other workouts (with yoga as the add-on the other days) and I really enjoy it.

The funny thing about Pilates is that it can be awfully repetetive, yet it never gets old. I had my preconceived notions about Pilates when I first tried it -- like many have said, thinking there weren't enough reps or I didn't feel a "burn" when I did the moves or I wouldn't enjoy doing the same thing over and over. I learned that I had to shift my thinking from athletic-style exercises when I do Pilates. Reps are able tuning into the core and getting quality work done. They aren't about feeling the muscle burn and getting the muscle to fatigue by the last rep. It's about connecting to the core with each and every move.

Another discovery is that Pilates gets harder the more you do it, not easier. The more you do it, the more you realize how you're supposed to be doing it, the more aware you are of the inner muscles of your body. So it's always a challenge.

And somehow I just love the repetition. I don't get tired of eating yummy food over and over all week long and it's the same with doing Pilates. When I do a single leg circle or the seal or (ugh! it's tough) even the teaser, I'm glad to be back on the mat doing it again.

Most of my Pilates experience is from doing videos. I've only taken one Pilates class and it was very similar to what I'd one at home. I think if I took private lessons, I'd learn more about how my body is moving to ensure proper form, but I don't feel like the group class I took taught me anything more than I'd learned with the videos. The instructor seemed to think my form was right.

My favorite Pilates videos are led by Ana Caban (produced by Gaiam). She is down to earth, has perfect form, uses a variety of moves, has stunning photography and production in her videos, and always provides plenty of moves in 30 minutes. I've found that I just don't like doing Pilates for much longer than that. I get antsy. Maybe it's because the videos I've done that are 45-60 minutes long don't actually do any more moves than Ana does, they just stop for longer periods of time in between to set up each move or go more slowly.

If you'd like to read some reviews of her videos, you can see plenty at the Video Fitness website http://www.videofitness.com/instructors/caban.php . I'll just share with you my favorites and let you know what levels they are so you can match it to your Pilates experience.

Most of Ana's videos are filmed outdoors -- somewhere scenic like the beach. Her first two with Gaiam (Beginning Mat Work & Intermediate Mat Work) were filmed indoors, but used fun and perky photography that I've always enjoyed. It alternates black and white to color -- sort of early MTV style. I still do the Intermediate one often. I've held onto the Beginning one in case my daughters want to try it sometime.

The ones I do most are Pilates Abs and Maintenance Pilates (did the latter today). Pilates Abs has more reps than I've seen in any of her others. Maintenance Pilates has some fun moves towards the end that I don't see in many Pilates workouts. I also enjoy her Body Band challenge.

Ana's videos are available most anywhere online and are in retail stores from time to time too. (I've even bought them at Costco before). DeepDiscount.com is a great place to buy them because their prices are always low, they don't charge for shipping, and the delivery is quick. I've ordered from them for years. They also have a 20% off sale for a week or two every November and I think May. I'll let you know when the next one hits.

Here's a ranking of difficulty that was listed by Kathy on a VF review. I've done all of them but the Core Challenge (I want to try that one soon), but I agree with her on the rest:

Beginning Pilates Matwork
Easy Pilates
Quick Start Pilates for Weight Loss
Cardio Pilates
Intermediate Pilates Matwork
PM Pilates
Maintenance Pilates for Weight Loss (both audio and video routines)
Energy Boost Pilates (I and II)
Pilates for Abs
Pilates Core Challenge.

I don't really care for the cardio on Cardio Pilates, but it's chaptered perfectly to be able to skip her short cardio segment and just do the mat work.

I hope to take a teacher course in Pilates sometime, maybe when my youngest starts Kindergarten next fall. I don't know that I want to be a Pilates instructor, but I'd love to understand it better and become stronger in all the moves.

Guess that's it -- I want to tell you about Brooke Siler and Hillary Burnett too (and two other Pilates dvds that I really love, but only have one by each of those instructors), but I'll save that for another time. My children will be home from school any minutes (oh the joy of having a teen driver who can pick them up on her way home from high school!) and I have to do a few things before they come. TTFN!