Reviews & interesting conversations from Windsor Pilates users...
I bought the Windsor Pilates DVD set about 2 months ago and I absolutely LOVE it. Within 2 weeks I had lost a couple of inches from my waist. I've been steadily losing flab and my entire body has gotten a lot stronger and firmer. I've also been told by several people that I look much better all around. The more advanced workouts are pretty challenging at first but, when you get the hang of it, they're a lot of fun. I would definitely recommend Windsor Pilates to anyone trying to tone up their body. JC ------------------------- I've been using the Windsor Pilates tapes for the last few months and they are incredible!! I used the beginner 20 minute workout for the first 6 weeks or so, and have now been using the accelerated 50 minute workout for about the last month. I've seen so much improvement and feel so fit and healthy. I think it's better than yoga, though I still do a little yoga before the pilates workouts. I also tried the Pilates Intermediate Mat Workout (the one with Ana Caban), but feel the Windsor is better because there is a lot more variety in the moves, and you get to do more reps. The Ana Caban one is shorter too (but longer than the Windsor 20 minute tape), so I will still use it when I don't have as much time to exercise. Laurie -------------------------
You do need to be careful of your neck when starting pilates, so I recommend following Dagney on the Windsor Pilates series, the one who does the modified workout, usually with her neck on the floor. My neck was sore in the first couple of weeks of pilates, and I didn't usually follow the modified workout. I would definitely do the 20 minute tape for at least a month before starting on the accelerated tape. Hope this helps and good luck! L -------------------------
Too bad I've kind of fallen off the wagon as of late...these messages reminded me to get back on! -Christy -------------------------
The tapes cost 39.90, plus shipping and handling; the total charge to my card was 46.85. It came in a flat white bookshippers box and contained three videos and some other junk, enumerated below - 1. Mari Windsor Basics video -- This is a twenty minute tape that gives pretty clear instruction on exactly how to do the seven basic exercises of Pilates. At first I kind of thought it was a waste of time but as I went through it I realized there were a couple things out of the books that I was doing wrong. 2. Mari Windsor 20 minute workout -- This is really a basic beginner Pilates routine that I've seen in several different books. I think there were fifteen total exercises on that tape, which lasted 27 minutes and covered everything I'd seen everywhere else. 3. Accelerated Sculpting video -- A fifty minute Intermediate Pilates workout. There wasn't too much she *didn't* cover in that video. It's a really good PIlates workout in my opinion and probably as good as anywhere else you'd find one. The only things she left out were the very advanced exercises I saw in some of the supercomprehensive books about Pilates at the store. She does all the core exercises, plus the entire side kick series ( for your butt and thighs -- some beginner sequences leave some of them out), plus one or two more advanced ones. She also has, on each of her tapes, someone doing modified exercises for people who need modification for their backs or knees or because their stomachs aren't strong enough yet to do the classic ones. Additional Windsor Pilates junk included: 1. The Win in Ten! Plan: A Booklet. You'll be happy to hear that what you have to do to Win With Mari! is eat a lowcarb diet. She talks about eating only low glycemic carbs, making sure you eat enough good fats and proteins, and to eat more, smaller meals combining these three macronutrients and mainly eating their unprocessed versions. What this actually is is a smaller, cheaper, booklet form of the Six Week Body Makeover Diet and that other one...uh, what is it? Oh - Body for Life. Maybe also the Zone. It's something like one of those and she also mentions that fats are thermogenic. She also says NO CAFFEINE. We were getting along so well before she said that. 2. The Mari Windsor Body Sculpting Journal: Junk. It's a piece of magazine paper with blanks outlined that you can put your measurements on. However, on the back it tells you how to combine the workouts for weight loss, or for limited time, or just to build strength, so it's at least good to know what she recommends. For maximum weight loss she says to do her accelerated tape three times a week, her basic tape three times a week, and one day off. Overall I think Windsor Pilates was worth the forty five bucks. In the area I live in, Pilates classes cost up to 75 dollars a session, and they don't give you any extra junk, and you don't get a personal congratulations letter from Daisy Fuentes. I don't think that these videos are going to Change My Life the way they apparently did for Daisy, but on the other hand I don't think it was a dreadful mistake either to make this purchase. They're decent tapes, and Mari's a pretty good instructor and so the price in my opinion was reasonable. Now the thing about Pilates is that it's deceptively simple. If you're used to what's normally expected of you doing Tae Bo or Jane Fonda or Living Yoga, most likely you're going to be laughing all the way through thinking this is the dumbest, easiest thing you ever did. :). But THEN. You stand up and wait about ten minutes, and you get this...I can't explain it. It's this incredible...warm...eh. It's a GREAT feeling. It's such a great feeling that it makes you want to do it again tomorrow because you haven't ever felt anything like it. It's some kind of endorphin pileup. I do not believe that this automatically results in becoming Daisy Fuentes, but if you're interested you should really *try* some kind of Pilates just to check out the endorphin pileup, you'll think for a minute some really unlucky superfit person was forced to switch bodies with you. Mari also says somewhere in the Junk that you should do at least 36 minutes of cardio every other day for maximum weight loss, so even she's not promising you'll turn into a movie star doing Pilates alone. But if you do take the plunge and give Mari your money, you won't be disappointed. I mean you won't be thrilled, but you will be getting exactly what they said you'd get that night at 3:45 AM, at the price you agreed to pay. c ------------------------- I started out using the Windsor tapes, which really are good IMHO and worth the money; not an enormous bargain or anything, but a fair price for what they are. Now I'm on the advanced series of Alycea Ungaro's book, Pilates Body in Motion. Laura was recommending earlier that people try at least one class with a certified instructor and I can see why now -- if you do the things correctly it's a killer workout, if you don't it's nothing. If you buy a tape, Pilates for Dummies is really good( and cheap!) -- they go really slow and explain everything. If you want Windsor Pilates, then make sure you go through the introductory tape at least once. :). I'm getting so hooked my curiosity might drive me to show up to an actual class pretty soon. Ann ------------------------- I started a Pilates program at the local YMCA about a year ago and a few weeks back I borrowed the Windsor Pilates DVD's to see how the instruction I received in person compared to the exercises in the videos. Most of the exercises were done in the same way and with the same form as I was shown by my instructor. I had a big problem though with things that weren't explained on the DVDs. In order to properly perform Pilates exercises, your back and shoulders
must carefully positioned. For example, when you're feet are off the
floor, your back should be in an "imprint" position - flat
against the floor with little or no curve. Other exercises require that
you maintain a small curve under None of these very important fine points were discussed in the DVD. I'm sure you'd get a workout regardless, but you're not getting the best workout possible by following the tape step by step. My advice would be to take a beginners Pilates class from an instructor, then use the DVD's after you're comfortable with how to properly execute the fine points of the Pilates method. Rob -------------------------
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