Search - Caribbean Workout: Pilates on DVD

Susan F. from BENTON, TN
Reviewed on 4/13/2010...

This is yoga and pilates, a very great and balanced workout.

Great Short, Enjoyable and Creative Pilates Practices

Yoga Dad | 03/26/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I recently bought this program and I'm really enjoying it. I like to do Pilates before my daily Yoga practice to warm up my core and to provide a different type of challenge than Yoga provides.

These programs remind me a lot of Yoga Zone's format in that they are about 22 minutes (Yoga Zones are about 20), they are set in a beautiful tropical location(Barbados) and the instruction is creative and fun to work with. The instructors have upbeat personalities without being "rah rah" and they are inspiring to workout with.

Jennifer Tilley is the lead instructor with Shelly McDonald following along and sometimes showing modifications.

I found these to be something that an experienced beginner in Pilates would be able to do. The routines have moderately challenging moments but are not overly intense overall so that they aren't intimidating to work with.

Either way, I'd highly recommend starting with Stott Pilates Basics (or something like that) to learn the principles of Pilates more in depth in order to stay safe and to learn where to focus your attention in Pilates.

I am more Intermediate/Advanced in Pilates but found these programs to be a joy to practice with. I love having this program (which was actually part of a very reasonably priced two DVD set, which altogether has 8-22 minute workouts) as a fun way to add variety into my Pilates practice.

These are taken from a TV program so there are commercial breaks which fade in and out from one segment to another, sometimes they are edited better than others, but honestly they didn't present any problem at all.

This is definitely the best Pilates buy I've made in terms of what you get for your money.

Still, if you want to get a really incredible, more classical program to use as part of your home Pilates practice, I'd also recommend Hilary Burnett's Intermediate DVD which is a 30 minute program that has the complete Intermediate Pilates series (as found in Alycea Ungaros "Pilates, Body In Motion") as well as several exercises from the Advanced Series.

Highly recommended!"

A Great Beginners Pilates workout

D. Franks | United States | 03/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I like this a lot, I haven't really done a pilates workout that I could go through the whole thing. I really like this and also the Pilates Plus- I haven't gotten to that one yet. I watched both of them and the instructor has a soothing voice that is very instructive. It is kind of annoying with the cutouts but that's alrgith. I never watched this on TV. But it is quite good. If you are looking for an easy workout- for beginners then you should definitely buy this. I bought the set of pilates and pilates plus together at Walmart. If you are lookin for a challenging workout, thne get the plus only. This seems definitely for the beginner for the regular pilates workout. Hope you all agree."

Pilates Challenge

Rebecca Johnson | Washington State | 09/16/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If you are looking for a Pilates challenge you may be interested in the four workouts presented on this DVD. To be honest there are also quite a few reasons not to buy this workout. If you don't mind commercial breaks or exercises being repeated throughout the short routines then you might enjoy the challenging Pilates and Yoga exercises. For beginners I'd recommend anything by "Jennifer Kries" or "Winsor Pilates 3 DVD Workout Set {Basic, 20 Minute Workout, Accelerated Body Sculpting}." The four workouts on this DVD are definitely designed for intermediate students of Pilates.

Workout 1

A beautiful pool in Barbados is the setting for the first workout. After completing a version of "Mermaid" the exercises that follow present an intermediate challenge. You will be working your core muscles while focusing on the abs. A Teaser follows and then you move into Spine Stretch Forward, Roll Ups, Swan and Swimming.

Workout 2

If you want more than 20 minutes you can go on to the second workout. Immediately you will notice a repeat of some of the same exercises that you learned in the first workout. The exercises include an advanced Roll Over, One Leg Circles, Bridge, Reverse Plank, Swan, Open Leg Rocker and Spine Rotations.

Workout 3

The workout starts with a modified plank and then moves into a leg pull and cat stretch. At this point they start to take a lot of commercial breaks which breaks up the workout slightly. Fortunately you don't have to wait through any commercials and the exercises begin again fairly quickly. This workout is on a beautiful beach. The exercises include Scissors, Lower Back Stretches, Leg Pull, Swimming, Advanced Pus Ups and Pendulum.

Workout 4

By the time you reach the fourth workout you are ready to stretch so this works out perfectly. This is a combination of Yoga and Pilates. The exercises begin with a lunge and a Yoga mat is handy at this point. There is a repeat of Arm Circles and Scissors. The advanced roll over appears again and there are some back stretches (Cat/Cow). At this point a little counting wouldn't hurt and one instructor looks like she is about to fall into the pool. The session ends with Leg Circles, a Leg Side Series (you will feel the burn), Spine Rotations and a relaxing Hip Opener.

Once you complete all four workouts you will feel like you had a good full-body workout. This workout would be much better if the instructor had resisted repeating the same exercises numerous times. I would only recommend this to you if you are extremely patient and are also looking for some challenging Pilates exercises.

~The Rebecca Review
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