Search - The Method - Pilates Dynamic Body Makeover (3 Pack DVD Box Set) on DVD

Ellen W. from SAN ANTONIO, TX
Reviewed on 9/16/2013...

I love the flexibility and toning CD's. I'm not too impressed with the cardio, yet. It' is good to have a back ground it some pilates and yoga. It will make it easier to understand the phrases being used. I like that each CD is sectioned into 20 minute work outs. So, if you just have a little time you can do one work out. If you have alot of time you can do more and mix and match.

Nine Workouts on Three DVDs

Rebecca Johnson | Washington State | 10/19/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Three DVDs include:

A. Dynamic Firming & Flexing - 3 workouts

B. Dynamic Cardio - 3 workouts plus warm up and cool down segments

C. Dynamic Toning - Total, Upper Body and Abdominal Toning

I recommend the entire set because I have been seeing excellent toning results and feel much more flexible.

A. "The Method Dynamic Firming & Flexing" workout is a peaceful escape from your daily challenges. Lakey Evans guides you through three target specific workouts.

1. Total Body Flexibility (16 minutes) - A head-to-toe conditioning workout that will give your entire body a boost of energy. In this segment, your body will warm nicely and your arms and legs will tingle with all the new blood flow. You will do some side stretches, lots of forward bending.

2. Upper Body Flexibility (23 minutes) - Helps to tone the muscles of the neck, shoulder girdle and upper back. Dissolves stress and tension. As you continue into this segment, you will feel invigorated. Still, you are moving slowly. There are lots of creative transitions and you stretch and tone more than just your upper body. You get down on the floor and enjoy lots of deep stretching now that your muscles are warmed up. You will need an exercise band here for the floor workout.

3. Lower Body Flexibility (21 minutes) - Release stress in the lower back, hip, knee and ankle joints. You start with standing and then move into downward dog, cobra and cat pose. Lots of creative stretching for areas you really need to work on.

This DVD workout is a combination of Yoga, Pilates and Precision Firming with live percussion and harp. If you are familiar with yoga, you will recognize the sun salutations, plank position, cobra, cat pose. The vinyasa style yoga with postures flowing spontaneously in a smooth sequence makes this an enjoyable and relaxing routine.

If you want to move lymph around in your body, this Firming and Flexing workout should do it.

You will need: Yoga Mat, Exercise band (better than a towel)

Results: You will feel taller, stronger and move like a dancer.

B. Dynamic Cardio - 3 workouts plus warm up and cool down segments

If you are used to hearing the words: "Wrap, Lunge, Slide, V-step, March, "from the top," and "grapevine" ... this might be a workout for you. If you have enjoyed aerobics in the past, you might like this DVD.

There are three workouts, plus a warm up and cool down session.

C. Dynamic Toning - Total, Upper Body and Abdominal Toning

This is definitely one of the most advanced Pilates, yoga and "precision firming" type workouts I've yet to try. If you have been using some of The Method workouts or even have been trying any Pilates or yoga based workouts, this will still be a challenge.

The instructor is brilliant in the way she makes sure you know exactly what you are about to do at every "moment." For beginners, this would be way too fast. If you are intermediate or advanced, this will be a nice challenge. Marion Gotto is a master teacher and she will "work your entire body" big time! She is relentless and I loved it.

There are three precision toning workouts:

1. Total Toning - You will be working out all your major muscle groups. You could use just this one section after walking on your treadmill. You start with head rolls, shoulder shrugs, forward bends and your arms get a nice full range of motion. This is a dancer-type routine. You will learn to balance, your feet will get an excellent workout and you will notice lots of Pilates-type moves like the roll-up, teaser. Then you move to some yoga moves while flat on your back and a cat stretch or two.

2. Upper Body Toning - The way you move on the floor feels like you are in a slow, beautiful dance with weights. The disciplined instruction is inspirational. You start standing, just lifting the weights and then you get more creative, you start using balancing moves while holding the weights. I loved the creative "mermaid" moves and also the incredible no-nonsense upper body workout. You will be making use of gravity in a big way. You never feel that you are doing a boring set of repetitions with weights. You feel like a dancer. Nice and creative.

3. Abdominal Toning - At this point, you are very happy to be flat on you back again. This segment will test your endurance, muscle control and balance. You can really feel all these exercises working. It took more concentration to complete this portion of the routine, but it was well worth it. Remember the teaser, well it takes on a new meaning here. Just wait and see! You will recognize Pilates moves like "saw, side kicks, single leg circles, leg lifts, pull-ups." Can I say this reminded me of the phrase: "no mercy." Ok, but if you are looking for a challenge, this is IT.

Use this workout when you have so much energy you can't wait to find a challenging workout. Then, when you make it through this workout, you will know you have reached a place where you can really feel proud of yourself.

~The Rebecca Review"

Unexpected delight of a DVD set!

A. Gonzales | Portland, OR United States | 07/07/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a big fan of the Method workout series and I was looking for a relatively easy paced cardio workout. I decided to try this 3-pack DVD and was pleasantly surprised by the great workouts! The cardio is non-jolting and definitely raises your heart rate while the toning series doesn't feel like much while you're doing it, but the next day you definitely feel it! Not much to report on the flexibility one- I've only tried the lower body workout but it was a nice cool down. All in all, a great investment!"