Search - Teri Jory: Poise Fitness - Core Training on DVD

Somewhat odd blend of various workout techniques

Beth Cholette | Upstate NY USA | 09/11/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"On the cover of the DVD case, the Poise: Core Training workout is described as "Best of Pilates, Dance & Martial Arts." Created by Teri Jory, POISE stands for Pilates, Power and Posture--Oneness of Body and Mind--Inspiration--Sculpted and Sexy Body--Energized. The result is a rather odd little blended workout with a hint of Pilates and ballet barre work (I didn't detect any martial arts). Throughout the workout, Teri works with one background exerciser at a time in what looks like a dance studio. The DVD is well-chaptered: you can choose to play the full workout or select "Exercises" to choose any of the six chapters.

Teri begins the workout with a 5 1/2 minute warm-up performed entirely in a plie/deep squat position. Here Teri leads you through simple stretching moves such as shoulder rolls, neck rolls, and back extensions. Next comes "First Position," in which Teri spends about 1 1/2 minutes explaining proper positioning while lying on the floor (basically, the same concept as Pilates neutral spine). She then moves into the actual workout with the "Abs-Pelvic Floor-Legs" segment. In this 16-minute chapter, Teri leads her assistant through Pilates-like movements such as knee-ins and a teaser-like sequence. In-between the two sides, there are a few leg stretches plus one unique move that I felt was particularly effective, an outer leg lift performed while lying in a reclined twist (ie, an L-shaped position). The following chapter is "Pelvic Floor Release & Arms." Here Teri has her assistant come to all fours for some cat/cow spinal flows, and then she instructs a kneeling setup for some very slow push-ups (5 minutes). Next comes a 7-minute "Bar Stretch" using a ballet barre (it was difficult to substitute a chair here, as Teri has her assistant use a good length of the bar, at least several feet). This section focuses on full-body stretches, first with one leg on the bar, then the other. Finally, there is a very brief (2-minute) cool-down where Teri and her assistant perform some standing side stretches, bringing the entire workout time in at just under 40 minutes.

After completing this workout, I was unsure about what it had been trying to accomplish. The only time that I felt any real work in my muscles was during the outer legs lifts and the push-ups, but both of these segments were quite brief. Furthermore, I found that getting correct positioning was difficult. For example, during the warm-up and the barre work, the camera angles do not allow you to see the feet of both Teri and her assistant, and for the push-ups, Teri's assistant seemed to be set up in a manner that was different from Teri's instructions. I'm also not sure who this workout is intended for--I wouldn't recommend it for beginners, as some of the moves required good stamina (the plie position) and core strength (the Pilates-like work), but I think that more experienced exercisers would find much of the workout to be too easy. If you enjoy fusion workouts, particularly Pilates and ballet work, you might like this, but my overall rating is just two and a half stars."