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Power Pilates: Beginner Workout
The fitness industry loves trends. It's built on them, in many ways. Whether its tae-bo or ab belts, the industry has a new way to take money every year.
Calling pilates a "fad" is unfair. A German, Joseph Pilates, first developed it to keep fit while in a British internment camp during WWI. Within the dancing community, it has been popular for years as a way to strengthen core muscles and improve flexibility. But over the last few years, its popularity has exploded.
When I first received Power Pilates: Beginner Workout to review, it was fairly apparent I'd have to try it out to give it any sort of critique. First, some background: 25 years old, 5'8", 145 lbs., runner's build. My biggest fitness problems are body fat percentage (17%) and a distinct lack of flexibility.
So, that out of the way, a minute-by-minute breakdown of my first experience with Power Pilates: Beginner Workout:
7:00 p.m.: I stick the disc in the DVD player and go to the "A Message from Dr. Howard Sichel" menu option. Dr. Sichel, owner of the Power Pilates studio, tells us about what to expect, along with talking about how great pilates is for a daily workout.
7:04 p.m.: I start the "Daily Workout." Carrie Clark welcomes me to the pilates beginner mat class. Dana, Jeff and Erin are her "teammates" demonstrating the exercises. Erin drew short straw and will be showing off the "modified" exercises for those who struggle with the regular ones. I laugh as my male ego takes over – there's no way I'll need to "modify" any exercise.
7:05 p.m.: "Start lying flat on your back," Clark says, "hugging both knees to your chest." This is going to be easy.
7:05 p.m. (cont.): The first exercise is the hundred. With abs tensed and head, shoulders and legs off the mat, you flap your arms up and down by your side. We're also introduced during the hundred to Clark's best Meg Ryan-When Harry Met Sally impression. The exercise isn't easy, especially to start out with, but it's mercifully short.
7:06 p.m.: The "roll up" is the first indication of the trouble I've gotten myself into. I still don't understand what this one has to do with strengthening my powerhouse muscles, but I do know that I don't really bend that well and touching my toes from a sitting, straight-legged position doesn't really happen. But I refuse to give in to Erin and her white flag-waving "modified" ways.
7:07 p.m.: The "one leg circle" is another exercise that doesn't work for the non-flexible. The idea is to lift one leg completely straight up and make a circle. Not only does that not work for me, but also I'm not feeling anything in the abdomen.
7:08 p.m. "Rolling like a ball" is next, and it is exactly what it sounds like: You form a ball, then you roll. I can do that. But again, I'm not feeling anything. Also, for the 70th or so time thus far on the disc, Clark says I should be "scooping up" my powerhouse muscles (the muscles between the sternum and hips). Obviously I'm doing something wrong.
7:09 p.m.: Time to interrupt the workout. I head back to the main menu and go to the glossary to figure out what Clark is talking about by "scooping." Another woman (who gets no identification) explains where the powerhouse is, then shows on Dana how to lift up the abdominal muscles. The problem is that Dana has, if I do say so, quite the hard-body, so the difference between her abs being in the right place and the wrong one is about two centimeters.
7:18 p.m.: The glossary is of little help, so I go back to the exercises, picking back up at the "abdominal series." These are ab workouts like I remember them, with names such as the "lower lift" and the "scissors."
7:30 p.m.: I finish the basic and the additional workouts. I've worked up a sweat, but that's more due to the combination of the room temperature (around 80 degrees) and the frustration of trying to keep up with unfamiliar exercises. I still don't feel like I've given my powerhouse muscles that much of a workout.
The DVD
Video and Audio:
Considering that it's a workout video and therefore the company could have gotten away with rather shoddy production values, Power Pilates: Beginner Workout looks and sounds pretty good. There aren't any digital flaws in the transfer and the instructors are easy to understand.
Extras:
There are several different workouts on the DVD. There's the beginner and additional workouts, the props workout (for those with piles of the pilates toys available in the fad isle of any sporting goods store) and the back workout, which focuses on areas of the lower and upper back that can cause recurring problems. These are all available from the menu individually, or in certain sequences on a sub-menu.
The glossary is meant to explain and troubleshoot, but is not effective. It's hard to judge if you've got the right technique while you're doing the exercise. The "Private Instruction" menu breaks down each exercise using still frames and is more effective in explaining how they are each done.
Final Thoughts:
People swear by pilates, but learning it via DVD is very difficult, akin to learning how to swing a golf club without going to a driving range and getting live instruction. Power Pilates: Beginner Workout is a well-done DVD. It can't be recommended for true beginners, but after a lesson or two from a local instructor, it can be a useful tool for daily exercise.
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