And now for some reviews of sorts:
OK, so last week I mentioned that I bought some Winsor Pilates DVDs at the local Big Lots! store. Cherry asked me to let her know if they were worth checking out. Here's what they look like (photo courtesy of Amazon.com).
This set on Amazon is the same set of 5 I bought. Big Lots! had the cookbook too, I just didn't bother with it. Amazon lists them for $34.00 and up new and used. I paid $2.99 per DVD and was able to pick and choose which ones I wanted. That makes around $15 + tax total spent since I bought all 5 DVDs. I need all the help I can get and I figured at $2.99 a pop - what the hell.
Were they worth it? Don't know yet. Still have yet to do any of the workouts. I have been watching them and so far here's my opinion: They are gonna kick my butt. And it's gonna hurt. A lot.
In general, Mari Winsor is easy to listen to, explains everything quite well and keeps things flowing smoothly throughout the workout. The music works well with the movements, but is not overpowering. She does not do the movements herself, but has a good mix of men and women of every shape and size working the movements while she explains and shows us what to do. There is also one person (the Modifier) who is doing modified movements for those of us who need a gentler workout. Overall, I think I'm going to enjoy it once I get going. I do recommend watching them through once without actually doing the workouts. There were a few moves and terms I didn't recognize, so now that I've seen them, it's not all too new and it won't be hard to switch between movements or keep up with the program.
There are no warm up or cool down sections in the body area specific DVDs, so I intend to warm up and cool down on my own. A little extra stretching never hurt anything.
Let's start with the DVD pictured on the top left and work our way clockwise...
DVD #1: Bun & Thigh Sculpting (running time 21 minutes) - Just watching this one burns. This combination of moves will definitely reduce the saddlebags and get rid of the junk in your trunk. It concentrates on exactly what it says. I can see myself doing this one a few times a week.
DVD #2: Accelerated Body Sculpting (running time 57 minutes) - I had to take a nap after watching this one. An entire body workout (on the mat) lasting almost an hour. Definitely going to do the modified version of this one until I can get through the whole thing without calling 911.
DVD #3: Ab Sculpting (running time 22 minutes) - Good heavens! I think I lost 3 inches from my waist just watching this one. Mari really knows how to target a specific area and work you like a dog. This one is a definite must for me. I do this workout for a few months and pretty soon when I do a belly roll you'll be able to see the belly muscles working. Yalla! And a Zagareet too! (That's my bellydance talk for Giddy up and woo hoo!)
Next up in the photo is the Diet Cookbook thing which I did not get.
DVD #4: A combined DVD of Maximum Burn Basics (25 min) and Fat Burning: Sculpt Your Body Slim (50 min). Burn Basics is awesome. Take your basic Pilates mat work and add weights. I think she has a warm up session with this one, but I can't remember. A good idea since you will be working with the weights. I'm definitely going to work out with this one. My upper arms and my chest wiggle just a bit too much...she has some great move combos for these areas. Fat Burning is almost an hour of torture. The moves didn't look that difficult. The music was drums - and anyone who knows me, knows I love dem drums (hello, I'm a belly dancer/student). This part of the DVD is about 30 minutes or so of an aerobics class with some Pilates thrown in, then 20 minutes of Pilates mat work. There is a warm up and cool down for this workout. That seems easy enough Donna, what is so torturous about this? I'll tell you. Mari's workout ensemble. I can't get past the bell bottom capris with the Minney mouse shoes. Mari Winsor is a very petite woman. The pants swishing about 3 inches above her giant shoes are just too distracting for me. Don't know if I can do this one. No worries though. I have plenty of other DVDs with aerobic workouts - most of them Belly Dance related - and I'll have a lot more fun doing those. The Weight workout alone is worth the price of admission, so I'm not complaining.
DVD #5: Power Sculpting with Resistance (running time 28 min) - I really love this one. I think it's my favorite. Pilates movements using a resistance band. This one will be alternated with the Pilates movements using weights. The best part is that you have 3 choices of music to go along with your workout. Actually four. New age, Jazz, Pop, or you can mute the music, but keep Mari's instruction and play your own music. I think I'll be playing my own music for this one.
Better keep the phone handy. I'll be needing some mouth-to-mouth and some oxygen after these I'm sure. For a few weeks anyway. I've got a feeling these will be quite a bit advanced for me right now. BUT...My body still adapts pretty well despite my age, and I'm still quite flexible despite my size, so I'm sure it won't be too long before I can make it through without too many sore muscles afterwards. It helps that Mari always has "the Modifier" to adjust the exercises for us Pilates virgins/wimps.
All I have to do now is pick a DVD, put it in the machine and press PLAY. Not too hard, right?
I'd sprain my finger pushing "Play". ;)
ReplyDeleteDid you hit play yet?
ReplyDeleteI hope Big Lots! still have them in stock.
The one with the multiple music selection sounds interesting. That seems like a really nice feature.
Thank you for the review!
I went to Big Lots today.
ReplyDeleteI had 5 DVDs in my hand and I was up at the check-out when I realized I had 2 of the same one, so I went back to get the 5th one.
There was a lady, who just walked up, looking at them. DRAT, she got the last of the Burning Basics. And she knew how much I wanted it so she smiled and skittered away. ARGH!