Pilates??

Does anyone else do these? My friend does these and she swears by them.
I have been thinking abou tdoing them but when I looked at the vidoes there are so many I don't know which one I would even start with, what equipment I'd need, things of that sort.
Other questions I have are what do you think about the workout? is it challenging or boring?
is it a good muscle toner? does it help you loose weight and keep it off?
I have lots of questions but I'm curious to see what you all have to say about the videos.

The exercise program is fine. Yes, it's a good muscle toner and good for getting your metabolism rate up. The key to any good program is finding something you enjoy so that you'll keep at it. In reality, it is no better or worse than many other programs, but many find it to be fun and that's the critical part in finding the program that is right for you. I would suggest giving it a try if you can do so without a large or long term financial commitment. You may find exercising with your friend or others is the motivation you need.

I love pilates because it's very similar to Ballet and I was a dancer throughout my childhood. Pilates is very good at strengthing your core muscles and you don't need much equipment... all I use is a mat and the DVD. I bought the Winsor Pilates series on a whim one day and they are good DVD's, but my suspicion is that most of the Pilates DVD's should be very similar as Pilates is a series of specific exercises. What would differentiate one set from another would be pacing of exercises and the instructor's ability to explain the exercise to you. I also would recommend a book... "The Pilates Body" by Brooke Siler as it really explains each exercise very well so you know you are doing it correctly. Then it really won't matter so much which DVD you buy. I also really like the swiss ball exercises. They completely resolved some back problems I was having!

I have never done Pilates. But one of my friends swears by it. She always says that she feels so good after her session and she did lose weight when first doing it.

My gym holds the classes but i've never been to one yet.

I've read about it and it's supposed to be a brilliant workout without the sweat!.

Madonna does it and look how fab she looks

I do them and to be honest, I never thought, by looking at others do them, that some of them could be so hard. LOL I watched my trainer explain the 'Plank' which is awesome for abs and upper thighs etc... She made it look like a breeze and I thought I'd master that one in no time at all. Well.... I lasted a whole 9 seconds holding that pose.

Pilates and Yoga definately help in keeping weight off and strengthening your body. I highly recommend it.

Give it a try! I'm sure you'll enjoy it and will feel much better after.

I got a pilates DVD for my 29th birthday this year...as gravity starts to take hold of my body

So...I have this DVD and haven't yet tried it, but have a yoga mat (because that was my big thing last year--but it got too expensive going to Yoga classes and I wasn't disciplined enough to do it at home.)

I have several friends who do pilates and lost tons of weight (inches) and flattened their tummys and tightend their thigh muscles. (which is what most people do it for right?)

It looks like it will work if I ever use it!

I bought the Mauri Winsor Pilates DVD set last July. Pilates is more difficult to do than it looks, but it really does work well for toning muscles and getting a cardio workout. I never really knew how weak my "powerhouse" (AKA abdominal and lower back muscles) was until I started doing pilates.

My cat loves to sit on top of the sofa or chair and watch me!! Sometimes she chases my hands or legs too. It's funny. I definitely think my cat is better at pilates because...well, she can lift her back leg so high and easily reach them while grooming herself!!

ok, ya got me convinced. now which video should I start with? or IS there a video to start with? should I just go out and buy everyone I see? what do you all think?? I don't care about cost, I just want something I know will keep me interested and will work.

I bought my Winsor Pilates DVD set at Collage Video . They have sample clips of most of the exercise videos they sell. You may want to start there to view samples of different instructors and see which ones keep your interest. I had borrowed by sister's copy of Denise Austin's Pilates for Everyone, but that one totally turned me off because she went too fast and the moves were just too difficult. Good luck!!

The Winsor Pilates are a good set to start with. First, you get the specifics of how to do the moves. Then you start with the 20 minute workout and eventually move up to the tougher one. I like how the Winsor DVDs also show modifications if you can quite get into those positions at first.

I have the Winsor Pilates DVD's too... I have to admit I bought them from the Infomercial... (how embarassing!)

I have the beginner, 20 minute, accelerated workout, arms, abs, buns n thighs, and I think another one too in the Winsor series and they're all a good workout! Only one of them is longer than 20-30 minutes. So they are not a big time consuming workouts.

And the thing I LOVE about Pilates is that though these workouts kill me while I'm doing them... the next day I'm almost never sore. Getting through the buns n thighs workout is a killer, but the next day I'm walking like I did nothing the day before. It's Amazing!
-

I love pilates. I started it I believe in January two years ago, and lost 40 pounds in only a few months. The best thing about it though is that it improved my breathing so much that I was able to give up using asthma inhalers that I had been on for 20 years!! A nice side effect for a short person like me is that all that core training improves your posture dramatically, so next time I had a physical, I measured 1 3/4 inches taller then before (and I'm 28, so no I wasn't growing).

I think I'm going to give the Winsor Pilates a try. 20 minutes sounds easy enough to slip in anytime of the day.

I do mine at the gym but this may be beneficial too!