Pilates Makeover to Whittle Your Middle 6-Week Program

By: Ellen Barrett

Narrated by: Ellen Barrett

Length: 2 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

Do 3-4 Pilates toning workouts each week in addition to your regular cardio regimen in order to strengthen the abs and lower back while stabilizing the spine. These functional exercises address America's #1 trouble spot: flabby abdominals. You'll start with safe, moderate exercises and gradually increase the intensity. You don't require any additional equipment beyond your own body weight. Enjoy!

This six-week program includes:

Basic Sexy Pilates:
This is a fabulous introductory workout where you zone in on hips, back, abs, and total-core strength and stability. Do this great, short, efficient workout 2-3 times a week. Take frequent breaks by pulling knees into chest and breathing deeply. Drink water before and after class and use muscle control throughout this basic workout.

Flat Abs Workout:
Pilates is best known as a core strengthener, an abs-toner, and a posture enhancer. This fantastic and efficient workout introduces you to the basic principles of Pilates core work in a simple and user-friendly way.

Total Body Traditional Series:
This is the original and quite traditional mat Pilates series invented in the 1920s by guru Joseph Pilates. We encourage you to practice and perfect this single workout more than any other since this includes foundation moves for ALL of Pilates.

Total Body Blitz:
This challenging Pilates program targets large muscles of the back, chest, abs, and legs. Perform it three days a week (on non-consecutive days) in addition to your regular cardio regimen. This body sculpting plan really zeroes in on all the areas you want to firm up.

The Super Challenge:
This is a Pilates workout that targets the core, hips, and back, and sculpts the chest, legs, and every major muscle group. You should have worked your way up to this mega-challenge. Most participants won't be able to complete it the first few times through. Drink lots of water after, and stretch thoroughly.

Looking for more variety in your workouts? Check out these personal training sessions.

(P)2005 iAmplify

Not worth it

While the exercises might be useful, unless you know pilates already you can't figure out what the speaker is asking you to do. The biggest difficulty is that the audio is so choppy that it jumps from lying down to standing or sitting moves without telling you. Impossible to follow.

don't waste your time

this audio is hard to follow. if you are not a pilates expert (I've been taking classes for a year) you won't know the moves and it's too quick between moves to keep up.

Poorly Edited Pilates

This is a poorly edited audible book for pilates. Pilates is meant to flow from movement to movement, building up and then cooling down. The way this audible book is edited, the exercise jump all over so you are doing movements before you have fully warmed up. Do not use this if you are new to pilates or do not know the sequences well enough to leave exercises out before you have fully warmed up.

Jerky and hard to follow at times

I like the exercises provided, but the series is jerky and hard to follow due to some bad editing. It is clear that routines were cut and pasted for the audio.