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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
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10 Minute Solution Quick Sculpt Pilates |
November 4, 2009 |
| Reviewer:
fitdiva2007
from Madison, WI
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About me: I'm an advanced exerciser and fitness instructor who enjoys
dance (salsa, brazilian and african) as well as variety workouts,
including functional fitness, step, yoga, pilates, fusion and dance. I
am also in training to become a pilates instructor in both the
equipment and mat.
10 Minute Solution Quick Sculpt Pilates is one of the more advanced
offerings from the 10 Minute Solution series. It uses a small
inflatable ball, to offer a greater challenge to the core, as well as
simulate work traditionally performed on pilates equipment such as the
spine corrector. I comment below on each of the five 10-minute
segments of the workout.
Total Body Toner-I actually had to take a rest during the 100 during
the first segment, and I definitely didn't make it through the teasers!
I liked how she used the ball to simulate footwork on the reformer. The
ball makes it 'harder' because you're forced to use your adductors and
abductors to stabilize, but it makes it 'easier' because that stability
will help you to keep you from taking the movement into your lower
back. I liked using the ball for the open leg rockers as well. Fun!
(Note that this move requires rather flexible hamstrings!)
Bun and Thigh-Again, I don't know if I was really just sore, but that
bun and thigh segment was tough--especially during the side kick
series! I really liked the use of the ball here as a reminder of how
easy it is to 'slouch' and lose touch with the core as we focus on
getting the biggest ROM (rather than a correct one). She also does some
bridging and rollouts on the ball. They're much more palatable here
that on a regular-sized stability ball, because this ball is much
softer and smaller! LOL
Strength and Flexibility- This was probably my favorite segment. As
most of you know, I don't really like pilates for abs workouts very
much, because the tend to focus almost exclusively on flexion, and
given that most people are already dominant and/or have tight quads,
hip flexors, pecs, etc., I think this can exacerbate existing
imbalances. That said, I love that this segment focuses on extension
with exercises such as double leg kicks, glute raises. I loved the
'helicopter moves', which simulate barrel apparatus work.
Core Conditioning-I did not do this section, just previewed some of it.
The small bit of the Core Conditioning segment that I did see appears
to make good use of the ball. I've done some similar exercises with the
ball before (e.g. TriadBall pilates) and I think this would be very
effective for helping alignment and form and also upping the difficulty
level.
Standing Pilates-I really enjoyed the standing portion; it reminds me
of Classical Stretch with a pinch of Balletone. I really loved moves
such as 'standing roll like a ball'. If you're really pulling back into
a C-Shape and focusing, this will be HARD. I also liked the 'star move'
as well. You also get some nice leg work in with the standing 100 and
leg circles (unlike most of Miranda's leg work, you do an entire set of
leg circles-front, side and back on the same leg, upping the
difficulty). My arms were definitely tired too from holding them up. I
didn't love Andrea's take on the rolldown. She comes down with a flat
back and only articulates on the way back up. I'm not so sure her way
is the best thing for folks with touchy lower backs, and I think it's
more effective to articulate through the spine on the way down AND on
the way back up.
Final verdict: I also don't think this would appeal to purists (most
mainstream pilates videos don't anyway), but this would be a winner for
the barre fans who like more reps and pulses to feel that they're
getting a good workout. I can imagine (or speculate!) that Andrea's
other workout program, Xtend, might be a bit similar to her approach
here. I think this will be a great resource when I start teaching mat
pilates classes and want to incorporate small apparatuses (such as the
ball or a magic circle).
About Andrea: Andrea gives good form pointers, but I think that there
are other instructors out there that give more subtle, nuanced cues. I
have to say that I enjoy Lara Hudson much more as a pilates instructor,
particularly in this 10 MS pilates format. Lara's a bit more chill, and
seems to be more polished as an instructor. Andrea also says 'gorgeous'
an awful lot! LOL (As an aside: I almost think the 10 MS dvds would
work better if they had a separate segment where they went over the
form and alignment for some/all of the exercises, so that people could
get the most of the workouts. That said, Andrea's form is absolutely
beautiful, and her classical training in pilates shines through on this
tape.
Thank you for your feedback on this review. We appreciate your input! 
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