Well, I have no idea what I thought pilates was going to be but it was anything BUT soothing! The scenery and music on the DVD was beautiful with lovely shots of the ocean in the background and the gentle voice of the instructor detailing what the purpose of the exercise was. There would be no number of repetitions, she said, instead we would focus on proper form and balance which will in turn result in long, lean muscles.
The first part of the workout, Energy Boost Pilates, was nice and got the blood pumping, even though I grunted through a few moves I was still able to do them.
When it came to the second part of the workout, pilates abs workout, that is where the fun began! There were two instructors to follow, one in blue was for advanced moves and the other in green was for the novices like me. To tell the truth I could not even do the abridged version on several of the moves, maybe I am just not flexible enough but my legs could not reach all the way over my head!
Anyone looking at me would have had a good laugh; it was not a pretty sight! There were more grunts and groans and sweat as I struggled to hold some of the positions and all I could think of was THIS is not easy. At least with walking you start at point A, finish at point B and that was it. In addition to the positions of the workout that I had to contort my body into, I also had to remember when to breathe; breathe in on the roll down, breathe out on the roll up! Breathing apparently was the key!
Eventually I made it through the end of the DVD and was glad when it was all over. Now I was never a fan of doing exercises at home with a tape or DVD, to me it is seemed so easy to "cheat" by either not doing the exercise properly or simply switching off the television when you have had enough torture. But, knowing that it is that easy to cheat actually made me want to give it the extra effort. No one was looking at me, well except my husband who was probably having a good laugh, but I felt as if I stopped when it got difficult the only person who would be cheated was me. Although my legs may not have reached behind my head or I could not hold my balance on a few of the moves I made sure and attempted each one!
I am sure those accustomed to pilates would think the moves are “easy”, however I am yet to get to that stage. Thing is, I liked it, even with all my complaining I felt great after! So even though today is a day “off” I think I am going to try pilates again!
I have a different pilates DVD to tackle this one is called "Pilates Conditioning for Weight Loss" and looks even harder than the other DVD ; wish me luck!
16 comments:
saucy, you are truly an inspiration. you believe i bought a pilates workout dvd today? i even put rush shipping on it, so i should have it by tuesday of next week! thanks!
very nice, you will enjoy it even though the first time you try some of them poses is pressure!
I am trying out the next dvd today :)
nah kevian, it not boring at all and the DVD I have the instructions are easy to follow.
HAHAHAHAHAH Saucy,
I had to laugh at the image of you contorted and thinking you must look funny. At least you were in the privacy of your home.
My job started offering pilates classes for employees, and oh geed. If you coulda see me trying to twist up mehself in some of them poses. In one, I completely lost my balances and rolled off the mat and landing up on a co-worker who was on the floor next to me. They had to stop the class because everyone was laughing as they watched the two of us trying to untangle ourselves from each other.. grunting the whole time. LOL.
That day was the beginning and the end of my pilates career. :)
You are an inspiration!! I love you are determined and JUST DO IT, like Nike, no matter what!!
yeah boy, daiz love right there...
TOG yes, I was SO glad nobody could see me at home! and doh think I could stretch out my leg straight so eh, is all kind bent knee and ting..real funny and awkward looking.. I would be real embarassed if I was in public!
Kevian I take dem pics dis morning eh, doh think I was stopping during the workout ro snap pics. :D
You know Saucy, I been working out like crazy for the last two months and it seem the results have been real slow. Lots of ppl have suggested I try pilates and you just convinced me!
the thing about pilates is that it looks easy enough, and you don't feel like you exerting yourself, but when yuh done, yuh does real feel it.
Saucy, my abs are still sore and you have me cracking up!!!
Now you know the private (and sometimes public) humiliation of being beat down by an excercise video. Congrats to you for finishing the routine! I tackled 'Abs of Steel' again on Thursday, and it was far less painful, but still extremely difficult. And after my run tonight, I'll pop it in the VCR to torture myself yet again.
Lawd Kevian, that excercise video is a BEAST (I don't know if you read my post in response to Saucy's 3rd day of her excercise plan). Even when I was in the best shape of my life, and sporting a 20 inch waistline, that video used to kill me.
And the thing that gets me is how the instructor making big long conversation and not even out of breath!!
Thankfully, other than muscle soreness, I am not suffering any aches and pains, and I lost 2 pounds already (YESSSSSS!), so I will hang in there.
Are you in 'Carnival shape' yet?
Check you out!, taking pics of your DVD, you are one dedicated gyrl!!!! Yeah, Pilates is an acquired exercise, hard to get used to if you aren't accustomed to doing floor exercises. When I took it, I found it was lots of ab work which I loved. There's some Yoga like moves, but the diff with it is it's an actual workout where you're exerting NRG, core strengthening, which can be intense.
I have to echo TOG's sentiments and say OH GEED! I tried Pilates once back when I was in college and thin and I don't know if it was because I am super inflexible but I hated that shight. It was HARD no arse (with and without the machines and a personal instructor)!
lol, saucy you are a hot mess.
I love pilates, purely because most of the moves are dance warmups...
Pilates: one of those things that you love to hate. But it has such great benefits after all the torture of the first couple sessions...reminds me of Spinn class. If you want to burn fat like crazy, try a couple Spinn class. fabulous!!!
I've just completed day 2 of my 2007 workout...will update on progress
But is it just me wondering what you doing taking pics and not doing the damn exercises...LOL
Nah but really, I will have to try that pilates I had a friend recently drop 2 dress sizes doing Pilates alone. So I am goin gto get a DVD tomorrow!!
I just started pilates and yoga at Spinners World (top of Bellsmythe Street, Woodbrook)and I am addicted. It is pressure but I can see that I will get the results I am looking for in my abdominals.
All the other men running from all the stretching but I am going to stick to it for the next couple months.
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