Customer Reviews:
 A Dollar a minute.... November 12, 2008
D. Farrow (Shell Beach, CA)
First off, I love Stott DVD's, and own quite a few.
The running time listed on Amazon.com shows 130 min. which is true.
What is not shown is that of those, only 29 min. are the actual workout. Other PRO Stott Pilates DVD's have at least an hour workout.
For the price, I would have hoped for a more complete offering than what I got.
On the plus side, the little there is seemed pretty good, but not worth the price.
 Wonderful Reformer Video September 11, 2008
Donald G. Hite III (Houston, Tx USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I am really glad that Stott has this pilates video for the reformer! There aren't really any other videos for the reformer (Stott has a few others, but that's about it), so any video is greatly appreciated. The classical pilates studio reformer video is great, but the pace is really too fast to exercise with it, so this is a great option.
The video starts with foot work, but adds some arm exercises to it, using toning balls (I don't have these, so I just use regular hand weights). The video also uses some a "bar" (I'm not sure the technical name for it). It's basically a pole about 3 feet long that you place through the loops on the straps, and can hold onto when performing moves (think like a trapeze). Traditionally you place one hand through each loop, but placing a bar in the loops and holding that definitely creates a different feel (I've even used the idea and modified some other exercises I like to use the bar as well). I have seen the "bars" available on websites and the prices aren't too high, but I just got a thick dowel rod from a craft store and it works perfect and is more affordable.
The video is a great mixture of arm and core work, and there are many exercises which focus on full body integration. For example, they do the "push ups", which combines a push-up motion with the more traditional long stretch. The video also modifies the knee stretch by alternating raising one leg behind you. The video is a great length (just around 30 minutes) and the pace is challenging but very doable. One thing I really appreciate about this video is that it takes many traditional reformer exercises and teaches you how you can modify them for a greater challenge.
My only complaint is that I wish the video more leg-in-straps exercises (they do a few leg circles, but not much else). One of my favorite type of reformer exercises involve spinal articulation (like the short and long spine), so a little more of that would have been great to balance things out.
In the end, this is a challenging video that manages to modify the exercises in a way that probably appeals more to men's goals (in particular with upper body emphasis), but still stays true to the traditional pilates approach. Considering how few reformer videos there are, I would say this one is a must!
ENJOY!
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