Understanding Pilates

4 Responses to “Is Winsor Pilates really effective? Especially if you’re quite overweight?”

1. sirtitan45 Says:
   June 27th, 2009 at 2:41 pm

   Miriam Uhl

   Everything looks effective in a commercial, from how to make money to how to lose weight.

   Cardio and a good diet help lose weight not a pilates routine that burns minimal calories.

2. Kandi Says:
   June 29th, 2009 at 6:39 pm

   Peter Sansone

   From experience of having the DVD… I personally did see it being very effective. I was uncomfortable throughout the entire workout, and I was only 5-10 lbs overweight. I personally like yoga better Good Luck.

3. native Says:
   June 30th, 2009 at 6:19 am

   Althea Trickett

   any exercise will help you to loose weight.Pilate’s is easy on your joints.
   you just have to do them every day and you will see the results.

4. blueyed_puella Says:
   June 30th, 2009 at 1:59 pm

   Lakisha Mcnary

   Make sure you read the fine print on the infomercial. The women who dropped down multiple sizes watched what they ate and added cardio activity. I’ve talked to a few people who were part of groups for infomercials, and it’s quite common for them to be on regimented diets and to supplement the exercise video or equipment sold with additional exercise. That said, someone who is diligent about nutrition, cardio, and the exercise in question could have similar results, but remember that consistency is key.

   Winsor Pilates is not significantly different from the other Pilates programs out there. All derive from the exercise system devised by Joseph Pilates. The benefits of Winsor Pilates are its availability and accessibility. Mari Winsor has her own sequence of exercises, tweaks the form, and uses a different form of breathing in comparison to more traditional Pilates, but that’s not that big of a deal for most people. I’ve read about a few people who do find her manner of presenting the exercises helpful to them. (Personally I prefer other instructors and find that I tighten up during the handful of Winsor workouts I have, since I don’t think she includes enough of the more flexibility-oriented exercises, but I’ve tried a ton of Pilates videos.)

   Pilates is a great system of exercises that can work for any body type or size. (Good instructors will provide modifications for people with limits in flexibility, range of motion, or strength, by the way, so don’t feel intimidated or discouraged.) Most people find that they don’t get “bulk” while doing these strength- and flexibility-oriented exercises, but you can’t completely change the body type that has been genetically pre-determined for you. Since Pilates focuses primarily on strength / toning and flexibility, you will need to supplement with cardiovascular activity (walking, running, aerobics, bike rides or spinning, kickboxing, etc.) in order to get into shape. Pilates primarily works your core, or abs and back, so make sure you get enough work in for your upper and lower body. There are Pilates videos out there, including a couple good ones offered by Winsor, that will help you there. Or you can supplement Pilates with other exercises. (I use traditional weights, too, in addition to Pilates, but that’s my choice.)

   I see no reason not to give Winsor Pilates a try. It may work for you. If it doesn’t, know that there are so many other varieties of Pilates out there. I personally like to use a mix of Classical Pilates, Stott Pilates, other personal takes on Pilates, and even some fusion workouts.

   If you’re looking for more information on Winsor Pilates and other Pilates workouts, I highly recommend CollageVideo.com, where you can see previews of the videos they have in stock and read customer reviews; VideoFitness.com, where you can read consumer reviews of a ton of videos and ask questions on their forum; and YourExerciseDVDs.com, where you can read professional reviews of a number of videos.

   P.S. Hope you feel better soon!

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