Thursday- Pilates

Have you ever heard of Pilates? Sometimes it's also called Body Sculpting, although Deni's Body Sculpting is very different. Pilates, or Winsor Pilates, I picked up a long time ago in a two dvd pack. One dvd is a twenty minute workout. The other dvd is the full 52 minute workout.

This is about your abs - all about the abs. Or Power House, as it's called on the dvd. I've tried it before, obviously, several years ago... let's say 4 or 5. I didn't like it much, but thought it interesting.

Lately I can't seem to drag my preggie body out of bed at 5:30, so I run in the evening or not at all. Running's hit or miss right now, and it bugs me a lot. Anyway, about the Pilates. I wanted to do an ab workout, but didn't have a full hour to work with... so I pulled this out of my pack and tried it again. I did 30 minutes of the 50 minutes workout. Got hot, and abs worked hard. So I got the workout I wanted.

Winsor Pilates is done on the floor, or mat the entire time. You are either laying on your back or front or side. And with the 50 minutes workout it's all pretty slow. I remember with the twenty minute workout it was all very fast. The longer workout gives you a chance to get used to the move before upping the speed. I enjoyed it this morning. I like how she tells you how many times you'll do each workout before you start, and how she counts aloud. There are cons to this workout though as well. ALL of the participants are one body style. The women are tiny and skinny skinny. The men are ripped and skinny. There is a woman doing modified versions of each exercise, but she doesn't look like she needs to do them. This workout also doesn't have the camaraderie that others do... the participants smile a little, but that's it. No one sounds like they are having fun, so there is no energy to enjoy from the show. She also doesn't give you a stretch in between the poses during the first 20 minutes - it's ALL work, no rest.

Is it my favorite? Nah. But some of those exercises were really challenging, so I have to do it again. I like the pilates 100, I found it much easier than it was 4 yrs ago... I mean it was EASY! And when I last tried it, it was a challenge. The lifting your legs up into the air, balancing on your shoulders... that was tough! I can't do it right yet... so I'll have to practice that one... why? Because it was hard and fun. If it wasn't fun, I wouldn't bother. So I'll be doing it again. I need to ab work, and my pack for Deni's Total Body workout only give one for just abs. Granted every yoga pose has some ab work and every Aerobics episode has some ab work... but I really need to focus on mine. They are in sad shape. I want stronger abs before this baby comes, and I want stronger abs to start the recovery time as well. The more muscle I have when the baby comes, I believe the easier it will be to lose the excess weight. So I'll probably alternate between the two.