A 52-minute Pilates-type full-body sculpting workout. Bernadette Giorgi instructs.

Intermediate exercisers and up. You need to be familiar with basic Pilates exercises, and you should have a pretty strong core already, or you won't be able to get through this routine. You will need a small, weighted ball (preferred), about 2 to 3 lbs, or a mat and one dumbbell of the same weight, and a mat.

Are you one of those people like me, who sometimes mistakes Pilates for a less intense workout just because you're not jumping around and using heavy weights? Well, this DVD will cure you of that assumption. If you can make it through the first 20 minutes without feeling like your abs are burning so hard you can barely go on, then you probably teach Pilates or are a ballet dancer. In this workout, Giorgi has put together a variety of mat exercises, and added a weighted ball to most of them. I have a two-pound ball, and even that small amount of weight added extra oomph to exercises like the corkscrew, and modified double leg stretch (the ball is held between your feet). The rest of the workout burned a little less than the core exercises at the beginning, but it still wasn't close to easy. You work out your whole body, including your shoulders, arms, legs and stabilizing muscles, sometimes all at the same time (four-legged diagonal stretch with a weighted ball anyone?). The unique versions of these traditional Pilates exercises are enhanced by Giorgi's clear instruction, flowing sequencing and graceful, amazingly precise form. Only the stuffiest of Pilates purists will find anything to gripe about with this DVD, and even they will have to admit that this instructor stays true to Joseph Pilates' intention. If you enjoy Pilates but find some DVDs out there lacking in intensity and style, give this one a try. It will definitely lift you out of your workout doldrums.