Shape Pilates Workout: Firm Up From Head to Toe

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A half-hour full-body Pilates workout from Shape magazine. Lizbeth Garcia instructs. Also included is a bonus 12-minute quickie toning routine featuring Tracy York.

Advanced beginning exercisers. You should be familiar with Pilates exercises — this is not an instructional DVD — but you don’t have to be an expert. You will need a mat for the main routine, and for the bonus workout you will also need a pair of light to moderate dumbbells — anywhere from 3 to 8 pounds.

Sometimes it seems like if you’ve seen one Pilates workout, you’ve seen them all. Thankfully, this is one routine that changes things up a little, while still staying true to Joseph Pilates’ intent. Lizbeth Garcia adds a little twist here and there — adding arm sweeps to Roll Ups and Rolling Like a Ball and leg sweeps to the Series of 5 — to give basic moves a little more of a challenge. She also performs the exercises in a flowing, somewhat fast-paced manner, so it’s best if you have done Pilates before and are familiar with the moves. This half-hour workout is perfect for the advanced beginner who wants something a little bit different from all the other Pilates routines out there. The bonus toning routine is good for this level of fitness, too — veteran pro Tracy York leads you through a quick, total body workout for those days when you’re really time crunched but want to fit in some strength training. For those who are still a little new to their fitness path, this is a nice DVD to own — and what’s more, a portion of proceeds go to breast cancer research.

 

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