Building Long, Lean, Dancer Muscles One Roll Up at a Time
After years of working out with weights, I just might incorporate a new technique into my regimen. I recently got the Mari Winsor Slimming Pilates System – and it is kicking my butt.
Pilates is named after gymnast and body builder Joseph Pilates (1883-1967). Born in Germany, Pilates moved to England where he was interned as an “enemy alien” at the start of World War I. During this time, Pilates helped bedridden patients exercise by rigging springs to hospital beds in an early incarnation of his later equipment designs. After he returned to Germany, his exercise methods gained popularity, especially with the dance community who appreciated that Pilates helped build long, lean muscles as well as core strength, the balanced development of the muscles that stabilize, align, and move the trunk of the body, especially the abdominal and back muscles.
Mari Winsor, for those of you who might not know, is a renowned fitness expert, dancer, Pilates instructor and author, among other credits. She is trained in the Joseph Pilates method, has two Pilates studios in California and has sold more than 29 million exercise DVDs, helping millions of people get the bodies they want. Her fitness expertise has been featured in magazines, including Allure, Glamour, Health, InStyle, More, Redbook, Shape, Vogue and W.
I am a dedicated gym rat, love free weights and weight machines and have just a little bit of experience in Pilates. My daughter, Victoria, was home from college for the weekend and I convinced her to test the Winsor Slimming Pilates System for me. I wasn’t going to wimp out, but I wanted to see how Tori, who is minoring in dance, felt about the System. It just so happens that Tori is taking a mat Pilates class this semester and I wanted her to test the System to determine whether it’s for experienced Pilates performers or if anyone, like me for instance, could do it.
Setting up the System was easy. We popped one of the set’s four DVDs into our player, screwed on weighted extensions to The Accelerator, a weighted bar that can be made heavier and/or more versatile with the attachment of hand weights or resistance cords. (Some of the exercises require that you attach The Accelerator to a doorknob. It’s best if you have a door that’s within viewing distance of the TV so you can follow along as Mari and her students demonstrate the exercises.) Tori chose the Super Fast Body Blast DVD to begin. This DVD promises to chisel your body in just 20 minutes a day. It combines body sculpting moves with easy-to-follow footwork and is enhanced with the addition of The Accelerator.
Mari’s tape is easy to follow but it is by no means easy to do. Mari gives detailed instructions while three exercisers, of varying expertise, perform the program. I watched my little dancer execute the exercises with perfect form and a few exclamations of “Oh, this is good,” “I’ll feel this tomorrow,” plus a couple of favorite expletives. When she was finished with the 20-minute tape, she popped in another one. ABsession brings cardio and Pilates together to help flatten your stomach. Tori was challenged but was up to the task and bravely followed up with Quick Start Pilates for Weight Loss which combines two 20-minute workouts. Cardio Sculpt delivers the strength conditioning that Pilates is known for, as well as a heart rate boosting, calorie-burning cardiovascular workout. Burn & Firm Pilates provides super-fast sculpting moves that focus on two common problem areas – Booty Lift for the lower body, works buns, hips and thighs while Sexy Sculpted Arms focuses on the upper body, including shoulders, arms and back. By the time she was finished with the 40 -minute tape, Tori was beat.
“Can beginners do it?” I asked her. “Yeah, but it helps if you have some knowledge of Pilates. Some of the moves are difficult but beginners can learn them,” she said. “Can I do it?” I asked. Tori has worked out with me at the gym, where after seeing me on the pec deck, pronounced me a “beast,” in a loving and admiring way, she was quick to add. But she also knows me to be completely inflexible. Stretching is something I consider a waste of time. (Please spare me the lectures on how important stretching is to a workout and overall fitness. I know that. I just don’t like doing it.) “Well, it’s going to be a challenge for you. But yeah, try it.”
I found the System to be quite challenging and some of the moves, while alien to me and difficult for my rigid body to execute properly, leave my muscles feeling well worked out. Mari takes you through all the Pilates moves from The Hundred (a classic Pilates exercise that develops core strength, breathing and coordination) to The Roll Up (a challenging exercise, especially if done correctly, that works on core strength and flattens the stomach) to The Spine Stretch (a flexion exercise that also stretches the hamstrings). There are many more exercises as well, but I can’t tell you about them. Yet. I wimped out before I even finished the first DVD.
I love a good challenge and refuse to be cowed. I’m going to try the Mari Winsor Slimming Pilates System again. And again. I won’t give up the gym and my beloved weight stacks, but at least I know there’s a challenging workout – and one that incorporates stretching, coordination and core strength – that I can use in conjunction with my weight training. Plus, I can do it at home. I’m learning to like stretching and I’m waiting for the day when someone asks me, “Do you dance? You look like a dancer.” Ok, that will never happen, but I can pretend that I have long, lean, dancer muscles, can’t I? And maybe, one day, I actually will.
To learn more about Mari Winsor’s Slimming Pilates System, visit: http://www.winsorslim.com
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