First to mention, I don’t have previous experience with Pilates but I did try to use the actual names of Pilates exercises as much as I could. You do need a small ball for this routine. Tracey says a playground ball would work, but I think a softer ball works better. I used a FitBall Mini.

These are the sections:

Total Body Warm-Up (9:55):
o Bridge with ball between thighs
o Toe taps with ball under sacrum
o One leg circle with ball under sacrum
o Chest curl from arched back with ball under upper back between shoulder blades (straight up, with rotation, semi-circle)
o Squeeze ball between knees in static c-curve

Classic Abs Series (11:32):
o Roll-up with ball between hands
o Double leg stretch with ball between ankles
o Rolling like a ball with ball placed in back of knees
o Single leg bent leg stretch variations (ball against knee for resistance, rotation)
o Roll over with ball between ankles
o Ball toss crunch, moving ball between ankles and hands
o Half roll down raising arms overhead, ball between hands
o Half roll down with obliques, transferring ball between hands
o Roll-up to twist, raising one leg
o Spine forward stretch with extension

Oblique and Buns Sculpt (10:16):
o Side leg lying leg circles, legs together with ball between ankles
o Side leg lift series with top leg bent and ball behind knee (several variations)
o Side leg lift series with ball under armpit on supporting side (kick back/front, raise/lower, grande ronde de jambe)
o Mermaid stretch
o Repeat on alternate side

Legs and Thighs Burn (9:32):
o Adductor and thigh exercises with ball under sacrum (frog variations, open/close legs, leg circles, leg bends, double toe taps, scissors, helicopter, psoas stretch)
o Pelvic tilt variations (shoulder bridge with feet on ball, body long with feet on ball)
o Roll-up with feet on ball

Total Body Challenge (10:00):
o Back extension variations
o Child pose
o Double leg circles resting back on elbows, ball between ankles
o Teaser variations with ball between ankles
o Pilates pushups with ball between feet

Flexibility (8:46):
o A mix of seated and standing stretches


COMMENTS:

I normally do a mix of traditional, barre and yoga for exercise. I really like Tracey’s latest Booty Barre DVD and had seen clips of this Pilates DVD and thought I would give it a try.

Overall I really enjoyed this DVD and completed the entire DVD in a sitting, although I did leave off a portion of the flexibility section. There isn’t any upper body work to speak of (no planks, only a few pushups) but that didn’t detract from the workout. I was surprised that I had some inner thigh DOMS after doing it and am interested to see if I have them next time around. I really enjoyed the core work and it nicely complements the other exercises I do.

My only complaint with the DVD was that Section 2, Abs Series, doesn’t show on the top menu where you can select individual sections. It does play if you select ‘Play All’.

I see my self using this DVD on a regular basis and look forward to Tracey’s next Booty Barre offering as well! I think Tracey did a great job

kitty12