Pilates Conditioning for Weight Loss

Suzanne Deason
Year Released: 2001

Categories: Pilates/Core Strength


In this video, Suzanne Deason offers a very gentle, slow-moving Pilates workout. She begins with a 10 minute section called "Creating Awareness" which focuses on form and breath; it's a nice way to get used to the Pilates style. She then moves on to the workout and starts with stretches to warm up the feet and calves. Following this, she begins the classic Pilates matwork, starting with the traditional first exercise, The Hundred. She moves very slowly from exercise-to-exercise, and prior to each new move, she gives specific setup instructions. Suzanne herself performs the most challenging movements (Level 3), while two assistants show modified versions (Levels 1 and 2). The 45-minute workout ends with some final stretches.

Although both the slow-moving pace of this workout and the level of the exercises offered (more challenging Pilates movements are not included) would be appropriate for beginners, Suzanne does not offer detailed instruction on how to perform each move. As mentioned above, she does explain how to setup for the exercises, but she provides few guidelines on form, which is vital to the practice of Pilates. This video might work well for those who already have some familiarity with Pilates but want a gentle, relaxing workout. However, both absolute beginners and more intermediate/advanced Pilates practioners will probably want to look elsewhere.

Instructor Comments:
Suzanne is a pleasant instructor with a nice voice, but I think she fails to provide adequate cuing in this workout.

Beth C (aka toaster)

01/30/2004