After seeing The Method Precision Toning, and being somewhat confused as to which was actual workout and which was explanation/demonstration of exercise, I was looking for a video that had a workout from start to finish. Also, Precision Toning had virtually nothing for the upper body. There were some decent reviews of this video on Amazon, so I bought it.

The Good:

Denise explains what "neutral spine" is very clearly, using a live model. There are two approximately 20 minute workouts, the first primarily Pilates exercises, and the second Pilates mixed half and half with Yoga. The exercises should be familiar to anyone who's been exposed to either discipline, and I like the way the exercises follow each other. The Yoga positions comprised the bulk of the upper body exercises--positions which support body weight such as the Plank and Cobra positions. There was one interesting exercise that she calls a hip-extender, where you cross your leg over your knee while standing and then lower yourself into a squat, touching your fingers to the floor. Denise does explain how to modify some of the exercises for beginners, but she is not as flexible as Jennifer Kries, so you don't feel like it's a lost cause before you start, which is easy to do with Precision Toning. Denise is chatty, but the volume has been turned down considerably.

The Bad:

Denise is not the best person to learn technique from in either discipline. She visibly sways on the standing Yoga positions, and despite her constant exhortations to "activate those abs" she is clearly using her arms and back (on exercises such as the Teaser), which indicates a lack of abdominal control. The really soft mat (almost a thin futon, if you ask me) she uses can't hide that. If you're going to teach it..... Also, she gives virtually no indication of number of reps to do of each exercise, so you have to count yourself. While she is somewhat toned down in this video, she still lapses into occasional baby-talk ("swimmies"--indeed!) and claps at the end. The first three minutes of the video are devoted to advertising all of the other tapes she has out, so you have to fast-forward through it. There was even "And now for our feature presentation", as if you were at the movies. That stuff should either be at the end of the video, or on an insert. The video is only 52 minutes to start with, that time could have been spent on exercises instead. The rest of the Pilates explanations were on the skimpy side, and I would recommend Precision Toning if you really want to understand what's going on. On the second workout, the video goes back and forth between the studio and the desert--I suspect from her Yoga Essentials video with the audio tape--and that is distracting because the desert shots are all from a distance. If you are prone to back problems, you would be better off starting with a Callanetics tape until your abs are in good shape.

The Bottom Line:

I liked this video because it actually had two workouts from start to finish, which gave me an indication of what a Pilates-type workout could consist of. If you can't stand Denise on a daily basis, watch the video a couple of times, write the exercises down and do the workouts without her. If you are already familiar with both Pilates and Yoga, this is not the worst video out there. It cost $9.99 at Target--I like shopping there for exercise videos, the prices are decent and there is usually a good selection. Go in with a friend or two and split the cost. I will probably be using this until The Method brings out a "workout only" Pilates tape.

Amy