Crunch Super SlimDown: Pilates Yoga Blend
Ellen BarrettYear Released: 2004
Categories: Pilates/Core Strength , Yoga
This dvd is longer than I usually do for toning but I enjoyed it a lot. I'm getting
back into exercise, weak core, and pretty overweight (mostly in the abdomen area
if that helps you any with my views of this workout)It's about 40-45 minutes with
the stretch at the end and has the chapters listed on the inside of the case. aside
from the start menu and end credits the sections are: standing yoga 1, standing
yoga 2, all fours matwork 1, all fours matwork 2, side lying matwork, abs matwork,
and calming cooldown. I'll try to remember what was in each section. in all sections
she does a move then adds to it and repeats the sequence about 4 times on each side,
sometimes alternating sides, sometimes each side at once.
she starts with deep breaths reaching up then adds knee bends with them. the 'series'
here is swoop up, turn into warrior 2 and pulse it (in and out of the pose from
knee bent to straight) then reverse (one yz dvd called this crescent she calls it
reverse) very nice stretch by the way with knee still bent) then you swoop around
in front and go to the othe side. she repeats this back and forth at a slightly
faster pace but not bad. the other standing yoga has you do triangle to warrior
2 to warrior 1 and back. at least I think that's what it was. (hard to remember
an hour later!) by this time my out of shape self was feeling this, esp in the feet/ankles
from turning to warrior 1..I've always had the feet wider for warrior 1 so I had
to finally scoot them over a bit to be comfortable). the music throughout all is
nice...not overbearing and after I while I hardly noticed it. all fours matwork
she does cat to straight back and has you on all fours with one foot and the opposite
arm extended (modified by just doing the leg and leaving both hands on the floor
which is what I did (at least til I had to rest.bothered my hands a bit) and you
lift the leg with small movements up and down and to the side up and down and switch
back and forth a few times. I think the next section starts lying on your stomach
but she calls it all fours matwork 2. you lift the legs while lying down and pulse
them in and out (to the side and together) then lift the upper body the do pieces
of heaven or willow. maybe both. anyways this is one I had problems with because
the main part of the pose you're in child pose with arms extended in front. well,
with my legs under me I can't go all the way to the floor with my upper body without
my rear end coming up off my legs and falling on my head! butif you can, you lift
yourself up and stretch the elbows back for a nice upper back stretch then lower
again. she sneaks pushup type stuff in with the pieces of heaven where you do the
legs, then the upper body, the lift all the way up and go back to child's pose with
arms extended and repeat this over and over for a while. side lying matwork was
mostly legs. you lie on your side and lift both legs up then raise and lower the
upper while the lower stays put the repeat with the lower and do these ballet looking
moves that I love cause they look so graceful on the dvd! on this section you do
all on one leg then do the other leg instead of going back and forth. the abs section
has teaser and climbing the rope and several other moves. again I modified and even
the modifier couldn't modify a couple enough fo rme so I did the best I could. there
are other moves in each section that I've missed but not a whole lot I don't think.
the only 'aerobic' benefit I could see in this is the faster paced moves in a few
poses and 'zipper' which is in the 2nd yoga seems like and I'd say it flows nicely
but it's more toning and stretching I wouldn't use this for cardio at all. there's
no moving around or dancing - the only standing part is the beginning sections and
those are in one place except for turning to the side or front. I like Ellen as
an instructor. seems like time flies pretty fast when she teaches. also I don't
rememeber her outfit being pink like on the cover! seems like the colors were different
though the style of clothes are the same, if that's important. I didn't have to
watch the screen very much and it was usually the modifier I looked at.
Instructor Comments:
Wonderful! Ellen is a favorite of mine even though I don't do her workouts as often
as some others due to their length. She is encouraging and down to earth and so
graceful.She makes me want to keep trying even when I'm wanting to stop! Her outfit
was a bit low cut on the pants but she didnt' seem vulgar or anything.