The Method: 3 Dimensional Toning

Jennifer Kries
Year Released: 2001

Categories: Pilates/Core Strength


I’m reviewing this workout after doing it several times since getting it months ago.

General workout breakdown: There are two segments in this video: “Pilates Based” and “Core Conditioning.”
“Pilates Based” is 30 minutes of dynamic and pulsing stretches, dance-inspired moves (jazz/modern and ballet), and yoga poses. You spend about 13 minutes doing stretch-dance combinations. Next come 7 minutes of ballet moves (plies, tendus, etc.); this is probably my favorite section of the workout. The yoga section lasts the remaining 10 minutes and includes sun salutations, warrior 2, triangle, side angle, forward bend with legs apart, downward dog with movement, cat with movement, and tabletop, finishing with seated twists. I don’t see any Pilates or much toning here; I consider this cardio with some yoga.
“Core Conditioning” is an 18 minute Pilates mat workout. Jennifer starts with breathing preps and walks you through breath of fire before setting you up on the mat, doing a couple of leg lifts to make sure your navel’s pulled in. She then leads you through the 100, roll up, leg circles, rolling like a ball, single leg stretch, double leg stretch, bridge with leg lifts, spine stretch forward, modified spinal twist, side leg series (up & down and circles), heel beats with upper body lifted, child’s pose with arms extended, single leg kick, and seal, ending in the teaser position.

Level: Jennifer doesn’t offer instruction in the first segment, and her cueing of moves is sparse. Granted, parts are supposed to be free form dancing, but if you don’t know dance it’ll be free form staring-at-the-TV-in-disgust. I feel anyone over a high beginner / low intermediate level won’t see their heart rate go up much during this section, although an intermediate might like it for a light day. I consider myself a solid intermediate+ in cardio; I barely break a sweat here. I have had 10-12 years of dance experience (combining ballet, tap, and jazz) years ago that came in handy here! And I consider myself a low intermediate in yoga; this yoga section was a little short and easy for me.
I would consider the second segment best for an experienced beginner at Pilates. A true beginner would need a little more instruction, but more intermediate Pilates practitioner wouldn’t find this challenging enough, both in terms of moves and pace. I consider myself a low intermediate. I have about two years of Pilates experience but still have limited strength and flexibility. I found this section almost easy even a few months ago, although I couldn’t do kick up as high as Jennifer.

Class: Four women, including Lisa Wheeler, join Jennifer for the “Pilates Based” segment. Jennifer is alone for the “Core Conditioning.”

Music / Set / Other Production Notes: The upbeat instrumental music has a beat as well as a little jazz here, a little guitar there. (I may be wrong, but it seems to me that the music on all three JK Pilates Method workouts is the same; if it’s not, it sounds awfully similar.) The interior set looks like some sunken courtyard. There are two dark gray Classical/Renaissance-style statues in the back corners of the gray set. The picture and sound quality are OK, to be expected of something filmed about 15 years ago when hi-def and digital weren’t options.

Equipment: mat (or equivalent). All participants are barefoot. If you have trouble with balance, do the ballet segment near a chair or wall.

Comments: You’ll need some space for this. You should be able to lie down with your arms and legs extended, and you should be able to move your arms and legs around and bend forward during the standing portion.

DVD Notes: There are 2 DVD versions: the brown cover is older and now out of print; the red and white cover is newer. Both contain the exact same workout. The newer versions have slightly better sound and a slightly crisper picture, but the difference isn’t enough to justify rebuying them. The newer ones have a long introduction to Koch Vision’s other fitness titles, which you can skip by hitting menu. You can select either segment, but each takes you back to the main menu afterwards with the older DVDs. You can turn the instruction off for “Core Contouring.” There is a “Tips from the Experts” section, which has Jennifer and the class participants talking about how they love this method.

Conclusion: Since the Pilates segment is too easy for me now, I don’t use it. And it’s hard to figure out how to work in the dance/yoga segment, because it’s not enough cardio or yoga for me. My body does feel nice and loose after it, though. So I guess I like this workout but don’t love it. I think it’s time for this DVD to find a new home where it might actually get some use, maybe with someone who likes fusion workouts or who needs something lighter.
Everyone has the title they prefer of this series, which also includes Perfect Mix and Precision Pilates. My favorite happens to be Precision Pilates because it offers something different and useful to my workouts. This one—not so much. I’d rather do Breakthru Pilates Plus. By the way, the Pilates segment here is easier than the one on Perfect Mix.

Instructor Comments:
Jennifer’s encouraging but a less approachable figure than most fitness instructors. She appears more comfortable when she’s performing the exercises than just talking to the camera. Her manner of speaking is not typical of exercise video instructors; no monosyllabic exhortations like “Burn that fat!” or “Keep it up!” here. Instead, she says that even with the few repetitions you will notice a mark-ed difference. She doesn’t cue moves much, especially in the dancier portions. Instead, she mentions what you are doing and then explains the purpose of the exercise or reminds you about your posture rather than cueing each move or breath. She’s more focused on instruction and cueing during the yoga and Pilates portions, however. She is SUPER flexible, which can be intimidating to someone like me who months ago could barely touch her toes. She recommends some modifications, however, especially during the Pilates segment.

KathAL79

08/17/2005