Precision Pilates

Jennifer Kries
Year Released: 2001

Categories: Pilates/Core Strength


This is one of the three videos in Jennifer Kries' New Method or Pilates Method set. I'm guessing the name change reflects the lawsuit in 2000/2001? Not sure. She said in an interview that this is the video she recommends beginners use to get acquainted with the work.

The video is broken into three sections: Upper Body, Lower Body and Flow and Flexibility. Upper Body is the Pilates Standing Sculpting Series as well as the Rowing Series, yoga presses and active moving cat. She finishes with a nice stretch- some kind of side plank with the knee down. I don't recommend going higher than3 or at the most 5 lbs.

Lower Body is a series of yoga chairs integrated with a sun salutation, a yoga lunge sequence (similar to Denise Austin's Power Yoga Plus, but I have a feeling Jennifer came up with it first), ballet plies and the Pilates Side Series, six variations of it, I believe. You definitely feel this in your legs and butt after you're done.

Flow and Flexibility is about fifteen minutes long and always makes me sigh when I'm done. It opens with a dancy stretch where your legs are open, you swing your upper body down and point one arm up, then reverse. A little difficult to describe! Then a lunge/hamstring stretch sequence, followed by standing and seated wide leg stretches (I think). It finishes with a forward bend. I thought this sequence was similar to what Hilary Burnett's Zen Stretch was trying to do, but done much better.

Just going by the title, one might think that you could alternate the first two sequences every other day. You could do that, but as I've said before, I feel the Standing Sculpting Series in my glutes quite a bit- sometimes even more than my arms! And with the Sun Salutations you use in Lower Body, you feel this in your arms as well. I would definitely work in a rest day after if I alternated the two back to back.

There is no matwork in this tape but it does include Pilates elements. It's a good tape to grow with- you can use it to help build up to the matwork, and then keep it to supplement.

Another A for Jennifer Kries.

Instructor Comments:
Strong, flexible and very competent (as always).

Deb (aka dnk)

03/24/2003