I’m reviewing this workout after doing it a couple of times in the months that I’ve had it.

General workout breakdown: There are actually two versions of the same workout on this DVD. Both contain the same exercises (although there may be a slight difference in the number of some repetitions), but “One on One with Romana” features Romana instructing the moves with a student demonstrating them and lasts 20 minutes while “Workout with Petie” features the student performing the entire routine with Romana’s voiceover and lasts just over 16 minutes.
The latter is intended to be the workout proper. This workout doesn’t just focus on the abs; there are a good number of exercises for other parts of your core. The exercises and the transitions between them are fairly quick during the second version of the routine.
The exercises are controlled sit down, the hundred, roll up, leg circle, rolling like a ball, single leg stretch, spine stretch forward, open leg rocker, corkscrew, the saw, neck roll, swan dive, shell stretch, single leg kicks, double leg kicks, neck pull, jack knife, side kicks (front & back, up & down, and bicycle), teaser (1, 2, and 3), hip circles, swimming, shell stretch, leg pull facing down, leg pull facing up, kneeling side kicks (front & back and bicycle), mermaid, seal, around the world, and running.

Level: I’d recommend this to an intermediate level Pilates exerciser. This is not for beginners; it assumes preexisting strength (and flexibility) and contains a number of intermediate to even advanced exercises (e.g. swan dive and kneeling side kicks). At the same time, anyone ready to move onto advanced Pilates videos would find this too easy. I first got this when I had just about finished my transition from beginner to intermediate, and it was tough. Now that I consider myself low intermediate (about 2 years of experience but still limited strength & flexibility), I find this to be a more appropriate challenge.

Class: one student only. (Petie wears a rather unflattering purpley/hot pink full body unitard. She seems tense, which is understandable if you’re in a video for the Romana.)

Music / Set / Other Production Notes: There is no music. The workout takes place in the corner of a room with hardwood floors and sheer curtains covering large windows with some cityscape views. This is a Natural Journeys video, so the sound and picture quality are very good. The camerawork sometimes appears to have been done with a handheld camera.

Equipment: mat (or equivalent). Petie performs barefoot.

Comments: You don’t need much space for this workout. You should be able to lie down with your arms and legs extended and have a little room around your mat.
Yes, the title is shocking given this comes from the queen of Pilates purism, but I have a hunch the Natural Journeys’ marketing department overruled any objection anyone could make. There are a few mentions of burning fat, getting your heartrate up, etc. I found that the workout does move quickly enough to get me sweaty, but I wouldn’t drop my cardio workouts just because I’m doing this.

DVD Notes: The DVD allows you to play the full program (which is an odd choice given the way this DVD is set up) or select your segment (“History of Pilates,” “Basics,” “One on One with Romana,” or “Workout with Petie”). You can choose to play the DVD in Dolby Digital 2.0 or 5.1, if you’re into that. The Special Features include “Around the Clock with Kathi” (which shows Kathi doing double leg stretch while scooting around her mat as if she were the hands of a clock), “Wall Alignment Warm Up” (with 3 students demonstrating moves on the wall: rolling down and up against the wall, sliding down the wall into a squat with a towel behind the back, footwork, ), “Romana: Keeper of the Flame and Force of Nature” (a short documentary on Romana), a photo gallery taken during the filming of the Romana Pilates series, and trailers for the other videos in the series.

Conclusion: Eh, I just can’t seem to get into this one. I got it because I really wanted a chance to work with Romana, since she is, well, who she is. And I like to think I’m a purist, so learning Pilates straight from the horse’s mouth appeals greatly to me. But this video just seems to lack something. Is it the absence of music? Is it the fact that Romana’s personality gets so lost via voiceover? Is it something else altogether? I don’t think I’ll be keeping this video long enough to figure it out.

Instructor Comments:
Romana is inspiring; she is certainly fit and active for someone of any age, much less hers! She definitely enjoys the position of the “wise old woman” who was privileged to be so close to Joseph Pilates himself, and she claims to pass his workouts on exactly as he taught them. As an instructor, she’s not bad—definitely better in person than by voiceover. She tends to focus more on cueing the move than breathing. Her instruction and cueing is better in the One on One segment, but she’s also more prone to wax nostalgic about ol’ Joe there, too. She has a distinctive way of talking, peppered with those Joe-isms.

KathAL79