Walk On to Weight Loss

P.J. O'Clair, Moira Stott Merrithew
Year Released: 2005

Categories: Walking Aerobics


Walk On to Weight Loss is a 45-minute “walking” style cardio workout and is part of the Stott Pilates Walking Pilates Series.

Stott Pilates rates all of its workouts on an intensity scale of 1 (easiest) to 5 (hardest). Walk On to Weight Loss is rated a 2. Unlike some of the other Walking Pilates titles (The Secret to Weight Loss 1 and 2) there is no toning session in Walk On to Weight Loss.

The only equipment needed are proper shoes.

Moira Stott begins the workout with a few minutes of gentle alignment exercises, then turns it over to P.J. O’Clair, who leads the actual cardio workout. They are accompanied by four background exercisers. P.J. uses several of the same moves as Leslie Sansone (marching in place, side steps, knee-ups, walking up-two, back-two), and tweaks others (kicks done across the body). P.J. also uses a lot of heel digs, which Leslie did in her older videos but seldom does now. An optional hop is incorporated into some of those sets. Simple arm movements are sometimes added in to increase intensity. Toward the end of the workout are a series of side-to-side squats. The workout ends with a cool down and stretch.

Any “walking” workout must inevitably be compared to Leslie, who is the undisputed queen of this type of cardio. The Stott series, while it has its positive points, doesn’t quite measure up IMHO. One positive is P.J., who has a warm, caring demeanor (and who is certainly less hyper than Leslie). P.J. cues better than Leslie, and uses a few different steps and shows some optional impact moves. Unfortunately the negatives outweigh these positives. The music, while brisk, is uninspired, too soft, and keeps an unvarying pace (Leslie changes tunes and gradually increases then decreases the pace throughout the workout). There are a few vague references to mileage (we‘re told this workout equals about three miles), but there are no announcements or graphics in order to judge where we are during the actual workout. Finally, even though the entire cast is miked, no one says anything except for an occasional comment from Moira. Basically P.J. simply talks non-stop. Some group interaction would have helped the time go by.

Low impact “walking” workouts are my cardio mainstay, and as much as I love Leslie I do appreciate variety. However, except for Leslie and the collection by George Foreman and Petra Kolber, other instructors seem to have trouble creating walking workouts that are simple and low impact yet still offer interest and challenge.

I’ve done VF reviews of The Secret to Weight Loss 1 and 2. If you are interested in the Stott Pilates take on walking workouts, try one of those DVDs. Unfortunately, Walk On to Weight Loss, while the longest of the Walking Pilates Series, is also its most boring.

Instructor Comments:
Both Moira and P.J. are excellent instructors, but this particular DVD doesn't do them justice.

JustSandra

12/11/2008