Advanced Body Slimming

Mari Winsor
Year Released: 2002

Categories: Pilates/Core Strength


I’m reviewing this workout after doing it several times over the year or two that I’ve had it.

General workout breakdown: This Pilates matwork routine runs just under 20 minutes. Beth has already broken down the moves, so I’ll just add that the side leg series has front & back, bicycle, ronde du jambe, small circles, and scissors, while the kneeling side kick series includes front & back and pulses (up & down). As mentioned, Mari moves quickly between and through the exercises, with just enough time to set up. Her double times are very quick, so you need to know what you’re doing or else you’ll feel like your limbs are flailing about. She does a decent number of repetitions, enough to feel the exercises. The focus here is on the abdominals, or--as Mari says--“stomach,” with some work for the lower body, too. I wish Mari would include a few more stretches (here she only does child’s pose and mermaid) because I often feel tight after doing her videos.

Level: I’d recommend this to someone who practices Pilates at an intermediate level through someone at the intermediate / advanced crossover point. Mari assumes you are familiar with Pilates and have quite a bit of strength and flexibility, so she doesn’t spend time on instruction, form tips, and breathing cues. Some modifications are suggested but not shown. Also, this includes some of the more advanced moves, like the rollover and jackknife, which Mari asks you to perform quickly; if you’ve never done them before, you should seek out practices with more explanation and a slower pace. I consider myself almost a solid intermediate; I have about three years of Pilates experience but am still working on improving my flexibility and strength. This workout was a bit much for me when I was a lower intermediate, but now it’s doable, if still quite challenging.

Class: 2 women perform all of the exercises while Mari walks around.

Music: upbeat, with a beat, but otherwise forgettable and played quietly.

Set: interior space with hardwood floors and muted lighting. The space itself seems confused, as if it’s a courtyard that never made it outside. (There’s a small jungle’s worth of plants in the one corner, and the other side wall has windows with purple lights behind and fake gray stairs in front.)

Production: good picture and sound, helpful camera angles.

Equipment: mat (or equivalent). All exercisers are barefoot.

Space Requirements: enough to lie down with arms and legs extended, with enough space to each side to sweep the limbs around.

DVD Notes: The DVD is chaptered into four segments: Mari Winsor’s Intro, Advanced Body Slimming Workout, Advanced Body Slimming Description (same as the back of the DVD case), and Video Catalogue. There are no chapters within the workout itself.
FYI, this comes in the slightly smaller and thinner cardboard case.

Conclusion: This is the only Winsor Pilates video I’ve kept because it moves quickly through a basic matwork routine in 20 minutes, which is a great length for a Pilates video. (Surprisingly, there are few videos with so many of the traditional matwork moves in the traditional order, more or less, that take only 20 minutes.) Also, I’ve kept this particular Winsor video because I can tolerate Mari here.

Instructor Comments:
As mentioned, Mari focuses on cueing the moves rather than instructing form; her cues are concise and to the point. She has toned down her on screen persona here, and I find she doesn’t bother me in this video. Her voice doesn’t seem as shrill as on other videos I’ve tried, and she doesn’t snap a lot (two reasons I generally don’t click with her).

KathAL79

03/16/2006