The Method: Perfect Mix

Jennifer Kries
Year Released: 2001

Categories: Pilates/Core Strength


Please note that I wrote this review about 4 years ago; I've copied and pasted it as originally written. At the time of the review I had done it several times.

For the record, I never figured out how to work this video into any sort of rotation, as it left my collection a few years ago in favor of other Pilates workouts by instructors I like better, plus I've decided I'm not a fusion type of gal when it comes to Pilates, yoga, etc.

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General workout breakdown: This workout consists of three segments.
“Core Contouring” is a 23 minute Pilates matwork sequence. Jennifer begins seated, with shoulder rolls, breathing, including breath of fire, and a 100 arm pump prep. She then leads you through the 100, roll up, leg circles, rolling like a ball, single leg stretch, double leg stretch, fish (yoga pose), single straight leg stretch, a move where you bend your legs and straighten them in the double leg stretch position, double leg stretch, criss cross, bridge with leg lift, spine stretch forward, open leg rocker with legs bent and then straight—ending in the teaser position, corkscrew, saw, single leg kick, double leg kick, swimming, shell stretch / child’s pose with arms extended, neck pull, “active moving cat” (cat with leg movement and push up), downward facing dog, and teaser.
“Metabolic Booster” is a 19 minute aerobic weights segment. You start with dynamic stretches crossed with dance moves. Jennifer first builds the lower body movements, based off of lunges (for the most part), squats, plies, arabesques, and releves; she then adds upper body moves to them. You do Pilates push-ups from a standing position, and then you move to the floor for yoga moves: locust, boat, table top, and reverse plank. You finish with some upper body stretches.
“AM/PM Rejuvenation” is a 23 minute yoga sequence. Jennifer takes a couple of minutes to introduce this and practice breath of fire. You begin with “active moving cat,” cat and dog (or “cat and cow”), child’s pose, half down dog, and full down dog (with walking your legs). You then sit with your legs in front, pulling your bent leg toward your chest, janu sirsasana (please excuse my spelling!) with forward bend, upavistha konasana with forward bend to the center and over each leg, table top, reclined leg stretch, reclined twists with legs bent, downward dog leading to standing forward fold, and ending with breathing in Pilates stance.

Level: I’d recommend this to an intermediate exerciser, although an experienced beginner with flexibility and core strength would be fine. You need to have some familiarity with weights, Pilates, and yoga to get the most out of this workout. The Pilates segment is a solidly intermediate routine. I consider myself a low intermediate. I have about two years of Pilates experience but still have limited strength and flexibility. This sequence is appropriately challenging for me, but the flow drags a bit for my tastes. The yoga isn’t particularly difficult—unless you try to match Jennifer’s flexibility. The flow is also a little disjointed because Jennifer stops a few times to set up moves. And I sweated a little and felt my heart beat a little faster during the weights; it was nice

Class: Four women, including Lisa Wheeler, join Jennifer for the “Metabolic Booster” segment. Jennifer is alone for the “Core Conditioning” and “AM/PM Rejuvenation” segments.

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) for Pilates & yoga portions; light hand weights for “Metabolic Booster.”

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 lunge to the every side with your arms outstretched for the standing portion.

DVD Notes: There are 2 DVD versions: the brown cover is older and now out of print; the yellow 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 any segment, but each takes you back to the main menu afterwards with the older DVDs. You can turn the instruction off for “Metabolic Booster.”

Conclusion: It’s hard to figure out how to work this into a rotation. The Pilates segment is the most useful to me, but I have 20 other videos that I like just as well or even better. The strength and yoga segments just don’t have enough strength and yoga for me. I guess I like this workout but don’t love it. I think it’s time for it 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 3 Dimensional Toning and Precision Pilates. My favorite happens to be Precision Pilates because it offers something different to my collection. This one—not so much. By the way, the Pilates segment here is harder than the one on 3 Dimensional Toning.

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. She cues moves very well in the Pilates segment, decently in the yoga segment, and barely in “Metabolic Booster.” She is SUPER flexible, which can be intimidating to someone like me who months ago could barely touch her toes.

KathAL79

09/01/2009