The Bottom Line
Pros
- Short workouts let you focus on different body areas
- Fitness instructors, Halfpapp and DeVito, have good up-beat energy
- You can clearly see what instructors are doing
- Taped in an attractive spa setting
Cons
- No real Pilates here
- Moves and cues lack safety precautions
- Important cues come late in the exercise instructions
- Canned techno music can get annoying
Description
- 5 10-minute workouts
- Each workout has a different focus -- abs, butt and legs, more abs, upper-body, cool down and stretch
- Workouts offered on the DVD with music and verbal instruction or just music and visuals
- Best for intermediate level exercisers who have some core strength already. Not suitable for beginners
- Cost: $14.99
Guide Review - Core Fusion: Pilates Plus - 5 Workouts for Flat Abs, from Acacia
It seems everyone gets to define Pilates for themselves these days. The term is getting stretched by marketers to mean almost anything that has to do with flat abs. To me, that's selling Pilates short in a big way. As a Pilates guide, I have to draw the line somewhere. In the case of Core Fusion Pilates Plus from Acacia, I have to say, not Pilates, not even a successful attempt at fusion Pilates.
So Why Don't I Think This DVD Is a Pilates DVD?
First, I didn't see any real Pilates exercises, not even derivatives -- except near the very end when they presented an odd version of the hundred and a set of roll ups where the prep exercise came after the full roll up. Second, there was little attention to the details of alignment that insure spinal safety and deep core work from the abs. Third, the exercises provided almost none of the spinal articulation work that is so important in Pilates. I could go on, but I think you get the picture.Is this a bad DVD? No. I'm giving it just 2.5 stars because I'm interested in Pilates and so are my readers, and this claims to be Pilates and isn't (it has more recognizable yoga than Pilates). That said, there are certainly times when one might want to pop in a fitness DVD and do 10 minutes of butt and leg work, or 10 minutes of upper body toning. If you are looking for something like that, this DVD will serve you.
If you want to add this exercise DVD to your collection, I think the full title goes something like this: Exhale, Core Fusion, pilatesplus, 5 10-Minute Workouts; from Acacia. You can buy this DVD from a number of online vendors, as well as through the Acacia catalog and website.
Also from Acacia: Weight Loss Pilates- read review.Compare prices on Pilates Plus:
