Pilates Intermediate Mat Worko: Amazon.ca: Gaiam: Pilates/Ana Caban: DVD

Product Description

From Amazon.com

If you enjoyed Ana Caban's exceptional beginning-level video, Pilates: Mat-Based Workout for Beginners, and you've progressed enough to continue on to the next level, Caban is back with an intermediate workout. Assuming you have already mastered the first workout, she makes the exercises more intense, with fewer breaks between exercises, and adds some new ones that will really challenge your "powerhouse" muscles. Fortunately, another exerciser demonstrates modifications for the hardest exercises. Caban is a superb role model and instructor, piling on technique tips so that you don't mistakenly think these exercises are easy by cheating. It's unfortunate, though, that the sound quality isn't up to the instruction quality. Caban sometimes sounds just fine, and a moment later she sounds like she's in an echo chamber. This problem persists through the whole 40-minute video. Still, this is an excellent Pilates program and will become one of your regular workouts. --Joan Price

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Customer Reviews

60 Reviews

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(12)

Average Customer Review

3.6 out of 5 stars (60 customer reviews)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars challenging yet doable intermediate Pilates practice, Jan 31 2002

By

Beth Cholette "doctor_beth" (Upstate NY USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Pilates Intermediate Mat Workout (VHS Tape)

Initially, I bought both the Beginniners and Intermediate Mat Workouts, but since I had already had some familiarity with the basic Pilates moves (via Brooke Siler's excellent book, The Pilates Body), I probably could have jumped right to the intermediate level. In this workout, instructor Ana Caban provides less information about how to do each exercise, proceeds a bit more quickly from one exercise to the next, and adds several more challenging Pilates moves. All of the exercises are from the classic Pilates rotation and at an advanced beginner or intermediate level.

Caban is an excellent instructor instructor: her cuing is precise, and she is motivating and friendly without being overly peppy or intimidating. She also does a good job of smoothly transitioning from one exercise to the next in the traditional Pilates style. Assisting her is a Pilates student who does modified versions of almost all of the exercises. I'd definitely recommend this tape to anyone who has some basic familiarity with Pilates and wants to move to a more thorough and challenging workout that is still attainable at the intermediate level. Beginning exercisers or those new to Pilates should start with the Begininner's Mat Workout, as it contains more detailed instruction and is a bit shorter.

Finally, about the video quality: yes, the sound is a little echo-y at times and the color sometimes fades away briefly, but after you've watched the video a few times, you won't really focus those things; I've found these issues do not detract from this very good Pilates workout.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Workout for Those Already Familiar with Pilates, Nov 26 2002

By

Rebecca R. Hadley "Rebecca R. Hadley" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pilates Intermediate Mat Workout (VHS Tape)

Count this tape among the many excellent yoga/exercise tapes in the Gaiam (formerly Living Arts) catalog. Ana Caban is a likeable and knowledgeable guide. Her instructions include wonderful visualizations ("feel your legs stretching out to the corners of the room") that really help you achieve the true Pilates intent of lengthening the muscles.

There are lots of core strengthening moves (probably close to one half of the tape involves ab work of some kind) and many are movements I haven't seen on other Pilates tapes. There is also a short leg work set and a little bit of chest/arm work with pilates push-ups.

The only drawback to this tape is the odd filming and sound. The tape seems to jump from film to video and there are some pretty strange edits. Also the sound jumps from smooth voice-overs to a harsher, recorded-in-the-room sound. I honestly think this was intentional, to give the tape an "artsy" feel, but I could have done without it. I found that after a few times I got used to it, but just be warned.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Item Great, Shipping Poor, Nov 1 2011

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Lisa - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pilates Intermediate Mat Worko (DVD)

I have this in VHS, and it is great. However I have never experienced so many shipping delays. Poor form in this regard.

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