Weight Loss Pilates for Beginners by Brooke Siler

Two years ago I was lucky to win Element: Weight Loss Pilates for Beginners by Brooke Siler.

Before receiving this dvd, I had never done pilates before, but since then it has become one of my favorite exercise dvds. I am usually only able to do the exercise dvd, when the baby is sleeping, and I have my two older boys playing in their room, because otherwise it can be difficult to concentrate.

Weight Loss Pilates for Beginners is filmed overlooking the Pacific Ocean in an amazing garden, and I really found this scenery to be relaxing. It starts out slowly, but it only takes a few minutes, before I have to turn up the fan, and by the end of the dvd I am always ready for a shower. Siler is trying to maximize the calorie burn while teaching the basics of pilates, and I feel she does both of these perfectly. I always find it amazing that such a calm video can make me as weak as it does.

In the beginning I found myself comparing pilates to yoga, and the main differences to me are the speed, the breathing and the robotic movements. The pace is faster than yoga, and there is a great focus of balancing forces and muscles against each other.  According to Brooke Siler "pilates is the art of muscle control," and I found this to be true.

You can find the rest of the review here.