Pilates for Abs
Pilates is an intense, controlled way of working your core muscles--the back and abdominal muscles that stabilize your body--using technique, breathing, and concentration. Veteran instructor Kathy Smith leads an effective 30-minute Pilates workout. The 8-minute warm-up teaches the essentials of Pilates, followed by a 22-minute Pilates routine that targets the abdominals. Smith is an excellent instructor with a knack for explaining technique clearly. "Imagine a balloon pulling you up toward the opposite wall," she says as she teaches the difficult Teaser. She demonstrates the basic, sometimes modified, moves with another exerciser showing more advanced positions. Smith continues to emphasize technique, breathing, and proper position through each exercise, making sure you understand how to get the most out of each movement. This is an excellent introduction to Pilates, especially--but not exclusively--for beginners to this discipline. --Joan Price Fat Burning Breakthrough
The secret to breaking through weight-loss plateaus is challenging your body to work out at a higher intensity than it's used to, to "overload" in fitness parlance. Kathy Smith's Fat Burning Breakthrough presents two 18-minute step workout "waves" that progress through ever-harder intensities, building to a peak, then gradually tapering down. The two sessions can be done singly or combined into a 46-minute workout. Smith's all-female demonstrators show modifications for higher and lower intensity throughout, and one does the whole workout without a step for a much easier version.
The choreography is more complex and the overall intensity is higher than most of Smith's videos, making this video most appropriate for intermediate exercisers. A brief weight workout follows each cardio session, and at the end is an abdominal and back routine, and a stretch.
Smith, as always, is safe and motivating, with excellent technique. Her fans appreciate that her videos contain no screaming, no frenzy, no endless counting, no distracting camera work. Although Smith is motivating, the music here is merely innocuous, barely keeping the beat. The setting is a lovely outdoor park scene. --Joan Price
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