I've been feeling pretty fit and pleased with myself lately, but 10 Minute Solution Prenatal Pilates pretty much kicked my butt tonight. Maybe it was my body telling me to take a day off, or maybe it was the fact that I was working with the video pretty late in the day. But while I meant to try all five prenatal segments (there is also one postnatal workout), I only did two full ten-minute parts and about half of two others.
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| Lizbeth shows how it's done |
Despite the fact that this program made me feel, well, weak, I think I'll wind up a fan. It's one of the most strenuous workouts I've tried so far, without leading to overheating. Both the "Standing Pilates" and "Total Body Pilates" segments have significant arm work, with light weights, which not only feels pretty good for the upper back but reminds you that you can work out more than my hips and back during pregnancy! The "Core Pilates" segment has you prop yourself up with pillows and then do modified pilates abdominal work, and trust me, you will feel this, especially if your other workouts have avoided the abdominal muscles. "Pilates for Buns & Thighs" will give you serious burn in the aforementioned regions, and "Pilates for Flexibility" offers some really delicious stretches. Basically, the pace is fast enough and the exercises challenging enough that you could do just one ten minute segment a day and feel that you had done something for your muscle tone. The DVD allows you to customize your own workout, so you can decide how much you want to do and in what order.
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| Pregnancy, it turns out, is no excuse to ignore your inner thighs |
Lizbeth Garcia is visibly pregnant throughout the exercises -- though also visibly buff! I'm easily annoyed by too-peppy workout instructors, but she is just cheery enough without grating. (And there's something a little rough about her voice that I really like too.) And -- I think this is kind of adorable -- although the picture on the DVD has her perfectly styled, in the actual video her workout shirt is too short for her belly. I think pregnant women can sympathize!
Labels: 10-minute workouts, abs, arms, modular DVD, pilates, prenatal
