Pilates Beginner - Any Help or Direction

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Kari121869
Kari121869 Posts: 180 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
HI.. I'm trying to learn new exercises to keep from being bored and get some more 'results'.. I seem to be in a stall weight loss wise. Right now I do alot of Leslie Sansone DVD's (HIIT, Intervals, Incorporating weights, etc) and I noticed one that had a touch of pilates. It seemed like really cool way to get some other strength training in but I was looking at direction in what 'moves' or 'who to follow' on youtube,etc for workouts in that area.
What has been your results with pilates? How many times a week? Any direction would be great.
Thanks
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Replies

  • Kari121869
    Kari121869 Posts: 180 Member
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    wow.. nobody can offer any direction on this??
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    Do you have access to streamed TV? We have a Roku and it has an entire Pilates channel. You could also try "blogilates". Google that one.Good luck. I take a free Pilates class at work, and sometimes attend the free class at my YMCA.
  • rosestring
    rosestring Posts: 225 Member
    edited October 2014
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    I am starting Pilates as well. For what it's worth, there is a classic saying that a lot of people who have done Pilates swear by: In 10 sessions, you will feel a difference. In 20 sessions, you will see a difference. In 30 sessions, you will have a whole new body.

    Whole new body? Most likely not. However, I have seen and heard of awesome results. It always helped with some back pain I used to have (that I got back once Pilates was not in my schedule).

    Anyway, I have done it off and on for years. After my sessions (even before I am back in the groove of doing Pilates) I can tell you that it feels and almost looks as if my abdominal area is more pulled in and tighter. I don't mean it's magically toned, I just mean you feel great even after your first workout.

    I am doing the "10 Minute Solution" Pilates DVD's. They are relatively cheap, and each one has five different, 10 minute workouts all based on Pilates. I will say this, though: Pilates does not help with weight loss, so just keep in mind that if you want to see results, Pilates doesn't take the place of cardio.

    Does that help at all?

    EDIT: I would do it at least 3-5 times a week. Many say Pilates is safe to do every day, though, but I know I am going to shoot for five times a week.

    Also, I feel ya. I posted a Pilates-related question on here a few days ago and never got a single reply...
  • Kari121869
    Kari121869 Posts: 180 Member
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    Thanks for responding rosestring - I'm going to PM you if that's ok
  • Kari121869
    Kari121869 Posts: 180 Member
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    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    Do you have access to streamed TV? We have a Roku and it has an entire Pilates channel. You could also try "blogilates". Google that one.Good luck. I take a free Pilates class at work, and sometimes attend the free class at my YMCA.

    I have Neo TV at home which is streamed - was thinking of checking out pilates on youtube.. any suggestions on there?

  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
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    Im in love with Rael Pilates System 27. I mute it, lower the lights and put on some Fiona Apple and rock that workout. I love the slow painful burn and it feels AMAZING after 4 days/week lifting weights.

    <3 Pilates.
  • Kari121869
    Kari121869 Posts: 180 Member
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    yoovie wrote: »
    Im in love with Rael Pilates System 27. I mute it, lower the lights and put on some Fiona Apple and rock that workout. I love the slow painful burn and it feels AMAZING after 4 days/week lifting weights.

    <3 Pilates.

    Where can I find that? How long a session/x per week do you do this? Is it true it doesn't help with weight loss - just strengthening?

  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
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    When I started, I was over 260 pounds. I had a lot of joint and muscle problems from a previous serious injury as well. I started by walking up to a half hour early in the mornings when no one would see me. Then I got the first disc in their series, the level 1 disc, called Rael Pilates System 7 (there are 3). It helped me lose the first 30 pounds or so when I combined it with those walks. I did it about 2 times a week at first and after 3 months, I was on level two and doing it 3 or 4 times a week. It helped with strength AND it gave me a good sweat and got my heart racing because, although it was slow, it was 45 minutes of slow movement and that requires muscular endurance, which I consider a kind of cardio.

    So YES it does help with weight loss but more importantly, besides being able to do it at home in privacy, it gives you a GREAT foundation and strong advantage when leveling up to harder workouts, running, lifting weights, yoga, etc. It's like cheating by doing all the work quietly before you even start a semester!!!

    http://amzn.com/B00061Q9JE
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
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    oh and now that Im not that girl anymore, Im almost 100 pounds down and more focused on heavy weight training and tough mudders, i do it about twice a month as recovery/flexibility/injury prevention ;)
  • sakuya3834
    sakuya3834 Posts: 116 Member
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    Kari121869 wrote: »
    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    Do you have access to streamed TV? We have a Roku and it has an entire Pilates channel. You could also try "blogilates". Google that one.Good luck. I take a free Pilates class at work, and sometimes attend the free class at my YMCA.

    I have Neo TV at home which is streamed - was thinking of checking out pilates on youtube.. any suggestions on there?

    Blogilates is the best one I know of on Youtube that's dedicated to pilates. But some people don't like the trainer because she's kinda overly peppy. For me it's motivating. You should check it out at least. She has a ton of videos and has a new one every week.
  • louisemcelroy
    louisemcelroy Posts: 8 Member
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    I'm in britain, not sure where the rest of you are but on sky t.v theres a channel called fabtv which runs quite a few pilate and yoga shows.
  • Cc215
    Cc215 Posts: 228 Member
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    I do a pilates class once a week. Been going for nearly a year now. I love it. I'm much more flexible, I've kissed goodbye my persistant back pain (I have the rare spasm now - but even then the pain goes away after a day or two - rather than after a month of very painful massages). Worth every penny and minute I've spent on it!
    I wouldn't say it's helped my weightloss - but it means I can do my workouts better - and I'm not having to take regular breaks from them due to pain.
  • Kari121869
    Kari121869 Posts: 180 Member
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    Wonderful information!!! Thank you all for your input.. I'm definitely going to check this out and incorporate it into my workout regime.. is there a 'pilates' option on MFP to track burned cals or do you have to input it under another type of cardio, etc?
  • Cc215
    Cc215 Posts: 228 Member
    edited October 2014
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    I track all my activity on my fitbit so I may not be the right person to reply - but I'm pretty sure I've seen an entry for pilates in the exercise section here.


    ETA - yes - just checked it's in there.
  • Kari121869
    Kari121869 Posts: 180 Member
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    Great - I'll take a look.. I don't have a fitbit or any HRM.. I know, I know I should get one.. budget just can't handle that at the moment.. besides I really rarely eat back any burned cals... Thanks for responding Cc215
  • Maquillage_
    Maquillage_ Posts: 194 Member
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    I love Pilates! It is amazing and I have seen a huge improvement in my body, and also how I feel about my body. It's my favorite and my go-to exercise!

    I began by following Blogilates on youtube. Blogilates was started by a woman named Casey Ho, as well as a tonne of pilates videos she also has HIIT videos, cardio videos and song challenge videos. And lots of videos on healthy eating and a cheap clean eats series which is made up of healthy recipes.

    I started off by following the beginners calender on blogilates.com. It's free and is a 4 week plan with a 30-40 minutes pilates routine made up of blogilates videos that are suitable for complete beginners. You can do it every day, or you can do it every second day, whatever suits you, but make sure to follow the days in order. So if you do day 1 on Monday, then take a rest day, continue with Day 2 on Wednesday, don't skip ahead to day 3. The beginners calender really helped me build up my strength to be able to be able to move on to the Monthly Calender. The monthly calender is like the beginners calender but it is a lot more intense. Casey releases a new one every month. It's basically a free workout plan with workouts designed for each day and Casey makes a youtube playlist of all the videos for that day so you don't have to go searching for them all! You can get this by signing up for it with your email on blogilates.com. Blogilates has lots of total body workouts and targeted workout videos. So if you only have 10 minutes that day and want to work your legs you can just search Blogilates legs, or pop pilates legs and lots of videos will come up! I've been following blogilates for a long time now and I never get bored because there is just so many videos! And there is a new one released every Monday too.

    Pilates has helped with my fat loss. Since starting blogilates, my weight loss on the scale has slowed down, but I notice that I lose inches faster and look slimmer and more toned than when I was just dieting.

    If you have any questions feel free to PM me :) I usually forget to check for replies on forums (oops!).
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    I love pilates too, although I take the classes at my gym, so can't recommend a particular DVD. Like others have said, I don't think it directly helps with weight loss, but it's helped a ton with keeping me feeling good for things that do--my core is a lot stronger, it helps with my hip issues, I am much more flexible, I feel sturdier when I run, etc. I also think it's made a difference in how my body looks--my middle is definitely slimmer in appearance than last time I was this weight, and my posture is better.
  • Myrmilt
    Myrmilt Posts: 124 Member
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    I take 2 pilates style classes a week. 1 is a heated mat pilates, which in the beginning was hard and I couldn't do some of the exercises at all, and now I use it as my "easier class" to loosen tight muscles and work on down.

    The other class is a barre pilates class, which honestly is just flat out hard for me, but is getting better every class.

    My loss has been steady and mostly due to strict calorie intake. My core has improved dramatically, my strength has improved overall, my legs and waist have slimmed down more than I would have expected. I started at a tight 16 and now 14s are loose with only a 20lb weight loss.

    I also incorporate yoga (heated vinyasa style 1-2x weekly), and a couple other workout routines to vary what I do.

    I don't have any recommendations for home based pilates, I don't workout at home. I have tried, but my workout routine has always been tied to a gym or class since I was 16 or so. I don't necessarily think its best, but for me, it works.
  • Kari121869
    Kari121869 Posts: 180 Member
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    Thank you lemurcat12 & Myrmilt... I appreciate your input.. hoping to try out pilates this weekend at home.. see how that goes :)
  • flint3000
    flint3000 Posts: 5 Member
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    I love pilates and plan on starting up again ASAP. I took some sessions with a personal trainer years ago so I learned proper technique and alignment and breathing. I would definitely recommend that. Now I just use a video or workout book (The Pilates Body by Brook Siler is great) and I can get a full mat workout at home.

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