I've never done it before, not familiar with it but it sure sounds interesting. i have very bad knees, fibromyalgia, extremely tight muscles and ligaments from the chronic pain and fibromyalgia but i'd like to get into shape. i like weights but i absolutely had to drop squats because of my knees and cannot do lunges, i definitely want to tone and sculpt and build muscle as i already obtain cardio from treadmill and walking.

Anyone do Pilates with great results (describe those results) and any recommendations on a SHORT Pilates DVD whole body workout that's very effective for beginners? The most i can do is around 15 minutes do to my CFS/Fibro

thanks!!

Nine years ago, I did pilates for about 2 months. Even in that short amount of time, I saw and liked the results. It was the first time I ever walked past my reflection and had to do a double take, like "That's me?! Ooh la la." What's great about any toning exercise is how it's like having spanx underneath your skin. I kicked myself for not trying it sooner.

I stopped because my daily routine changed (moved, started a time-consuming graduate program) and also I found it boring. To stay interested, I need something with a quicker pace. I think I'll give it another try though. Maybe with age I've become less physically ADD.

I used the dvd "Crunch: Pick Your Spot Pilates." It was decent, each workout was about 10 minutes long, but there may be better ones on the market now.

Thanks, that's what i wanted to hear (about the results) but i too am worried about the slow pace and my attention span but if i have to get things done then i'll just have to bite the bullet. A place where i go once a week, the director has lost a lot of weight along the same time period as i and i have noticed lately that she is really looking good and she mentioned she had started pilates which got me interested.
My main concern is not going over 12 to 15 minutes bc the pain in my body and fatigue just wouldn't let me do it!

I really admire your determination even with your chronic pain.

I couldn't go over 10 minutes just because I'm a weakling.

I recall that I found it tough so modified it a lot, and even with those modifications I saw results. So if your fibromyalgia limits you a little, no worries regarding results as long as your consistent with doing some of it on most days.

I am able to get free short pilate videos on demand from my television. I think the channel is called sportskool.

Pilates is wonderful, it's the only exercise I've ever done that works out every single ab muscle. You will feel sore in spots you didn't even know existed! It's intense core exercise and you will literally be building a girdle inside your body.

Have you tried youtube?

You may want to check out PilatesAnyTime.com, which I looked into when I was living temporarily in a rural area that lacked Pilates studios.

I'm very fortunate in that my little boutique gym has two Pilates instructors who come in and teach mat classes weekly. I go on Thursdays and Saturdays. It's a tough class. I hear people around me groaning and going "oof!" There is no doubt in my mind that I am getting a good workout. As for visible results, I train in other ways, and I know "abs are made in the kitchen," so it's hard to know what to attribute specifically to Pilates.

Once or twice [edited to add: each month, for about a year], I've paid for a one-on-one session with an instructor & we've used the Reformer. This was definitely worth my while, as it taught me things about my body and my weaknesses & strengths. Do you have access to a Pilates trainer or studio? Investing in just one or two one-on-one sessions might be a great way of setting you up before you go off on your own to work on a routine.

I've been doing Pilates for over three years. I loved it from the first class I took! I have an exceptional instructor. I have only done mat Pilates. I started by taking a beginning class for about 10 weeks. I also had some private sessions to learn some modifications, because some of the stuff was just too hard for me to achieve. I currently take classes five days a week. And at this point, I've actually been hired as the business manager of the studio and I'm working on my AFAA certification and then plan to move on to become certified in Pilates.

I still have issues that I have to deal with. My mobility is greatly improved, as has my overall strength. But there are parts of my body that get tight all over again with just a two-day break. So I just keep working at it. My trainer is in fabulous shape and she says things like, "It took me 8 years to achieve this move," and, "I've been working on this position for 12 years by my body's range of movement just isn't there yet." She's helped me understand and accept that fitness and performance looks different on every body. And that's okay!

I've never used a DVD or online training for Pilates, so I have nothing to add on that topic.

Good luck!

I get pilates videos off of youtube (I can stream it through my TV). One in particular I like is POP Pilates. She has a beginner video. The workout itself is about 25 minutes, but you can watch it, then pick and choose which exercises to do. She covers abs, arms and legs. To make it easier for you, you could concentrate on just one at a time, or she does several exercises for each, so you could pick one exercise for each body part.