Pilates for Dummies

Pilates For Dummies lets you get on board with the Pilates method , without the high cost of private instruction. Packed with step-by-step exercises, photos, and illustrations, it helps you develop your own Pilates fitness program to do at home or in the gym. Top Pilates trainer Ellie Herman shows you how to use eight basic Pi lates principles to get the most out of your mat-based routines and:

• Look and feel better than ever
• Get stronger, more flexible, in control and less prone to injury
• Target and tone problem areas
• Get movie star abs, buns, thighs and arms
• Repair chronic stress and sports injuries

Calmly, clearly, and with quirky good humor, Ellie explores the origins and basic philosophy of the Pilates method, and helps you set realistic fitness goals and custom-tailor a program. She also covers:

• Basic, intermediate , and advanced mat exercises
• Using Pilates exercise equipment and accessories
• Targeting specific areas including the stomach, back, thighs, and chest
• Pilates for the pregnant and recently pregnant body
• Using Pilates to heal injuries, reform posture
• Ten simple ways to incorporate Pilates into your everyday life
• Combining Pilates with other forms of exercise, including yoga, swimming, aerobics, and more

Why let the rich and famous have all the fun? Your complete, friendly, step-by-step guide, Pilates For Dummies shows how Pilates can offer a fitness program for the rest of us.

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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review:
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

I learned Pilates using this book, 2007-06-02
I started using this book 2 years ago to learn the basics of Pilates. I have tried other Pilates books/DVDs since, but I keep going back to this book. The first part of the book explains what Pilates is, such as controlling movement, maintaining stability, and why breathing at particular times in the exercises is important, and it gives examples of these that are easy to understand. Then it goes into what the words neutral spine, abdominal scoop, pilates first position, etc., actually mean, and how to do them.

The mat exercises contain 4 levels: Pre-Pilates, Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. Not knowing anything about Pilates when I started, I began with the Pre-Pilates workout. Because there are multiple steps to most exercises, it did take some time to remember when to breathe, when to roll up or down, but once I got that down, it made the subsequent levels of exercises easier to learn. Also, a few of the exercises were impossible for me because I didn't have the strength to do them, but I just did what I could, for example the hip-up, I would lie on the mat with my feet in the air and worked those abdominal muscles although my feet were going nowhere, and within 2 weeks I was doing all 9 hip-ups. You just have to do a little more each time. The beginning mat series contains some exercises from Pre-Pilates and it's not very long, so it wasn't too difficult to learn.

The intermediate mat series is where I really felt I was getting a workout, and I still use this one, although I have added some to it since. It really felt as if I was getting an intense abdominal workout and after adding the variations for the side kicks, my legs definitely got stronger. The advanced series I have done a few times, but it is rather long, about an hour compared with 20 minutes of the intermediate, and I have trouble finding time for it.

The next section deals with Pilates accessories such as foam roller, magic circle, and big ball, and give some exercises to do using those. Overview of Pilates equipment just tells what some of the things are you might find in a Pilates studio and shows pictures of people using them, but gives no exercises.

Overall this is a great book that I would recommend to anybody interested in learning Pilates. Thanks to the wonderfully detailed instructions, I believe I am getting a safe, effective Pilates workout.


4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

Pilates - a superb reference, 2006-07-29
I borrowed a copy of the book from my local library and liked it so much I bought it for myself and for my daughter-in-law.
I attended a Pilates class and told my instructor that I had the book - she remarked that it is one of the best and recommended it to the whole class here at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

The book gives excellent explanations. While the class gave me a sense of how a flowing routine will work, I can do it at home with the aid of the book.

I recommend it highly. Thanks, A Pilates Dummy Fan


6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

Great if you already have some body knowledge, 2005-10-17
This book was one of my mom's rejects for the reason that she couldn't make head nor tail of the instructions. I like it quite a bit, but I have a background in modern dance and was already familiar with isolating different muscle groups. I think if you don't have a good sense of your body already, this book might be too confusing to start with.

So far there's a lot of good material for me to work with, although much of the book is dedicated to repetitive touting of the benefits of pilates (yes, we already know it tones) as well as super-advanced exercises using complicated equipment, which aren't really "for dummies." Still, the workouts are fun, challenging, and feel good on my body. I would recommend glancing at the instructions before buying and seeing if they make sense to you. If they do, you'll probably like this book -- otherwise, maybe try a video or simpler book.


5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

A good guide if you buy the Pilates hype, 2003-08-23
This is probably the best guide you can buy for Pilates. It is easy to understand and does not try to mystify or complicate the subject. It has good pictures and descriptions of exercises, most of which are good, but more than a few I think are really a strain on the back. I am not really enthusiastic about Pilates. I think basic callestenic exercises are just as effective if done mindfully and correctly. Nevertheless, if you are convinced that Pilates is magic and you want to purchase a guide this would be your best bet.


3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

I agree completely with the review "Not really for Dummies", 2002-10-02
I couldn't understand the instructions either, for the same
reason: You have to read the book while you're trying to
do the exercise. However, this ended up giving me a great workout: I was lying on my back for many minutes holding a "crunch", since I had to keep my neck raised up trying to read the book while I was supine on the mat. This may be a new Pilates exercise.

-Ilan Vardi

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