Hi all! Happy happy Friday! Hope your week has been great as always! As promised, today I’ve got a little DVD review for you. First let’s step back in time to about, oh say, a year ago. Back when I was a novice blogger, just starting out . . . o.k., I’m still new to thing whole thing but I do think I’ve learned so much in the past year. Anyways, when I first started out blogging, I began by reading what we in the blog world call “big bloggers”. These bloggers were super popular and have a large following. One of these big bloggers was Cassey over at Blogilates.
Cassey is a pilates instructor who blogs about healthy living, pilates and much more. Her YouTube videos have a massive following (hello inspiration for my videos!) and at the end of last year she produced her first pilates DVD (jealous).
Well, I finally decided to order her DVD recently and after doing it a couple of times, I ask myself what took so long!? Normally I don’t love pilates DVDs because quite honestly, I’ve never really felt the burn enough in mat classes to keep me interested. Because you are so focused on lying on the mat, its much harder to work your larger muscle groups (aka your buns and thighs). Pilates is based on movements that target your core, which is an important muscle to work, but not a huge calorie burner and I like to torch calories and tone at the same time!
Given my reservations with pilates classes, I was pleasantly surprised when I did this DVD. The first couple of times I tried it, I split it up into smaller chunks and added it in to my cardio. After the first class, my abs were sore for two days! When I finally did the entire video in one sitting, I worked up quite a sweat. It’s not a cardio-based program so my calorie burn was not that high considering the video is 60 minutes long (200 calories), but in terms of feeling the burn in my muscles…it was definitely there!
So here’s the details of the DVD:
* The full class is 60 minutes long, but there is a feature that allows you to target certain areas and just do the exercises for those areas. This basically breaks it down into 6 ten minute segments (roughly).
* Cassey says right up front this DVD is intermediate/advanced. I loved this because it was really challenging. If you are brand new to pilates, this DVD may be too difficult for you but Cassey does provide a lot of options so if you are relatively fit, I would consider trying it.
* The name of the game is repetitions, repetitions, repetitions. The muscle burn comes from doing each exercise for a loooooong time.
* Most people think long time = boring. Actually Cassey has a really bubbly personality (probably why she is so darn popular!) and when you listen to her, you can’t help but smile a little, which temporarily makes you forget about the pain in [insert any part of body here].
* The exercises in this DVD are pretty unique. Just like yoga, there are standard sequences and moves in pilates that you will tend to see when you go to class. Cassey really thought outside of the box with this DVD and introduced a lot of moves I had never done before in a pilates class.
* This is a total body workout: legs, arms, booty and every part of your abs/core. Cassey tends to work on area at a time so you fatigue those muscle groups before you move on to another area.
A huge bonus for this workout though was that it was totally doable for me with my elbow. Since I fractured it, I can only do a select few strength/toning workouts. This one was no problem at all! The only thing I could not do were some planks at the end and a booty up thingie (don’t ask, just see for yourself!).
Overall, I really like this workout and will do it again. I most likely will incorporate parts of it into my other workouts because although the hour class is great, I would rather do a few pilates moves at a time than a full hour of pilates.
Davida @ The Healthy Maven
September 27, 2013I am SO SO happy you are doing these reviews! I love blogilates and have stuck to her youtube videos but have been curious about her DVDs as well. Glad to hear it’s as good as her YT videos. Also damnnnn girl look at those legs!
FitBritt
September 30, 2013Thanks Davida! I really did enjoy this DVD and I think you would like it, especially if you like her YouTube videos!
Tiff @ Love, Sweat, & Beers
September 27, 2013Cassey’s great! I’ve done her quickie videos before, but I didn’t know she had a DVD.
FitBritt
September 30, 2013I’ve never done her quick videos! Haha. I’ve only watched them a bit.
Nellie @ Brooklyn Active Mama
September 27, 2013I love this review and I have followed Blogilates for a LONG time! This DVD looks great, I gotta pick it up!
FitBritt
September 30, 2013Thanks Nellie! I did really enjoy the DVD!
Kimberly
September 27, 2013Great review girlie! I’ve followed her blog for a bit, but never got a video. Sidebar: you have perfect form!
FitBritt
September 30, 2013Thanks Kimberly! 🙂
Mykele
September 27, 2013I think you should put out some DVD’s. Your Zumba full length and Barre 1 is really great. There are not many Zumba videos, and some of the other Barre videos didn’t give me the same workout yours did.
FitBritt
September 30, 2013Thanks Mykele. That means a lot to me! 🙂
Holly @ EatGreatBEGreat
September 27, 2013Yay…thanks for this review! I will be buying this one and I’m super excited you can feel the burn because that’s exactly what I’m looking for.
FitBritt
September 30, 2013I’m so glad you liked it Holly! I know you were interested in it. Hope you enjoy!
Sarah @ Making Thyme for Health
September 27, 2013This looks hard! But in a good way. I’ve actually never read her blog, even though she is a “big blogger” ;), but I’ll have to check it out. I need a good challenge for my core!
FitBritt
September 30, 2013Oh this is definitely challenging for your core! It’s funny because I know there are a lot of big bloggers out there that I don’t read. I am more interested in finding people that I connect with rather than reading them just because they are big!
Allie
September 27, 2013You look amazing and I may actually DO this DVD b/c it looks so challenging!! Thanks for doing this!!
FitBritt
September 30, 2013Absolutely Allie! It is challenging and I don’t take challenge lightly!
Paige@FitNotFad
September 27, 2013Awesome! Thanks for the review….I LOVE Cassey! Her website is awesome and her inspirational Tshirts are the best! I’ve never done Pilates but I’ve always wondered about her DVD.
FitBritt
September 30, 2013Oh you should try her DVD. It’s good, I promise! 🙂
Shay @ Whine Less, Breathe More
September 29, 2013Nice review! I haven’t tried this particular DVD, but it does sound like a good one.
FitBritt
September 30, 2013Thanks Shay! I did really like this DVD and I think the quality is good, which is always important!
Carla
September 29, 2013I’ve been waiting for you to do this review! It sounds like a great DVD. I have a very different approach than Cassie and my students have always liked the quiet, almost like Yoga, but I don’t mind making people do things over and over and over. 🙂
You have some great form there!
FitBritt
September 30, 2013Thanks Carla! I have to say that repetitions are really key to an effective workout.
Elyse @ Lizzie Fit
September 29, 2013Great review! I’ve been wondering about Blogilates because I have the same reservations as you. I love hot yoga once or twice a week but I’m big on high intensity. I might consider adding it into some of my cardio days for core work 🙂
FitBritt
September 30, 2013I think the best feature is the fact that you can do short bits at a time and still feel the burn. Perfect for adding to a high intensity program.
Holly
October 1, 2013This Pilates DVD sounds great. Would love to try & thanks for the review!
FitBritt
October 2, 2013I think you would like it!
Rosie
May 5, 2014I’m sorry for your elbow!
I have the same with the hour of pilates. Somehow I don’t see it so much as fitness and I’d rather have some other things, like Cardio, kickboxking etc 🙂
I really like your blog!