I am excited to hear you are enjoying the video. This first video was really about introducing the idea that pelvic pain sufferers could do Pilates (since we are often told we can’t). It’s a beginner level DVD with the addition of some intermediate level exercises. I anticipated that our users would be at different fitness levels and am happy to provide you with some suggestions to incorporate cardio into your Pilates practice. Although Pilates helps to create long, strong muscles, it often times does not provide a very intense cardiovascular workout. Most Pilates instructors recommend to their students 30 minutes of cardio work in addition to their Pilates practice. This combination seems to be very effective for creating a well-balanced workout. Below are some ideas on how you can combine the two:
1) You could begin your exercise with 30 minutes (or whatever you can tolerate) of walking or other cardio machine (I use a recumbent bike) followed by one of the segments from the video such as the arm segment. If your schedule allows, you could do this a few times a week and use a different section from the video each time.
2) After the various segments you could perform 5 minutes of marching in place (or whatever activity is comfortable to you). For example, you would march in place after the warm-up section, again after the abdominals section, and again after the arm section and so on (you get the idea). For variety, I have even walked up and down the stairwell in my apartment building for five minutes in between sections (very slowly I might add). Let me tell you, I definitely worked up a sweat!
3) If you can tolerate it, have the strength and can maintain proper body mechanics you can increase the weight. Adding weight will help to increase your cardiovascular workout as well.
As for reducing the breathing…I don’t recommend it. Breathing is a fundamental concept in a successful Pilates practice. Joseph Pilates himself believe that true fitness was achieved by knowing how to breathe correctly. By inhaling and exhaling completely during the exercises, you are ridding your body of toxic gases and supplying it with fresh air to awaken and revitalize your body…something we all can benefit from.
Hope you find this information useful. Let me know if it works. Thank you so much for you posting! I will keep you ideas in mind for future DVDs.
Jenny
