Best Pilates DVDs of 2024 – Buyer’s Guide & Reviews

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Have you ever thought of doing Pilates? Well if you haven’t you might just want to reconsider. Contrary to popular belief it’s not just a good way to stretch in the park while gossiping, nor is it only for women. As a man, you may be thinking Why wouldn’t I just lift some weights? Well, the answer to that is pretty long and diverse, an answer which we are happy to give you. The bottom line is that Pilates is for everybody, man and woman, young and old.

It doesn’t matter who you are because the benefits of doing Pilates every day are virtually endless. If you have never done Pilates it might be time to start now, but finding the right way to get started might be a little difficult. And that’s why we are here today, to talk about the question of what is the best Pilates DVDThere are many different ones out there and we have picked the top 5 for you to choose from.

Summary: The Best Pilates DVDs

The Benefits Of Pilates

Pilates isn’t just some cheap stretching routine that was invented by someone who wanted to scam a bunch of people out of their money. Pilates is a great way to stay fit and contrary to popular belief it will definitely make you sweat. This kind of workout has numerous benefits which all contribute to your good health.

Great Abdominal Workout

One of the biggest benefits that you can get from doing Pilates is that it helps get rid of belly fat with ease. It is shown that Pilates, when done for a period of 36 weeks, helps to strengthen the abdominal muscles by up to 21 percent. Plus it is also a great way to solve muscle imbalances in your core.

Low Impact

Another benefit of doing Pilates over other forms of exercise is that it is easy on your joints. Many exercises involve high impact actions which can severely hurt your joints, especially the ankles and the knees. Pilates is also better than yoga because the mats used for Pilates are much thicker than those used for yoga. They protect the back and the buttocks much better than yoga mats.

It Makes Sports Easier

Since Pilates is designed to strengthen your core, arms, back, and legs, it also helps to improve your sports performance in the long run. Having less fat, more muscles, and more flexibility all make it much easier to play any kind of sport.

Increase Your Concentration

Another thing that Pilates is great for is increasing your focus and concentration. This is because most of the exercises practiced throughout a general Pilates workout are designed to make you concentrate on your form, your breathing, and the way in which separate parts of your body work in unison. Achieving any one Pilates pose takes a lot of focus, something which helps to increase your concentration abilities in the long run.

Get Rid Of Back Pain

Doing Pilates on a daily basis is shown to help relieve back pain by stabilizing the lower region of the back and gets rid of back stress, thus improving mobility. In fact, if you experience chronic back pain, just 4 weeks of Pilates can help get rid of it more effectively than any doctor. Even better is that the pain tends to stay away for up to one year and that is true even if you stop doing Pilates.

Better Sex

Pilates is also great for your sex life because the kegel exercises that are involved help to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and the butt. Pilates makes these muscles stronger, thus making you more effective in bed, making it easier to achieve an orgasm, and also makes it easier to deliver a baby thanks to stronger vaginal muscles.

Increased Flexibility

Pilates is proven to increase your flexibility by close to 20 percent in just a few short weeks. This is because it involves a lot of stretching and moving your muscles and joints in ways which they aren’t used to moving. Therefore just a few weeks of Pilates can greatly improve your overall flexibility and your range of motion by constantly pushing you to the limit.

Builds Long And Lean Muscles

Another great part about Pilates is that it helps you build long and lean muscles, which are much stronger than the alternative. Most weight bearing exercises create short and bulky muscles that can get injured fairly easily. Thus combining a Pilates routine with a weight lifting routine is a great way to build lean muscles that are also big in size, not to mention durable too.

Weight Loss

Pilates may not be an overly exertive type of exercise, but it is quite challenging nonetheless. A good Pilates routine, especially when combined with aerobic exercise can help you burn some serious calories.


Pilates DVD Reviews

Finding a good Pilates DVD isn’t as easy as you may think. That’s not because they are all bad, but because there are so many out there and finding the very best can be pretty difficult. Here are our top 5 picks of Pilates DVDs and what makes them stand out from the rest.

Our Rating

We are a big fan of this particular workout DVD, mostly due to the fact that Cassey Ho really seems to inspire us to keep going. It’s a great Pilates DVD and will help anybody get fit in a matter of weeks.

Design

The Pop Pilates Total Body Workout with Cassey Ho is designed to work out the whole body from top to bottom to ensure that your body is lean and toned. This is an hour long Pilates routine that can be done anywhere in your home as long as you have a DVD player or even a computer. The hour long intense Pilates session will tone your thighs and glutes, chisel your arms and chest, build your legs, and turn your stomach into washboard abs. The Pop Pilates Total Body Workout is designed with fun in mind, a big factor when it comes to finding the motivation to work out every day. Cassey Ho is energetic, fun, and approaches each exercise with glee.

Value for the Price

The Pop Pilates Total Body Workout has a pretty good value for its price. The DVD is brought to us by Cassey Ho, a well-known and trusted fitness instructor who helps us lose weight and get fit in no time. For a very low price, you get an hour long workout routine that will leave you feeling sore the next day. It definitely has great value.

Quality

This is a very high-quality workout DVD because not only it is a full hour long, but it also covers the whole body from top to bottom. It ensures that every muscle in your body gets pushed to the limit. Not to mention that this Pilates workout is brought to us by a top notch fitness instructor.

Pros

  • Top notch Pilates Instructor
  • Inspires motivation
  • Advanced Pilates routine
  • Tones the whole body
  • Easy to use at home

Cons

  • Take a whole hour to complete the routine

Our Rating

This is a great Pilates DVD that will quickly get rid of those fat zones on your body. It lets you get rid of fat, tone your muscles, and you can do it all in 21 days.

Design

The Shrink Your Fat Zone Pilates DVD featuring Denise Austin is designed to kick your butt and get rid of flab in just 21 days. It targets 3 specific areas on the body, those being the abdominals, the arms, and the thighs. Each section receives 15 minutes of attention, which means you can tone your body in just 45 minutes. We also really like the fact that Denise Austin has a very positive attitude, something that inspires us to keep going.

Value for the price

We found that The Shrink Your Fat Zone Pilates DVD has an excellent value for the price it comes at. It’s not very expensive at all and thanks to Denise Austin’s extensive workout routine you can tone most of your body in under 1 hour.

Quality

The quality of this Pilates DVD is pretty high. Denise Austin delivers 3 separate 15-minute sessions which target the biggest problem areas on your body. It’s a Pilates DVD that both experienced Pilates practitioners and beginners can use with ease.

Pros

  • It’s motivational and inspiring
  • Targets abs, legs, and arms
  • Comes with a custom workout option
  • Designed to shrink fat and tone muscles

Cons

  • Fairly time-consuming
  • Does not target all muscle groups

Our Rating

One of the main reasons as to why we really love this particular Pilates DVD is because you can get fit, get toned, and lose weight in just 10 minutes.

Design

The design of this Pilates workout is truly fantastic because it targets every part of your body with 5 separate 10-minute workouts, each one of which aims to improve a different area of your body. The 10-minute workouts consist of a flexibility component, a full body blaster, a waist slimmer, a thigh and glutes workout, and an arm and shoulder workout. The 10 Minute Solutions Rapid Results Pilates DVD is great because all of the workouts are designed to keep you healthy while wasting no time at all.

Value for the price

This particular Pilates DVD has excellent value for the price because it’s one of the most efficient Pilates workouts out there. Not to mention that it is brought to us by a world renowned Pilates teacher. Plus it works to target every part of your body.

Quality

We are especially impressed with the quality of the Rapid Results Pilates DVD. Lara Hudson uses special power precision sequencing that burns fat and builds muscles in no time at all. The quality of this DVD is outstanding because it provides a full body workout in under 1 hour.

Pros

  • Quick 10-minute sessions
  • Targets the whole body
  • Delivered by a certified instructor
  • Very motivational
  • Builds muscle, flexibility, and burns fat

Cons

  • Advanced workout not intended for beginners

Our Rating

While there aren’t too many exercise solutions for you while you are pregnant, this is one of the few that will keep you and your baby healthy. It is a pretty basic workout designed to not stress your body too much, but still keep your muscles toned and the fat at a minimal level.

Design

We really like the unique design of this Pilates DVD because it’s one of the only ones out there that is specifically designed for pregnant women. It’s actually a perfect pregnancy workout and is great during all 3 trimesters. The 10 Minute Solution Prenatal Pilates DVD is designed to keep your buns, thighs, and core toned while also helping to maintain your flexibility. It even comes with a section designed to help you lose all of that belly fat after your baby has been born. This DVD comes with 5 separate 10-minute workouts, each of which helps you achieve a different goal.

Value for the price

In our opinion, this Pilates DVD has excellent value for its price. Pregnant women need to keep healthy and of course you want to stay fit while pregnant plus afterward too. This Pilates DVD isn’t very expensive and it’s a great way to stay in shape when you’re pregnant.

Quality

The quality of this DVD is pretty high because it features a comprehensive prenatal and postnatal Pilates routine that targets all areas of your body. It is delivered by a certified instructor and helps to keep your whole body toned, keep your weight down, and maintain flexibility as well.

Pros

  • Stay fit while pregnant
  • Targets your whole body
  • Helps maintain flexibility
  • Tones your muscles
  • Not harmful to your baby
  • Very comprehensive

Cons

  • Takes almost an hour to complete
  • Not ideal if you aren’t pregnant

Our Rating

This Pilates DVD is one of the best out there for beginners who have never tried Pilates before. It’s an easy routine brought to us by a certified instructor and it’s sure to help you lose weight in no time at all.

Design

The Element Pilates Weight Loss for Beginners DVD is designed to teach you the fundamentals of Pilates so you can get a feel for it. At the same time, this Pilates DVD is also designed to maximize calorie burn and help you lose as much weight as possible. It’s also designed to help lengthen, strengthen, and tone your muscles. It features simple and low impact exercises that are perfect for beginners. This Pilates DVD is especially oriented towards the abs, thighs, and hips to help you burn fat around those areas, plus there is a lot of cardio involved too.

Value for the price

The Element Weight Loss for Beginners Pilates DVD comes with a pretty good value for its price. The instructions are delivered by a certified Pilates instructor with years of experience. While this Pilates workout isn’t the most strenuous, it is great for weight loss.

Quality

This Pilates DVD has pretty decent quality. We really like the fact that Brook Siler trained under Pilates masters and has even written several best-selling Pilates books. It makes us rest assured that she knows what she is doing. Brook is the real deal. This DVD won’t give you big muscles or even work your body out very hard, but it’s great for beginners looking to try something new and burn a few calories at the same time.

Pros

  • Great for beginners
  • Involves some cardio
  • Good introduction to Pilates
  • Instructions delivered by a world-renowned Pilates expert
  • No need for any equipment
  • Features a great cardio workout

Cons

  • Takes close to 1 hour to complete
  • Not ideal for advanced Pilates practitioners

Conclusion

If you have never tried Pilates before we would highly recommend doing so. It’s a great way to increase flexibility, strength, and your mobility. Plus it’s a great way of increasing your concentration while at the same time decreasing the amount of fat on your body. If you don’t know where to start it is probably a good idea to go with one of our top 5 picks of Pilates DVDs. When it comes to the question of choosing the best Pilates DVD, the choice is really up to you.

If you have any comments about Pilates or any questions, we would be more than happy to hear them! Let us know what you think and maybe even share a story about how Pilates changed your life.