Has anyone here (I'm guessing chicks) ever ordered these off of tv, and tried them? I just ordered the new Pilates Circle series that are suppsoed to target you thighs, butt and abs, and it was only $9.95 for the pilates circle, 3 DVD's and a workout journal type thing. The Gunthy-Renker people seem legit, and when I called to order, the salesguy wasn't pushy or anything, which I really appreciated. The workouts are 30 minutes a day, and they said you can see results in about a week or so - and yes I know you need to eat better to see these results, too. Plus it's all returnable if you don't like it. I used to go to the gym and lift, as well as aerobics, the rowing machine, treadmill and eliptical machine, and I was really toning up, but I have gotten lazy and cancelled my membership last winter because I never went/had time to go anymore. There is a Pilates studio (Core Pilates) here next to whole foods, but they want way too much money for membership, but they're like a real studio with all those crazy machines and stuff.

8/15/2006 8:04:30 AM

no I havent purchased any, but you can post before and after shots

8/15/2006 8:12:45 AM

Good luck w/ this.. can't say I have any experience, but I feel ya on the getting lazy and the not wanting to spend a fortune on a membership you don't have time to go to.

Let me know how it turns out for you.. I'm trying to find new things to do for exercise time.

8/15/2006 8:13:17 AM

I did Pilates for a while...
they work pretty well. I just like a little more movement in my workout. If you start eating well, you will start to see some results. Its great for toning everything

8/15/2006 10:43:21 AM

I'm not crazy about it-- don't really even use it anymore-- but it doesn't suck. I guess I prefer Pilates with an actual in person intructor- to help with form (etc), which is really important in Pilates. If you want a fun exercise tape try Yoga Booty Ballet (seriously).

8/15/2006 10:43:26 AM

I bought the Winsor Pilates about three years ago and did them regularly for about five months. I noticed a positive difference ... but had to stop once I started going to the chiropractor regularly.

8/15/2006 10:46:07 AM

Yeah I'm thinking it's totally worth the like..$18 with tax and shipping. You know how infomercials are - they were like it's $49.95...BUT WAIT!....THERE'S STILL MORE!!
So they knocked off the price of the circle which was like, $40 and then cut the price in half.
Now if I can only get around to ordering some damned proactiv...

8/15/2006 10:49:48 AM

i got bored with pilates after about 20 seconds and threw the dvd in the trash. it was so boring!

8/15/2006 10:57:09 AM

mary winsor is kind of annoying in the videos, and i can see how one would get bored ... but at the time it was the most convenient thing for me and i liked them.

8/15/2006 11:14:02 AM

My older cousin enjoys pilates, she started incorporating that in her exercise routine and she swears by it.

8/15/2006 11:20:55 AM

if you got lazy going to the gym you're def. going to get lazy and stop doing this. I used to try some DVD shit and it always gets old. Nothing beats actually going to a gym, suck it up.

8/15/2006 11:27:52 AM

well, it's more like I didn't want to pay $40/month for the gym anymore

8/15/2006 12:34:43 PM

how uch is the core pilates membership and do they just have lots of classes or are they actually a gym too with treadmills and stuff

8/15/2006 12:54:59 PM

The core pilates place is a pilates place only, and I want to say their either charged per class, or monthly, but I think it was maybe $80/month

8/15/2006 1:01:44 PM

are you a student at NCSU
you know we have a gym, right?

[Edited on August 15, 2006 at 1:28 PM. Reason : ]

8/15/2006 1:28:18 PM

I don't live on campus, it's not included in my fees. I'm not paying $30/month to go to a gym 30 minutes away with one treadmill.

8/15/2006 2:19:13 PM

Quote :

"I don't live on campus, it's not included in my fees."

Yes, it is.

8/15/2006 2:19:55 PM

No it's not, I tried to go in and my ID wouldn't work, and I went and asked the people in charge of the gym, and they looked me up and I'm not paying whatever some kind of fees are that enable students to go there. *shrugs*
Wouldn't want to go there anyways, and like I said, I wouldn't want to drive 30 minutes to get there.

8/15/2006 2:28:17 PM

when i lived off campus - i could use the gym as much as i wanted - so can everyone else....what are you talking about natalie? did you try going when you were enrolled or over the summer when you weren't taking summer classes?

8/15/2006 2:30:13 PM

Nah I tried going last fall, and I was enrolled full time. That's what they told me. I don't get it either. But like I siad, I don't really mind, I don't want to drive 30 minutes to get there.

8/15/2006 2:34:16 PM

Quote :

"Required Fees - Academic Year Rates Required fees must be paid by all students. Students are entitled to the services, facilities, and programs offered by the Student Center, Health Services, Physical Education Department, and Athletics Department. An itemization of required fees can be provided upon request."

http://www7.acs.ncsu.edu/cashier/Tuition/explanation.asp

you were lied to - if in fact it actually happened

http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/cashier/tuition/

8/15/2006 2:38:58 PM

If in fact it happened?
Yeah like I would go out of my way to lie about something like that

8/15/2006 2:45:37 PM

Better off getting a more advanced pilates or yoga DVD, something lik e:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000A2ZQE/qid=1154535534/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-1454162-2971251?s=dvd&v=glance&n=130
or
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000ACOYB/sr=8-3/qid=1154910283/ref=pd_bbs_3/002-1454162-2971251?redirect=true&ie=UTF8


Oh and just on a sidenote... my wife and I recently got heartrate monitors and did some checking during our ab routines. Well, despite doing some various crunch, v-up, and raise exercises the one that elevated the heart rate the most was the basic yoga plank exercise where there is no movement.

8/15/2006 3:03:32 PM

Well, I've never done any kind of pilates before, so I want to try it out first and see how I like it. There was a chick at my high school who was a certified instructor and she made a lot of money teaching classes at some retirement community 3-4 times a week. But thanks for the advice - I think I mentioned those Gaiam ones to you a few weeks ago?

8/15/2006 3:06:02 PM

Yoga is boring, Pilates is a lot better if you ask me. It is NO JOKE though. I didn't really feel anything after the first time I did it, but a few days later my legs were definitely a little sore.

I have been too busy to do it since :-( but I'll get back on the wagon again soon I hope.

Good luck!

8/15/2006 3:23:54 PM

Quote :

"I think I mentioned those Gaiam ones to you a few weeks ago?"

Yeah, ordered a couple for my life. She can't wait. The Gaiam site was great for sample videos to get a feel for the instructors.

Quote :

"Yoga is boring, Pilates is a lot better if you ask me"

Thats like saying "Martial Arts are boring. Kung fu is a lot better if you ask me" First off, Yoga is as difficult, intense, and exciting as the style you practice. Most people only try beginner yoga stuff and its obviously going to be "boring" and relatively easy no matter what. Second, Joseph Pilates used a great deal of yoga anasas for developing his exercise techniques. Pilates is essentially a specialized set of yoga exercises without the spiritual emphasis.

8/15/2006 11:37:02 PM

^

Quote :

"Pilates is essentially a specialized set of yoga exercises without the spiritual emphasis."

that's most likely why I liked it more than Yoga and found it... less boring

8/16/2006 3:20:49 PM