In her usual encouraging and chatty style, Denise offers two short, intense and very different workouts. Although the cover says they are for all ages and fitness levels, both challenging workouts will work best for experienced exercisers who are familiar with both Pilates and yoga.

In the first 22-minute workout, Denise teaches 25 Pilates mat exercises (half of them are also in the Living Arts Pilates Intermediate Mat Workout). She moves at a speedy pace from one exercise to the next with little more than a mention of the name of the exercise and a few pointers. Despite having four women on stage with her, no one demos easier versions of some of the tougher exercises. Occasionally Denise starts with an easy version and progresses to a harder one.

Although she doesn't open the workout with The Hundred as many Pilates workouts do, she introduces it after a few stretches. However she talks non-stop through it, and counts the breaths in threes, not fives, so you have to tune her out and count yourself if you want to do this the Pilates way. Most exercises get 2 to 5 reps, although occasionally she gets off the count because she's talking, so the sides are worked unevenly. (You always need to keep count for yourself when you work out with Denise.) Although she often cues your breathing at the start of an exercise, by the end she's dropped that and has reverted her usual cheerleading (a tiny bit more subdued than usual) and telling you how "Beautiful" you're doing.

Workout two is like an intro to power yoga, it's fast-paced and intense. In these 22-minutes, Denise is alone on stage, moving from one pose to the next very quickly, and performing many advanced yoga poses that require excellent balance and plenty of strength. She opens the workout with a speedy version of the Sun Salutation, then rapidly continues through many classic yoga poses like Standing Forward Bend, Warrior, Triangle as well as advanced balancing poses like Dancer, Balancing Stick, and Hip Opener. She next spends 3.5 minutes doing Planks, sideways T-stands and Reverse Bridges. (This series can be stressful on the wrists.) The workout ends on the floor where you do Pilates moves like rolling like a ball, the Teaser, and The Hundred as well as more yoga, including a kneeling back bend pose that can be very stressful on the quads.

Occasional clips of Denise doing the yoga section outdoors on a huge, rough-looking rock in the desert made me cringe. She was either balancing on one foot dangerously close to the edge of the rock, or lying on the uncomfortable, jagged-looking rock holding her pose. I prefer my thick, padded mat, thank you very much!

Paula's Notes: The Yoga segment could be better if the teaching were done in voiceovers like the Living Arts yoga workouts. While Denise does a decent job of demonstrating the very challenging balancing yoga poses, she's not Rodney or Suzanne...she does wobble quite a bit in certain poses. Perhaps because she can't concentrate fully on the pose while she's cueing the moves at the same time. If she did voiceovers, she could then provide better cueing, offer easier options and skip all her usual encouraging chatter. But then...that "beautiful" encouragement is her trademark!

It was no surprise to see Kathy come out with a Pilates workout -- her extensive video collection offers just about every style of home workout -- floor aerobics, kickboxing, step, circuit training, yoga, etc. It's also no surprise to see that Kathy's produced yet another excellent workout. Accompanied by Lija, who shows the advanced versions, Kathy has chosen and sequenced 16 Pilates exercises in a way that focuses on the abs. Kathy feels that mastering the details of Pilates exercises makes the difference in their effectiveness for core strengthening, so her workout recipe is quality reps done at a slow pace.

If music is important to your workouts be warned that the music track is barely audible. However you may not even notice this because Kathy does a lot of instructing. Her goal is for you to maintain intense mental focus for each exercise, so she talks you through every rep -- fine tuning your movements, cueing your breathing, reminding you to engage your powerhouse and offering encouragement. Many exercises get only 5 reps, although some get as many as 8 or 10. Kathy blends the exercises together smoothly and the pacing of the reps is always slow and controlled.

Although it may be tempting to skip the first 7 minutes of the warm-up and start with the Hundred, this segment offers a welcome transition from a energetic aerobic workout or a hectic day to the mental focus needed for Pilates. Kathy asks you to bring your focus inward by starting with a minute of seated breathing exercises. You then lie down to learn how to scoop your belly, tighten your pelvic floor, squeeze your bikini butt and knit your ribcage. When you do can all of this at once you've learned how to "engage your powerhouse." After a few Upper Back Curls (crunches), the Hundred ends the warm-up.

The 16-minute workout starts with Roll-ups and Roll Like a Ball. Next you do five leg exercises, Single Leg Stretch, Double Leg Stretch, Scissors, Double Leg Lower/Lift and Twists. They call for you to engage your powerhouse (with your head off the floor) for almost 4 minutes -- a tough sequence! The Spine Stretch and Saw are done seated. Next you roll over for the Swan (the Cobra in yoga) to work the lower back muscles. The next exercises are done lying face up -- a Shoulder Bridge and the Teaser. The Can-Can is a side-to-side twist that's done while balanced on your glutes and resting on your elbows. The workout ends with the Mermaid stretch.

On DVD with Kathy's Pilates for Lower Body and Fat Burning Breakthru

If you want to learn classic Pilates moves from an expert instructor, here's your chance. Ana Caban, a certified Pilates instructor, thoroughly teaches 17 mat exercises, after introducing the basic principles of Pilates in the six-minute introduction. You learn how to focus on your core muscles (your "power house"), how to set your feet in the Pilates stance (heels touching, toes apart), how to breathe (in and out through the nose), how to strive for muscle control without tension. For each exercise Ada sets you carefully into each starting position and explains what you're going to do, while Tara, her workout partner, demonstrates easier options for the standard positions. As Ana (and just about every Pilates instructor) says in the introduction "If it's easy, you're doing it wrong."

The 19.5-minute workout begins with a breathing exercise called The Hundred as a warm-up, then you jump right into the Roll-up. After that you do 9 leg exercises, lying both on your back and later on your side, three different roll like a ball exercises, two seated "reaches," and the Teaser as part of your grand finale. Like most Pilates workouts there is no formal warm-up or final stretch and you do only 3 to 6 reps of each exercise.

This is the first Living Arts workout I've seen that's filmed indoors in a large studio. Unfortunately, they try to get arty by using oddball camera angles and switching to black and white film, then back to color. The sound track on my copy is a bit echoy -- they're in a big empty room with a wood floor and the sound seems to bounce off the walls. However, you'll probably only notice this when you preview the workout. During the workout itself you'll be too busy concentrating on your body and breathing in order to copy and perfect the moves.

Sixteen exercises from the Beginner workout are repeated and eleven new ones are introduced in this video for more advanced Pilates students. Ana Caban does the teaching again, in the same echoy room, with Tara as her workout buddy. In this workout fewer modifications are offered or shown, most of the time Tara does the same version of an exercise as Ana.

The sixteen repeated exercises are done in the same order as in the Beginner video with the new exercises sprinkled throughout. However this time Ana needs to instruct less , so she can pick up the pace. She announces the name of a exercise and just does it, assuming that since it's a repeat you know what to do. The exercises flow together smoothly and even new exercises are taught quickly and concisely. These new exercises are strenuous: double straight-leg stretches, spine twists, swimming, a plank variation and Pilates push-ups. Because you're again focusing on following the moves exactly, only 1 to 6 reps of any particular exercise are done.

Experienced Pilates students could start with this workout, but if you've never done Pilates before the Beginner workout is a better choice as it has the 6-minute intro to the basic principles of Pilates.

Most beginning Pilates mat workouts focus on lower body and core, using body weight for resistance. The upper body typically gets minimal toning challenge. If you took a Pilates class in a studio however, you'd be able to work the upper body by doing exercises on the Reformer, a table-like contraption with sliding platforms, springs and straps, which offers both support and resistance. This Pilates mat workout attempts to give you the feel of using a Reformer at home by using a wide exercise band -- adding more resistance to familiar lower body mat exercises and offering new exercises for upper body toning. The workout is done by three women in a peaceful, sunlit, outdoor setting -- a green lawn surrounded by trees. One woman demonstrates a beginner-level version of each exercise, while the other two show more advanced versions.

In typical Pilates style, each exercise gets only a few reps -- usually 3 to 5. Most reps are done at a slow pace (2 counts stretching the band, 2 counts releasing the band) allowing for good control of the band in both directions. After a short introductory segment about the workout and how to grip the bands, the rest of the instruction is done in voice-overs by Ana Caban, the instructor for Living Arts Pilates Beginner and Intermediate Mat workouts. Most of this voice-over cueing is for your breathing which is often cued in the opposite way than you're taught in strength training. Ana cues you to inhale during the exertion (lengthening the band) and exhale during the release (shortening the band).

The warm-up uses the band for 6.5 minutes of stretches -- three each for upper and lower body. The 6-minute ab and leg segment includes a few crunches, three sets of leg presses, the Hundred breathing exercise, and a leg press/leg lift combo. The next 15.5 minutes focuses on upper body with 14 exercises. Rows, straight arm lifts in all directions, shoulder and chest presses, and biceps curls are done in seated, kneeling or standing positions. The Mermaid and Spine Twist work the oblique abs. Upper body work ends with 3 push-ups. Then it's back to the lower body for 3.5 minutes of side-lying kicks and leg circles. The yoga-like final stretch doesn't use the bands.

This workout is similar to the Stott Pilates Flex-Band Workout reviewed below -- many of the exercises are the same. However, in the Stott workout there is more lower body work (many more leg presses!) and the exercises are explained more thoroughly.

In this short, well-taught Dummies workout Michelle Dozios teaches twenty-one classic Pilates exercises. As is usually the case with Pilates, some of the exercises seem quite easy while others are incredibly hard, so this is by no means a workout for anyone who is new to exercise. You need core strength, excellent flexibility and good coordination to do many of the exercises with perfect form.

Michelle is a trained Pilates instructor and knows her stuff. Alone on screen she teaches the exercises one by one, offering many pointers as she takes you through a demo rep step-by-step. You'll then do 2 to 10 reps, depending on the exercise. As you perform those reps with her she usually cues you through the first rep, but then falls silent, so timing the rest of the reps is up to you. The reps are not in sync with the mellow background music and watching her while you're performing the exercises is difficult, so be prepared to not stay in sync with her until you've done the workout a few times. Easier versions of some exercises are provided in on-screen inserts, but they usually show up after you've done a few reps. Previewing the workout is a must if you want to use these easier options. Dummies icons (Jargon Alerts, Myth Busters, Tips) flash across the screen regularly, offering extra information about Pilates or the specific exercises.

Before the workout begins Michelle takes 4 minutes to explain basic terms like Using your Powerhouse ("Imagine you're wearing a girdle"), Neutral Pelvis, Spinal Alignment, and Breathing. Once you've mastered these techniques you can start right in with the 27-minute workout.

The first seven exercises are done lying face up on the floor and focus on using the abs for stability. The next three exercises are done face down, focusing first on the back muscles, then using the legs and arms as resistance during kicks. You sit up again for two more exercises and then "roll like a ball" again. After another lying face up leg exercise you then roll onto your side a combination of four leg exercises. Next you're back onto your stomach for Swimming. The final two exercises are advanced versions of the Plank. As you can see you're turning over on the floor a lot and like most Pilates workouts, there is no warm-up or final stretch.

This workout is very similar to the Living Arts Beginner and Intermediate Mat Workouts. In fact, in all three workouts the first six exercises are done in identical order, as are those in second face-up series and the side-lying series. But Pilates is Pilates...there are just so many mat moves to learn and a specific order to do them in, so it's no surprise the workouts are so similar. The production quality of this Dummies workout is better that the Living Arts workouts.

Now on DVD with a 24-minute Intermediate workout.

Using the word power to describe this workout has me mystified, because this is a pretty mellow workout, with no rushing between exercises or strenuous moves. Stephanie Powers, a dancer, not a certified fitness instructor, leads a class of over-50 celebrity parents -- all with different levels of flexibility and coordination -- through a workout that combines easy movement, stretching and breathing to focus on the feet, hips, abs and shoulders.

Each short series of moves is previewed by Stephanie then repeated three times (sometimes less). During the standing exercises Stephanie leads and cues the first round, then the instruction changes to voiceovers while she walks around the room to monitor the class. There are a few drawbacks to this format. First, without Stephanie to follow, the class gets out of sync with each other and the voiceover, so you don't know who to follow. Also, many participants are not very flexible and don't do the moves as well as Stephanie, leaving you without correct form to follow. In the intro Stephanie discusses the importance of breathing correctly, yet she rarely mentions how to breathe during the exercises, although she does cue you to take one big breath between them. Also, some of the stretches involve pulsing at the end of the range of motion -- a stretching no-no -- and no modifications are shown for the less flexible members of the cast.

The first 14 minutes focus on standing exercises. A chair is used for support during three flexibility exercises for the feet and one for the hips. Next you do neck rolls, then look over each shoulder and pulse. Finally you do a series of alternating forward lunges with ballet-like arm sweeps. The next 14 minutes are spent on the floor, working abs and hips with three exercises each. This section is the most Pilates-like: you do a spinal roll-down, a variation of the "Hundred," leg circles, and two versions of single leg lifts -- first lying face up and then on your side. The final 16 minutes are done standing again. You start with seven towel exercises for the upper body, six of which involve lifting your arms overhead, then pulsing them behind your head (tough on the rotator cuff!). It would be more effective for toning if exercise bands were used instead of the towels. The workout ends with a "reach for the stars" stretch and an eyes-closed balance exercise.
Only available on VHS

Pilates with an exercise band! Moira's meticulous one-on-one instruction leads you breath by breath through this body lengthening and strengthening workout. If you're looking for a mellow, low-keyed style of resistance workout or exercises to do when you travel and don't have weights handy, this video offers a total body workout that can be done in a very small space -- the size of your exercise mat. If you're injured and can't do standing leg exercises, this workout can help to strengthen your legs and get you back on your feet. If you've found Pilates workouts difficult to do before, you'll find that using the band can make some mat exercises easier. You don't need a heavy resistance band for this workout because the focus is also on core stabilization and using your abs to maintain proper form. However, if you have hand or wrist problems this workout may not work for you, because holding the band offers a strenuous workout for your wrists and forearms.

Moira spends the first 4.5 minutes teaching proper breathing technique and form pointers for shoulder positioning and ab crunches. After you've watched this a few times and have the technique down, you don't need to start here, although you may find it relaxing to lie down and practice this slow, deep breathing and helpful to review the form pointers. You don't have to do this 44-minute workout all at once. The first 13 minutes, called the warm-up, could also serve as a good post-workout stretch. The two toning sections could be done on alternating days. Focus on the lower body and abs for 18 minutes one day and on upper body and torso for 13 minutes the next. Most exercises get 5 reps which are generally performed slowly, using great control.

The warm-up is a slow-paced awakening for the torso and all the joints. Starting with the shoulders, you stretch and simultaneously strengthen the wrists, spine, abs, ankles, and hips by drawing slow circles with the band or pressing against it. The lower body workout is built around leg presses and leg lifts. With a premium on control, you spend 13 minutes lying face up and doing 5 reps each of 25 different leg press variations. This segment calls for a lot of wrist and forearm strength and challenges your upper body and abs too, as you have to brace the band while your legs press against it. This section ends with a four-limbed coordination exercise and more presses, circles and lifts for the legs, this time lying on your side.

Most of the upper body exercises are done seated on the mat, although you'll kneel on the band for one and sit on it for two others. Again the exercises are a blend of strengthening and stretching. You do the usual lat rows, biceps curls and chest presses. However, you do a few shoulder exercises that involve moving your straight arms in all directions around your torso. For these you need a light resistance band and a strong, flexible shoulder joint. Your abs get a good workout in this section too.