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Under Review: Pilates Bootcamp

By
June 5, 2008

Seeing that fusion fitness is so hot these days (and because I have self-diagnosed exercise ADD), for this edition of Under Review, I decided to check out the recently released Pilates Bootcamp DVD. Pilates and bootcamp are two exercise modalities that don’t seem to jive, so I was very interested to see how the instructor would “fuse” both the mind/body aspect of Pilates with the hard-core, kick-your-arse style of bootcamp.

Despite being a solid instructor with great cues for safety and effectiveness, it’s apparent that Ann Crowther’s background is in Pilates—not bootcamp. The DVD is more disjointed than fused. My guess is that Ann wanted to do a Pilates video and the production company tried to spice it up by throwing some squats and knee raises into the workout and by placing Ann and what looks to be her daughter Georgie (they look so much alike—they’re even wearing matching scrunchies, apparently the Crowthers didn’t get the memo that scrunchies are so very 1992) in front of some military fighter jets in an airplane hangar. My advice to the production company is to get a few good-looking men in uniform and add them to your next bootcamp video. A little eye candy never hurt, and, if the boys are cute enough, it just might score you another star on the FBG rating.
The DVD is shot well and is easy to follow with a scene selection menu broken into an introduction, warm-up, main workout and cool down. The bootcamp moves are basic but get your heart rate up, and the Pilates exercises are all good. Granted, I’ve only done Pilates a few times, but the names of the exercises are entertaining: the python, the tiger, bug, butterfly, mermaids. It took me back to kindergarten.

Animals and creatures aside, the high point of the DVD was that it was British. It would be wrong of me to give the DVD an additional star just because they have accents, but it crossed my mind. Although Ann never says anything as exciting as “wanker” or even “bloody,” she does say “buttocks” quite properly, which made me giggle. Oh, and apparently Brits call push-ups, “press-ups” and “stepping” means jogging in place, but it’s easy to catch on.

This DVD is best suited for beginner to intermediate exercisers, especially those who are fairly new to Pilates. Those obsessed with military planes, Disney characters and British accents would benefit, too.

FBG Rating (Out of 5):
Instruction: ★★★★
Long-Term Likeability: ★★
Music: ★★
Fun Factor: ★★★
Meets Expectations: ★★
Overall: ★★★

Fit Bottom line: Although the DVD is more Pilates than bootcamp, this DVD is easy to follow, and British accents are always jolly good fun! —Jenn

 

Photo grabbed from http://www.photobucket.com.

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