Thumbs up for Winsor accelerator!

[kirov2]

Yay! I got my Mari Winsor accelerator package yesterday, and I've been previewing and sampling the gadget and 4 DVDs. I am not good at formal reviews/breakdowns, but here is some information.

The DVDs are very good, with Mari and 3 background-exercisers, one of whom is the beginner-modifier. The participants are often situated on risers, which makes it easier to see the technique. Mari's cueing is fabulous, without lengthy setups (probably verbalizing 10-20 seconds on average between exercises). All cues seem necessary for proper form, and not one word is wasted. The cueing and camera-shots mesh beautifully.

Superfast Body Blast is the first DVD, over 20 minutes in length, and uses the weighted bar. Exercises include the Pilates hundred, rollups, reverse rollups, single-leg stretch, criss-cross, bicycle, bridges, crunches, saw, etc. There are a few prone exercises including the swan and "swimming." The DVD also includes a bonus feature (learn-the-moves tutorial) where Mari and a demonstrator show proper form for ten different exercises (four of which use the door-attachment). Like most Pilates workouts, there are not tons and tons of reps per exercise. You might do five or ten of one exercise before quickly moving onto the next. Only in a few exercises (such as "running") is as many as 50 reps required.

The next DVD is Quick Start Pilates for Weight Loss which includes two workouts (Cardio Sculpt and Burn & Firm Pilates), and each workout is over 20minutes long. (This DVD also includes the same learn-the-moves tutorial). Cardio Sculpt uses the bar and resistance cord and reminds me a lot of a Supreme Pilates-type workout (includes the hundred, flutter kicks, corkscrew, rollups, bicycling, and others). The other workout (Burn and Frim Pilates) consists of a side-lying leg series (leg circles, pulsing, scissoring, and my favorite which is using the resistance cord on the clam exercise), plus some standing upper-body work (about 7 minutes' worth) using only the hand-weights.

(A third DVD is Absession, which I did not preview, and may not get to, because I find abs-only workouts hard...maybe I will work up to this -- hope so!)

The fourth DVD is Pilates of the Fit and Famous which includes four short workouts (Total Body, Cardio Pilates, Lower Body, and Abs). There is chaptering for the workoutson this DVD (not for the individual exercises), so that you can play any/all of the four workouts in any sequence. Total Body workout uses the bar and resistant cords in traditional Pilates exercises (hundred, double-leg stretch, corkscrew, rollups, running, etc) and is over 12 minutes long. Cardio Pilates is a standing Pilates workout (over 11 minutes in length) that uses no equipment. Lower Body does not use the accelerator and is mostly a side-lying leg series with leg circles, bicycling, hot potato, inner-thigh leg-lifts, Navy Seal crunches, etc. (Lower Body is over 12 minutes long). The Abs workout uses the weighted-bar only (no cords) and includes the hundred, crunches, single- and double-leg stretch. Abs workout is over 11 minutes long.

I really like the Accelerator. The bar itself seems about 10 oz or so on its own (as per my kitchen scale!), and the end-weights are attached to it and are 1 pound each. The cord has plenty of resistance to it, and the pieces are easy to put together. (I did not preview the Absession workout, but the door-attachment is not much used on these DVDs. However, there is printed-material given with more info on this door-attachment).

I've done Pilates workouts with therabands in the past and have usually been disappointed due to lack of variety in the exercises. Not so with the accelerator, which seems very creatively designed and versatile. I also have a Supreme Pilates machine (love Ellen Croft and SP), but I have a mental-block in setting up the SP frame, and so I rarely use my SP. The Accelerator seems like a good alternative to SP in that you can do alot of the same exercises without spending much time clasping and unclasping the SP frame-springs. (However, by the same token, the SP springs have a little more snap to them, which I guess is to be expected). Mari's cueing truly creates seamless-transitions between exercises. No time is wasted in reconfiguring this gadget.

What I like about this method is that it seems to wake up my core. I've been doing lots and lots of lower-body barre-type workouts and have been doing absolutely nothing for my midsection. This accelerator is fun to use for the core because your whole body can be involved in the exercises (for example, stretching the bar overhead and holding it stationary, while your trunk and corded-up legs move in opposition). The bar also provides some needed (for me!) support for crunch-type motions because you can slide the bar up your thighs during the crunch for a little support or hook it behind your hamstrings and use it to assist yourself in pulling up during a crunch. It's a fun and different way of strength-training where you push against resistance (vs. lifting and lifting as with weights).

I'm very happy with my purchase!

[alisoncooks]

I do like the sound of that! Thanks for such a detailed breakdown!