Darcey Bussel - Pilates For Life (DVD)

...I'd read a little about Darcey Bussell's DVD and from the reviews it seemed to be a good one. When I discovered that my friend had it, I asked very sweetly and she agreed to lend it to me so that I could see if it was _the one_ and worth buying for myself.

Darcey Bussell was a principal ballerina with The Royal Ballet until her retirement in June 2007. In the introduction to her DVD she says:_ "I have been doing [Pilates] enthusiastically ...
...from the picture provided, shows Darcey Bussell sitting upright. The text at the bottom says 'A practical introduction to the core programme'.
The DVD itself is bright orange, very vibrant! There is also an introduction booklet, which gives a more detailed summary of what Pilates is, why Darcey recommends it and some basic advice.

I would advise watching the DVD through once before you attempt any of the exercises, just so you ... more

The Pilates exercise method was developed by Joseph Pilates in the early 1900s and is a method that combines control and calmness with physical strength and movement, focusing on precision and quality of movement over quantity. Breathing is essential to the exercises, as are the principles of centering and control.
Pilates helps to create a balance between strength and flexibility, toning muscles without adding excess bulk. As well as this, Pilates helps to develop correct posture and teaches you how to move more gracefully.
Pilates is generally safe for everybody from early teens onwards, can be done during pregnancy (if approved by a doctor, of course) and has been used for many years by dancers and those undergoing rehabilitation following injury or illness.

I'm an absolute devotee of Pilates, I started doing it on and off a few years ago, but really got into it last year as part of my recovery from a long illness. I do most of my workouts at home using Pilates apparatus such as the Pilates Performer (also known as the Reformer) that provide support and add resistance for a more intense and beneficial workout.
However, I don't have the space in my house to keep my Pilates machine out all the time and although it isn't heavy or difficult to assemble it becomes a chore to pull it out from the porch and into the living room on a daily basis.
So I've been looking for a good floorwork DVD to give me a little variety on the days when I don't feel like lugging the machine out.

I won't go into detail, but I will say that I've tried several DVDs by different 'instructors' and found them lacking in many ways, annoying in others.
I'd read a little about Darcey Bussell's DVD and from the reviews it seemed to be a good one. When I discovered that my friend had it, I asked very sweetly and she agreed to lend it to me so that I could see if it was the one and worth buying for myself.

Darcey Bussell was a principal ballerina with The Royal Ballet until her retirement in June 2007. In the introduction to her DVD she says:_ "I have been doing [Pilates] enthusiastically for the whole of my professional life"_. She also says that Pilates is 'the best way to exercise every muscle in the body without over-developing and creating bulk muscle'.

Appearance
The DVD cover, as you can see from the picture provided, shows Darcey Bussell sitting upright. The text at the bottom says 'A practical introduction to the core programme'.
The DVD itself is bright orange, very vibrant! There is also an introduction booklet, which gives a more detailed summary of what Pilates is, why Darcey recommends it and some basic advice.

I would advise watching the DVD through once before you attempt any of the exercises, just so you get a feel for it and have some idea of what you're about to do. I sat down with a cup of coffee and a choccie biscuit to do that!

Before beginning, it's important to note that you shouldn't use this DVD if you have any injuries (I find this especially important as Darcey doesn't give any guidelines for which exercises should be avoided if you have a knee or back injury, for example) and that if a movement causes you pain you should stop immediately.
You should also do Pilates on an empty stomach (and with an empty bladder!) as the exercises involve movements that will be uncomfortable if you've just eaten.

The DVD
The DVD begins with the usual advice, some of which I've already outlined above. You may want to get your glasses out for that because the writing is tiny! It then proceeds to the menu screen, showing six sections:

• Introduction
• Warm Up
• Key Starter Points
• Main Programme
• Mini Programme
• Warm Down

Introduction
The introduction is just over 3 minutes long, and is basically Darcey explaining why she is enthusiastic about Pilates - a lot of what she says is already explained in the booklet that comes with the DVD.
She explains the order of the DVD and why each section is important or beneficial.Warm Up
The warm up exercises take place on a beautiful beach. I'm not sure why, probably to provide a little relaxed ambience.
This section is 15 minutes long and should not be skipped! If you don't warm up properly before beginning the workout then you could do more damage than good.
You may feel, as I did, that the workout is a little slow, but it's actually very effective.
For each exercise, Darcey talks you through the position and movement of your body, tells you how many repetitions you should do and then explains how the movement is helping to warm up your body. The rest of the time, all you can hear is some lovely calming classical music.
I won't talk you through the warm up exercises, as they're mostly fairly simple stretches.

Key Starter Points
This 3-minute section is essential viewing as well, and show you how to position your body correctly for the exercises.
Darcey shows you how to find your core muscles, a neutral spine position, the correct neck position, shoulder stabilization (how to move your arms correctly) and how to correctly turn your legs out.
She also shows you the incorrect positions, so you really know when you're doing it right.
It's well worth going through this section a couple of times to be sure you've got the hang of it all, as these are fundamental to the Pilates exercises you'll be doing in a couple of minutes.

Main Programme
The main exercise programme has its own menu screen, where you can choose to play the workout straight through or go section-by-section. This is great if you only want to concentrate on one area, or if you want to mix-and-match or miss out certain sections altogether.
The sections of the main programme are:

* Abdominals
This 10-minute section obviously concentrates on your abdominals, although it's worth noting that many Pilates exercises work more than one muscle group at a time, which is what makes it such an effective method. The exercises in this section are fairly simple and Darcey's instructions are very clear.

* Stretching & Sitting
Again, this is a fairly self-explanatory section, focusing on stretching out muscles and increasing flexibility as well as muscle tone. The section lasts about 10 minutes and is without a doubt my favourite section of the DVD, as I just love stretching!

* Four-Point Kneeling
This section is only about 6 minutes long, and if stretching is my favourite then this has to be next in line. The exercises involve being on all fours on the floor, lifting limbs so that you have to balance as well as concentrating on the movement of your limbs - great for developing core strength and stability. Some of these exercises can be difficult, but they're really worth it!

* Prone
Another 10-minute section with a bit of a cryptic name. The first exercise is called 'the sphinx' and is almost yoga-like, involving moving from all fours to a prone position and rolling up. It's very difficult to describe, much easier to watch and follow Darcey's example.
Some of the exercises from this point on requite a cushion or folded towel, just to keep your position correct when you're doing some of the exercises. This section also includes a very easy and relaxing exercise to tone the glutes whilst lying face-down on the floor.

* Balancing & Lifting
This is probably my least favourite section as it involves lying on your side, which I find horribly uncomfortable for a number of reasons. However, the exercises are very effective and worth persevering with until you get the hang of them. After nearly 20 minutes of that, I'm more than ready to stand up for the arm exercises!

* Arms
I was surprised to find that there are only four arm exercises on the DVD. They are all done standing up and are deceptively simple. It looks very easy to stand still whilst pushing your arms out behind you and beating them up and down, but it takes great control of your core muscles to actually stay still!

Mini Programme
This is a short workout (15 minutes) for days when you either don't have the time or simply don't want to do the full hour of the main programme. You really should work through the warm up first, though, just so you don't do any damage. Comprised of exercises from the main programme, such as leg raises, the sphinx and figure of eights, it provides a complete Pilates workout and I find it quite satisfying.

Warm Down
This is just 5 minutes of gentle stretching as a nice cool down after your workout - it doesn't need more explanation than that!

Darcey's voice is controlled throughout, and very calming. With each new exercise, she simply talks you through the position and movement of your body, tells you how many repetitions you should do and then explains what the exercise is doing for you - lengthening your hamstrings, toning your glutes, etc. The classical music is always in the background and makes the workout so calming, even in the middle of a tough stretch!
I really like the fact that she doesn't talk constantly, as I find it terribly distracting and annoying when the instructor on a DVD chatters away with encouragement. I usually find myself wondering just how they know that I'm 'doing great!' and only have 'five more reps to go!'.

Overall, I hope you can tell, I was impressed by this DVD. I found it calming and it's a routine that I really enjoy doing several times a week.
However, I did find Darcey's commentary and advice a little lacking at times. She explains the movements very well, but rarely reminds you to keep certain other parts of your body still and relaxed. Another thing that bothered me slightly is that throughout the DVD she tells you to breathe normally. One of the major focuses of the Pilates method is breathing, and in all my experience with Pilates I've been taught that you should breathe in a certain way. I suppose the absence of this on the DVD could be in order not to overwhelm the viewer with too much - it's usually enough coordinating the movements without worrying about breathing differently as well! For those with more experience in Pilates, you'll probably find that you're moving and breathing correctly in any case.

Beginners should work through the programme three times a week, for an hour each time.
Darcey warns that you may find it frustrating that the exercises are slow and you won't sweat and feel the burn as you would at the gym. Her advice (and mine as well) is to stick with it because you will see the improvement in just a short time. Depending on your level of fitness, you may not feel as though you've done anything worthwhile after your first session with this DVD…in the morning it may be a different story, though! Even though I do Pilates regularly, the morning after I first tried this DVD I really felt it in my abs.
In time, you'll feel your muscles becoming more toned and see such a difference in your body - not just its shape but also the way you hold yourself. I think that, like me, once you start to feel and see the difference Pilates is making, your confidence will increase as well.
I'll go a little further than Darcey and say that you may also become terribly frustrated because exercises that she does effortlessly are very difficult (or even impossible) for you. Just keep in mind that this is normal - she's a trained ballet dancer who's been doing this for most of her life. Trust me, when I first started Pilates I'd get discouraged because I couldn't do the things the instructor was doing onscreen, but it didn't take long before I was doing them. The sense of achievement when you manage something that you couldn't do a month ago is fantastic, well worth the effort of practising a little each day!

All in all, this has turned out to be the one and after returning it to my friend I rushed to Amazon to secure myself a copy for just £7.97 

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