The Pilates Body: The Ultimate At-Home Guide to Strengthening, Lengthening and Toning Your Body- Without Machines
The Pilates® method may be today’s hottest exercise, but it has been endorsed by physicians for almost a century. Originally developed by Joseph H. Pilates to help strengthen and condition muscles, Pilates is the ultimate mind-body exercise for anyone who wants to tone, streamline, and realign their body without the bulked-up results of more conventional workout methods.
Now, in The Pilates® Body, author Brooke Siler–one of the most sought-after personal trainers in the country and owner of New York’s top studio for Pilates training, re:AB–provides a complete, easy-to follow program of Pilates exercises that can be done anywhere, anytime, and without machines.
With step-by-step instructions, Siler guides the reader through the complete circuit of mat exercises, each of which is clearly illustrated by photographs, line drawings, and unique visualization exercises. With Pilates you will not only streamline your figure–you will dramatically improve your posture, flexibility, and balance, and enhance your physical and emotional well-being. The Pilates Body shows you how.
One of the best Pilates books I have read!
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book, but I also recommend:
RECORD YOURSELF READING OUT LOUD THE DIRECTIONS so that you do not have to try to read while holding the book!!
This improved my natural standing posture within about 2/3 days, which was so much faster than yoga did, but I think both have benefits.
I would not waste my time with any other books, except maybe Your Ultimate Pilates Body Challenge & Pilates: Body in Motion. There are a lot of bad pilates books out there.
The modifications for beginner are super helpful!
I love that the author does not bring politics into it and even says she chose the models for the work they have put into it. No picturing plus size models just to promote an agenda.
The only (minor) downside: I've broken the spine from using it so much :)
Much recommended. I'm not sure this could be made better, but it would be great for it to be republished, maybe in a "loose leaf" format.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning the correct way to do Pilates
The material is clearly written with photos to explicate movements. The size of the book is efficient for taking along. Most highly recommended.
--S.D.
I was suffering from excruciating lower-back and sciatica pain when I gave the exercises in "The Pilates Body" a try. My pain was so bad that getting out of bed and walking to the bathroom in the morning was a living hell. I had been very physically active (bodybuilding & running) before those pains hit. I figured my quality of life was history, felt like a pathetic slug.
A buddy recommended that I try Pilates, so I got this book. It felt silly following a book that appears to be written for women, but it worked. The exercises are so easy. I only had to do them for about 10-15 minutes every few days. My pains rapidly diminished until they went away entirely. I even got back in the gym, and on the trails, and hitting it harder than ever. I made only one modification to the exercises because of my sciatica pain when I first started out: I kept my knees bent a little bit, and then I could do the exercises OK. Now I have no pain at all. Thanks Brooke Siler! You rock!