Pilates for Life: Butt and Hips

Pilates for Life Butt & Hips is a Pilates workout focused on the lower body. Instructor Amy Brown begins with Pilates breathing; remaining in a reclined position, she leads you through hip lifts, a hamstring stretch, and leg circles. Moving on to a side position, she does a series of moves that are somewhat similar to the popular Winsor Buns & Thighs video: there is a front leg extension and several variations of clamshells (opening and closing the bent legs). Heel beats are performed before transitioning to the other side. The final part of the workout is done on all fours, and this section reminded me of the butt segment from Crunch Pick Your Spot Pilates. Here, Amy leads you through several extended leg moves, including leg circles, heel lifts, and knee ins. The workout concludes with a brief neck stretch (very nice!).

Overall, this is a good lower body Pilates workout that I would rate at an experienced beginner or low intermediate level. Although the case claims that this DVD offers two workouts, Beginner and Intermediate, there is really only one: the "Beginner" workout is simply Amy's assistant Liza showing beginning modifications (which she does not do very often here). Similarly, the "Overview" option takes you to the same workout but with added instructions appearing on screen. Finally, although there is a stability ball pictured on the DVD cover, no ball is used for this workout.