The PSC Pilates Jump Board Workout
Any Pilates instructor knows that the one exercise requested over and over again by clients is jumping on the jump board. In fact, I don t think anyone has ever said the word jumping to me in a Pilates studio without smiling. Jumping is fun and weightless and graceful what s not love? To help you with new ideas for this classical prop, Pilates Sports Center has produced The Jump Board Workout, a 50-minute DVD for intermediate and advanced levels. The DVD is essentially comprised of one shot with a woman performing the intermediate exercises in the foreground and a man performing the advanced versions in the background holding hand weights. The instruction is clear and concise, starting with a series of jumps, then Hundreds, another long series of jumps, side-lying jumps (I had never done these before and they are difficult), a hamstring series, and a cool down series that starts with leg and hip stretches using the Magic Circle and ends with Eve s Lunge. The cues are helpful, but certainly geared toward instructors or advanced students. Cues like maintain neutral and keep working from the core obviously assume some previous Pilates experience. I watched the DVD at home and practiced most of the moves later on a Reformer (though I did fewer reps). Without question, this is a tough workout for the entire body, and definitely a solid cardio workout. The DVD offers the option of placing the hands under the buttocks to protect the back, which I recommend. Jumping takes an incredible amount of core strength, especially when done for a long period of time. My lungs and legs were burning at the end of 20 minutes on my own, and I didn t even try using the hand weights! The workout also gave me some great ideas for teaching. This DVD offers some nice variations and additions to the standard jump board routine, and if you can do enough of it to fit some cardio into your workout, all the better. --Pilates Pro Magazine