Winsor Pilates REVIEW – Hands-On with Slimming Pilates from WinsorSlim.com
You’ve probably noticed I’ve posted a lot about Mari Winsor Slimming Pilates from WinsorSlim.com lately. Well I bit the bullet and purchased the product right after the holidays! I’ve now worked out with Mari for 3 weeks. I figured it was time for me to talk about my own personal experiences with it.
If you’re a regular visitor to this site, you know I like saving money. Not just because it’s nice to get things at a discount, but also because my husband and I just don’t have that much money to spend. I’ve been doing Pilates for a while now and thought it would be great to be able to do some workouts at home. Well, that idea evaporated the second I saw the prices for a new Reformer or Cadillac…$1000…$1500…$3000? It was while searching for an alternative that I found Mari Winsor Pilates and the Slimming Pilates system.
WHAT IS MARI WINSOR SLIMMING PILATES?
The site WinsorSlim.com describes the Slimming Pilates system as a new Pilates workout that combines traditional muscle-defining sculpting with figure-slimming cardio. It sounded interesting, but that’s why the marketing guys get paid the big bucks. The real attraction for me at first was the price: $59.90 was a lot more attractive than $1500. Granted with shipping the total jumps to $74.85, but again: that’s a lot more attractive than $1500. Still, my fear was that I would get stuck with some cheap piece of crap that wouldn’t help me do the Pilates exercises I was used to from my classes at the Y. Turns out, I was wrong.
The Winsor Slimming Pilates system arrived in a slim box containing the following items neatly packed:
- The Accelerator system: a short bar, two hand weights, and two clip-on handles with a resistance cord
- A case with 3 DVDs: Superfast Body Blast, ABsession, and a Quick Start weight loss program
- A pamphlet called Mari Winsor’s Rapid Results Weight Loss Plan
- And a tape measure (good for checking how things are progressing)
There were also several bonus items:
- A door attachment for the resistance cord
- A wall chart with information on different workouts that can be done with the door attachment
- Pilates of the Fit & Famous workout DVD
- Mari Winsor’s On-The-Go Eating Guide
- And information on getting a free 30-day trial of the VIP access to Mari Winsor’s Web Club
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The equipment is sturdy and well made, not the cheap crap I feared I would be getting. The short bar and hand weights are durable coated metal wrapped in a foam grip. The diameter is big enough that you can really get a firm grip during a workout and the foam grips are comfortable and easy to hold even with sweaty hands (though I’m curious how they’ll hold up over repeated workouts). The clip-on handles and resistance cord have similarly robust construction with the same foam grips attached by strong fabric straps to metal clips (in the case of the handles) and metal rings (in the case of the resistance cord). In addition, the resistance cord has a really nice fabric covering. There are also four metal caps used to attach the resistance cord to the short bar and hand weights. Finally, the bonus door attachment was made with the same strong fabric straps as the clip-on handles. Overall I was impressed, though it would’ve been nice if they’d included a mat. I recommend using a standard yoga mat – I have several.
FIRST WORKOUT
My abs are how you say? Not good. So for my first workout I decided to try the ABsession DVD. It starts like you’d expect with a basic imprinting routine and then on to some hundreds. After that, we got to the main event and busted out the Accelerator. A few minutes after looping my feet through the handles for the first time and I forgot all about Reformers and Cadillacs. There were also some fun exercises involving the door attachment. The different moves were simple enough, involving different ways of bending your legs to create resistance with the resistance cord, but I was sweating just as much as I do at my classes at the Y. 20 minutes later it was all over and I could barely get off my butt to hit the ‘power’ button on the remote.
I needed a day of rest before my next workout. This time I chose the bonus DVD: Pilates of the Fit & Famous. I figured if it’s good enough for Charlize Theron, it’s good enough for me. (I don’t know if Ms. Theron actually does any Mari Winsor workouts, but she’s been my nemesis since I first saw The Cider House Rules.) You get four different workouts to choose from. Since my abs were still screaming I decided to go with the Cardio workout. The Accelerator is used again, though this time the workout was less focused on the abs and involved more of a full-body routine. There’s plenty of variety to keep things interesting and, to keep the heart-rate up, the progression from one exercise to the next is pretty quick. By the end I was dripping with sweat yet again (and swearing a bit according to my husband). What surprised me most about this workout was how much fun it was. There were three other workouts on the DVD, but I ended up just going through the cardio workout a second time.
THIRD WORKOUT
A few days later I decided to skip the DVDs and just use the door attachment since it was so much fun. This is where the bonus wall chart comes in handy since it shows how to do all the door attachment exercises from the ABsession DVD. Let me start first by saying you should really make sure to follow the instructions when using the door attachment or you might end up sporting a bruise on your shoulder like mine (though apparently the other people in the room will find this entertaining). This wasn’t Mari Winsor’s fault, though, I just forgot to make sure the door was fully closed. The door attachment exercise routines mostly involve lying on your back and pulling against the resistance of the cord with your legs. While I felt like I got an ok workout, it was definitely slower having to check the wall chart before each new routine. I’m sure this process would be faster once I learned all the moves, but I found I missed the DVD workouts. The rest of you may feel differently, though, since being able to quickly check the wall chart may be faster than having to grab the dvd, open the case, find out you’re husband didn’t put the disc back when he sat down to watch Commando for the 500th time, finally find your DVD under the couch, pop it into the player, etc.
OVERALL FEELING ABOUT THE VIDEOS
The workout DVDs are effective and, at first, exhausting! They got easier with my second and third times through and I felt like they went by quicker. Mari Winsor is a great on-screen coach. You can tell she’s been doing this for years and her experience pays off. She is good at explaining the proper position and breathing for each move, but doesn’t chatter on and on or act over-hyped like other video trainers I’ve used. The background music is OK – it keeps the energy level up. The videos themselves are well-made with helpful menus and fit the good quality of the Accelerator and other materials. While I can only hope to look like the models in the videos, they do a great job demonstrating the full routines and the all-important scaled-down versions for beginners.
WINSOR PILATES SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Well, as you can probably tell I really love Mari Winsor’s Slimming Pilates. Not only does the Accelerator bar let me get the same great workout I’m used to from my classes at the Y, but also some amazing cardio workouts that I was surprised to find in pilates exercises. I know this is going to have me looking forward to putting on a swimsuit for a change. The Accelerator is compact enough that I can bring it with me on vacation or on our trips back home for the holidays. And the best part is it all costs over $1000 less than any other Pilates equipment on the market. Once you see the workouts, you’ll realize as I did that this is real pilates with the bonus of added cardio.
I have to say the Winsor Pilates Slimming System is one of the select products I’m really excited to recommend. It is working for me and is a good exercise solution for experienced pilates fans and newcomers alike looking to lose weight and get fit this year. Highly recommended!
Winsor Slimming Pilates is sold exclusively at WinsorSlim.com.
p.s. Photos coming soon!
p.p.s. Questions about Mari Winsor Slimming Pilates? I’ll try to answer it if I can just post below.
Fitness
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discount, exercise, infomercial, mari winsor, marisa tomei, pilates, pilates equipment, review, weight loss, winsor pilates, workout
Your post is a good way to shed weight together. Every person should motivate the other. Also, it is always better to have a partner with a simlar weight loss goal a person to motivate you in any weight loss plan to do. Encouraging each other is better and if you have a partner you are less likely to let that friend down.
Thanks for the good review. How does the door handle attach to a door? Does it attach to the doorknob, and if it does, does the knob have to be round, or do you think a lever knob would work? Thanks for any help with this info.
Hi Caroline. Assuming the current Mari Window Slimming Pilates package is the same that I got, the door knob attachment should work fine with a lever door.
Good luck! I’m still going strong and I feel great!
Thank you for responding so quickly, Kate! I have had good results with pilates, especially using a Reformer, so I’m excited to have something like that at home, but at a greatly reduced price!
I’m so glad to read that you are still doing it, which means it hasn’t gotten boring. That can be a problem with some DVD programs. Keep up the good work!
i placed an order on line with these jerks, they advertised a free 30 supply of their supplement Lifemax, well to my surprise i get a bill for 29.95, because they convert the order to a 60day supply and you are suppose to know to read the fine print as to what meaning #3 means in another paragraph. They are dirty, lowdown scammers!
My thirteen daughter really wants this product. I have never been to your site before and I am impressed with your review. However, you do a lot of linking to the Winsor Pilates site, which leads me to believe you are some how marketing this product for them…..I may be wrong, since I am not familiar with your site, which we stumbled upon tonight….Your thoughts please!!
Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you!
Hi Susan. I’m sorry to hear about your lousy experience. I don’t recall the Lifemax offer when I ordered my set. One thing that occured to me, though, is that many places that have offers like this give you 30 days free if you sign up for their program and then they’ll just start charging you for the next 30 days unless you call to cancel. Is that possibly what happened?
Hi Judy. I do make a small commission if you order your Mary Windor Slimming Pilates set through my sight, but my review was completely based on my own experiences with the kit without any input from Mary Winsor. I think you can see from the comments here that there are many other people who have had good experiences, but I would encourage you to check out reviews on other sites, too. Good luck and please let me know if you have any more questions!
watch out ordering this from the 800 phone number given in the TV ad. The Accelerator/Pilates DVD set itself sounds very effective (This evening I ordered it, and IT ALONE, with GREAT DIFFICULTY) but you order TOTALLY from a recorded voice (no way to reach a live human) and you risk paying for “extras” that you don’t want and didn’t want to order–the recording continually insists that you MUST accept a gift of free junk (that you don’t want) so they can keep charging your credit card every month for more junk you don’t want. Almost impossible to get them to accept your “NO!” If my order comes exactly as ordered, I will gladly come here and give them a favorable review but I am uneasy about this just yet. Based on other complaints of this nature, the phone order site may be running a scam.. Too bad–the product looks like a fine idea and I am enthusiastic about the program itself.
Kate, I wish I had found your site before I ordered this. I wonder if you could get through to Mari Winsor and warn her what is going on and how it could damage her fine reputation–I bet she doesn’t know the 800 fulfillment company is trying to pull this kind of thing on HER customers. I find it infuriating and too close to being dishonest for my peace of mind. It’s very disappointing to see Mari Winsor’s name being sullied this way.
Hi Elisa. Thanks for the information on your order. Please let us know how it arrives. I’ve been forwarding along any of the complaints I receive, but I don’t have any real connection with Mari Winsor. I do find it frustrating to see the reputation of such a great product (IMO) being harmed by a difficult ordering process.
OK, Gang–GO FOR IT! Kate’s right–this is a truly great product!! I was very concerned about my phone order at the 800 number as I they kept trying to add on stuff “for a free trial period” (Yeah, right–and then get charged for it and not be able to get it turned off if it is like most of these offers.) Also, I was NEVER given a total then of what this was going to cost me (see my earlier comment) All in all a very upsetting experience. Well, the package arrived today and was exactly as they promise on TV. And it was also the exact price they quote on the TV infomercial. (And didnt contain any of the “junk” offers I didnt want.)
The DVD’s are excellent and so are all the other parts of this set. I ran through a couple of the exercise segments. I am 15 pounds overweight (all of it in my midsection) and also out of shape but I was able to find plenty of exercises I could do in a slightly modified form until I make some progress and limber up. (even the very out-of-shape can find a “a starting place” using this program.) So I had fun and felt like I had “worked my bod.” I can tell it is going to be effective if I just keep at it.
Mari’s directions are crystal clear as are the demonstrations, and anyone who does this faithfully WILL lose pounds and inches. My conclusion from viewing all the DVD’s and using the gear is that all components of this kit are the high quality you would expect from someone with Mari’s reputation.
Wow, Elisa. Thanks for letting us know how your order worked out! I’m glad everything showed up as expected and good luck with your workouts. I really can’t believe how much better I feel since I got started with Mari Winsor’s workouts.