Pilates Wednesday

Yesterday's workout with Jillian gave me some sore muscles today, but I wasn't complaining. I was actually much less sore than I had expected based on the intensity of that workout, which I suppose is a good sign that I'm still in reasonable shape, even though I haven't exercised as much as I normally do this past month. Sweet.

My abs were particularly sore, so to counteract that, I did my favorite Pilates workout today, Cardio Pilates with Ana Caban. I was introduced to this DVD by my sister's mother-in-law several years ago and it has remained one of my favorites--perhaps my absolute favorite. Ana takes you through a 30-minute series of easy-to-follow Pilates moves that really work your core (of course), as well as some moves focusing more on the legs and glutes. After the Pilates segment is a 15-minute Cardio segment that features a very basic, uncomplicated cardio routine of repeating moves to get your heart rate up a bit.

I did the full Pilates segment today and skipped the cardio portion in favor of doing a 10-minute workout that came in my Special K cereal a few months ago. It's meant to tone your abs but really it's just a great cardio workout that moves very quickly without a lot of fancy steps or dance moves. (We all know how I feel about those!) In between the two DVDs, I did 20 pushups to get rid of some of the soreness in my arms.

After 40 minutes of Pilates and intense cardio, I felt terrific. I topped it all off with a light salad and some cottage cheese for dinner. I think I'll sleep well tonight!