The end of the Pilates by Izzy 2026 is finally here. Bringing the most challenging workouts to finish off this 25 day journey, both mind and body will be tested in these final workouts. You can find the challenge's playlist in this this link, now with all 25 workouts uploaded.
You can read my review of all the previous days in these links:
- Review for Days 1 to 5
- Review for Days 6 to 10
- Review for Days 11 to 15
- Review for Days 16 to 20
- 2025 25 Day Challenge review
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Day 21: 30 Minutes Full Body
Equipment required: Light dumbbells and a yoga block. Izzy uses 2 kg (5 pounds) weights, I use 1 kg (3 pounds) weights. I used a thick book to substitute the yoga block.
This workout starts with a a different approach to core work: using both the dumbbells and the block to create more resistance for modified Pilates roll ups. The roll up can be a tricky movement if you're not used to it, though Izzy build ups to it layer by layer. Using the block to engage the lower core and the weights is a creative combination, perfect for both aiding the movement and adding more resistance at the same time.
The standing sequence in this workout is separated into two unilateral segments with a short squat transition between sides. Starting with one heel over the block and one heel elevated, Izzy adds squats and upper body movements using the dumbbells, challenging the stability of the block elevated foot with every rep. Having the other heel lifted does feel awkward, but the constant movement forces you to focus on the correct weight placement. Transitioning with the short squat flow, both heels are placed on the block to target the quads.
A plank sequence is the finisher for this workout, moving quickly from downward dog to crouches with plank up and downs over the block at the end. Sweat was dropping over my block during this sequence, but I managed to complete it without dropping once. My shoulders and upper back felt pretty sore after this workout.
Day 22: 20 Minutes Upper Body
Equipment required: Pilates ball and optional wrist weights. I use a round plushie as a substitute for the Pilates ball, I didn't use wrist weights.
This short workout consists of two unilateral prayer pushup sets and a prone position sequence in between. For the prayer pushups, the ball is placed underneath the palm of one hand whilst the working side hard is placed flat on the hand. During the push motion, the ball is rolled to the front of the mat and back in order to engage the back muscles. Extending the hand to roll the ball made me feel like a cat playing with a yarn ball, though my triceps were feeling the burn.
The prone flow of this workout was pretty similar to Day 10, this time using the ball for connecting better with the upper body moves. My favorite exercise of this workout was passing the ball from one arm to the other in prone position, my back definitely needed that nice lateral stretch.
Day 23: 40 Minutes Full Body
Equipment required: Light weights. Izzy uses 1 kg (around 5 pounds) dumbbells, I use 1 kg (around 3 pounds) dumbbells.
Though labelled as intermediate, this was by far, the hardest workout of the challenge. Starting the core sequence with two dumbbells, the legs are immediately placed on tabletop position along the initial chest lifts. The next layers include double leg lowers, motioning the dumbbells from the legs to overhead for extra resistance. I struggled to engage my entire core with the constant movement in this sequence, barely managing to finish the sequence without dropping.
The second flow was deceivingly simple: single leg lift lying over one forearm. The layers kept coming and coming, a curtsy knee movement, a fire hydrant lift and a transition to a three legged downward dog. Things started to get really difficult with the addition of a knee drive after the downward dog, followed by a kick. It got even worse with a side plank whilst doing the kick, only having one foot and the forearm on the mat, all of this with the dumbbell on the other hand. At this point I could not keep up and just stared at Izzy on the screen, gracefully doing this sequence as if it was nothing. The saddest part was that I was somehow supposed to do the same movements on the other side of my body.
Feeling defeated, I wasn't too keen on doing the rest of the workout. Nevertheless, I convinced myself and continued with the unilateral standing sequence. This flow, combining lunge variations with a knee drive along with upper body movements with the dumbbells, felt like child's play compared to the set before.
I did finish the entire workout, doing the other side of the forearm sequence with basically the same lackluster performance. In retrospective, I should have chosen to stay with the easier layers but I wanted to challenge myself as much as possible. If you want to try this workout, I recommend sticking with just the knee drive and downward down on the first attempt, especially if you struggle with forearm planks.
Day 24: 30 Minutes Glutes
Equipment required: One medium dumbbell and optional ankle weights. Izzy uses a 5 kg (about 10 pounds) dumbbell, I used a 3.5 kg (about 7 pounds) dumbbell. I didn't use ankle weights.
After the tough previous day, this no standing glute workout was a welcome change. Beginning with a quick bridge warm up using the weight, the glutes start to feel the burn faster than normal due to the heavier resistance. The weight is then placed over the hip bone of the working leg to start the unilateral work. The heel elevation of the other leg transitions to a single leg bridge, then adding up a layer of toe taps and leg lower through the elevated leg.
A side lying clamshell sequence with the dumbbell placed over the thigh, targeting the side glute muscles. Due to the heavier weight, the sequence is very effective at activating these muscles, especially with the increased time under tension with the leg in motion. As for the rest of the workout, I noticed my right side seemed weaker than the left, perhaps due to soreness from the previous day.
Day 25 - Full Body Finale
Equipment required: Light dumbbells, a Pilates ball and optional ankle weights. Izzy uses 2 kg (around 5 pounds weights), I use 1 kg (around 3 pounds) weights. I use a round plushie to substitute the Pilates ball, didn't use ankle weights.
The final workout started much like the others, with a slightly modified warmup to stretch the lower body more. Before the first sequence, Izzy asks to reflect on the challenge and observe the strength gained through these 25 days. A core circuit is the first flow, with the ball placed between the thighs and both dumbbells in hand. Starting with chest lifts, layers of movement are added for the lower and upper body, finishing with a double leg stretch with the arms in a lower V press. Double leg movements are still difficult for me, but I did every move with more confidence than ever.
An unilateral four point sequence on the mat came next, a position similar to my dreaded Day 28, this time the ball is placed behind the working knee. Donkey kicks are the first exercise, followed by movements with the working hand holding the dumbbell. Keeping stable with only one knee and one arm on the mat gets hard really fast, especially when moving the rest of the upper body. With the leg still in the donkey kick position, a push up is added to transition to a more dynamic flow. A push up-downward dog combination is the final layer, the working leg in the same donkey kick position gripping the ball. My ball fell during the final layers, I kept going trying to maintain my foot flexed as much as possible.
To transition between sides, a heel elevated squat set came after the four point sequence. Using the ball the elevate the heels, both dumbbells are used to perform upper body exercise while layers are added through the lower body. Knee adduction are the main exercise, targeting the stabilizing muscles quickly. This sequence was harder than I expected, my legs were almost shaking during the final pulses. I didn't perform as well in the other four point sequence as on my left side, my muscles were already tired and my form was not the best by the end.
And when I thought we were finally done, a plank finisher was next to wrap things up. A simple combo of planks-downward dog and a full push up might sound easy, but my wrists were too tired so I decided to do knee pushups instead. I felt bummed for not doing the full pushups, but I managed to complete both this workout and the challenge.
Final thoughts:
These last 25 days have been a challenge both physically and mentally. Showing up every day, despite every obstacle I've encountered this month, has only been thanks to Izzy's amazing programming and teaching style. This final week, especially, has been a rollercoaster of truly hard classes and testing my own limits. Now I know what I need to improve on and where I can push harder, and it's all thanks to trying something truly challenging.
In Izzy's 2025 challenge, I was still new to Pilates and felt clueless about controlling my movements, many times just staring at the screen in awe while Izzy kept performing those hard exercises. This time, I tried as much as I could, striving to keep my best form and connect with my muscles no matter what. I paused, I overcompensated with other muscles and wanted to cry at the screen sometimes, but I kept going. Noticing my own bad form, immediately correcting and keeping up is a noticeable change from my beginner stage.
Compared to the last challenge, the difficulty of the workouts of this program has felt a little a bit inconsistent. The majority of the beginning workouts were labelled as intermediate-advanced, while many of the workouts of the final week have been titled as intermediate and even beginner-intermediate. Some of the intermediate workouts feel harder than the intermediate-advanced videos, making it confusing to assess your own level of performance. I personally place myself at intermediate, but workouts like Day 23 make me question my own skill.
Connecting with my breath pattern and paying more attention to the breathing cues has also helped, especially when it comes to core exercises. Overall, my performance of core exercises has improved a lot, perhaps thanks to using lighter weights and focusing on moving the right muscles.
Working out consecutively for almost 25 days was tough, the soreness sometimes stayed for more than one day but it did wonders for my mental health. Allocating time for the challenge made me plan my schedule better, also motivating me to write these reviews as a personal log for the challenge. Seeing so many people share their experience in the comment section of the videos was also enlightening, motivating me to share my honest experience too.
Challenges might be seen as gimmicks by some, but for myself they’re a way to work towards a goal and notice my strengths and weaknesses. I noticed certain imbalances and bad posture habits during the workouts, so I’ll try to correct them as much as possible in future workouts.
Results:
My core and upper body endurance has certainly improved, I can hold planks for longer and perform ab workouts with better form. My lower body strength seems unchanged, though I've performed quite well in that regard during this challenge. My wrists hurt far less that usual during planks too.
What I liked:
- Excellent teaching style with clear cues
- Follow along workout with instructor doing the workout in real time
- Challenging programming with lots of variety
- Creative use of the Pilates props
- Flexible workout length, allowing time for further exercise or mobility
- No music in the workouts for focus
- Warm up and cool down included in every video
- Minimalist editing and professional video quality, beautiful backgrounds
- Modifications mentioned by instructor during intense sequences
- Emphasis on making the workout to suit your needs, not on pushing harder
- Proper use of fitness and Pilates terms and no buzzwords like toning, burn fat, etc
- No body checking
What I would change:
- Providing a suggested rest day per week
- Making the difficulty of the challenge more consistent (progressively increasing)
- Adding more wrist warm up for selected plank heavy workouts
Do I recommend this challenge?
What's next?
Final words:
I want to thank the amazing Izzy Samuel and her team for providing such quality workouts for free, encouraging people for all over the world to challenge themselves for strength and health. For more Izzy content with extended workouts and exclusive challenges, you can check out her platform Strong by Izzy.
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