I bought this after back problems left me unable to do my usual gym/running for about 6 months. I knew I needed to strengthen my core in order to be able to get back to my workouts. This DVD is about identifying and tightening the core muscles rather than actually doing many exercises to work them so I would say this is for someone totally new to Pilates who has back pain and needs to know how to hold themselves and have good posture in order to improve their general back condition and mobility. It isn't for someone who wants to really work on core strength. As the presenter says at the end, once you are familiar with the exercises in this DVD, you can move onto the next DVD in the series which includes some exercises to work the core. That said, if you do want to know the very basics of Pilates, I thought the presenter was excellent, very clear and thorough.