Is Pilates as Good as Everyone Says? (Published 2022) (2024)

FAQs

Is Pilates as Good as Everyone Says? (Published 2022)? ›

Scientific research does support an array of impressive health benefits for Pilates. Studies suggest it may help to improve muscle endurance and flexibility, reduce chronic pain and lessen anxiety and depression.

Studies suggest that Pilates can help people who are trying to lose weight. Researchers analyzed data from 11 studies involving nearly 400 people. They found that Pilates lowers body weight, body mass index, and body fat percentage in overweight or obese people.

Enter Pilates – a low-impact exercise that boosts balance, flexibility, and core strength and aids in injury recovery. It's no wonder that Pilates topped the charts as the most popular ClassPass workout of 2023, with booking reservations skyrocketing by 92% from the previous year.

Experts believe Pilates is likely to become increasingly popular as a cross-training tool. “We see more athletes, performers and weekend warriors looking for Pilates as a cross-training method to complement their other fitness activities,” say Katherine and Kimberly Corp.

Because it helps build strength and flexibility, Wonesh says Pilates is a great way to add some functional variety into your workout routine. "Whether you're trying to get in shape or just improve your overall health, there's really no one type of exercise that can get you there," explains Wonesh.

Although Pilates exercises have been utilized for almost ninety years there is little empirical research to definitively support the claims made by early practitioners. There is cautious support for the effectiveness of Pilates in improving flexibility, abdominal and lumbo-pelvic stability and muscular activity.

In a systematic review of multiple studies published over the years, it was found that Pilates was an effective rehabilitative form of exercise for those struggling with different kinds of body pain, such as multiple sclerosis, non-structural scoliosis, hypertension, and chronic neck pain.

It's low impact. The low impact element of Pilates actually means that it works well for people who do a lot of sport that creates impact on their joints, such as running. If you're a runner, having a strong and stabilised core will help you run faster or longer and with fewer injuries.

Pilates improves overall mobility. Mobility is also a trending word these days (more on that in a later post). Generally, mobility is your ability to move through functional activities with ease. Pilates improves spinal mobility by tapping into the deep core muscles that help control individual segments of the spine.

If you simply want to keep your body moving and feeling healthy, either is good. If your definition of fit involves lifting heavy weights and muscle hypertrophy, weight training will be better for reaching these goals. If mobility and improved functionality and core strength is a bigger aim, Pilates is better.

What are the long term effects of Pilates? ›

increased muscle strength and tone, particularly of your abdominal muscles, lower back, hips and buttocks (the 'core muscles' of your body) balanced muscular strength on both sides of your body. enhanced muscular control of your back and limbs. improved stabilisation of your spine.

As compared to other forms of fitness training where instructors can be certified via a weekend course, without a practical exam, Pilates certification courses require much more effort, time and money. This is one of the key reasons why Pilates classes are more expensive than most group fitness classes.

You begin to put the movements or notes together in ways that make them more challenging. You may learn to execute more turns or hold notes longer but the fundamentals remain the same, therefore the process doesn't get easier you just get better.

It's possible to strengthen, improve flexibility, and sculpt with Pilates—but as we'll soon see, it's typically not enough on its own to achieve significant muscle gains. At any rate, Pilates helps to maintain muscle since it's a form of resistance training, Aditi notes.

This indicates that even one session a week of Pilates can help individuals improve their overall physical fitness. However, it is essential to note that international health recommendations suggest participating in at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week to maintain good health.

Pilates is a form of strength training, but it doesn't look like some of the typical strength training exercises you might be familiar with. Pilates focuses more on improving muscle tone than building muscles, but the result is similar: greater stability and endurance.

Studies have shown that a strong core achieved through Pilates resonates throughout the entire body, giving you long, lean, stabilizing muscles—while also trimming that waistline and sculpting your abs.

“Pilates is complete coordination of body, mind and spirit.” Pilates is not just about great posture and a rock-hard core. It is more than just a physical exercise, and can radically enhance mental, emotional and spiritual well being too.

Pilates mainly emphasizes strength, flexibility, and control, but it may not be enough to improve cardiovascular fitness. If you're looking to enhance your cardiovascular health, it's recommended to add other aerobic exercises to your Pilates routine.

While high-quality research on the effectiveness of Pilates has been limited in the past ¹⁰, over the past 6-7 years a growing body of scientific literature has started to provide evidence that Pilates can reduce pain, improve functional movement, improve posture, fine-tune trunk flexibility and lower limb muscle pain, ...