To cut right to the chase, yes, Pilates is considered strength training. Is Pilates good for strength training? Also, yes.
While it may look different from other popular strength training exercises such as push-ups, squats, and lunges, Pilates increases muscle strength and tone instead of building bulky stiff muscle. Pilates can also improve your flexibility, endurance, and joint stability.
Pilates on its own is considered a full-body exercise routine that will emphasize your range of motion, target the use of different muscle groups from your upper body to the core muscles down to the abdominal muscles, and regulate your breathing patterns.
Joseph Pilates, an Austrian Physical Trainer, is credited with inventing the Pilates regimen and philosophy in the 1920s when was a nurse in an English internment camp for his nationality. With limited resources and space, Joseph Pilates developed the Pilates Method of Body Conditioning we know today and led the first Pilates classes for thousands of inmates.
Just as Joseph Pilates did years ago, modern-day Pilates instructors guide people through Pilates exercises, crafting personalized Pilates workouts that will push them closer to their fitness goals.
Pilates for Core Strength
If one of your fitness goals is to have and maintain a strong core, choose from many core-strengthening low-impact exercises.
For all these moves, you should be lying face up on a thick gym mat.
- Leg circles
- Single leg stretches
- Pilates One Hundred (Lift your outstretched arms 100 times in increments of 10 as your legs are up toward the ceiling but lowered halfway at an angle.)
- Criss-cross (With your bent arms behind your raised head, bring your elbows to the opposite knee.)
- Double leg stretches
- Pendulum (Let your raised knees fall naturally side to side.)
- Scissor Kicks
- Roll Ups
- Teaser (Create a V shape with your torso and legs.)
In addition to core strength, benefits of Pilates include
- Pain Relief
- Better Posture, Balance, and Coordination
- Improved Flexibility, Endurance, and Stability
- Breath Control
- Increased Body and Spatial Awareness
- Positive Mental Health and Well-being
- Boost Joint Movement and Energy
- Restful Sleep
How Long Will It Be Until I See Results?
Results and timing will vary based on several factors: your specific goals, fitness level, consistent routine and eating habits.
If you stick to weekly classes or sessions, your instructor can measure your progress and give you a better idea of what success looks like.
ProPilates classes are designed to reshape your figure and strengthen your body in just 8 weeks (about 2 months) when you take classes 3 times a week. Each class is an hour long.
Along with significant diet changes, doctors typically recommend 150 minutes (about 2 and a half hours) a week of moderate to intensive levels of exercise to lose weight quickly. If you take Pilates classes at ProPilates, you will far exceed this recommended minimum.
You may see and feel transformative results from Pilates even sooner when pairing them with weight training and Low Impact Cardio Workout. As someone lifts weights, they will increase and expand muscle size. Pilates will help define the tone or tension of these larger muscles.
Pilates and strength training go hand in hand. Pilates will enhance your strength training and complement your cardio and resistance training.
Sign Up at ProPilates Today
At ProPilates, we offer a Pilates-based and endermologie weight loss program that will fine-tune the muscles throughout your entire body to burn more calories.
Our instructors will teach you how to balance your nervous system and provide a specialized nutrition outline for you to follow. Our Endermologie Anti Cellulite Treatment will eliminate stubborn localized fat and tighten your skin.
Read our client success stories as people from all walks of life have achieved the body and well-being of their dreams.
Pilates is more than a class or singular exercise. Pilates is a long-lasting lifestyle and community that was born from overcoming adversity.
