With swanky studios popping up all over and Pilates outfits all the rage (both in and out of class), you’d be hard-pressed to miss this rapidly rising trend. After skyrocketing in popularity last year, Pilates is in, and there’s no sign of it going anywhere anytime soon.
It’s not surprising that many have rushed to try out the trend, but what is perhaps more surprising is the number of people putting down the barbell and fully converting to Pilates. Take a scroll on TikTok, and you’ll find videos of Muscle Mommy’s asking, ‘Why am I more fit doing Pilates 2x a week than when I did weightlifting?’ crediting Pilates for making them more toned, fit, and muscular than they were doing weight training.
But how true are these claims? What is Pilates good for? And does it actually build muscle? Or is everyone caught up in the magic of the laid-back atmosphere, controlled movements, and focused breathing techniques?
We’re going to deep dive into what Pilates is and uncover the real benefits, including just how it stacks up against strength training. Disclaimer: We aren’t recommending you stop weight training anytime soon. In fact, we’re going to show you how Pilates can actually play a crucial part in supporting your strength and hypertrophy training.
Looking for a Pilates flow or a fire-y Pilates finisher to add to your workout? Download the Gymshark Training App to access our Pilates workout series, with follow-along videos you can do from anywhere.
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What Is Pilates?
Pilates is a form of structured physical activity that has been shown to improve muscle endurance, flexibility, and dynamic balance (Cruz-Ferreira et al., 2011) [1]. It centers around repetitive sequences that focus primarily on strengthening the core. Alongside physical aspects, Pilates helps to cultivate a mind-body awareness achieved by connecting with the breath through each movement. This can help improve muscle activation, reduce stress, and enhance mindfulness to improve mood (study) [2].
Founded by Joseph Pilates during the 1920s, the traditional mat Pilates has evolved into methods such as Wall Pilates and Reformer Pilates, but the guiding principles remain the same: concentration, control, centering, flow, precision, and breathing. These six core tenets are useful to remember during your Pilates practice, and embracing these principles can help to improve your conditioning performance.
What Are The Benefits Of Pilates?
There are many benefits of doing Pilates. These include:
Increased core strength (A 2020 study of 52 women found that those who did Pilates mat exercises for four weeks increased core strength and endurance [3].)
Improved flexibility (A 2012 study found Pilates-based therapy increased flexibility and reduced the degree of non-structural scoliosis in female college students, while a 2016 study found it effective in improving trunk flexion and hip flexion in older women [4, 5].)
Enhanced posture (A 2013 study of 74 women who did Pilates twice a week found it improved frontal alignment of the shoulders and sagittal alignment of the head and pelvis after six months [6].)
Pain reduction (A 2018 systematic review of 23 studies found Pilates to be an effective rehabilitation tool, reducing pain in areas such as the lower back and neck [7].)
Injury Prevention (Pilates is prescribed as an effective method for reducing injury risk in sports, for example, hamstring injury prevention in elite footballers [8].)
Effective for older adults (Much research has been done into the effectiveness of Pilates for older adults, finding this low-impact exercise that places less stress on the joints and body to be successful at strengthening bones and muscles, enhancing mood, and improving balance to reduce risk of falls [9].)
Stress Reduction (A 2019 study of 22 sedentary women found that 60 minutes of Pilates, three times a week for eight weeks found reduced cortisol levels and perceived stress [10].)
What Are The Main Types Of Pilates?
Mat Pilates
Mat Pilates (or floor Pilates) is the most accessible form of Pilates, requiring nothing but yourself and a mat to do the work! Typically, this form of Pilates is the most appealing to beginners as it provides an introduction to the movement system.
During a mat Pilates workout, you will use your own body weight as a resistance to perform a sequence of traditional Pilates exercises that raise the pulse and target the core muscles, legs, and upper body. Through mat Pilates exercises, you will learn to master your muscle control, core stability, and flexibility and connect to your breath. This is the foundation of the Pilates system.
As you master the basics of Pilates, you can progress your workouts by increasing the duration and intensity of your mat work.
Pilates Reformer
Gaining a buzz in the past year or two, you might associate this type of Pilates with the ‘clean girl’ aesthetic: buttery soft elevate leggings and a matcha latte in hand, but reformer Pilates has actually been around for a while, getting its name from “The Reformer,” the apparatus designed by Joseph Pilates during WW1 to help rehabilitate injured soldiers.
Pilates rebound workouts are carried out on a machine that consists of a narrow padded platform on a sliding carriage with handlebars in the front and a headrest, ropes, and pulleys for your hands and feet to perform resistance exercises in the back. The sliding carriage is attached by several springs that can be increased for added resistance.
Once familiar with it, the reformer machine offers a challenging and effective workout for your whole body.
Wall Pilates
Another Pilates trend doing the rounds on TikTok, wall Pilates has gained popularity as an at-home Pilates method (or the ideal hotel room workout). Requiring no specialist equipment and no fancy gym membership, wall Pilates involves doing pilates movements by placing the feet or other body parts against the wall in a similar way to using the foot bar in reformer pilates classes. It’s a bridge between mat Pilates and Pilates reformer.
Users credit wall Pilates for sculpting their core, building their glutes, and reducing back pain. Just like other forms of Pilates, the exercise targets the whole body, with poses such as the bridge pose (where the feet are placed on the wall and the hips lifted up) challenging the core and glutes and standing poses, such as wall push-ups and planks, working the arms and chest.
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Pilates vs Weight Training
A Pilates boom in recent years has seen muscle mommies include Pilates workouts in their training or fully convert into a ‘Pilates Princess.’ But how similar is Pilates to weight training, and does Pilates build muscle?
Firstly, What Is Weight Training?
Weight training is a form of strength training, which refers to exercises done using resistance. It most commonly uses free weights (barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, etc.) or weight machines to build muscle or strength.
The benefits of weight training include:
Increased strength
Improved bone density [11]
Lower risk of injury [12]
Improve athletic performance [13]
Improved heart health
These benefits are true for all ages, but there is ever-growing research into the benefits of weight training in older age, highlighting its importance for preserving bone density, independence, and vitality as well as reducing the risk of osteoporosis and the signs and symptoms of numerous chronic diseases [14]. Weight training is also regarded as the gold standard for building and maintaining muscle mass, making it easy to progressively overload the muscles to continually challenge them and help the muscle fibers repair and grow [15].
Is Pilates Strength Training?
Yes, Pilates is a form of bodyweight strength training. Strength training is defined as exercise that ‘increases muscle strength by making muscles work against a weight or force’, which is exactly what Pilates does [16]. The difference is that unlike weight training, Pilates doesn’t normally use any external load, relying on bodyweight alone to create resistance.
Does Pilates Build Muscle?
Yes, but you need to ensure you are putting enough training volume through your muscles to fatigue them, which may be harder to achieve without an external load to help you.
It is, however, possible, with a 2021 study proposing that there is not ‘hypertrophy zone’ (traditionally believed to be a moderate load for 8 to 12 reps), and that similar muscle growth can be achieved across a wide spectrum of loading ranges ≥ ~30% 1RM [17].
Research supports this, finding that using lighter weights and higher reps results in similar muscle size to using heavier weights and lower reps [18]. What is important is that enough volume is placed through the muscles to put them under stress. As Pilates doesn’t traditionally use external weights, other methods should be used, such as increasing the reps, adding isometric holds or slowing the eccentric phase, to challenge your muscles sufficiently to elicit growth.
The above study did find that lifting heavier weights for fewer reps was more effective for building strength. This suggests that while Pilates may help when it comes to growing muscle size, it isn’t the best for building strength.
What Is Pilates Good For?
As mentioned above, Pilates could be a viable method for building muscle. However, if your goal is to build muscle and get stronger, Pilates is more suited to use alongside weight training rather than on its own. This will also ensure you don’t miss out on the benefits of weight training above, which are particularly important for preserving bone density as we age.
Pilates complements weight training as it trains essential skills required to lift weights safely, helping you improve your form. For example, using free weights requires excellent core stability, good mobility, and proper posture to execute exercises, all of which are skills trained with Pilates. Being strong in these areas will make weight-bearing exercises easier, ultimately helping to lift heavier and build more strength and muscle mass.
Additionally, Pilates teaches the golden skills of mind-to-muscle connection, which is a total game changer when it comes to muscle growth. Mastering the mind-muscle connection makes you more aware of your body and the muscles you use to increase muscle activation [19].
With many exercises crossing over from Pilates to the gym floor (planks, lunges, glute bridges), weight training and Pilates really do go hand-in-hand.
Conclusion: Should I Do Pilates Or Strength Training?
If you’re looking to get stronger or build muscle, then focusing solely on Pilates probably isn’t the quickest or easiest route to get there. While Pilates can build strength (particularly when it comes to the core), lifting weights is still more effective when it comes to muscle growth due to the ability to place the muscle under greater load, creating microscopic tears in the muscle. When the body repairs and rebuilds the tears, the muscle grows, coming back bigger and stronger.
However, Pilates has some undeniable benefits that make it a great pairing with resistance training: for example, Pilates strengthens the core, improves mobility, posture, and range of motion, and teaches the mind-muscle connection—all of which are essential if you want to lift safely and see significant progress.
So, if you’re thinking of hanging up the mat or clearing away the barbell for good, then don’t. Use both training methods alongside each other. Whether that be a short Pilates burst at the end of your weight session or a Pilates class on the days you aren’t lifting. We guarantee you’ll be moving better, lifting heavier, and growing those muscles quicker.
Feeling inspired to start Pilates but need a comfortable sports bra and some stretchy, second-skin-feel leggings?
FAQs
How Long Is A Pilates Class?
An average Pilates class lasts 45-minutes to an hour, but shorter workouts are available for when you’re short on time or looking for a quick blast of a target muscle group! (See the Gymshark Training App for quick Pilates Add-On Burners, perfect to add on to the end of a strength workout).
Is Reformer Pilates Better Than Mat Pilates?
The reformer machine can provide a more high-intensity full-body workout that helps to target specific muscle groups, as you would tend to see in a typical strength training-based workout plan. Upping the resistance by adding more springs allows you to incorporate the principle of progressive overload more into your Pilates workouts and advance your workouts from mat work. Due to the added resistance and intensity, you can burn more calories during a reformer session than with mat work.
The Reformer machine also offers more versatility as you have a larger variety of exercises. As with mat work, the exercises can range from beginner to advanced and can be made more challenging. Exercises on the Reformer can be performed in more positions, often allowing for a greater ROM and progression with practice.
Is Pilates Similar to Ballet?
Yes! You might also see fusion workouts of Pilates with Ballet called Barre, or, Pilates Dance workouts - these are challenging low-impact bodyweight classes that require no ballet experience.
Is Pilates Low Impact?
Pilates is considered a safe, low-impact exercise that can benefit those of any age by improving their posture, balance, flexibility, core stability, and strength. Pilates can be especially beneficial to older adults, as one study found improved muscle strength, balance, and overall well-being in elderly subjects who performed Pilates exercises [20].
Pilates can often aid with injury rehabilitation, too, as many of the movements are performed in the horizontal plane. This means no load is placed vertically that could cause pain or discomfort to weakened muscles or injuries such as knee injuries.
Pilates has been studied for its benefits on patients with scoliosis, chronic back pain, and in rehabilitating knee injuries, with papers finding that Pilates exercise helps to improve pain, recovery, and mobility [21].
How Often Should I Do Pilates?
How often you choose to do Pilates will depend on your goals. Joseph Pilates suggests the best results are achieved by practicing his method at least four times weekly. However, studies have pointed to the effectiveness of practicing Pilates less frequently, with one study finding that even doing Pilates once a week resulted in improved body awareness.
Unlike heavy-weight training or high-intensity cardio sessions, Pilates can safely be done every day (although we still recommend implementing rest days).
If you don’t have time for a full Pilates class, you could even add a short Pilates session to the end of your weights session (try our Add-On Pilates Burners on the Gymshark Training App).
Can I Do Pilates At Home?
Yes! Pilates requires minimal equipment and space, making it the ideal at home workout. Wall Pilates has become popular for that exact reason, offering a slightly more challenging adaptation of mat Pilates.
While reformer Pilates is traditionally done in a class, getting slider discs is a way to mimic a Pilates reformer machine from home. You’ll need to use them on a hard surface so they slide easily and they’ll allow you to create resistance with your own bodyweight, creating a feeling similar to being on a reformer machine. If you don’t have sliders, you can also use a towel under your feet (but we do recommend sliders if you can get them!).
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References:
Cruz-Ferreira, A., Fernandes, J., Laranjo, L., Bernardo, L.M. and Silva, A. (2011). A Systematic Review of the Effects of Pilates Method of Exercise in Healthy People. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, [online] 92(12), pp.2071–2081. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2011.06.018.
Caldwell, K., Adams, M., Quin, R., Harrison, M. and Greeson, J. (2013). Pilates, Mindfulness and Somatic Education. Journal of dance & somatic practices, [online] 5(2), pp.141–153. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4198945/.
Kulkarni, Mrunal & Saini, Seema & Palekar, Tushar & Hamdulay, Nargis & Professor, D. (2020). EFFECTS OF PILATES ON CORE MUSCLE STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE IN POST 6 MONTHS DELIVERED WOMEN. 11. 136 - 151.
Alves de Araújo, M.E., Bezerra da Silva, E., Bragade Mello, D., Cader, S.A., Shiguemi Inoue Salgado, A. and Dantas, E.H.M. (2012). The effectiveness of the Pilates method: Reducing the degree of non-structural scoliosis, and improving flexibility and pain in female college students. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 16(2), pp.191–198. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2011.04.002.
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