Pilates is a great way to get in shape and lose weight, but it’s not just about getting thinner. It’s also about building strength and flexibility, which can help improve your posture, as well as make you more comfortable in your own skin.
Pilates workouts can be done at home or in a studio, with equipment or without. They use your own body weight as resistance and focus on core strength—the muscles that support your spine.
Pilates is an effective way to burn calories because each exercise uses large muscle groups and engages them for long periods of time. When these muscles are activated, they burn more energy than smaller muscles do, even when you’re doing nothing!
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Is Pilates A Good Workout For Weight Loss
Pilates is a popular low-impact exercise. It’s effective for toning up, building lean muscle, and improving posture. Practicing Pilates can be beneficial for your health and help you maintain a healthy weight.
Yet, Pilates may not be as effective for weight loss as other cardio exercises, such as running or swimming. That’s because you’ll burn fewer calories in traditional mat Pilates classes than if you did other cardio exercises.
But if you enjoy Pilates classes you may be more likely to stick to your fitness routine by taking these classes regularly. You’ll also be more likely to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
If your goal is weight loss, try combining Pilates with a healthy diet and other forms of exercise. Alternate Pilates with strength training and other forms of cardio exercise such as walking, swimming, running, or cycling.
What does research say?
The research on Pilates for weight loss is mixed.
One small study in 2017 observed 37 overweight or obese women ages 30 to 50. The researchers found that practicing Pilates for eight weeks was effective for:
- weight loss
- lowering BMI
- toning the waist
- decreasing abdomen and hip circumference
It made no difference in lean body mass (body fat weight subtracted from total body weight) though.
This was compared to a group doing no exercise during this time.
Another 2015 study observed postmenopausal women aged 59 to 66 years old. It found that 12 weeks of practicing mat Pilates resulted in no change in body composition.
But the participants did significantly increase abdominal, upper, and lower limb strength. Researchers suspect there was no change in body composition because the women in the study didn’t alter their diets.
There’s also promising research from 2015 that showed that Pilates may be effective for chronic low back pain management and other injury rehabilitation. But more studies are needed.
Never practice Pilates if you’re injured or in pain without a doctor’s permission.
How many calories does Pilates burn?
The amount of calories you will burn in Pilates depends on your current weight, if you’re doing a mat or reformer class, and the level of difficulty of the class.
For someone who’s about 150 pounds, one 50-minute Pilates mat class at a beginner level burns approximately 175 calories. An advanced 50-minute class burns approximately 254 calories.
You’ll burn more calories in a Pilates reformer class or any Pilates workout where you elevate your heart rate.
How do calories affect weight loss?
To lose 1 pound, you need to burn about 3,500 calories.
If your goal is to lose weight, you may want to try cardio exercise such as walking, running, or cycling, in addition to Pilates. Also focus on eating a healthy diet with lean protein, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
How often should you practice Pilates?
If you’re new to Pilates, try to practice 2 to 3 times per week to experience all the benefits.
You can also try more advanced Pilates classes like Pilates reformer classes and combination classes like Piloxing (Pilates and boxing) or Yogalates (yoga and Pilates.)
You’ll burn more calories in these full body classes than in a traditional Pilates mat class.
If you’re trying to lose weight, participate in these types of combination classes a few times a week for best results. You can also alternate Pilates classes with strength training sessions (with weights) and cardio exercise.
Combining Pilates with other forms of cardio exercise and strength training, plus eating a healthy diet, is an effective way to tone your muscles and help you achieve your weight loss goals.
What is the Pilates effect?
The “Pilates effect” is the idea that practicing Pilates can lead to improved posture, muscle tone, and a toned core area.
The result of this “effect” is that it may appear you have lost weight. That’s because if you’ve gained or toned up your muscles, you may look more fit overall, even if you haven’t lost weight.
Tips for weight loss
Exercise is important for weight loss, but it’s equally important to focus on your diet.
Eat healthy meals and snacks with lean protein, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.
See your doctor or a nutritionist to create a diet plan for your goals. For safety, never eat less than 1,200 calories a day.
Takeaway
Pilates is an effective low-impact workout. It can be beneficial for toning up muscles, toning the core, and improving posture.
It may also help with recovery from back pain and other injuries by strengthening the affected area.
If you’re looking to lose weight, you can incorporate Pilates into your wellness plan. Practice Pilates and maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle for best results.
Always check with your doctor before starting a new exercise routine.
Pilates Exercises Lose Weight
Low-impact exercises like Pilates can help you strengthen the muscles in your body and also increase flexibility. In addition, it can aid your weight loss goals and assist you in burning some major calories.
Pilates are workout routines that primarily target the core. However, it also works for other parts of the body. It can be done with or without equipment, but the focus lies on breathing and involves slow and gentle movements. As far as the exercise is concerned, it can be done on a mat or a machine called a reformer.
That said, if you’re looking to lose some weight without intense workouts, Pilates are your jam. Here are some Pilates moves you can resort to.
Plank jacks
Step 1: Start with a plank position on a mat, with your arms extended, hands under your shoulders and feet together.
Step 2: Jump your legs open and back together, keeping your core engaged.
Step 3: Continue to jump in and out, with your back flat. Do not let your hips droop down.
Step 4: Repeat for 10–20 seconds to start. You can make it more intense by extending the time to 60 seconds or going at a faster rate.
Swimming
Step 1: Lay flat on your stomach, with your forehead down, legs straight and together.
Step 2: Stretch your arms straight, pull your abs in and keep your feet pointed.
Step 3: Lift your arms, legs, chest, and head up on one count, and hold.
Step 4: Alternately, lift your right arm with left leg and left arm with right leg. Inhale and exhale normally.
Step 5: Count from 1-10 and repeat the move slowly.
V-ups
Step 1: Lie down on a mat and form a ‘V’, with your head, back and legs lifted upwards away from the floor.
Step 2: Once your body has formed a V, hold the position for 5 seconds and relax.
Step 3: Repeat again and do at least 10 reps of the same.
Crisscross
Step 1: Lie on your back, with both your hands layered, palm over palm behind your head.
Step 2: Bend your knees and bring your shins up.
Step 3: Inhale, engage your torso and try to touch your right elbow to your left knee, straightening your right leg forward and holding it a few inches above the mat
Step 4: Exhale and return back to the initial position, repeating the same on the other side.
Pilates Benefits
Pilates is the kind of workout you might group in the ‘relaxing exercise’ category, along with yoga and swimming. But that might not be giving it as much credit as it deserves.
Can pilates help you lose weight? Why yes, indirectly it can if that’s your specific goal. Can it help you feel more awake? Yup. Can it help you build physical strength? Again, yes.
“Pilates is complete co-ordination of body, mind and spirit and is an extremely powerful tool to use and have for optimum health,” pilates expert Gaby Noble tells Cosmopolitan UK.
Whatever your intention for starting pilates – whether it’s for physical reasons or for mental health ones – Gaby says the same things happen to everyone who practices it regularly. “Once clients become aware of their body and how they are moving, and begin to strengthen and stretch muscles they never knew they had, the feeling of increased wellbeing elevates the spirit and a better positive attitude appears,” she says.
As well as making you feel better inside yourself, here are all the ways pilates can impact your body:
1. Rebalance
Pilates rebalances your body and helps accelerate your training and recovery periods.
“It’s often believed that the only way to sculpt our bodies is to burn as many calories as possible by hitting the gym 7 days a week, jumping into as many HIIT classes as possible or pounding the streets every day,” says pilates expert Gaby. “Yes, this will burn calories, but if your body is not firing on all the right cylinders and you have muscle imbalances and joint pain, your body will be less efficient.”
Gaby explains the body can become inflamed if your exercise of choice is constantly hard-hitting, because it’s trying to protect weaknesses. But introducing pilates can ensure balance in the body, “making sure that all joints are working correctly and the muscles are equal”. This, in turn, should prevent injury and pain.
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2. NERVOUS SYSTEM/ADRENALS
Pilates calms your nervous system, reducing your cortisol levels and making it easier to lose weight.
“Pilates is low-impact and incorporates breathing exercises, meaning it’s got the ability to calm the nervous system down,” says the expert. This is important not only to avoid burnout, but also to prevent cortisol levels rising, which are known to prevent weight loss because cortisol stimulates glucose production, which can then turn into fat.
“Pilates will lower your cortisol levels, making you feel calmer and more in-tune with your body and surroundings,” says Gaby.
3. Lean and sculpted muscles
Pilates stretches and strengthens to help create the long, lean and sculpted look.
If you spend the majority of your time sitting behind a desk, pilates could be the antidote to the tightened muscles you might not even know you’ve got as a result. “Breathing keeps us alive and breathing into our muscles is just as important and it keeps them healthy and alive,” says the pilates expert. “When muscles get shortened and tight from working out, sitting at a desk, driving etc, lactic acid builds up and less oxygen can get into the blood stream.
“Practising pilates, you are taken through a series of precise, controlled movements that were created to work the body through all muscle groups while working on posture and functionality.” This “stretches and strengthens” your muscles simultaneously, toning them and enabling them to recover better during exercise.
4. Control
Pilates teaches you to control your body and mind which reduces stress and anxiety.
If one of your body’s downfalls is its susceptibility to anxiety and stress, pilates can help with this. “It teaches you how to control your body better when put under physical or mental stress,” explains Gaby. “A key principle in pilates is breathing. You learn to breathe deeper into your centre and around your body, which helps trigger the brain to calm down, creating a psychological response in the body that naturally decreases stress and anxiety.
“Learn to control your body and mind and you’ll be able to control whatever comes your way,” advises the expert.
5. Posture
Pilates can drastically improve your posture which gives you more energy and keeps your organs healthy.
Your ballet teacher might have drummed good posture into your six-year-old brain, but two weeks into your first office job and you’ll probably have forgotten everything she said. Pilates could be the answer!
“By strengthening the core, shoulders and glutes whilst stretching out the chest, spine and hips, you will have more energy as your lung capacity will increase giving more oxygen to the body and brain,” says Gaby. “Good posture also keeps your organs healthy by not squishing them all day when sitting down.”
