Anastasis Tzanis
Is Pilates enough to get toned?
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The image a lot of women have of the pilates body is part of what makes Pilates attractive to them. Without excess muscle growth Reformer and Mat Pilates practitioners often (although not always) have a lean, toned body full of vitality and agility.
If someone was to achieve a toned body through Pilates she has a much better chance with Reformer as opposed to mat.
But still, is Reformer Pilates sufficient? In this article I will cover what it takes to get a toned body through Pilates and when additional work is needed.
1. x3 ways Reformer gets you toned
Resistance training
The springs on the reformer can serve as resistance for your muscles to get strong. This will allow your muscles to develop giving your body a strong look. Many women are very fearful of getting stronger as they think they will get bulky in the process. The bulkiness in most cases comes from excess fat and not excess muscle. For the body to look toned it needs to have some muscle growth together with a low % of body fat.
Fat Loss
When your Reformer Pilates sessions are emphasising fat loss they will keep your Heart Rate elevated and the pace moderate to fast. On the long run this will help you improve your cardiovascular and breathing capacity. If you want to address fat loss through reformer pilates the frequency should be x2-3 sessions per week at the bare minimum.
Targeting specific muscle groups
A toned body will require different degrees of muscle development in different body parts. The reformer machine with specialised exercises allows you to target your legs, glutes, core, arms and achieve the shape you desire.
2. Is pilates alone enough exercise?
The way your body will respond to Pilates depends on:
(a) how you eat,
(b) your hormones,
(c) how you recover.
When addressing fat loss or when helping women with a stubborn metabolism get toned I run a homronal test with them to find out if their progesterone, estrogen, melatonin and cortisol levels are healthy. Without knowing a woman’s current hormonal status it is very hard to supplement accordingly and incorporate nutritional changes that will support her journey to the body she desires.
Addressing these 3 factors alongside regular reformer pilates training is always sufficient to get a woman toned.
2.1 Why am I not losing weight doing pilates?
While hormonal imbalances can sabotage your attempts to weight loss, having worked as a nutritional therapist and trainer since 2012 I can tell you there are often 2 other often overlooked factors that are can make a big difference:
• Training Intensity
• Macronutrient composition
As weight loss depends to a big extent on calorie balance, when the intensity of training is not high enough, losing weight is very hard. That is not to say that everyone is ready to increase the intensity of her training. In many cases the volume needs to increase first but on the long run – a high intensity training is the only adjustment needed to start seeing the weight dropping.
While most people we see in our studio are conscious of their nutrition before coming to us, there are misconceptions around certain foods that are perceived as healthy yet they are still sabotaging their effort to loose weight.
Addressing these 2 aspects of metabolism can be a great complement to your efforts to loose weight, requiring no additional money or time.
2.2 Can pilates reduce belly fat?
No single exercise or workout will reduce belly fat. HOWEVER, the way your midsection looks depends a lot on your abdominal muscle growth, how you carry yourself and of course the % of fat in the area. Given the above it is no surprise that those that exercise regularly and hit the abdominals a couple of times a week have a flat tummy and slim waistline while those that rely on getting a slim waist by eating rice cakes, look like one.
Basically Pilates and especially reformer pilates is great if you want to have a slim – toned waist but how you look will depend on your % of fat which more often than not has to be addressed through the diet and lifestyle apart from exercise.
2.3 Does pilates help flabby arms?
Flabby arms will go away as % of body fat drops. If you don’t believe me think: Do you know of anyone with a flat tummy or a six pack and flabby arms? NO.
The solution to flabby arms is strength training, good diet and a lifestyle that helps keep % of body fat low. To the extent that a woman doesn’t want her arms to look strong she can keep resistance training to the minimum and for that pilates can be sufficient.
More often than not however women benefit from upper body strength work that goes beyond the aesthetics. Weak wrists, neck pain, injured shoulders, tennis elbow are very common and they can only be addressed with strength training that goes beyond the pilates repertoire.
3 Is weight lifting better than pilates for weight loss?
Weight lifting is often compared for Reformer Pilates. Having worked with many clients that combine the 2 and others that never had a gym membership I can tell you that both approaches work. Which brings the fastest results? Without a doubt the combination of gym and reformer. But that’s not to say that you cannot lose weight / fat on reformer pilates only.
Things that will make a difference in regards to how fast you achieve your goals are: the frequency and intensity of training, your diet and recovery protocol, and of course your hormonal status.
3.1 Does Reformer Pilates count as strength training?
Reformer pilates counts as strength training but one should not expect to get very strong with it. If your goal is a toned body, strength is priority no2 if not no3. While you want to achieve some muscle growth, increasing your strength will be a positive byproduct but not your main focus.
On the other hand, if strength is your goal, reformer pilates can complement your gym workouts, by addressing a lot of supportive muscles (ie. Rotator cuff, gulteus minimus) which often get little attention in the gym.
Did I mention that reformer pilates will help you achieve the hourglass shape*?
*a goal many gym goers struggle with.
4. How long does it take to see results from Pilates?
With reformer pilates results tend to be a lot faster than mat but on average after 1 month most pilates practitioners start noticing a difference. The areas that improve the fastest are: painful joints, mood, the way you walk and stand (when you are not consciously adjusting your posture) and midsection strength.
After 4-6 months as a pilates practitioner, you will also notice improvements in:
a. Your sport (including running) both during exercise and by having a faster recovery
b. The quality of sleep
c. The way you look in the mirror and if you don’t have one, your comments from your friends.
It’s worth pointing out that your starting point, frequency of training and training focus will very much affect the results you will have from pilates. For instance, if you:
A. Start pilates because you just had a hip replacement operation chances are after 5 months your waistline will not look very different
B. Focus exclusively on glute and ab work only, your upper back posture may still resemble that of an old woman and your wrists will be as fragile as a Chinese porcelain.