Pilates is a full-body workout that incorporates specific controlled movements to improve strength, flexibility, balance, and posture. It uses a mat or specialized equipment and has more than 600 exercises and variations.
Whether you're mostly sedentary, pregnant, or experiencing a health condition, Pilates can benefit you. Research shows that Pilates provides multiple health benefits, from improving quality of life to alleviating back pain.
This article discusses Pilates and its potential health benefits.
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What Is Pilates?
Invented by Joseph Pilates in the early 1900s, Pilates focuses on utilizing core muscles to build full-body strength. This mind-body workout program is made up of specific movements in a calculated series to improve flexibility, mobility, strength, and posture.
20 Benefits of Pilates
Pilates offers numerous health benefits, including mobility improvement, pain management, and muscular endurance.
Improves Posture
Pilates helps train your body to sit up straight while strengthening your core. Its muscle stretching and strengthening goals help improve range of motion, promoting balance and flexibility that support improved posture. As a type of movement that focuses on body awareness, Pilates has been shown in studies to improve and stabilize posture.
Decreases Back Pain
Pilates can help manage certain kinds of pain and has traditionally been used as a rehabilitation tool to relieve some types of hip and back pain. People who practice Pilates also experience more pain relief. Other studies show Pilates to be beneficial for osteoarthritis-related pain.
Increases Core Strength
Core strength is a main component of Pilates. Research shows that participating in an hour-long session twice a week for 12 weeks increases abdominal and upper-body muscular endurance. Pilates also helps postmenopausal people strengthen their abdominal muscles.
Prevents Injuries
Pilates focuses on muscle strength and balance, which can help better support and stabilize joints during movement. Research shows that this can reduce the risk of experiencing sports-related injuries.
Strengthens Bones
Bone density decreases as we age, which can lead to osteoporosis. In one study, doing Pilates-based movements three times a week for six weeks reduced pain and other osteoporosis-related symptoms, making it a potentially safe exercise routine for people with the condition.
Reduces Menstrual Pain
People who experience painful menstrual periods may benefit from Pilates. Some initial studies show that a 12-week Pilates trial helped improve menstrual pain and other symptoms, including sleep quality.
Teaches Breath Control
Research suggests that Pilates is designed to specifically coordinate breathing with body movements, resulting in more body and breath control, which can be beneficial for overall health.
Increases Energy
Since Pilates focuses on the breath, it may help improve blood and oxygen circulation. Combined with feel-good postexercise endorphins and their low-impact properties, this workout may leave you feeling the opposite of fatigued or tired.
Boosts Mood
The mood and energy boost linked to Pilates may result from the practice's mind-body connection and release of endorphins (feel-good hormones). Studies show that people who practice Pilates tend to report fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression, more energy, and less fatigue.
Decreases Stress
Research suggests Pilates may decrease stress levels by helping calm the nervous system through mind-body movements and breath awareness. This mental stress reduction complements Pilates' physical benefits.
Improves Motivation
Motivation, which is described as the process that initiates and drives goal-oriented actions, may be improved by Pilates. Some research suggests that people who practice it tend to be driven by internal motivation rather than external validation and that Pilates can help improve motivation overall.
Increases Flexibility and Mobility
Pilates combines stretching and strengthening during slow, controlled movements with transitions. Research shows that this combination can help improve strength along with flexibility and mobility at the same time.
Improves Balance
One study found that people who participated in hour-long Pilates sessions three times a week for eight weeks experienced increased balance, stability, and mobility.
Boosts Immunity
Pilates might help keep the immune system functioning properly. This happens through improved circulation. This means that blood and lymph flow throughout the body as you move through a Pilates sequence, which can support a healthy immune system.
Improves Quality of Life
For people who are mostly sedentary, taking Pilates may help improve their quality of life. Sedentary women in their 60s found that completing 30-minute Pilates mat- and equipment-based sessions two times a week for six months led to these significant improvements.
Increases Cognitive Function
Some studies looked at cognition markers after a series of Pilates sessions and found that it supported brain function in certain groups, particularly older adults and those with certain health conditions.
Improves Sleep
Some studies show that Pilates participants under 40 had better sleep quality. Another revealed that people, specifically in the postpartum phase, experienced improved sleep after weekly Pilates sessions.
Improves Sex Life
Pilates may help physically support an improved sex life by building strength, endurance, and flexibility. In addition, Pilates has been shown to improve pelvic floor strength and function, which research links to an increase in sexual pleasure.
Enhances Body Awareness
Studies show that the resulting body awareness from the mind-body component of Pilates may be particularly helpful for certain groups of people, such as older adults and people experiencing osteoarthritis.
Enhances Sports Performance
Athletes can also benefit from Pilates due to the workout's enhancements of muscle strengthening, lengthening, and mobilization. Studies suggest it improves certain athletic skills, such as muscle strength, muscle mass, speed, and more.
A Word From Verywell
Pilates strengthens your core, isolates muscles, and helps you learn to engage specific muscles. This practice can help minimize back pain and improve postural control.
— THERESA MARKO, PT, DPT, MS, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD
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Benefits of the Pilates Reformer
The Pilates reformer is a versatile machine used in Pilates classes. It has springs for resistance, straps for hands and feet, and a moving carriage (main base platform). Various exercises are performed on the reformer to promote length, strength, flexibility, and balance.
The Pilates reformer offers a unique environment and opportunity for:
- Muscle strengthening
- Flexibility and lengthening
- Resistance training
- Movement variety
- Balance and stability challenge
Benefits of Pilates in Pregnancy
Pilates can be a helpful exercise during pregnancy, particularly if you’re experiencing hip pain. It stretches and stabilizes the pelvic area, with exercises focused on the core and hips. Research suggests that Pilates helps strengthen the muscles around the hip joint and core during pregnancy, which can help improve pelvic balance and pain.
Some research shows that Pilates may help produce positive labor and delivery outcomes. One study found that pregnant people who practice Pilates twice a week throughout their pregnancy experienced improved labor with fewer C-sections and other complications.
Always check with your healthcare provider to ensure Pilates is safe to do during pregnancy before beginning any new exercise routine.
Pilates Benefits for Weight Loss
Even though Pilates isn't necessarily intended to burn calories like high-intensity interval training (HIIT), weight training, and other exercise forms, it can still make you stronger and more limber. This, in turn, supports weight loss.
Experts note that the strengthening and stretching aspects of Pilates can help boost the effectiveness of cardio and weight sessions. Also, body weight on the mat and with the reformer can serve as resistance training.
One study looked at a home-based Pilates workout routine in combination with a Mediterranean diet (a diet high in plant-based foods and healthy fats) for 12 weeks. It found that this combination was effective at improving body composition, specifically reduced fat mass and improved muscle mass, in women experiencing obesity.
Is Pilates Good for Me If I Have a Health Condition?
Although Pilates can benefit almost everyone, each individual’s health is unique. It's best to check with a healthcare provider before starting Pilates. Research shows that Pilates can improve pain and increase physical factors like flexibility, strength, mobility, balance, and respiratory rate.
These findings suggest that Pilates may be a safe and appropriate workout for people with certain types of health conditions, including diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and fibromyalgia. Additional studies are needed to confirm how Pilates can help enhance health outcomes.
How to Get Started With a Pilates Workout
Pilates is for almost everyone, and its foundational movement can be tailored to individual needs via numerous exercise sequences and modifications.Before starting Pilates, check with a healthcare provider to ensure that this type of exercise is safe for you.
To get started with a Pilates workout, do the following:
- Seek a qualified instructor: The effectiveness of Pilates depends on instructor training. Ensure you have a qualified and certified instructor.
- Listen to your body: Coordinating Pilates movements can initially be challenging. Start slowly and do what feels right for you.
- Combine the mat with machines: It's helpful to combine mat-based and equipment-based exercises, such as the reformer, all of which are challenging and effective in different ways.
Summary
Pilates uses a specific sequence of controlled movements focused on core and full-body strength, muscle strengthening, flexibility, and mobility. Whether on a mat or specialized machines, research suggests that the numerous potential health benefits from Pilates transcend age, gender, body type, and fitness level. Check with a healthcare provider before starting any new workout.
