Need peoples thorughts - Just started with yoga and pilates instructor

I just started yesterday with a yoga and pilates instructor.  I have worked out and done lots of cardio and weight (more typical trainer things) in the past.  i am curious what other peoples results have been when primarily doing pilates and yoga.  how quickly do you start to see results.  do you tone us?  I would like to loose some body fat as well to see the tone that I do get.  Will this happen along with a cardio routine and a good diet?

Original Post by thinthought:

Just the other night I was in a pilates class where some how they got a couple of meat heads to come in and try- they didn't make it through half the class and of course their excuse was it was stupid and pointless....

It is good to use yoga and pilates in combo with weight training and cardio

LOl -- Monday night in my weight management class we were doing interval training stuff with basically light weights lots of push ups dips and stuff and the personal trainer instructor saw 2 "meatheads" walking past the room and said "trust me those guys wouldn't last 5 minutes in here"

I'll wade in here tentatively, and state my bias up front. I'm a pilates instructor. I also lift weights ("heavy for me", as spiro said) and have a cardio component in my program, though it's not HIIT or even that prominent, because I hate cardio, but feel like I should do it for heart health.

I posted a reply to a question about realistic expectations for results from pilates here recently:

http://caloriecount.about.com/forums/post/914 20.html#7

Basically, I think that we've already established that any indication that the OP intends to quit other methods of training in favor of pilates or yoga was a misunderstanding or mis-statement of her intentions.

In light of that, while I encourage a well-rounded fitness plan, I think your original question, dcgirl, was about what you could expect from pilates. I can't speak about yoga, it's something I've tried, but didn't "click" for me. On that point, I'd encourage you to give either type of program at least six to eight weeks before you decide whether it's for you or not. Early on, especially for beginners, both pilates and yoga can seem like "what the heck is this about?". 

Read my other post. Be realistic about your expectations, and don't be turned off by others' opinions of your choices. I think fitness is about finding things you love to do, and doing them as often as you can. If pilates or yoga fits the bill for you to add to your program, go nuts!

PM me if you have specific questions, I'm happy to provide more info. I'm glad you're going with an instructor to start out.

dccgirl:

As a yoga instructor, I will echo was finnsal has said.  While I personally lift weights and believe that I am better for it (as is my yoga practice), I also think some of what's been stated here about yoga and pilates is not entirely accurate, although I do agree that most women tend to approach strength training the wrong way.  I encourage you to try both yoga and pilates, and if you have questions about yoga, feel free to send me a PM -- I am always happy to answer any questions that will help to broaden and improve your experience on the mat.

Namaste -

 

Well I do Cardio and weights 4 days a week and I also throw in my Pilates DVD here and there that comes with a Resistance band, and the next morning my abs and arms are usually sore....im just saying

I don't really want to belabor the point ; I am pretty much a dabbler in many forms of exercise and the master of none. But you could spend a lifetime "practicing" yoga and never get to the point where your physical ability surpassed the limits of yoga. Just as in weightlifting you will reach an upward limit of how far you can take your body. With yoga youl will be doing more than working your muscles while you are at it.

I thnk finnsal summed it up well. The secret is to find something you enjoy so you will keep doing it. Weight lifting isn't for everybody and yoga or pilates isn't for everyone either.

I think its sad that people who love to run try to push their cardio of choice on those of us who enjoy those stupid step or other classes. I think its sad that people who like lifting weights feel the need to tell people if they aren't dong the same are wrong too. I love working out for ME and doing what is right for me. I love weights and push thru but I by no means am squating or bench pressing a ton of weight because I have injuries to deal with. I can't run becasue I have injuries to deal with but what I do is stuff I enjoy and will continue to do.

I take a weight management class and we had to develop a workout program and one of the ladies said she hated her monday night workout plan -- I was thinking why don't you change it or fix it so it is something you will do. I mean if I was told I had to do certain weight machines, free weights or something but hated that equiipment I sure wouldn't be working out it would be more like paying taxes or having my teeth pulled -- not fun!

Spirochete: "That's probably because lifting heavy (for you) is proven to be the best way to lose fat, ..."

This is not true.

Original Post by trhawley:

Spirochete: "That's probably because lifting heavy (for you) is proven to be the best way to lose fat, ..."

This is not true.

 Educate me

Original Post by trhawley:

Spirochete: "That's probably because lifting heavy (for you) is proven to be the best way to lose fat, ..."

This is not true.

 Whether it's true to not depends on your definition of "best".  If you think the best method of burning fat is to efficiently lose fat and maintain muscle mass then weights is the best way.  If you'd rather spend more time burning less fat and loseing more lean mass, then some other form of exercise would probably be the "best".

Well, technically Trhawley's correct in as much as the best way to lose fat is to create a calorie deficit.

 In fact, that's the only way to lose fat - by creating a controlled calorie deficit and causing your body to dip into stored energy for fuel.

 Beyond that though, yes, strength training does have the other modes of exercise beat when it comes to results for pure fat loss, both in terms of time-efficiency and in terms of overall results. Doesn't mean that other modes of exercise are useless, and it doesn't mean that you won't have some synergy by combining strength training with other modes of exercise, but it does mean that you will have significantly worse results if you do not have proper resistance training in your workout mix.

melkor and spirochete are correct if one's primary goal is fat loss.  If a person has a different primary fitness goal, for example learning a martial art or ice skating, then they might want a fitness program that is heavier on their primary sport and uses resistance training as an important secondary activity. 

In that case, they might lose fat a little slower than someone who was focused primarily on fat loss.  But over time, it will come out in the wash. The person who focuses on their martial art or ice skating will eventually reach their fat loss goals, and be likely to sustain their fitness because they are doing an activity they enjoy.

Original Post by melkor:

Well, technically Trhawley's correct in as much as the best way to lose fat is to create a calorie deficit.

  

I was hoping that's a given but I guess you never know.

alevin; well yeah. If your goal is to be the pilates world champion or whatever, squats and deadlifts will probably not be important to you.

In response to cookk - those stats in my profile are from over a year ago and have not changed dramatically and have not had my bf taken but i know it higher than it was...I would say probably about 20% and i am weighing in at 127 currently.  I am toned and fit but just not like I was a year ago due to changes in my work life.  I eat a very healthy diet however I don't have as much time to workout as I did a year ago.

"Spirochete:

trhawley: Spirochete: "That's probably because lifting heavy (for you) is proven to be the best way to lose fat, ..."

This is not true.

 Educate me"

It looks like Melkor beat me to it. Although he did say this,

"strength training does have the other modes of exercise beat when it comes to results for pure fat loss, both in terms of time-efficiency and in terms of overall results",

which also has not been proven.

Original Post by trhawley:


"strength training does have the other modes of exercise beat when it comes to results for pure fat loss, both in terms of time-efficiency and in terms of overall results",

which also has not been proven.

 Might not have been proven true, but all the evidence points that way.

Evidence? What evidence?  They can't even prove a correlation between exercise and weight loss let alone that one form of exercise is better for it than another!  There does seem to be some evidence that you will lose weight if you maintain a calorie deficit though.

Exercise burns calories.

There seems to be some suggestion that lifting weight brings up your metabolism rate.

But there is no direct correlation between exercise, on it's own, and weight loss. Only exercise AND eating/keeping a calorie deficit and weight loss.

But, since you can lose weight without exercise, Tom is right.

 Hunter et.al. : Resistance Training Conserves Fat-free Mass and Resting Energy Expenditure Following Weight Loss - 

Kramer, Volek et al. Influence of exercise training on physiological and performance changes with weight loss in men.

 Izumiya et al.: "Fast/Glycolytic Muscle Fiber Growth Reduces Fat Mass and Improves Metabolic Parameters in Obese Mice".

 Muscle mass is preserved by strength training. Fast-twitch glycolytic muscle mass is metabolically active tissue and also appears to be the dominant factor in obesity control. The loss of fast-twitch fibre with age appears to show the greatest correlation with 'middle-age spread', beyond what can be explained with variances in activity levels.

 So yes, until a better model comes along with more explaining power, I for one consider that this is the best explanation we have so far.

 It does not mean that any other mode of exercise is unimportant, but it does mean that resistance training is at the top of the heap for fat loss, at least as far as efficiency and results go.

 But efficency, while nice, is secondary to consistency.

 And whether fat loss is even a blip on the radar for your own personal workout mix and training goals is a very, very different issue. As always, what's appropriate training for your goals vary wildly with what those goals are.

I admit I didn't read the links, since I'm at work, but I'm willing to eat my hat if it turns out that any of those say you can lose weight without keeping a caloric deficit/i.e. eating right

Edit: My point, as such, isn't to cause problems. It's just that.. fitness is it's own reward. You don't necessarily need to pump iron to lose weight. it helps, absolutely, but... I think the eating right is THE biggest part to weight loss. Keeping a reasonable calorie deficit.

'course it is - diet is 70% of your results. What we're arguing about is the remaining 30%, basically - there's nothing you can do to out-train your diet.

 Any discussion of what's the best exercise for weight control/fat loss kinda has to assume that the diet portion's already taken care of though, given that you can't out-train your diet. Even Tom's marathon sessions on the bike where he spends 8 hours on the road and burns through 4,000 calories easy can be undone by two bad choices at the drive-thru.