Pilates?

Do you like it?  Have you tried it?  Does it work?

I'm looking to get rid of my jiggly belly - I have the mommy muffin (2 babies in 2 years) and am quite sick of it.  I used to dance and loved the way my body felt after stretching and toning.  I've done pilates a few times before, in dance class, on demand, etc... but never as a routine.

I'd love to know everyone's great and honest opinions.  If you love it, please let me know if there are any great DVDs I can purchase.

Thanks!

Original Post by jla0610:

I'd love to know everyone's great and honest opinions. 

Pilates is worthless for the vast majority of people.

The people who market pilates are lying to you about it's benefits, it will not cause you to lose belly fat, it will not make your muscles longer, it will not increase your muscle tone.

 

I've tried it (the Windsor Pilates tapes) and really didn't like it. Half an hour to forty-five minutes working the abs and not much else. And since there is no such thing as spot burning, working the abs won't actually preferentially burn belly fat. For me, there are better ways to spend my time.

I have also tried the Windsor Pilates. While I can't really speak for fat loss or toning I found it very relaxing and helped to stretch out my muscles. For me it was a time for meditation and thought, much like yoga.

It depends on the situation. Currently, I'm dealing with a 60 year old morbidly obese woman coming off near-complete bed rest for 8 months and borrowing some exercises from the Pilates toolbox has proven useful in increasing her mobility and getting her to walk some distance under her own power.

 If you aren't in rehab though, the usefulness of rehabilitation exercises is limited.

I disagree that it is worthless. I have been doing Pilates with a trainer for about 4 months now, she has the stott pilates system and the machine, after the first time I could tell a huge difference. I only weight 115  so I wasnt using it to lose weight only to tone up, and it has worked amazing! In conjunction with Cardio it has been the best thing I have done for myself. Besides toning and stretching, it works your core A TON which is very important for healthy living... I love love love pilates but I think you have to take a class with an instructor instead of the videos, it is so much more helpful because the form is very important to make sure you are engaging all your muscles. I have about 4 girlfriends who teach pilates and they have amazing bodies, toned sexy and fit. I say give it a try, I finally almost have a 6 pack and half of the moves we do at my sessions i take home and do, i only go got class about 2 -3 times a week but with cardio and at home moves I am finally happy with my body and am watching it get stronger and leaner every day!

I also don't think it is worthless. I have taken pilates at a few different gyms and I have found the courses a lot of fun and quite challenging. The one I am currently doing is kind of a little different version than I've encountered before (studying abroad in Germany) and it's more like yoga/pilates but I like it for flexibility and core strength, especially since the core is so important for other activities I enjoy.

And to second kaitdressed, the instructor is really important. Last year I had the opportunity to attend a workshop with an instructor who was trained by someone who worked with/was trained by Joseph Pilates (creator). Ok kind of a distant relationship there, but point was she was awesome. It was just chance and she came to my uni. BUT seriously when I learned the proper form and had her correct me is was SOOO beneficial. I try to keep what she told in mind now when I go and I think I get more out of it. So definitely try at least a few sessions with an instructor.

And at the end of the day I firmly believe the most beneficial exercises are those you like and will stick with! So why not give it a try? :)

Thanks everyone for your replies!  I appreciate all the honesty.  I will probably give it a go...I really enjoyed when I did pilates in my dance classes and since I have that training behind me I do find that I appreciate the moves because they are familiar to what I know.  I can't afford a gym membership or classes at the moment - i really wish I could - I would totally take dowlcao and kaitdressed advice and join but for now I think I will buy a DVD and give it my all.  Since I have a little background in pilates and am familiar with proper body alignment I *think* I'll be ok - hopefully!    If anyone else has any suggestions please let me know.

Original Post by dowlcao1:

especially since the core is so important for other activities I enjoy.

 What are these 'other activities that you enjoy' that use your core they way you do in pilates? In other words, can you name one 'real life' movement that requires core strength and mimics anything you do in pilates class?

I absolutely love pilates! Generally if you want to lose weight you can't just do pilates but it is great for strength, flexibility, and stress relief. I've recently gotten into Yoga infused pilates which is pretty intense and I find myself having trouble finishing a 30 minutes workout.  But like any workout regime you have to stick with it and change it up (levels/types, etc) for it to work effectively!

I love pilates! I've been dong them for years. Now I mix stuff up, but I still keep pilates as part of my weekly routine.

I definitely think it's worth trying.

Oh, pilates...where do i start! Pilates, with the right instructor, can be a wonderful exercise routine.  For me, it all depends on the instructor...some are better than others. So yes, i can agree that SOMETIMES pilates is in fact worthless, but others...its amazing! In the summer (because i cant go during the school year because im in class) I go to pilates 2-3 times a week and it actually does make a difference.  The legs are defined, the abs are great, and the arms are sculpted :). It's great to incorporate into your normal exercise routine!

I LOVE PILATES! I do it in gym class two times a week, plus I do some of the ab exercises every night. I have definately noticed a difference. BUT word of caution, be careful. If you push yourself too hard at the beginning, you will feel it for DAYS. Good luck! Let me know how it works out for you

Original Post by floggingsully:

Original Post by dowlcao1:

especially since the core is so important for other activities I enjoy.

 What are these 'other activities that you enjoy' that use your core they way you do in pilates? In other words, can you name one 'real life' movement that requires core strength and mimics anything you do in pilates class?

Walking, good posture, you need strong core muscles for EVERYTHING. It's not that you mimic the movements, it's that you strengthen those muscles. Having a weak abdomen and back can give you back problems, and chiropractors are expensive!

Anyway, I think pilates (like any other exercise) is great if you do it right. Even though you can't pick which body part you want to lose fat, the exercises are still good for you and it can be very relaxing. I'd say give it a try :)

 Your core engages in everything you do, there's no such thing as an inactive muscle unless you've got a severed spinal cord, and in that case Pilates is hardly going to help.

 Your core muscles are best trained by using them to stabilize your torso during other forms of exercise, i.e. calisthenics or strength training.

 Most of the claims about Pilates are due to clever marketing, but the truth about Pilates is that old Joe was always a better marketer than a trainer. He set up his studio off-Broadway and started rehabbing injuried dancers, and then claimed that the dancers looked like they do on account of his training methods. Which is nonsense, they had that dancer's body on account of being professional dancers who got hired for having that body type in the first place.

 Considered in isolation Pilates isn't a terrible system - some static calisthenics, some yoga stretches, some mildly helpful basic calisthenics and perhaps a few rehab exercises on modified hospital beds and gymnastics equipment.

 It's not a bad way to train if you're in need of physical therapy due to having an arm shot off in WWI or if you're coming off complete bed rest for other reasons. Or if you're a couch potato getting started.

 For anyone else but a raw beginner or a rehab patient, it's not a terribly useful way to train with a very limited potential results space.

Original Post by elfkittie22:

Walking, good posture, you need strong core muscles for EVERYTHING. It's not that you mimic the movements, it's that you strengthen those muscles.

As I said earlier, I've only done pilates following a tape (and yes, it was long enough ago that it was a vhs, not dvd). But what I remember is lying on my back, lifting my head and shoulders off the ground and having my legs up in the air. Difficult? Yes. But if you had turned me 90 degrees, and put me in a chair (without changing the way my back was), you'd find me slumped in my chair, in that awful computer hunch that many of us have from 8 hour days at a desk.  Why would I want an exercise that re-creates that?

Original Post by elfkittie22:

It's not that you mimic the movements, it's that you strengthen those muscles.

The way you strengthan a muscle for a given movement is to make it work against resistance through that movement.

If you wanted to get stronger at lifting things over your head, do you think it would be a better idea to lift heavy things over your head, or hold you arms out to the side and move them in circles (which technically works some of the same muscles as lifting something over your head)?

If you wanted your abs to get better at holding your torso up strait, would it make more sense to hold your torso up strait against resistance, or lay on your back and lift your legs up in the air? 

Mat pilates was almost useless to me as a workout - I already had core strength from doing yoga for years (i.e. the roll-ups were cake.)

Reformer pilates, however, I find very enjoyable. Depending on the studio, the class can  be extremely challenging. By addition more spring onto your reformer you add extra tension, or weight, to your routine. I still cannot do most of the exercises with more then 2-3 springs on, and the machine has 4. I think the reformer is a good strength-training system for those of use who don't have a lot of strength to begin with, so we can work our way up to real weights ;)

in response to floggingsully (and to echo the others), the core IS important for just about anything i do. having a strong back/core muscles can prevent injury and if you like to hike, bike, run, etc... like i do, but hate doing ab exercises on your own, a pilates class is a viable and potentially beneficial option--depending on various factors of course like intensity, specific exercises, etc...

 

Original Post by dowlcao1:

in response to floggingsully (and to echo the others), the core IS important for just about anything i do. having a strong back/core muscles can prevent injury and if you like to hike, bike, run, etc... like i do, but hate doing ab exercises on your own, a pilates class is a viable and potentially beneficial option--depending on various factors of course like intensity, specific exercises, etc...

 

 

Original Post by floggingsully:

If you wanted your abs to get better at holding your torso up strait, would it make more sense to hold your torso up strait against resistance, or lay on your back and lift your legs up in the air? 

 

not sure i am getting your question. what do you mean, hold up your torso straight against resistance? examples of exercises i mean. if you have additional suggestions for increasing core strength i would appreciate it, after all that's why we are all here.

...and i don't think anyone ever said putting your legs in the air was all you needed to do to strengthen your core. at least i didn't :P