pilllllllates!

hey there. So...been trying unsuccessfully for a WHILE to erase the layer of fat on my stomach to get abs. I do cardio, sprints, etc. and tons of crunches but to no avail! I'm thinking of trying pilates. Would that help me achieve the holy grail of fitness, the legendary firm stomach? and what pilates dvds are the best? thanks!

I love pilates and do feel like they strengthened my core, BUT 98% of the people here are going to tell you they're pointless.

unfortunately it isn't possible to "spot" reduce fat.

as you said in another posting, 

"there is NO way, I repeat, NO exercise that will solely work on love handles.nothing targets them. The only way to get rid of them is to burn as much fat as possible. cardio is your best friend."

and this counts for all kinds of flab, not just love handles.

while exercises like pilates and situps and crunches will strenghten your abs, these stronger abs won't be visible if there's a layer of fat over them.

either you exercise more and eat less (between 1200 and 2000 carbs daily depending on your frame and activity level), or you start to like your body the way it is. both is great and do-able!

Pilates is not pointless, but oversold.

 Once you strip out the marketing claims you're left with a not-very-energetic set of bodyweight calisthenics, modified yoga poses, and gymnastics floor work which is fine if you're a) starting from nothing, or b) don't have much to lose.

 It will take you longer to get anywhere and have a limited potential results space compared to more effective methods, but if your goals are within the results space Pilates can deliver and you aren't in a hurry to see results those are negligible factors compared to the most important question:

 Do you think it'll be fun and be something you can keep up for the foreseeable future?

 'course, if results matter more than the method you use to get them there are far more efficient methods that'll get you better results in shorter time but fitness isn't a sprint, it's a lifelong thing.

 (I like my metaphor: "Trying to spot reduce is like trying to use a bucket to bail out just one corner of the swimming pool")

Hey, I recoomend reading 'The Ab Diet' It seems like it has helped a lot of epople that are in your same position.

thank you all for your help! I decided to continue my cardio and different toning exercises instead of pilates. Just wondering what the buzz about it was. I will go and read 'The Ab Diet' thanks for the suggestion!

You can try out some of the exercises from http://pilates.about.com/ if you're interested in looking into what a typical Pilates workout involves; specifically check out The First 10 Classics which lays out the classic intro and Pilates workout as Joseph Pilates used it.

 There are some worthwhile exercises in there; like the Pilates pushup (which he totally stole from yoga :-P) but the majority of them are only really useful for a rank beginner who needs to master his own bodyweigth first.

 Keep in mind that all exercise methodologies and protocols (Pilates, yoga, weight  lifting, Curves, boot camps, classical calisthenics) are only useful when you look at them as tools to reach a specific goal.

 There are people who do need to use Pilates or the equivalent as introduction to body mastery; who have no business even looking crosswise at a weight until they're comfortable enough in their own skin to have a feel for how to move. Physical therapy and rehab patients can use a similar methodology and there are people who've seen a fair degree of success by using Pilates to transition from rehab and PT to a more normal function level.

 The issue I have with all these methods is that people tend to pick out one method or training protocol and declare that this is all you need to achieve Real Ultimate Fitness!!!Zomg11!!11!!

 This annoys me.

 It's doing yourself a disservice when you can't separate your goals from the methods used to reach them - some methods work to reach some goals, some don't. When there's a mismatch between the goals you want and the methods you want to use to reach them, we have a problem.

 Then it's time to re-evaluate the goals you have, or the methods used to reach them. No matter how much you like Pilates, it's not going to help you get in shape for that 10K run, and no matter how much you like Olympic lifting it's not going to be enough to get you faster in the swimming pool.

 When you're doing this re-evaluation some people find that they like their method so much they're willing to give up pursuing their stated goal in other to stay with doing the same thing. Which is fine; as long as you know the tradeoff you're making.

If you look on UTube you will find lots of Pilates routines by Ford Models such as Lori Baker that are excellent.  Its a good start before shelling out for a DVD. 

Pilates is excellent for strengthening your abdominals, and the stronger they are, the more gravity defying exercises you can do.  Your abdominals need to be strong in order to hold yourself still and keep your back in a neutral position. This isn't always apparent when watching a DVD. 

But you can't beat a class led by a qualified teacher, who will be able to correct any mistakes and avoid injuries to your back. 

I had a lot of luck a few years back with an info-mercial pilates video. It was called something along the lines of Pilates for Weightloss from Winsor Pilates. It had a guarantee to drop a dress/pant size in 10 days.. and I did quickly see those results. 

However, it did highlight that pilates is not an exercise designed for weightloss, however it is an exercise to sculpt and develop leaner muscles.. the weightloss aspect needs to come from a low fat diet.  And besides, if you don't pair ab workouts with a low fat diet, you are almost guaranteed to just build muscle on top of your fat, which causes you to just keep the buldge.

Original Post by jrose15:

 it is an exercise to sculpt and develop leaner muscles..

Leaner than what?

Original Post by jrose15:

the weightloss aspect needs to come from a low fat diet. 

You mean low calorie diet, right? You can lose plenty of weight on a high fat diet. 

leaner muscles like dancer's muscles.. long and lean rather than bulking up.

And, depending on the person, it can be more effective to eat a low fat diet when focusing on the stomach area.  The plan that came with the video I was speaking about came with a balanced low fat diet.  My athletic trainers always emphasized a low fat diet when focusing on the core when I played volleyball and softball. However, I'm sure a low calorie diet could work fine.. and possibly better for some people, every body works differently.

Original Post by jrose15:

leaner muscles like dancer's muscles.. long and lean rather than bulking up.

All muscle is just as lean as all other muscle.  Lean = low in fat, since muscle and fat are completely different tissues, all muscle is 100% lean.  How long a muscle is is determined by where it attaches to the bone, unless pilates is going to cause your muscles to be torn from the bone and re-attached at a different point they aren't getting any longer.

You could take a ballarina, and "bulk her up" untill she looked like the she-hulk and her muscles would be just as lean and just as long as when she started.

Original Post by jrose15:

And, depending on the person, it can be more effective to eat a low fat diet when focusing on the stomach area. 

So, your macronutrient ratios can help determine where fat is lost from? Do you have a source for this?

Studies have shown that high fat diets actually lead to greater fat loss (in the case of this study, the high fat dieters actually ate more calories than the low fat dieters and still lost more fat.)

Original Post by jrose15:

The plan that came with the video I was speaking about came with a balanced low fat diet. 

 Is that the same video that said you could make your muscles 'longer and leaner"?

A 'balanced, low fat diet' is kind of an oxymoron.  Balanced = in equal proportion, so if you severely limit one macronutrient your diet will become skewed towards the other macronutrients and therefor not be balanced.

Well, I wasn't talking about the actual anatomy of muscles, more on how they appear just when  you look at the body.. I'm sorry if I didn't mention that.  For example, a weight lifter's body is very bulky especially compared to a dancer whose body is generallly more flexible and thin.   I have seen pilates marketed on many levels and often see the comparison of creating muscle tone like a dancer.. a leaner body type, toned, and firm (especially when the pilates program is being marketed towards women). rather than bulking up...
I think we were approaching that two different ways.

I think the balanced, low fat diet  was in terms of getting the balance from including all food groups.  The diet plan that came with the pilates video I referenced in my first post included recipes for classic or favorite meals, but tips to cut some of the fat content, so yes you were still eating foods that had fat, but just trimming some of the content where you could. 

And, sorry again.. I forgot the main word, the video said it focused on making your body appear longer and leaner.

And for the low fat diet being successful when focusing on toning the stomach area, I was speaking from experience.  When doing pilates, I always stuck within my calorie range, but tried to keep my fat intake down a bit and that's what I found worked the best, especially during the core strengthening routines.. it really helped me see and feel the results.  When my diet was higher in fat, I didn't see results and I felt sluggish and tired all the time.  So, it worked for me, just thought it might work for someone else too.