3 REASONS WHY PILATES IS A LIE (you won’t get fit doing it)

Pilates—a workout trend that has gained popularity for its promise of a sleek, toned body without the bulk. But is this fitness regime all that it claims to be? Let's dive into the truths behind Pilates and uncover why it might not be the key to achieving the strong and healthy body you desire.

Strength Without Substance

The allure of Pilates lies in its promise of strength without the bulk. Mr Joseph Pilates developed his exercise method, originally called "Contrology," in the early 20th century. He began creating the foundational exercises and principles of Pilates while he was interned in a British camp during World War I, around 1914-1918. During this time, he used his background in gymnastics, boxing, and physical training to develop exercises to help fellow internees maintain their physical fitness. There’s also record of him experimenting with the reformer method of Pilate using springs from the hospital beds.

At the very start, while the movement concept are still to this days valid and widely used. It seems the philosophy and promises were wacky and purely unfounded by any scientific understanding.

Aside from the physical benefit of the practice, Mr Pilates used to promote the idea that pilates could “heal” internal organ. Such as the kidney and the lungs, as well as other diseases. To his defence at that time this was a very common theme, many charlatans used apparatus or even potions and claimed that they could cure all sorts of illnesses.

Joseph Pilates explaining why training upright isn’t prioritised over laying down. Extract from: Pilates return to life through contrology - Joseph Pilates

It’s important to understand the origins of Pilates, cause only then we can understand why it is still flawed at its core.

The Illusion of Fitness

Pilates is undeniably effective in some ways, such as improving mobility, flexibility as well as core and other bodily part muscular endurance. Notice I said muscle endurance and not strength, cause yes if all you do is spamming certain movement pattern and body parts under light loads for a whole session, you’ll create that “burning” sensation and perhaps you’ll get better at holding position for a bit longer with a bit more grace. Hence improving your muscular endurance, but that doesn’t even have much value if you true muscular endurance is determined by your actual maximum strength potential.

As you can see, muscular strength and endurance goes hand in hand. Focusing on only one aspect of the strength spectrum is unproductive. The stronger you are, the more muscular endurance you’ll have. Without even particularly training it.

Pilates creates an illusion of wellness without addressing the full spectrum of physical fitness components, including cardiovascular endurance and muscular strength and power.

Promotion of Unrealistic Body Standards

Pilates Modern marketing emphasis a specific aesthetic for women, that aligns with certain trends — leaned, toned, and often rather slimmed — this is one of the reasons why Pilates is very used by the dancing communities.

The problem is not all women have the same body type, and some may naturally have more muscle mass or a different distribution of fat. The focus on a lean, toned physique can marginalize women who don't fit this mold, leading to feelings of inadequacy or body dissatisfaction. This narrow ideal can ignore the importance of body diversity and the fact that health and strength can manifest differently in different bodies.

They feed on this fear of "masculinity" the fear of becoming "too bulky" which can prevent women from engaging in strength training, which is crucial for overall health. Strength training helps with metabolism, bone density, injury prevention, and long-term physical function. Avoiding it in favor of staying "toned" might undermine these important aspects of health. Encouraging women to prioritise a certain aesthetic over functional strength could contribute to a weaker, less resilient body in the long run. It really saddens me to see soo many women that stop getting stronger and fitter because they’ve been told they’ll get too muscular.

Once again Pilates is not horrible, it has some benefits but honestly really not worth doing if your goal is overall fitness and also if you have a limited amount of time dedicated to training. Personally I think yoga is better at promoting mindfulness and flexibility than Pilates. And strenght training is just better than anything you could find in Pilates. That is if you want result of course.

The main reason why I wrote about this, is because I asked someone last week whether they did any strength training. They said no and that their knees was an absolute mess, and they’ve gone through soo manny surgeries. But I replied, surely the physios and doctors recommended you do some rehab and straight training to strengthen your knees post surgery? They said “oooh yeaa I do Pilates to keep it strong” I didn’t bother unleashing all this on them, but recommended they actually started strength training. Cause if you think rolling on the floor while pick your legs up and doing flutter kick will get your body ready for performance or really whatever you demand from it you’re wrong.

If you're not sure where to begin, just start following a program with some progressions and a bit of planning. Feel free to book a consultation here or fill out my training + lifestyle analysis form so I can get in touch and help you out.