Is Pilates strength/resistance training?

I’ve seen and heard a lot of commentary in recent months around women 40+ needing to do strength/resistance training. And there’s a divergence of opinion about where Pilates sits in this mix. My intention is not to start a debate or pitch one form of exercise against another. Because you know what? Four out of five Australians aren’t moving enough each week according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. We are talking about 150 minutes of movement a week. My intention is not to tell you to do one form of exercise over another. Any form of movement wins!

This blog is about exploring what is meant by resistance/strength training and where Pilates fits in.

As a lawyer and former debater, I am going to separate resistance training from strength training. Whilst these terms can be used interchangeably, I would argue that they are in fact different when you consider the end goal.

Resistance training refers to any form of exercise that causes your muscles to contract against an external force—this could be reformer springs, bands, body weight, or dumbbells. The goal is typically to improve muscular endurance or control.

An example of muscular endurance with Pilates would be 20 repetitions of footwork (lying on your back pressing the carriage in and out).

Strength training, on the other hand, is more specific: the goal is to increase the maximum amount of force your muscles can produce. This often requires heavier loads, lower reps, and progressive overload (continuing to increase weight over time).

Using an example for Pilates, this might be bicep curls on heavy springs with sets of 6-8 repetitions where your body couldn’t possibly do one more rep if your life depended on it.

Hang with me as I dig a little deeper into the physiological adaptions to exercise. Dr Andy Galpin references nine key elements -

1. Skill/Technique: Refers to the development of efficient movement patterns and coordination.

2. Speed: Involves increasing the velocity or acceleration of movement.

3. Power: Refers to the ability to generate force quickly, combining speed and force.

4. Force/Strength: Enhances the maximum force a muscle can generate.

5. Muscle Hypertrophy: Involves an increase in muscle size.

6. Muscular Endurance: The ability to perform repeated muscle contractions over time.

7. Anaerobic Capacity: The ability to perform high-intensity exercise for a short duration, such as sprinting.

8. Maximal Aerobic Capacity: The ability to perform sustained, moderate-intensity exercise for an extended duration, often measured by VO2 max.

9. Long-duration training: Focuses on sustained, steady-state exercise at a sub-maximal intensity for an extended period, improving cardiovascular fitness and endurance.

So how does this relate to Pilates? Well looking at the 9 elements of Dr Andy Galpin, Pilates will focus mostly on building muscular ENDURANCE. What does that mean? It’s about time the muscle is under load. So take footwork where you are lying on your back and pressing the carriage out and in, your quads/thighs are doing quite a lot of work. You might do 10-20 reps depending on the number of springs. And Pilates is excellent at putting our muscles under load (ie resistance).

However, when it comes to FORCE or STRENGTH, it’s not about doing 10-20 reps. It’s about doing LESS repetitions but a much heavier load as it's "the maximum force a muscle can generate". Can Pilates be good at this? Sure, when I give you sets of 4-6 of an exercise, you know it’s going to take a lot of energy in the tank to get that movement happening. And chances are, it looks a bit ugly by the end. Because strength training is about taking the muscle to fatigue. Where you couldn’t do one more repetition.

For Wellspringers who attend the studio, they know the heavier reformer springs I purchased have made a huge difference to their leg and glute strength. And I have a range of dumbbells up to 12.5kg so this is certainly going to help you get STRONG.

However, I would say that Pilates is not the best form of movement for STRENGTH training on its own.  The reformer will max out with spring resistance compared with heavy weights training. And it’s an unstable surface making it harder to increase heavy load as you need stability to increase strength. Even with heavy springs on the reformer, it can’t compete with the ability to load up a weights bar progressively as you get stronger. More load on your muscles = how you get STRONG. I mean really strong.

So why do Pilates?

Because it has so many benefits. Yes, it can get you strong, mobile and feeling great. It also works different muscles to those in the gym. I’ve seen clients with incredibly strong legs but struggle with exercises that work the glute med like crab walks, clams, sidelying glutes. And we need to work this part of the glute as it helps stabilise the pelvis when we walk. You need all the little muscles working together.

We also need Pilates as it focuses on core stability and balance. We do not want to fall over as we get older or at any age in fact!

So to wrap it up.

Is Pilates resistance training? YES.

Is Pilates strength training? YES, it can be.

Is it the BEST form of strength training? I would argue no, not compared to lifting heavy weights. Which is why I do both and I think there is a place for more than one form of movement in your life.

Longevity requires muscular endurance (think strong legs walking up a hill) but we also need strength (picking up heavy bags of groceries or kids/grandkids). We also need mobility and there is no doubt in my mind that Pilates is one of the best forms of movement to improve mobility and balance. And with our lifestyles, this is an integral part of feeling good and doing the things we love to do.

So pick up a heavy dumbbell, book a Pilates class, take pickleball, come to a Lift session with me… just keep moving to keep moving. It’s not about pitting one form of exercise against the other. You need to think about what your goals are, do you have extra challenges to be mindful of (eg low bone density, osteoporosis), are you working through an injury… And then what is your end goal? You know I’m working on your future 96 year old bodies…

What do you think? Do you agree with me or have a different opinion? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Till next time Wellspringers,

Holly