Pilates is a low impact type of exercise that may help increase core strength, improve posture, boost energy and mood, and prevent injuries, among other benefits.
Pilates is a type of whole-body exercise created in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates.
The exercises can help improve stability, coordination, and strength throughout your whole body because they combine intentional movement, concentration, breathing, and balance.
Research suggests that Pilates may have several physical, psychological, and emotional benefits that may help improve your quality of life.
Keep reading to learn more about 19 possible benefits of Pilates.
1. It increases core strength
Pilates is known for its emphasis on the core — the center of the body from which all movement stems. It consists of the muscles that make up your trunk. When strengthened, the core helps support and stabilize the body.
Pilates may help improve core strength and function, key factors in decreasing back and hip pain and pelvic floor dysfunction. The core is also the area from which explosive movement derives.
2. It improves posture
Pilates may help improve slouching posture by stretching, lengthening, and strengthening your spine muscles.
Pilates also focuses on full body alignment, ideal range of motion at the joints, and a balance of all opposing muscles. When combined, this could help bring awareness to your alignment and strengthen neglected postural muscles.
3. It decreases back pain
Pilates may help relieve lower back pain, which can improve physical function and quality of life.
These exercises target the deeper abdominal muscles and the pelvic floor to both contract and release. These muscles work like a brace to lift and support the organs and protect and stabilize the back.
4. It prevents injuries
Pilates balances the muscles of the body so that they are neither loose and weak nor tight and rigid. Muscles that are too loose and weak or too tight and rigid can make the body more susceptible to injury.
Pilates focuses on developing dynamic strength, which means you are better able to support and stabilize your joints while moving. Research has suggested that Pilates is an effective method for reducing injury risk in sport.
5. It increases energy
By focusing on breath, Pilates may help improve cardiorespiratory capacity. This stimulates feel-good hormones, oxygen flow, and blood circulation.
Pilates achieves all of this and, due to its low impact nature, rarely leaves you feeling fatigued. Instead, it gives you a boost of energy.
6. It enhances body awareness
Pilates is a mind-body practice that enhances proprioception, or body awareness. The attention inward and ability to focus on the sensations in your body heightens your awareness of comfort or pain, your emotions, and your surrounding environment.
With enhanced proprioception, the body is better able to respond to stimuli, which can prevent injuries and falls. Better body awareness may even help prevent overeating, as you’ll be more in tune with your body’s hunger signals.
7. It decreases stress
Research suggests that Pilates may be effective for managing stress.
The inward focus and use of breath from Pilates can help down-regulate the nervous system. This, in turn, can take you out of fight-or-flight mode, lower cortisol, and decrease stress over time.
8. It reduces menstrual pain
Dysmenorrhea is the condition of painful menstrual periods. Research has suggested that Pilates can help reduce menstrual pain.
9. It improves flexibility and mobility
First, let’s define the difference between flexibility and mobility.
Flexibility is the amount of passive stretch in a muscle. Mobility is the range of motion at a joint. Good mobility requires flexibility but also strength.
Mobility is something you should strive for, while flexibility in and of itself isn’t functional. You need a balance of strength and flexibility to optimize mobility.
A Pilates practice may help improve mobility, range of motion, and flexibility because it focuses on keeping muscles moving with smooth transitions between precise and slow, controlled movements. Instead of stretching after a strengthening exercise, most Pilates exercises are a combination of the two.
10. It improves balance
Balance is important at any age and necessary for everyday activities involving coordination, like walking, or any of life’s nonlinear movements, such as reaching up and twisting.
Pilates improves balance and gait not only through core strengthening but also because of its focus on alignment and whole body exercises.
11. It boosts your immunity
Research shows that Pilates helps boost immune system functioning, especially in older adults.
But while much research has been done on older adults, these findings suggest all ages could experience a boost to immunity through Pilates, mainly because of improved circulation.
Along with improved circulation comes improved immune system function. A good immune system is a function of properly flowing blood and lymph, both of which may be boosted by Pilates.
12. It improves ability to think
Some research suggests that Pilates may help improve your memory, learning, and executive thinking.
13. It can improve motivation
Along with improved cognition, a 2015 study found Pilates was effective for improving motivation in a student population. This means you might be more likely to engage in physical activity, which has numerous health benefits.
14. It improves your sex life
Pilates may help improve sexual function. First, it builds endurance, strength, mobility, and flexibility that can enhance your bedroom adventures by allowing you to get into and hold positions longer.
But also, Pilates is an effective tool for improving pelvic floor strength and function, and a strong pelvic floor correlates with increased sexual pleasure.
15. It enhances sports performance
Whether you’re a professional athlete or weekend warrior, Pilates can elevate your sport or activity.
Pilates balances the body by strengthening muscles, mobilizing what’s rigid, and lengthening tight areas. This, in turn, enables you to react quicker and prevent injury.
Research performed on athletes suggests that Pilates may help:
- improve speed, power, and range of motion
- increase muscle mass
- improve core and trunk strength
16. It may strengthen your bones
Strong bone density may help prevent osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, which can affect people of any age.
Pilates may have some effect on relieving pain and increasing bone density. However, more research is needed to fully understand its effects on bone density.
17. It boosts your mood
Exercise of any sort offers that magical elixir of endorphins.
But research that specifically explored the mood-boosting benefits of Pilates has found that participants experienced a reduction in anxiety, fatigue, and depressive symptoms, and a release of negative thought patterns.
18. It improves sleep
Research suggests that Pilates can lead to better sleep, especially in people under the age of 40 years.
19. It encourages playfulness
Pilates is a fun change of pace from other workouts.
Where else can you “roll like a ball,” be a “seal,” hang like a “monkey,” or just play with trying new positions? Finding a sense of play can enhance your physical health.
Not to mention, the most beneficial exercise regimes are those that you enjoy doing because then you’ll keep exercising.
The Pilates reformer, after mat exercises, is the most popular and used piece of Pilates equipment. It’s a sleek pulley system consisting of a sliding carriage and springs with varying degrees of tension.
The reformer is an adaptable machine full of variety that is perfect for beginners, challenging for the avid fitness enthusiast, and suitable for those recovering from an injury.
Using a Pilates reformer may provide similar benefits as mat Pilates,
The reformer efficiently builds muscular endurance in a non-weight-bearing manner, making it more comfortable for the joints.
Modified Pilates supports the ever-changing body throughout pregnancy. It may alleviate the pressure from a growing baby with its target on the muscles of the butt, core, and pelvic floor.
Some research suggests that Pilates may also help reduce labor pain and improve satisfaction after birth.
Specific prenatal Pilates exercises can aid with managing diastasis recti (the separation of the abdominals, which is common in pregnancy) and its recovery postpartum.
Prenatal Pilates, through its focus on the breath, body awareness, and strengthening benefits, can prepare you mentally and physically for labor and birth.
Pilates may affect body composition through toning, its emphasis on alignment, and improving posture. It’s known for working from the inside out and can give the appearance of being taller and slimmer.
Research suggests that it may also help reduce body mass index (BMI), body weight, and body fat percentage in people with obesity or overweight.
However, it’s important to note that Pilates on its own isn’t the most effective way to lose weight. Losing weight involves quality sleep, decreased stress, and most importantly, creating a caloric deficit.
Pilates has many benefits and is suitable for everyone regardless of fitness level, age, size, or any other factor.
Incorporating a Pilates practice into your training regimen can greatly support and enhance any endeavor you take on.
Consider following a Pilates class online or joining an in-person class at a local fitness center.
