What Kind of Results Will I Get From Pilates?
What kind of results will you get with Pilates? Pilates is based on your needs. When you do Pilates with me, I’ll base your session around your goals. Whether you want more strength, flexibility, balance or something else, we will work on those goals to get those results.
The first thing know is what kind of results you want. Pilates can do a lot of things for your physical and mental health. The most basic results people get from Pilates is strength, flexibility and stress relief. Some people find Pilates has helped them lose weight, tone muscle, have less pain and be able to do things with their body they couldn’t before trying Pilates. These are not always typical results but they can happen. Know what you want to get out of Pilates and tell your instructor.
If you want specific results from taking Pilates, it is important to tell your instructor. Pilates is an exercise method that people of all fitness levels can participate in. There are a lot of ways your session can be designed to work on the results you want. If you want to tone your arms, your instructor can give you specific exercises or add variations in to what you are already doing to add more work for your arms. If you want to strengthen your core, your instructor can give you a workout to do in between sessions to help you practice your form and remind your body how to use your core well. If you want to lose weight, your instructor can help you find the flow of the workout to keep your heart rate up and your body moving. If you want more flexibility there will be more focus on the exercises that promote flexibility in the body and possibly more stretches. If you want to build strength there will be more focus on strengthening exercises. If you want to have better balance there will be more focus on exercises that promote balance and challenge your balance. The key is to tell your teacher and remind them of your goals so you can continue to work on specific results.
Lani shared with me her goal of doing the Roll Up unassisted so I helped her achieve that goal! Here is her response below:
When you want to reach a fitness goal it is important to stay consistent. This is true with Pilates also. Pilates is more effective when you do it multiple times a week. Lani kept up with group Pilates classes three times a week even during the pandemic. Staying consistent helped her reach her goals and stay sane. If you want to build strength with Pilates, taking private sessions, group classes and/or a combination, three times a week will help you work on that goal. When you have a better idea of how Pilates works you can even do smaller workouts at home, without equipment. If you only take Pilates once a week, it is still effective, but it takes longer to see results.
The most important thing to do when looking for any kind of results from Pilates is to give it time. You may not feel sore right away. You may not sweat right away. That is ok! Pilates is not trying to tear your body down. You are working to build it up. With Pilates you are building a movement foundation. If you never played an instrument before would you expect to walk up to a piano and play a concerto? Probably not. You have to build the foundation by learning how to read music. You have to learn how to hold your hands as you play. You have to learn which keys correspond to which notes. Once you’ve practiced that you can string your knowledge together to play a short song. Just like with music you need to give yourself time and be patient with the process to learn Pilates. You need to know the positions and the movements. There is breathing to do and rhythm to think about. You don’t have to do it all at once and it never has to be perfect. But if you give yourself time to learn, your Pilates practice will benefit.
Pilates helps so many people do so many things. People successfully use Pilates to build strength in their whole body, along with the core. Pilates helps you to also work on flexibility within your strength building. People have used Pilates to work on balance, injury prevention and even to prepare or recover from surgery.
Here’s a testimonial from Lani’s mom Laura who took online Pilates with me to prepare for knee replacement surgery:
Here is more from Laura just a few weeks post surgery:
“The PTs tell me how fast I am recovering my physical abilities. I had four sessions of pt here at home, ending this past Sunday. Today I went to my first session at an outside clinic. The therapist said he has seen patients two months post surgery who weren’t walking as well as I am. I always tell them about my work with you. I’m using a cane instead of a walker after 2 weeks. I am so grateful for your support.”
I even teach Laura’s granddaughter, Lani’s daughter, Naomi. Here is what she says about accomplishing her goals and getting results by taking Pilates with me:
Some things, like flexibility are a natural result of taking Pilates. Be consistent with your Pilates practice. Go to class or private sessions and take your knowledge with you between sessions. If you want to get specific results out of taking Pilates, stay in communication with your teacher about your goals. That way they can design your sessions with those specific goals in mind. Bottom line, do Pilates consistently with joy and you will see a change in your mind, body and spirit. What results do you want to get out of Pilates? Set up your first Pilates session with me and let’s get to work on achieving your desired results.
