We are seeing lots of articles recently about the benefits of Strength training, GP’s, PT’s, physiotherapists, osteopaths and of course social media are all recommending it for our health for all ages.

Pilates places a strict emphasis on mobility, stability, proper technique, body alignment, and mind-body connection. This makes it a great workout for anyone who wants to improve their everyday functional movement habits or their sport.  You can do this through specialised resistance machines, like the Reformer, or on a mat using just your own bodyweight (and maybe a prop or two, like light weights, stability balls, or exercise balls).

If you strength train, you’re probably already familiar with some common Pilates moves, which include planks, squats, lunges, glute bridges, arm circles, leg circles, and abdominal variations. So it stands to reason that Pilates is a form of strength training.

While research has found Pilates to be effective for building both density and muscle strength — two outcomes we generally think of with strength training it’s probably helpful if we look at this a little deeper.

For one, in the broadest terms, strength training can be defined as anything that simply makes your body stronger—basically, anything that allows your muscles to complete tasks at hand just a little bit easier. This is where Pilates, as well as other activities like yoga, barre, and general weight lifting, all qualify.

Pilates places a particular emphasis on eccentric muscle contractions (when they are lengthened under load, like lowering into a squat position) to build strength, if we think about think moves like leg circles and the elephant on the reformer which work your hamstrings while they are also being lengthened. But because Pilates exercises also require a lot of stability, either your core or your limbs are pretty much also working isometrically (when the muscle holds still under load, like hanging out in the bottom of a squat) when you’re performing any movement.

Finally, Pilates also uses concentric contractions (when your muscle shortens under load, like when you stand up from a squat), so it encompasses all of the three major contractions necessary to help your muscles get stronger.

But if you look at the definition of “strength” solely from a lifting perspective, from the lens of maximal strength, the answer is a little different. If you’re defining it by how much absolute weight you can move, either just once or doing many repetitions which is the general recommended programming to really get stronger, Pilates doesn’t really fit the bill. The ultimate goal is not to improve total force production and power and it doesn’t involve performing exercises under a specific rep and set scheme to try to lift super heavy loads. (In fact, in the case of mat Pilates, you’ll be limited by how much you can even add).

So what kind of strength are you building in Pilates? Pilates is all about performing slow, controlled movements which increases the time your muscles are under tension so you boost your muscular endurance rather than really improving on maximal strength. As a result, you train your muscles to be able to work for longer and get a whole lot done without having to lift really heavy loads.

The main purpose of Pilates is building strength and stability in your fullest range of motion, rather than simply training to become more powerful in one specific movement.

When you’re doing Pilates, you’re working all the muscles that support a joint, which allows for greater and safer mobility. For example, when focusing on your shoulders, through moves like shoulder circles or a Reformer exercise called ‘chest expansion’ you are not training just your deltoids. You’re also challenging the small rotator cuff muscles that surround your shoulder joint. The same applies for lower-body moves, like leg circles or the single-leg glute shoulder bridge, which work your smaller, stabilising bottom muscles, the ones lots of people tend to neglect. By focusing on these support muscles, this helps guard against overusing other muscle groups, since you’ll have more suppor when you do take on more load. As a result, you can reduce your injury risk.

What’s more, the strength you build in Pilates is really comprehensive: The goal in a typical class is to work all your major muscle groups and to move your spine in various positions, including flexion, extension, side bending, and rotation. This helps build functional, well-rounded strength that prepares you to safely and effectively tackle a variety of motions in sports and life.

Pilates is beneficial for so many reasons. Whilst you are increasing your strength, you are also improving a lot of other aspects of your fitness, which makes it a really effective, well-rounded workout.

If we look at balance, for example. Pilates is great for helping you keep steady, since it includes lots of single-sided moves like lunges and for example scooter on the reformer that challenge your centre of gravity. Also if you’re doing it on the Reformer, Cadillac, or Wunda Chair the unstable surface can really help you challenge your balance and control. In fact recent research has confirmed this benefit for a whole host of different populations, including healthy adults, younger people with lower back and neck pain, and older age groups at risk of falling over.

Pilates can also enhance your flexibiliy research confirms too but not in the way you probably think. A common misconception about Pilates is that it involves a lot of stretching. And while instructors may sprinkle in a few static stretches (ones where you get into a position and hold) here and there, most of the flexibility benefits come through working your muscles eccentrically. There’s solid advantage of this too: Along with decreasing your risk of injury, it also helps your muscles work super effectively, helping boost your performance in the gym or in any sports. So it is not about about doing the splits or folding your forehead to your thighs.

Another benefit: Pilates can teach you to connect more mindfully to your body; instructors cue heavily to make sure participants know which muscles should be activating during certain movements and how it should feel. This can help build body awareness that extends beyond class.

Looking to fit Pilates into your current routine? There are a a lot of different ways it can enhance your fitness and jive with other ways of moving your body. Pilates can be your only form of exercise if you want it to be but it is really meant to complement every form of fitness, every sport, every functional movement.

Pilates can tick the box as your ‘strength’ workout if you are looking for muscular endurance instead of max force production and power; it can also pair really well with a more traditional weightlifting routine since it helps build super comprehensive functional strength and focuses on stabilising muscles that heavy lifting sometimes overlooks.

More of a cardio person? Pilates can provide a boost on that front too. Whether you’re a regular runner, swimmer, or cyclist, it helps emphasise mobility and core stabilisation both of which can help you with more repetitive movements more safely and effectively.

To sum it all up, no matter what type of workouts you love best, sprinkling in some Pilates can make you a stronger, more resilient exerciser.