99: My Real Thoughts on the Pilates Trend + What the Science Says
My Real Thoughts on the Pilates Trend + What the Science Says
Think Pilates is the secret to a long, lean body? Tara breaks down what's actually happening behind viral Pilates transformations, where it falls short, and why strength training matters more.
Think Pilates is the secret to a long, lean, sculpted body? Let's talk about it.
In this solo episode, Tara's breaking down the Pilates hype and telling you what's actually happening behind those viral "Pilates body" transformations. She dives into what Pilates is great for, where it falls short, and why it might not be doing what you think it's doing.
No hate, no fluff, just a real conversation about how to train smarter, not trendier. Whether you're a Pilates girlie, a gym baddie, or somewhere in between, this episode will help you get clear on what your body really needs and how to stop chasing aesthetics that aren't rooted in reality.
Is Pilates Actually Effective?
Let's start with the obvious question: does Pilates work?
The answer is: it depends on what you mean by "work."
Pilates is excellent for building mind-body connection, improving core stability, enhancing posture, increasing flexibility and mobility, and learning how to move with control. If those are your goals, Pilates absolutely delivers.
The problem is that most people doing Pilates aren't doing it for those reasons. They're doing it because they want to change their body composition, lose fat, build muscle, get "toned," achieve that elusive "long and lean" look. And for those goals? Pilates alone isn't going to cut it.
Here's the reality: Pilates is a form of low-intensity resistance training with a heavy emphasis on core work and controlled movements. While it can provide some strength benefits, especially for beginners, it lacks the progressive overload necessary to build significant muscle or the intensity required to burn substantial calories.
So yes, Pilates is effective, for the right goals. But if you're expecting it to transform your body composition on its own, you're going to be disappointed.
What's Behind the "Pilates Body" Glow-Up
Let's talk about those viral before-and-after transformation photos flooding your feed. The ones where someone looks dramatically leaner, more toned, and "longer" after doing Pilates for a few months.
Tara gets real about what's actually happening here, and it's not what the Pilates industrial complex wants you to believe.
Genetics: Some people are naturally predisposed to that lean, linear body type. They start Pilates already having that frame, and the classes just help them maintain or slightly refine what's already there.
Diet changes: Most of those transformations aren't from Pilates alone, they're from being in a calorie deficit. People start a new fitness routine, get motivated, clean up their diet, and boom, weight loss. The Pilates gets the credit, but it's really the nutrition change doing the heavy lifting.
Restrictive eating: Let's be honest about the culture surrounding certain fitness trends. The "Pilates aesthetic" often comes with disordered eating patterns disguised as "clean eating" or "wellness." When you see dramatic body changes, there's often undereating involved.
Improved posture: This is a legitimate benefit of Pilates. Better posture makes you look taller, leaner, and more confident, even if your actual body composition hasn't changed. Standing up straighter with your shoulders back and core engaged can create the illusion of a totally different body.
Marketing and social media: Instagram angles, lighting, posing, and strategic photo selection can make any transformation look more dramatic than it is. Don't underestimate the power of good marketing.
The "Pilates body" is less about Pilates itself and more about the combination of genetics, diet, posture improvements, and presentation. You can't Pilates your way into a completely different body type.
Why Pilates Won't Change Your Body Alone
Here's where Tara gets into the science: building muscle requires progressive overload.
Progressive overload means gradually increasing the stress placed on your muscles over time, more weight, more reps, more sets, shorter rest periods, etc. This stimulus forces your muscles to adapt by getting stronger and bigger.
Pilates, by its nature, doesn't prioritize progressive overload. You're mostly using your body weight with springs or light resistance, and while you can make exercises harder by changing angles or adding complexity, the actual load on your muscles remains relatively constant.
Without progressive overload, you're not going to build significant muscle. And without building muscle, your body composition won't change much, even if you lose fat, you'll just look like a smaller version of yourself instead of looking "toned" or "sculpted."
Additionally, Pilates burns relatively few calories compared to more intense forms of exercise. If your goal is fat loss and you're relying solely on Pilates for your calorie expenditure, you're going to have to be pretty restrictive with your diet to see results. And that's not sustainable or healthy.
This doesn't mean Pilates is useless. It just means it's not a complete training program if your goals include changing your body composition.
The Difference Between Movement That Feels Good and Movement That Changes Your Body
This is a crucial distinction that Tara emphasizes: movement that feels good is not necessarily the same as movement that changes your body.
Pilates feels amazing. It makes you more aware of your body. You leave class feeling stretched out, centered, and accomplished. And that's valuable! Movement for mental health, stress relief, and body awareness is absolutely worth doing.
But if you want to change your body composition, build muscle, get stronger, lose fat, you need to do training that specifically targets those adaptations. And that training often doesn't feel as "zen" or enjoyable in the moment. It's hard. It's sweaty. It requires grinding through uncomfortable sets.
You can do both. You can lift heavy for body composition changes and do Pilates for mobility and mind-body connection. But don't confuse the two. Be clear about what each type of training is doing for you.
What "Lifting Heavy" Really Means
Let's clear up a misconception: "lifting heavy" doesn't mean deadlifting 300 pounds or squatting your body weight.
Lifting heavy is relative to your strength level. It means using a weight that's challenging for the rep range you're working in, usually in the 6-12 rep range where the last few reps are genuinely hard.
If you're doing a set of 10 bicep curls and you could easily do 15 more reps with the same weight, you're not lifting heavy enough to drive adaptation. But if you're struggling to finish that tenth rep with good form? That's heavy for you, and that's what creates muscle growth.
This is why bodyweight Pilates movements, which often involve 15-30 reps, don't provide the same stimulus as traditional strength training. The resistance is too light relative to your capability, so you're building endurance more than you're building strength or muscle.
Women especially need to hear this: don't be afraid to challenge yourself with actual resistance. You're not going to accidentally get bulky. You're going to get stronger, feel more capable, and actually see the body composition changes you're after.
How to Combine Pilates with Lifting
Here's the good news: you don't have to choose. You can absolutely do both Pilates and strength training.
Tara's recommendation? Prioritize strength training as your foundation, then add Pilates as supplemental work for mobility, recovery, and mental clarity.
A balanced training week might look like:
3-4 days of strength training (lifting weights, focusing on progressive overload)
1-2 days of Pilates or mobility work
1-2 days of complete rest or light activity
This approach gives you the muscle-building and metabolism-boosting benefits of strength training while still incorporating the mobility and mind-body benefits of Pilates.
The key is understanding what each modality brings to the table and structuring your training accordingly. Don't expect Pilates to do what strength training does, and don't expect strength training to do what Pilates does. They serve different purposes.
Strength Training Is the Foundation That Actually Gets You Results
If you could only choose one type of training (which you don't have to, but if you did), strength training should be the priority.
Here's why:
Muscle is metabolically active. More muscle means higher resting metabolic rate, which means you burn more calories even when you're not working out.
Strength training changes body composition. It builds muscle and helps you lose fat, which creates the "toned" look most people are chasing.
It's preventative medicine. Strength training protects your bones, joints, and metabolic health as you age. It reduces risk of osteoporosis, sarcopenia (muscle loss with aging), metabolic syndrome, and chronic disease.
It makes you functionally stronger. Carrying groceries, picking up your kids, moving furniture—everything becomes easier when you're actually strong.
It boosts confidence. There's something deeply empowering about getting stronger in the gym. That confidence carries over into every other area of your life.
Pilates doesn't provide these benefits to the same degree. It's a wonderful complementary practice, but it's not a replacement for proper strength training.
Final Verdict: Do Both, But Do This First
Tara's final take? If you love Pilates, keep doing it. It has legitimate benefits for mobility, posture, and mental health. But don't rely on it as your only form of training if you want to change your body composition.
Prioritize strength training first. Build your foundation with 3-4 days a week of progressive resistance training. Get comfortable lifting challenging weights. Focus on compound movements like squats, deadlifts, presses, and rows.
Then, add Pilates as a supplement. Use it for active recovery, to improve your movement quality, to work on flexibility, or simply because it makes you feel good. Just don't expect it to be the thing that transforms your body.
And most importantly: stop chasing the "Pilates body" aesthetic. It's largely genetics and marketing. Instead, chase strength, functionality, and feeling capable in your own skin. That's what sustainable fitness looks like.
Key Takeaways
Here's what you need to remember from this episode:
Pilates is great for core stability, posture, mobility, and mind-body connection
Pilates alone won't significantly change your body composition
The "Pilates body" transformation is usually genetics, diet changes, posture improvements, and marketing
Building muscle requires progressive overload, which Pilates doesn't provide
Movement that feels good isn't always movement that changes your body (and that's okay)
"Lifting heavy" is relative to your strength level, it doesn't mean lifting massive weights
You can combine Pilates and strength training, but prioritize strength as your foundation
Strength training is preventative medicine for long-term health and functionality
Stop chasing aesthetic trends and focus on building real, sustainable strength
Ready to Build a Balanced Training Plan?
If you're ready to stop spinning your wheels with trendy workouts and start building real strength and muscle, check out the Broads strength training app. Home and gym workouts designed for progress, not burnout.
What's your honest experience with Pilates or trendy fitness classes? Share your thoughts on Instagram and tag @broads.podcast.
For more no-BS fitness content and real talk about training, follow @taralaferrara and check out the full Broads podcast library for 90+ episodes.
