I tried swapping the gym for Pilates – and I was impressed with the results

Independent

2 days ago

Variety is the spice of life, and this applies to your exercise routine too. As a fitness writer, I like to think I practice what I preach here, but of late I've been training hard for a Hyrox and it's made my exercise plans a bit one-dimensional. So when I had the chance to add a Pilates class into my usual cocktail of lifting weights and running, I was excited to see what it had to offer.
By the end of the hour-long session, I was impressed. Despite never lifting anything heavy and moving at a snail's pace throughout, my muscles had been recruited in a way my usual workouts overlooked. As a result, my aching abs and I were eager to have another go.
In the months since, I've kept up Pilates classes once per week (albeit via an app) and found my body feels all the better for it – particularly my spine and hips. I've also been able to learn a few things from the practice, and apply these to my regular training to change it for the better.
Below, I've attempted to distil my favourite takeaways so you can benefit from them too.
The class
A typical week for me is pretty active. I train at a CrossFit gym most days, covering strength training, gymnastics, Olympic weightlifting and HIIT-style workouts. Then I'll squeeze in a few runs, whatever other sports I can manage and umpteen dog walks around this.
For the most part, the common denominator is intensity. I like things that challenge me and send my heart rate soaring, but tend to struggle to slow down – previous attempts at meditation and yin yoga have proved less than successful, with my first Pilates class also marking a departure from the norm.
The 60-minute mat-based class was provided by Reform Wellness studio on the Isle of Man, a short drive away from where Joseph Pilates created the practice of Pilates while being held at an internment camp during the First World War.
I'd visited the island on my first wellness retreat keen to find out more about the birthplace of the method currently trending at the top of the fitness charts. The class catered to beginners with a mixture of exercises including variations of crunches, planks, boat pose, roll-ups and more. We worked our way slowly through each one, focussing on posture, control and time under tension. Throughout, the instructor provided clear cues on how to tweak our technique to get the most out of each move.
Lesson one: Sweat isn't a sure-fire sign of a good workout
As a fitness writer and coach, I've found people tend to conflate sweaty workouts with successful workouts – completing a circuit session that leaves you struggling to climb the stairs is often worn as a badge of honour. But rather than wondering if a workout is good, it's usually more appropriate to ask: 'Good for what?'
My brow remained largely dry during this Pilates class, but it was still effective. This is because it wasn't designed to challenge my heart and lungs, but rather targeted improvements in other attributes such as my coordination, balance and mobility, as well as developing strength in smaller muscles around my joints and core.
Take the Pilates roll-up for example – the act of moving from lying flat on your back to sitting upright. Unlike the sit-ups I might see in my usual workouts, where you power your torso forward to sit up quickly, I was instead asked to lift one vertebrae at a time away from my yoga mat over the course of a few seconds. Very soon, the abdominal muscles on the front of my stomach (the rectus abdominis) were shaking, and felt far more involved than they do during standard sit-ups.
This trend continued throughout the class. By tasking my body to access a range of positions and exhibit control in each one, Pilates helped me develop usable strength which will translate nicely to both sport and everyday life, leading to improved performance and a reduced risk of injury.
Lesson two: Move your body in a range of ways
The body moves in three planes of motion. These are sagittal (up, down, forwards and backwards), frontal (side-to-side) and transverse (rotational). It also operates on a rough use it or lose it basis.
The problem here is that most movements we do, both in and out of the gym, are heavily sagittal-dominant – think squats, press-ups and deadlifts. When we ignore the other two planes of motion, the nervous system sees them as surplus to requirements, allowing the strength of the muscles and other tissues involved to fade away. Then, when we do have to quickly twist to shut a door or grab something from a supermarket shelf, we at best feel tight, and at worst risk injury.
My Pilates instructor sprinkled a healthy dose of bending and twisting movements into the class. Smaller supporting muscles which are often overlooked in the gym were given a starring role, and by the end my body felt strong and limber.
Of course, it takes more than a one-off session for long-term physical effects to settle in: with any sort of training, consistency is key. But I was so impressed that I've since committed to regular online Pilates classes, and can subjectively say that my hips and spine appear to be reaping the rewards.
Lesson three: A good workout doesn't need to be expensive
One of the biggest barriers to entry for exercise is money, particularly when the modality is in vogue. This is currently the case with Pilates, and I've seen people report being priced out of (particularly reformer) classes which cost £50 or more.
There needs to be a balance; a qualified instructor should value their product, while also considering the cost of expensive equipment such as reformer machines. However, I'm also a big proponent for the democratisation of fitness, and think fun, effective exercise should be accessible for all.
The mat-based class I attended is available for £12, which felt reasonable to me. It didn't require me to own any specialist equipment either – the t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms I turned up in served me just fine.
However, there are cheaper ways to try Pilates still. A decade ago, as a skint student, I found a guy on YouTube who did free follow-along videos from various fields. Sessions would take anywhere from 10 to 50 minutes, and he would allow me a much-needed breather whenever his dog interrupted an exercise – it was great, it was accessible, it was affordable, and it left my joints feeling enjoyably strong and mobile. But there's one major downside to this.
Lesson four: In-person coaching elevates the experience
I've actually done forms of Pilates on and off for the last 10 years, but never in a class setting. Instead, it's always been via apps, YouTube and online routines. There are some fantastic (and often free) resources out there, but they all share the same flaw: a lack of individualised feedback.
During my first in-person class, the instructor was able to appraise my movements first-hand and suggest subtle technique tweaks which upped their effectiveness. Her physical and verbal cues were catered specifically to me, and if one of these didn't quite land then she would go back to the drawing board and try another one until I was performing a move correctly.
Contrastingly, in a follow-along online class, all you can do is copy the instructor's form and try to take their verbal cues on board. If these miss the mark, you'll be left doing the move wrong for the foreseeable future, with no one to intervene or suggest otherwise.
For this reason, I would always recommend beginners attend a class if they can. Here, you can be taught the foundational movements and principles of the practice, then apply these to online classes later down the line as a more cost-effective option if needs be.
Even for more advanced exercisers, assuming a permanent student mindset is never a bad idea. Seek out top coaches, experience as many activities as you can, learn from each one, then use this knowledge to further your own fitness horizons.
Lesson five: Betray your tribe
The fitness world can be oddly tribal. This makes sense, given the importance of a sense of belonging and connection in forging an identity, as well as combatting conditions such as loneliness.
Runners will only run, belittling the benefits of other aerobic activities, while ardent gym-goers claim there's no other effective way to build muscle. But I can't help feeling this is a somewhat limiting approach.
Not only can opening up your exercise routine to new activities challenge you to move in different ways, paving the way for unexpected fitness perks, but it's also incredibly enjoyable. As long as you're steadily progressing the activities you're doing over time, good things are sure to follow.
This was certainly something I found during the Pilates class. Swapping my usual Sunday CrossFit workout left me feeling fresh as I moved into the new week, and trying something new was undeniably fun.
The verdict
Nowadays, thanks in no small part to social media, everything and everyone in the fitness world has a label. This might be the proverbial 'Pilates princess', who spends their day wearing head-to-toe activewear while seeking out the latest wellness trends, or the 'hybrid athlete' with their uniform of running sunglasses, hydration vest and gels stashed in every pocket.
I'm all for this – if you've found something you're passionate about, by all means pursue it. But I also want to point out that it's not the only way to exercise – something this Pilates class brought home to me.
Did it persuade me to drop my beloved dumbbells, ditch strength training and sign up to seven sessions per week? No. But it did broaden my training horizons, provide an enjoyable alternative form of exercise and teach me lessons I can use in my wider exercise plans.
Since the class, I've incorporated Pilates into my weekly routine. The resulting improvements in strength, stability and mobility around my hips and shoulders have improved my performance in other sports I enjoy like padel and Olympic weightlifting, and I find I now look forward to the change of pace once per week. Which leads me on to my two main takeaways.
One: The best exercise routine is the one you enjoy, rather than one that fits a certain identity. Fun is the factor that will keep you coming back for more, and doing an activity consistently is the key to getting better at it.
And two: Variety is, indeed, the spice of life. A varied exercise routine can not only boost enjoyment and keep you on your toes, but also blend the benefits of multiple activities to deliver some bonus mental and physical perks too.