Pilates For Weight Loss: A Steady Way To Lose Your Kilos?

Pilates is an elementary and light exercise. It helps to maintain flexibility in the body and target your core and back muscles. It is a low-impact exercise unlike running, swimming, and dancing. Hence, the results are not quick but slowly they do make a difference. Combined with a proper diet and moderate exercises like pilates for weight loss, the impact on your health and body is slowly visible. 

The body does not bear the brunt of high-intensity activity and you can carry on with pilates for a longer duration as compared to other intense workouts.

Do Pilates Help You Lose Weight?

Pilates generally help to tone your abdominal muscles, enhance your muscle tone, and improve your posture. This gives a toned and slim appearance to your body even without losing any body weight.

So, is pilates good for weight loss? Traditional pilates will not be able to do much on your body weight. Pilates benefits weight loss when combined with exercises that can speed up the shedding of unwanted kilos. You will find pilates good for weight loss if you practice advanced pilates, Yogalates (pilates and yoga), or Piloxing (Boxing and Pilates) 2-3 times a week.

In addition, you can alternate pilates for weight loss with cardio-intensive training like running, jogging, walking, or dancing along with a healthy and well-balanced diet.

Pilates Workout for Weight Loss

Pilates can help improve posture and build lean muscle. Pilates for weight loss can also be a good option when combined with other exercises. Below are some of the best pilates exercises for weight loss.

1. Swimming on the Floor

The benefits of swimming are known to everyone. However, not everyone has access to the pools. This exercise can be done within the confines of your home.

 Method:

1. Lie down on your stomach touching the floor, the chest touching the floor.
2. Lift your chest, arms, and legs.
3. The alternate arms and legs (left arm with right leg and vice versa) should move as in swimming with legs flapping in the air.

2. V-Ups 

This is a good exercise for your shoulders, back, legs, and core. This is an abdomen fat burner and a great pilates workout for weight loss.

Method: 

1. Lie down on your back.
2. Lift your legs and upper body simultaneously. This is a “V” up.
3. Hold onto this position for five seconds and relax.
4. Start with doing five repetitions of this exercise.

3. Swan Pose

This position is almost similar to the cobra pose with subtle differences. It helps you to burn more calories by stretching your body more.

Method

1. Lie down on your stomach with your chest touching the ground.
2. Lift your upper half with the help of the hands, your back stretched as possible as it can be.
3. Stay with your legs on the ground.
4. Keep inhaling and exhaling for fat burning.
5. Initially, do 10 reps.

4. Planks Jack

This is a high-plank position. It is good for your abs and love handles.

  Method:

1. Start from a high-plank position.
2. Now, move your legs as you would in a jumping jack position.
3. This means moving the legs sidewards and then back in.
4. Start with 10 reps.

 5. Push-Ups

This type of pilates exercises for weight loss focuses on the upper area and the core of the body.

Method

1. Stand and stretch your arms straight.
2. Bend down. You will be on all fours.
3. Crawl on the palms.
4. You will be in a push-up pose.
5. Do the push-ups.
6. Start with 5 reps initially.

Advantages of Pilates

Pilates workout for weight loss proves extremely beneficial if you concentrate on muscle contraction. The more your muscles contract, the more calories are burnt. Pilates benefits weight loss, and it may also help you with the following:

1. Boosting stamina and muscle power.
2. Reducing inflammation in the joints and lessening the joint pain.
3. Improving posture and flexibility.

Analysis also shows that people with the following medical conditions can benefit from pilates for weight loss:

1. Injuries
2. Arthritis
3. Urinary incontinence
4. Respiratory diseases
5. Back Pain

If you have a medical condition and are looking at pilates for weight loss, it is best to consult your health care professional first for the right advice.

Findings on Pilates Workout for Weight Loss

There are some findings on pilates for weight loss. The research was done for 8 weeks on overweight women of the age group between 30 and 50 years. Those who practised pilates for weight loss observed changes like waist firmness, reduction in BMI, decrease in the hip and abdomen area, and weight loss. However, there was no change in lean fat mass.

Another observation was done on a post-menopausal age group of women aged between 59 and 66 years old. It was seen that 12 weeks of pilates exercises for weight loss did not make any difference in the body frame. Researchers associate the unchanged body composition with no change in the participant’s diet.

Having said that, it was observed that there was an increase in the participant’s upper and lower limb strength and abdominal strength. There is a favourable study in the year 2015 that suggests that pilates are beneficial in lower back pain and recuperation from injuries. But more research is required to substantiate this basis.

Conclusion

To answer the question, is pilates good for weight loss, pilates is a worthwhile low-impact exercise. It helps to firm and tone your body. Doctors recommend pilates for weight loss for old people, as it doesn’t cause much wear and tear to the body. Pilates is an effective way of healing core and back injuries. It is a physical therapy that helps to reduce the stiffness in the body. As there are numerous pilates exercises for weight loss, working out doesn’t become monotonous. So, give pilates a shot and do mention how it has benefitted you and your physical health.